Tried With Fire

I'm so thankful for the opportunity to spend the week-end in the Outer Banks with some very dear sisters-in-Christ. I had met two in person but had contact with the others through blogging and Facebook over the last few years. It was wonderful to immediately connect as though we had been friends all our lives. But that's the beauty of fellowship in Christ. All the things that are different about us, and there are many, seem insignificant to what we have in common in Him. We didn't do any sightseeing but spent the time just being together. We laughed, enjoyed Stephanie's wonderful cooking, drank coffee (and tea), ate chocolate and chips, talked A LOT, shared some of our stories, wept together, and prayed for one another. It was a beautiful time.

One of the neat things about the Internet is being able to connect with like-minded believers near and far. It's an added blessing to be able to meet face-to-face. The Lord was so kind to give us the opportunity to meet Vicki from A Good Finish . We enjoyed wonderful fellowship over Darjeeling and pumpkin bread.     

Outside the Mayflower Hotel after tea Thanks to Stephanie for the photo It's hard to condense our very full week-end in D.C. But here are a few highlights: - Traveling to D.C. with Melissa and the fellowship on the way. I was disappointed that Amtrak divided the passengers by destination on our return trip, so we weren't able to travel home together. - Meeting Trina, Christine , Ruth, Teresa , Stephanie , Elizabeth and Tony, and Diana and Pete and their charming son, Harry. - Navigating the Metro with only one mishap. Due to too much chin-wagging, a few got off in time leaving the rest of us stuck on the train. We learned our lesson. - Having "known" these sisters to varying degrees, it was a blessing to learn a little of their stories and how they found one another over the Internet. We were relatively new to the group but felt right at home, which is a lot coming from an introvert like me. - Very posh tea at the Mayflower Hotel complete with clo...

We had an unexpected blessing this evening.  We got to meet Trisha and her sons, Inkslinger & Jedidiah!   Trisha is as lovely in person as on her blog, and it was like reconnecting with a close friend.    Our 2 hours of full, sweet fellowship flew by before it was time for us to head home.  I am so thankful to the Lord for His kindness in allowing us to meet face to face.  I hope and pray there will be more opportunities in the future.

I'm not a rugged individualist.  My individualism is more of a stealth variety. Outwardly it may appear that I am quite open, but I'm the one who knows to what extent.  The degree of openness is on my terms. It may not even be consciously done, but I weigh carefully how much I reveal of myself. In fact, that is why blogging is so appealing. If I wanted to, I could come up with a completely phony persona, and no one would know the difference.  And even if I'm not lying about who I am (which I'm not) there is a degree of safety in lack of personal contact. But this individualism can stand in the way of fellowship. There is a greater closeness with people in the church for which I am grateful, but deep down inside I still want to maintain a certain level of distance.  I like having my personal space.  One little example is my preference for email over the phone in contacting people.  Why?  Because it's more impersonal.  You are in control over the ...

This is our attic. You may not think it is much to look at, but it's a beautiful sight to me because it's empty. A family from church helped bring down the remaining boxes and items in the attic. There were an assortment of books, old papers, and two computer monitors. The monitors were from the olden days when they were about the size of a small developing nation and weighed as much as a pregnant pachyderm. I was at a loss as to what to do with them because most charities will not accept old hardware any longer. Our friends suggested recycling them at Best Buy and offered to take them for us. For which there was much rejoicing! Even though we have a two-story house, my daughter said we have four-stories worth of stuff counting the attic and the basement. I am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel with the basement as well. Lord willing, we will bid farewell to many things in the basement, furniture, and household items when a local rescue mission comes to take t...

Today, the pastor, our deacon, and two couples from our small group helped us rearrange almost our entire house. They moved furniture, reorganized rooms, fixed chairs, re-plastered ceiling cracks, took down doors, put up a screen door, reorganized shelves, and then some. We are exhausted, but it is a good kind of exhaustion. There was absolutely no way we could have done it on our own. So many thanks to Ryan, Ron, Ryan, Becky, John, and Nicolette for their labor of love. We appreciate you so much and may the Lord bless you! Here are some of the results of the great furniture shuffle. I think they did a great job! (Warning: If your squeamish about mice, don't read on. When the piano was moved, we discovered a large quantity of split peas behind it. The peas were tucked in a comforter that was stuffed behind the piano to absorb some of the sound because of the plaster walls. There was no sign of a mouse nest, just the peas. Over a year ago we had a problem with mice in our pantry...

Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name. Malachi 3:16 They spoke with one another. They feared the Lord and esteemed His name. It goes without saying that I couldn't live without Christ. But lately, I've been more aware of His kindness in not letting me go on this pilgrimage alone. So to my daughter, my parents, my sister and her family, and my brothers and sisters in Christ, thank you for walking alongside me in this journey. Thanks for lifting up my hands when they were hanging down. Thank you for encouragement and rebuke. Most of all, thank you for pointing me to Christ.

I was very encouraged by today's sermon in the continuing series The Gospel and the Home . The title was Christ First . The title alone sums up what life should be about let alone our view of the Christian home. It's easy to hear a word like this and say, "Amen!" and quite another thing to live it out tomorrow morning. I need to chew on this some more and will post on it this week, God willing. I am feeling (I don't like using that word but I'm too tired to think of a better one because it isn't really a feeling ) a greater connection with my brothers and sisters at Grace. What a contrast to the seven years when my family didn't meet anywhere. It wasn't that we didn't have contact with Christians, but we weren't in fellowship in a local church. Looking back, I don't know how we survived. It will be one year this month since my daughter and I became members at Grace. I praise God for bringing us to this church and knitting us together wi...

Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the LORD has commanded the blessing, life forevermore. Psalm 133 I have had my fellowship cup filled to overflowing this week-end. On Sunday, I had a blessed time worshipping the Lord and hearing the preaching of the Word. Sunday afternoon there was more fellowship in the home of some saints. This morning, I had breakfast with a close friend in Christ. And to round out the day, there was an impromptu cook-out at the pastor's home for more fellowship. I am so encouraged by being with these brothers and sisters. I still marvel at God's sovereign hand in leading us to this church. The song may be a little sentimental, but I have to agree "I'm so glad I'm a part of the family of God."

In today's mail, we received a flier from a nearby church which had the following statement, " Heaven on earth...promised to us all! " They put the exclamation point. I changed it to a question mark. Because I thought we were promised... I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. John 16:33 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 2 Timothy 3:12 If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. John 15: 18-20 Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking...

Is this the title for a previously unknown book by Mrs. John Owen? What does knitting have to do with the mortification of sin? Absolutely nothing. Well, why bring it up? Because I am still ruminating over the whole issue of fellowship and if we need to talk explicitly about Christ to make it true fellowship. I'm still not satisfied with what I wrote yesterday. Maybe the question needs to be reworded from "Is it fellowship if we don't talk about Christ?" to "Should it be normal for believers to be together and not talk of Christ?" I am not saying that we shouldn't get together for picnics to fly kites, or go skiing, or participate in soft ball. But if we are together and love the Lord, why would we not speak of Him even in our every day conversation? I'm talking about more than just giving thanks for the food. It reminds me of a line from Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen: "Brandon is just the kind of man," said Willoughby one day, when ...

We had a church meeting last night to discuss future small groups. We're using Why Small Groups by C.J. Mahaney, et al as the springboard. It was interesting that there wasn't a consensus to what fellowship is. The author of the second chapter does not believe that a social activity even among Christians is fellowship. There was talk about whether one needed to have explicit Christian conversation for it to be fellowship or not and reasons why it is hard to have fellowship. (I don't want to give the impression that folks were only interested in the social aspect of getting together at all.) I thought Pastor Ryan made some good observations, the first being that our naturally bent is to not go to the "deep end of the pool". This is where the more heavy duty stuff like confrontation of sin and correction takes place. That needs to be the goal even though there is a journey to get there. Also, he mentioned that even a shared history together is not the basis for fe...

- "[B]ut the truth that if you actually love you will actually suffer is something we Christians should know best." This quote is from a great post by Frank Turk on TeamPyro. This hit home because the church is getting to ready to embark on small groups. There is a lot of excitement because so many people have been visiting and joining in the last 6 months. In July 2008, there may have been 30 on a good Sunday. Now, all the pews are starting to get filled. Right now we're all smiling, nice, and congenial but are we or rather am I willing to get beyond the smiley, nice, warm fuzzies and be willing to be hurt for the sake of loving my brethren in Christ? It's scary to be vulnerable, letting my sin be exposed and open to correction, possible conflicts in the future, etc. But what's worse is the thought that everyone will go on being nice, congenial, and safe but without any impact on each other or those in the community around us. It's easy for me to measure out...