Imitate Hudson Taylor

I am reading more of Hudson Taylor and am deeply stirred.

He came to see that the work of evangelizing inland China was God's work -- not his. And thus, however grim things looked humanly speaking -- low funds, criticism from other believers, government restrictions, threat of war, sickness -- he prayed intensely and moved forward, trusting God to provide for HIS work. God provided wonderfully, if sometimes just in the nick of time.

What does that look like for me? These children are yours, O Lord. I am yours. All is yours.
So this work, too, is yours, and difficulties cannot be the barometer for whether I should move forward.

Taylor learned to look past the waves to the master. I must too, by his grace.

Which difficulties are you allowing to distract you from seeing the long arm and goodness of God?

Seventy-nine grandchildren

While in Canada I had the privilege of attending a birthday party for one of my parents' good friends Mr. Andrew Viersen. His 79th grandchild was born just before he turned 79. Every time I go home I look forward to visiting with this family. They are godly, diligent, intelligent, and self-consciously Christian in all areas of their lives. It is marvelous to see the siblings support and help each other in the crises of life. One sibling was having a difficult pregnancy and needed bed rest, but with lots of siblings nearby it was easy to send three children to this sister's home, two to this sister, etc.

The birthday party was hosted by one of the daughters and her family. It was not possible to have the 50+ grandchildren that live locally there as it would have been too noisy. But the children of this daughter sweetly came around to serve us older folks -- coffee, Dutch pastries, chocolates, nuts, cheese, crackers, and salted herring (much loved among the Dutch). They then served soup and buns for lunch.

The next morning one of the sons was to host a pancake breakfast in honor of dad, and the previous day had been a busy one with both children and grandchildren present. Three days of feasting! I am so glad I observed this. It was a beautiful honoring of a true patriarch.

Let's go to Canada.....

We said it and then we did it.

It is an especially good idea if you have been losing sleep about overpopulation.

Just take Highway 16 that runs east-west across Saskatchewan. Lonely mile after lonely mile connects very small towns. Oh, there are a few small cites, but also a largely uninhabited northern section. You have to see it to get the feel of it.

Falling into place

Bethlehem Baptist Church has prepared a Sunday School curriculum called Rejoicing in God's Good Design on the Biblical roles of men and women. This is a wise, proactive approach in light of the attacks on truth within the church of Christ.

Required, is solid theology in order to have a proper framework for understanding the issues. For example, without an adequate sense of the seriousness of the fall, we will not diagnose the problem properly. And an improper diagnosis leads to improper treatment. Ask your doctor. When we understand that the brokeness in relationships between men and women is because of the fall, we will not blame men, per se, as the feminists did. Betty Friedan powerfully ushered in feminism with such pithy sarcastic statements as "Woman need men like a fish needs a bicycle." Rather, sin is the cause. And sin has deeply stained both men and women. The answer to the problem, then, is not women ditching and belittling men but both men and women allowing God's truth to expose their sin and then both crying out for forgiveness and grace to walk anew.

Then we can rejoice in God's good design rather than being embittered.

When you take the fall seriously a lot of other things fall into place.

The business of putting off and on

Jay Adams, one of my favorite Christian counsellors, does an excellent job of explaining the putting off and putting on passage of Paul. Adams says that the only way to put off is to put on. For example, if you have a habit of complaining, it will not do simply to resolve to stop doing so. Instead, to gain victory, you must cultivate a deep thankfulness. Similarly, Paul says in Eph.4:28: "Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need."

Now, what will putting off our culture's fear and distain of children look like? I have seen it in one of my friends who, in her 40s, had prayed fervently for another baby and, upon discovering that she was with child, began doing cartwheels. Sadly, they have since lost this little one. And I have seen it in another friend who, anticipating adding by adoption two more children to their family of eight, would weep as the adoption process stalled at times and the outcome was unclear. These prayers and tears and cartwheels give me hope. Aslan is on the move.

Lay down the name if.....

Brooks in The Privy Key to Heaven (now reprinted in paperback as The Secret Key to Heaven), gives one sweet inducement after another to get alone with God to pray. Then, without mincing words, he says "Either be frequent in closet duties, as becomes a Christian, or else lay down the name of a Christian; either unbosom yourselves in secret to Christ, as friends, favorites, children, spouses, or else lay down these names."

Love at first hearing....

One of our favorite musicians for children (and adults) is Jamie Soles. This is what his web site says about him:(http://solmusic.ca/)

"Jamie Soles is a Christian singer/songwriter from Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada with several albums to his credit. He is married to Valerie, and they have only eight children.

Jamie is the chief musician at Christ Covenant Church Grande Prairie, Alberta, ... serves on the church council, and is under the authority of the church council.

Jamie’s music is difficult to categorize. His kid’s music, for which he is best known, is serious-minded fun, and loved by all ages for it’s ability to open up Bible stories and lists and make them accessible. His adult recordings are full of the Psalms and other Scriptures. His music styles range so widely that one may be most accurate to say that he is developing his own genre. Call it Bible Music.

If you love how the whole Bible testifies of Jesus, you will love Jamie Soles’ music."

I actually think this description is an understatement. I love his music style, and love how he brings abscure Old Testament stories to life. He is theologically deep and not afraid to touch on hard subjects such as the judgement of God. For example here are the lyrics to one of many excellent songs from the CD The Way My Story Goes:

Korah Dathan and Abiram

Our there in the wilderness
Korah, Dathan and Abiram
Never name your children this
if you want people to admire 'em
They were the rebellious kind
Who knew what to do but they would not mind
They saw what the Lord had done for Aaron
Preistly garments he was wearin'
And they desired 'em
Korah, Dathan and Abiram

The Lord took a very dim view of this
And he told His people 'Don't go near them
Move your tents away from theirs
If you don't want what's coming to them'
The Lord told the ground to open wide
And close up again when they're all inside
Because these men would not obey
The way the ground did on that day
The Lord expired'em (gulp!)
Koran, Dathan and Abiram

Further, if you want your children to learn the names of the patriarchs (effortlessly) see here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKCxwW1VQ0U