Shortcode

So it’s been a couple months since I was blogging. A friend, now living and on-mission in another country mentioned that he read a little of my blog lately. Too bad I haven’t kept up-to-date.

So here’s some of my obsessive joys going on lately:

Baptism:  First of all I just had a terrific conversation with my oldest child. She will be baptized soon! She became a Christian about a year ago at camp. She’s just been to camp again and we feel that it’s time. We are so pleased.

www.conquerclub.com: For a couple years now, me and some guys get together for a game night of Risk. Conquerclub is an online version where you play with others over a period of days or could be weeks. I’ve really enjoyed it lately and I also get lots of help with strategy from a group of online mentors.

Brother Lawrence: Last week I was preaching on worshipping in the presence of the Lord. In my research I came across Brother Lawrence’s Practicing the Presence of God.  It is in the public domain, and I printed some copies for church members.  Bro. Lawrence’s thing is that he disciplined his mind and heart to recognize that he was in the presence of the Lord even while he was doing the routine business of kitchen work for example.  The book is short and excellent.  Read it online or print a copy for yourself.

Hair Cutting:  I’m cutting my own hair now with clippers.  I think it looks good and I’m enjoying the savings.  For instance two months have gone by now since I got it clipped at the barber’s.  And I’ve clipped it myself twice now.  So I’ve saved the $12 cost I normally paid about every 5 weeks.  Well I supposed that pays for the cost of the clippers, but from here on out it’s total savings!  I don’t know why most guys don’t do this.  We started doing it with our three year old son, and I was curious if we couldn’t do it with me too. 

Hummingbirds.  My in-laws moved and out of the many things that we got from them, including a swwweeeet big tv, was a hummingbird feeder.  From the time I put it outside, we had several birds.  They are really wonderful to watch.  I highly recommend getting a feeder and putting it in a place near a window in your living room.

During my study of the subject of forgiveness in the New Testament book of Philemon, I was captivated by the following poem included in John MacArthur’s commentary. It makes me think of my son and my heavenly Father, and it makes me sad that we don’t forgive as we should.

“The Toys” by Coventry Patmore, a nineteenth-century English poet (citied in The MacArthur New Testament Commentary on Colossians & Philemon, 1992, Moody Bible Institute of Chicago)

My little Son, who look’d from thoughtful eyes
And moved and spoke in quiet grown-up wise,
Having my law the seventh time disobey’d,
I struck him, and dismiss’d
With hard words and unkiss’d,
–His Mother, who was patient, being dead.
Then, fearing lest his grief should hinder sleep,
I visited his bed,
But found him slumbering deep,
With darken’d eyelids, and their lashes yet
From his late sobbing wet.
And I, with moan,
Kissing away his tears, left others of my own;
For, on a table drawn beside his head,
He had put, within his reach,
A box of [tokens] and a red-vein’d stone,
A piece of glass abraded by the beach
And six or seven shells,
A bottle with bluebells,
And two French copper coins, ranged there
with careful art,
To comfort his sad heart.
So when that night I pray’d
To God, I wept and said:
Ah, when at last we lie with [tranquil] breath,
Not vexing Thee in death,
And Thou rememberest of what toys
We made our joys,
How weakly understood
Thy great commanded good,
Then, fatherly not less
Than I whom Thou has moulded from the
clay,
Thou’lt leave Thy wrath, and say,
“I [forgive] their childishness.”

The kids and I like to read a Bible story in the mornings. Then they draw a picture in a homemade journal, recording what they feel is the main principle of the story, or what God is saying to them through the Scripture. The two older girls can now write for themselves in their journals.

I really liked what our eight year old put down a few days ago when we read from Daniel about the three Hebrews thrown in the fiery furnace. You may need this advice one day…

“Anything is possible with God. (Never walk in furnaces without Him).”

How true…How true? It’s kind of a funny thought, but it is also really true that we must never go into fiery trials without being confident that we stand with the Savior. Never walk in furnaces without Him.

Let’s face it, Mother’s Day messages are difficult for us pastors. But here’s my advice when preaching Proverbs 31, which is a decent place to go for Mother’s Day, by the way.

Watch out for attempts at humor regarding this line of the famous description of a virtuous woman: Verse 14 says, “She is like merchant ships, She brings her food from afar.”

You may be tempted to try to make a funny comparison about a woman’s size and a cargo ship. In fact, you may think saying, that she is “haulin’ a lot of cargo” would be a riot.

Do not fall into this temptation. And whatever you preach next Mother’s Day, I’m advising that your wife is not brought up at all during the sermon.

Trust me on this.