A Lapful of Girlies

God's Word Is All-Sufficient

Luke 9:13 --
"You give them something to eat."  "We ain't got nuthin'."

But earlier in the chapter, Jesus had sent out the twelve apostles, without money or food or backpack or anything.  The only thing they possessed was His word to preach.  And it was sufficient!  Amazingly, it "worked" to have nothing but God's word.

Not long afterward, they're in the wilderness, faced with people in need, and they told Jesus, "We have nothing to give."

Guys!  Guys!  Of course you have something to give!  You have the Bread of Life.  You have the message of the kingdom of God.  You have forgiveness for sinners.  You have life.  You have God's word. 

We just don't get it.  We believe God's word is sufficient.  Except we don't.

Two Tables

Quick review, in case you don't remember what you learned in confirmation class:  The first three commandments are the First Table of the Law ("you shall love the Lord your God ...") and the rest are the Second Table of the Law ("... and your neighbor as yourself").

You know what?

The Lord's Prayer is kind of like that too.  A "first table" and a "second table."

We pray that God's name is hallowed,
that His kingdom come, and
that His will be done.

That is about doctrine.  And who God is.  And what He does for us.

The rest of the prayer is more about what happens to us here on earth, that He would provide for our temporal needs, and that we be forgiven and rescued from our sinfulness, and that this world and our sinful nature not overwhelm us and destroy faith.

Molly Sweeney

A modern play.  Not the kind we usually go see at APT.  But boy, I'm glad we went. 

Molly Sweeney isn't just a story.  The words were carefully crafted so that's it's almost like poetry in its prose.  It's a story of a blind woman who is given sight at the age of 41, and what it means for her to learn to see.  Because, after all, seeing isn't something our eyes do -- it's something our eyes and brain do together.  And it's the story of how her new sight affects her world.

It's a story that will resonate with homeschoolers and others who watch learning take place.

If you love someone with Asperger's, this story will make you laugh with warm recognition.

It's a story that shows the immense ability of the "disabled."

And it's a story that teaches us about contentment and joy ... and how coveting robs us of joy.




I would love to sit down and read the text of the play again, 
to catch more of what slipped past so quickly during the play.

Using the Same Old Liturgy All the Time

Novelty, simply as such, can have only entertainment value. And [Christians] don’t go to church to be entertained. They go to use the service, or, if you prefer, to enact it. Every service is a structure of acts and words through which we receive a sacrament or repent or supplicate or adore. And it enables us to do these things best (if you like, it "works" best) when, through long familiarity, we don’t have to think about it. As long as you notice, and have to count the steps, you are not yet dancing but only learning to dance. A good shoe is a shoe you don't notice.  Good reading becomes possible when you need not consciously think about eyes, or light, or print, or spelling.  The perfect church service would be one we were almost unaware of; our attention would have been on God.  But every novelty prevents this.   It fixes our attention on the service itself, and thinking about worship is a different thing from worshiping. 

C. S. Lewis

in Letters to Malcolm

(partially quoted in Jan Karon's

A New Song, page 254)

And this would be the explanation for something I find in my own life.  Once I say "we beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord" while the rest are praying "we implore you to hear us, good Lord," ...

or I say "conceived by the Holy Ghost" when y'all say "conceived by the Holy Spirit," ...

or I sing "go before the face of the Lord to prepare His way" while the others sing "go before the Lord to prepare His way," ...

that clash in wording

(or even focusing on the words

so that I am able to say what y'all say)

means I stop praying

and "think about praying."

Today's Laugh

I told a chemistry joke....


There was no reaction.

stolen from Melody

Computer Fix

I think I fixed it!

Loads of old programs were wiped out and not re-installed.  I even figured out how to delete the back-up file that was space-hogging after I'd re-installed everything.  (Okay, so some of you are shaking your head at the simplicity of this.  Shhh!  I am proud of myself.)  The computer moved a whole lot faster after I ditched everything and put it all back.  But when I got rid of the back-up file (which the computer self-generated) everything moved much faster yet.  Hot diggity dog!

Now I suppose it's time to get back to housecleaning and yard work and homeschooling and all that other Regular-Life stuff.


In other news, the girls are back from a visit to Texas.
Nathan quit his job at Xerox to start a new job editing.
We've been singing unusually good hymns the last few weeks.
Maggie started volunteering at school again, a fabulous experience.

Philip took a brief trip to Canada just for fun.
Brewers game and tailgating with some friends this week.
The strawberry bed has been undone and planted to grass.
Two APT plays so far this year, and two still on the docket.
Olivia went to college (nearby) so Andrew is gone more.
Maggie and I joined Curves so that she can get in shape.
Now that the computer is fixed, maybe we can turn our attention to the water situation next.  It's getting funny how the gals at the grocery store expect to see us every day for water refills.
It's been nice to hear several other adults in the last week or so say that at 9:00 they're getting ready for bed.

Don't Look Back

So this fellow wants to follow Jesus.  But first he wants to say bye to his family.  Jesus says that no one who looks back is fit for the kingdom of God (Luke 9:57-62). 

But when Elijah told Elisha to follow him, Elisha wanted to hold off long enough to say bye to his family (1 Kings 19).  And Elijah said, "Go ahead."

That always seemed oddly inconsistent to me.

But recently someone suggested something.  "No one is fit for the kingdom of God."  No one. 

What if I can be committed enough?

No one.

What if I can be pious enough?

No one.

What if I can love the Lord my God with ALL my heart and all my soul and all my strength and all my mind?

Oh, really?  What if you can? 
Let's see how that goes for you....
(In other words, no one ....)

What we see in Elisha is that God (through Elijah) is patient and giving.  God understands our weakness.  And He forgives it and bears it.  And He chooses us even though we --in ourselves-- are not "fit for the kingdom of God."

Today's Laugh

Can you tell the difference between a piano, a tuna fish, and a bucket of glue?

Well,
you can tune-a piano,
but you can't piano a tuna.


But,
wait, ...

what about the bucket of glue???


I knew you'd get hung up on that!

stolen from a co-worker

Not Willingly

Jeremiah talks about suffering and mercy and the Lord's compassion (Lamentations 3). 

Though He causes grief, yet He will show compassion according to the multitude of His mercies.  For He does not afflict willingly.

Paul talks about how we are sons of God, joined to Christ, suffering now but awaiting redemption and glory (Romans 8).  Again we hear about God's unwillingness.

The creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope.

That must be why we call it God's "alien work." He doesn't want to punish, but He will do it if necessary to rescue us.



It's like Paul and Jeremiah are saying and believing the same thing.

Doth

Boy, the things you learn in choir....

"Doth" does not rhyme with "moth." It says like "duth," like as if it rhymed with "us" said-by-a-kid-with-a-lisp.

I guess it makes sense: it should sound like "does" except for the zzz.

Being in Love

Elad Nehorai writes that he didn't love his wife when they were married.  It is a most-excellent article about what love IS, and how selfish it is to "be in love," and even touches on Disney movies. 

A couple of quotes:

Marriage started sucking away that emotion.  I tried so hard to keep that fire going, to keep that emotion alight, but it got harder and harder.  I mean, how you can feel that burning love when you're sitting at the table discussing how to use the last $20 in your bank account?

Through giving, through doing things for my wife, the emotion that I had been so desperately seeking naturally came about.  It wasn't something I could force, just something that would come about as a result of my giving.



Megan, thanks for pointing out the article.
Other people, go read it.

Broken

Earlier this summer, we had to change filters on the Culligan water filters.  But after the maintenance, something went wrong.  The line keeps clogging.  We fix it.  The water works for a couple of days.  Then it clogs again.  Right now, we're buying water in town about 5 times a week.

Earlier this summer, I fixed the dryer.  Since then, the machine runs fine, but the exhaust vent keeps detaching from the exhaust hole through the window.  I keep fixing it. 

Last year, after I fixed the old [smaller] refrigerator, the temperature problem returned.  We struggled with puddles of water in the refrigerator for months until I finally fixed it a few weeks ago.  Well, at least, I think I fixed it.  Problems seem to recur around here recently.  I still hold out hope that the fridge is fixed-fixed.

Over the last couple of weeks, my computer has been misbehaving.  So my job-of-the-week has been to carefully transfer files and back up everything, with the plan of wiping the computer clean and reinstalling everything.  That scares me.  But it needs to be fixed.

At my doctor's appointment this week, he diagnosed what's wrong with my wrists.  It's not carpal tunnel after all.  It's arthritis, especially at the base of my thumbs.  That explains the brokenness in my hands.  There's really no good solution for it.  But at least I know what it is and what some of the options are.

All the neighbors have lawn tractors.  We have two push mowers.  The older one died (beyond resuscitation) today.

I'm beginning to think it's time to give up on gardening.  I love the fresh produce.  But the work required doesn't seem to mesh with that whole arthritis-thing.  Or maybe I'm just a wuss.

If you will excuse me, I'm headed back to my Project List Of Repairs.

Maybe He WAS Making Sense After All

The other day at work, the customer said something so confusing.

We turned on the microphones and said hello.  He didn't respond.  Fine -- he was rummaging around looking for whatever paperwork he needed to conduct business through the drive-up.  Since he had nothing to say, we turned off the mic. 

After a bit, I noticed that he was facing the tube through which we send paperwork back and forth from the employees to the customers.  I guessed that he was talking to us.  My partner turned on the mic and said, "Yes?" 

The man responded, "Thank you," and sent the tube to us. It arrived empty.  Odd.

"Thank you?  What kind of response is that??" my partner wondered.


So I explained to the customer that the mics were off and asked him to please repeat what he'd said a moment earlier.  He had asked, "May I please have a pen?"  When my partner said, "Yes," he thought she was answering him, and he responded with a polite "thank you."

I laughed with delight over the way the miscommunication came out on both ends.  When all the pieces were put together, it made perfect sense.  But hearing only one end or the other -- weirdo indeed.


So why are we prone to be irritated when somebody does something like that?  When the clerk is crabby, but you don't know how she was reamed out three customers ago?  When a driver does something dumb on the highway, but maybe he's just learning to drive?  When a friend seems to make no sense?  So often, we're just missing a piece here, or misheard a word there.  A little forbearance and a little clarification goes a long way.

The Handwriting on the Wall

And you, being dead in your trespasses
and the uncircumcision of your flesh,
He has made alive together with Him,
having forgiven you all trespasses,
having wiped out the handwriting of requirements 
that was against us,
which was contrary to us.
And He has taken it out of the way,
and nailed it to the cross.  (Colossians 2)


Remember Belshazzar (Nebuchanezzar's son)?  Big ol' party.  Lots of drinking.  Lots of worshiping idols.  A hand that appeared out of nowhere and started writing something on the wall.  People freaking out.  (You would too, if a bodiless hand appeared and started graffiti-ing up your wall.)  "Hey, remember Daniel?  Let's get him here.  He's really wise."

And what had the hand written?  "You have been weighed in the balances and found wanting" (Daniel 5).




A long time ago, in a galaxy state far far away, there was no midweek Bible study at our church.  The men had 9-to-5 jobs.  The women were stay-at-home moms, and many of them were involved in Explorers, a humongous, city-wide, non-denom Bible study.  They finally talked me into going, due in part to my desire for a preschool-like experience for my eldest kid.  Oh my goodness -- I'd never heard of so many rules for attending Bible class!

I broke rules on my very first day.  Explorers begins with opening worship, followed by small-group discussion of the previous week's lesson, and then everybody gathers again for what is essentially preaching on the week's passages.  You are not allowed to talk in the small-group discussion if you have not completed your at-home study of the passages and written your answers to the homework.  My first week?  I obviously hadn't done homework.  And I dared to talk.  Can you believe it?

(The ladies in my class were thankful.  They were confused by how often the Old Testament talked about "So-and-so, son of So-and-so, son of So-and-so."  I knew the explanation and told them the brief history tidbit.  And everybody was happy.  Until a couple of women from my church found out later that I'd broken the No-Speaking rule.  They were not happy.  Apparently, our small group gained a naughty reputation with the leadership for speaking too much and too candidly with each other.)

Over the weeks and months I attended Explorers, I grew to love the women in my small group.  Most of them were Baptist.  (In the South, "non-denom" has a decidedly Baptist feel to it!)  These women were burdened by the law.  They wanted to be good Christian women.  They desired the Lord and yearned for Him, but they were constantly being beaten up by the law.  They did not know Him to be a God of grace, but a god of rules and commands and laws and requirements.

Oh, another of the rules for Explorers small-group is "no denomination-specific discussion."  Everything has to be non-denom.  Uh.  Yeah.  I guess I broke that rule too.  I did manage (most of the time) to hold it in with regard to the sacraments and the office of the ministry and other Lutheran views.  But the gospel?  I had to speak the gospel.  How could I not?  And after all, supposedly all Christians believe the Gospel, right?  We're readin' the Bible here, folks!  How could we keep mum about the mercy of the Lord in Christ Jesus??

So when those dear women fretted that God would zot them for their inability to live as they ought, I talked about Jesus and His cross and the forgiveness of sins.  A few bristled.  Many sighed with relief.  Several hugged me and thanked me. 

Near the end of the year came the story of Daniel and the handwriting on the wall.  "You have been weighed in the balances and found wanting."

Oh, the outpouring of words that day.  The baring of hearts.  The fear.  So much fear.  "I'm not good enough."  "I am going to be found wanting.  I deserve to be destroyed."

Is there any greater joy than to be able to speak to a sinner: "But Jesus was the One put in the balance.  He took your sin.  He was 'found wanting.'  But His blood forgives your sin.  His righteousness is your own.  When God weighs you in the balance, all He finds is holiness and perfection.  No, it's not your own, that you earned.  But it is yours, because your Jesus gives it to you in His mercy and love."  And the person argues with you: "No, it just can't be.   You don't understand.  You don't know what kind of secret sins I have.  You don't know my heart's doubts."  And you get to "argue" back with them, "No, really.  He forgave all your trespasses.  He has wiped out the handwriting of requirements."



Sometimes it's really cool to be with people who aren't Lutheran, people who are tickled pink when they hear the gospel in all its fresh comfort.


Given the age of most of the women, and given how long ago this happened, many of the dear saints in my small group are probably already in heaven.  Someday I'll see them again.  And hug them.  And talking to them, my hidden Southern drawl will creep back into my usually-Northern voice. 

Today's Thought

When you are dead,
you don't know you are dead.
It is difficult only for the others.


It is the same when you are stupid.

stolen from Jane's Facebook

Prayer Chains

Elijah heckled the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 19): Your gods are asleep.  Or on vacation.  They can't heeeeear you.  Better speak up.

That's how we often treat prayer chains.  God doesn't know what's going on, so we need to tell Him.  Or God doesn't care very much, so we will arm-twist Him into doing what we demand.  Doesn't "storm the gates of heaven" sound a little like the storming of the Bastille -- crowds overpowering an enemy?

When we join in prayer (at the altar or via prayer chains), the point is not to make God do what we want.  In times of national disaster, or at times of cancer diagnoses, or when there's been a nasty accident, we pray for the sake of faith.   We pray that none of us would be scandalized in the Faith because of the circumstances of our own lives: "If this is happening to me, surely God has abandoned me."  We pray likewise that none of us is scandalized by the tragedies of our brothers and sisters: "What kind of a God allows this to happen?"

We pray that we trust the Lord.
We pray that suffering does not turn us from Him.
We pray that He uses events (good or bad) to draw us closer to Him.

Oh, yeah -- and we also pray that temporal suffering be alleviated if it be His will.

"Drain the Fat"

Those recipes are always telling you to brown the meat and then to drain the fat.  For years I was a good girl; I followed the directions.

Then butter grew more expensive.
 
It bugged me: I would drain the fat off the hamburger, and then I would add olive oil or butter or whatever to the recipe.  Why?  I began to use the grease from the hamburger as the fat in the recipe.

I understand that, for many years, it was popular to decry saturated fats.  "Drain the fat from the sausage?  Oh yes, then use margarine in the recipe."  "Throw out the hamburger grease, and then put Crisco in the skillet to saute the veggies for your casserole."  Science is beginning to catch up to my mantra of: "The fat God made must be healthier than the fat the chemists invented, regardless of what current scientific studies conclude."

But how do we explain decades-old recipes that said to "drain the fat" -- recipes before Hate-Saturated-Fats became trendy?

In one of our food-history books, I came across information about rations and scrimping during WWII.  According to this book, "drain the fat" (and donate it for needs pertinent to the war effort) was a patriotic thing to do.  Keeping your bacon grease or your hamburger fat to use for your own family's needs?  Selfish! 



Ah ha!  That may be part of the answer to The Great Drain-the-Fat Mystery!

Today's Laugh

Trying to understand the behavior of some people 

is like trying to smell the color 9.

stolen from Pam's Facebook

On the Straight and Narrow

Do you know the right way to behave?  Do you "walk the walk"?  

After all, Jesus said (Matthew 7:13), "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."

And, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open for us,' and He will answer and say to you, 'I do not know you'" (Luke 13:24-25).

That's got to be a frightening proposition for some people.  

But is it about poor behavior?  Is it about making sure you know the right rules and trying diligently to follow them? 

Or are these passages about how many gazillion ways we can concoct of not putting Jesus first?  Of course that would include wild living and selfish indulgence.  But even good, holy behavior and "pure living" can become the thing that displaces a Savior who rescues sinners.



The narrow gate?
Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture" (John 10:9).