Come, thou long expected Jesus

It's Christmas!

1. Come, thou long expected Jesus,
born to set thy people free;
from our fears and sins release us,
let us find our rest in thee.
Israel's strength and consolation,
hope of all the earth thou art;
dear desire of every nation,
joy of every longing heart.

2. Born thy people to deliver,
born a child and yet a King,
born to reign in us forever,
now thy gracious kingdom bring.
By thine own eternal spirit
rule in all our hearts alone;
by thine all sufficient merit,
raise us to thy glorious throne.

Text: Charles Wesley, 1707-1788
Music: Rowland H. Pritchard; harm. from The English Hymnal

Baby Boy: Nov 1, 7lbs 4oz, 20 1/4"

Having the time of our life . . .the sleepless, cluttered, no time for yourself time of our life!

Perspective

"Oh that God would
give every mother a vision
of the glory and splendor of the work
that is given to her
when a babe is placed in her bosom
to be nursed and trained!
Could she have but one glimpse
into the future of that life
as it reaches into eternity;
could she look into it's soul
to see it's possibilities;
could she be made to understand
her own personal responsibility
for the training of this child,
for the development of its life,
and for it's destiny,-
she would see that in all God's world
there is no other work
so noble and
so worthy
of her best powers,
and she would commit to no other hands
the sacred and
holy trust
given to her."

- JR Miller

DEPTH

"In all of my years walking with the Lord, I’ve learned to value the basics of the Christian life. We don’t need breadth on a thousand topics as much as we need depth on a critical few.

Prayer ranks at the top of this list. This private dialogue with your Father is the most important conversation you can have—whether it be in the early morning hours, in the mix of a busy day, or in the stillness of night as others sleep. When you call out to Him, He listens.

The Spirit of God working on our volition changes us!...I don't need skills; I need DEPTH."

Chuck Swindoll
Job 23:10-12
Peter, "I glory in my infirmities."
Whether I get a yes or no to my prayers, I walk consistently.

Bread

Beer

Honey

Baking Powder

Self-Rising Flour

Whole Wheat Flour

Toasted Wheat Germ

Protection, Permission - A Deep Mystery

How do we reconcile God's promises for protection with the fact that so many evil things do happen in our lives? Can we believe God for protection?

This question comes up often, and no wonder, since there are many promises in the Bible about protection, including (especially in the Old Testament) physical protection. We must be careful to interpret Scripture with Scripture, and if we examine the record we find that God did not by any means always protect His people from harm. He has absolute power to keep us safe, both physically and spiritually, but His engineering of the universe made room for man's freedom to choose--that is, freedom to will to obey or to disobey Him. This is a deep mystery. Man's disobedience brought evil into the world, and all of us are subject to it. God does not cancel out its effects, even for His choicest servants (John the Baptist, Stephen, those nameless victims of Hebrews 11:35-37, for example).

Nevertheless, we have the promises. Romans 8:35-39 is one of my most reread passages. I believe we can rest assured that we are invulnerable so long as God does not give permission for us to be hurt. If He gives that permission, He will not leave us alone. He goes with us through the valley, the deep water, the furnace. He will never, absolutely never, leave us or forsake us.
___________________________________________________
"How Long is God's Arm?", Keep A Quiet Heart by Elisabeth Elliot

Things temporal and eternal

"O God, the protector of all who trust in you,
without whom nothing is strong,
nothing is holy:
Increase and multiply upon us your mercy,
that, with you as our ruler and guide,
we may so pass through things temporal,
that we lose not the things eternal;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God,
for ever and ever.
Amen."


The Collect for the eighth Sunday after Pentecost