Our sufferings cannot be compared to the glory.

Our daughter Esther went to Adventure Girls this last year. Every week there was opportunity to earn points toward a prize to be given out at the last meeting. One could bring a decorated hat on hat day, or wear lots of jewelry on jewelry day or write a book review and various other projects. Though the projects were not difficult, Esther put little effort into them, believing "Free things are sometimes a little cheap." The morning after prize night, she looked at me sheepishly. "Mom, guess what one of the prizes was?" She then told me that oil paints was a prize --something she has wanted for some time. But because she didn't have as many points as some other girls, this prize got picked before she had her turn to pick.

This got me thinking about heaven. I believe that heaven will be very, very sweet and good and lovely and will more than compensate for any suffering, loss, deprivation or pain we have had to bear for Jesus on this earth. But I do not always live as if that were true. If I believed that every whispered prayer, every glance upward, every tear for the unborn, every turning to God would be richly rewarded, I would turn to him more often. I would live more in his presence. But then, like Andre Seu, I am a recovering materialist. Lord, open my eyes.

America a House of Cards?

Vishal Mangalwadi has been called a modern Francis Schaeffer. In this lecture (less than 1 hour) he asks whether America could collapse like a house of cards. Deeply prophetic, with a good grasp of history, Vishal is no cheap alarmist. Rather, he is a gift from God to help us be people who "understand the times." He is not saying collapse is inevitable but clearly lays out what is necessary for collapse to be avoided. Conservatism is not the ticket.

http://www.revelationmovement.com/?utm_source=RevelationMovement+Main&utm_campaign=3697e40160-Could+America+Collapse+Like+A+House+of+Cards%3F&utm_medium=email

Weeping as Warfare?

Jeremiah thought so. He calls us to teach our daughters wailing. For a powerful article on this subject by Evangeline Johnson see this link:

http://www.aboverubies.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=927:prayer-in-the-home--how-to-fight-like-a-woman&catid=171:prayer-in-the-home&Itemid=400404

Repentance is the rudder.

Besides being thrilled that my husband started a blog on Christian marriage --Christandmarriageagree.blogspot.com I like checking out Doug Wilson's blog. Some of his best posts are on politics. He rightly points out that nothing can change without repentance. I think of that often when I hear the conservative talk show hosts boasting of how we are going to turn this ship around. The following post is superb.

http://www.dougwils.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7509:obamacare-a-brief-ten-point-theology-of-resistance&catid=129:obama-nation-building

We thought they'd like the latest fashion

The church seems desperate to keep up with the latest styles, one of the most prominent being egalitarianism. Here is a fascinating quote from The Gospel for Muslims by Thabiti Anyabwile on the effect of this on African-American men and their subsequent draw to Islam.

"African-American Muslims generally take family seriously. They tend to have large families organized in traditional gender roles of male leadership and female submission. For African-Americans, Islam can be seen as the only force that restores healthy family life, including strong male providers and virtuous wives and mothers.

The devastation of black family life is sometimes attributed to what is seen as an emasculating Christian influence. Christian men are viewed as weak. African-American Muslims object to women-dominated churches and homes. So much of the success of Islam in African-American communities comes from the Muslim community's ability to rehabilitate and strengthen African-American men and its concern for the protection of African-American family."

What are "Kidults"?

Kidults are people that are the age of an adult but they still act like kids -- resisting responsibility, resisting growing up, resisting thinking about others. In Do Hard Things Alex and Brett Harris discuss this phenomenon. There are lots of kidults in America.

Therefore, it is always fascinating to learn of young men and women who are breaking out of the mold. Enter David Brown. He recently married at 18 years of age having built a house and being debt free. If you're screaming for pictures go to

http://browns-journal.blogspot.com/2009/10/david-and-monica.html Also click on "David's house up-date" on that page.

For a picture of the wedding go to

http://www.visionforum.com/hottopics/blogs/dwp/ and look for "Huzzah. Thanking God for another multi-generational success story."

Need for Reformation in Wedding Sermons

When I read the book of Ruth I am struck by the blessing given at the gates when the news of the marriage of Boaz and Ruth is announced: "may your house be like the house of Perez....because of the offspring that the Lord will give you by this young woman." Even before they are married there is talk of children.

Now Russell Moore in his book Adopted for Life addresses the same subject and I will quote him.

"One area of needed reformation in our preaching is in wedding sermons. Too many of our weddings, even in the most conservative churches, pretend as though the event is about the formation of a 'couple.' The language of older wedding ceremonies, which mention procreation and the children of the union, seem quaint and antiquarian to our ears. We're the ones who are odd, however, not our forebears. Marriage is about the formation of a new family. What would happen if our wedding ceremonies were less about a 'celebration of the love of Joni and Todd' and more about the formation of a new covenant family? What if the officiating pastor spoke to the couple not only about what it means to be a faithful husband and wife but what it will mean to be a faithful father and mother? What if every wedding ceremony included a prayer for the children of the union, that such children might actually be and that they'd be saved at an early age? What if this prayer included the mention of such children as coming either through birth or through adoption? Such small measures could help refocus our minds and hearts on our responsibilities to the next generation."