Tried With Fire

Our follies past forgive; Our souls divinely cheer; And help us more to thee to live, Dear Lord, in this new year. Samuel Medley

Casting all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you . 1 Peter 5:7 With the approach of 2012, I found myself getting anxious about what the year might hold. This verse and this sermon from Spurgeon pointed my gaze in the right direction. Believe in an universal Providence, the Lord cares for ants and angels, for worms and for worlds. He cares for cherubim and for sparrows, for seraphim and for insects. Cast your care on Him, He who calls the stars by their names, and leads them out by numbers, by their hosts. Why do you say, O Jacob, and think, O Israel, “my way is passed over from God, and He has utterly forgotten me?” Let His universal Providence cheer you! Think next of His particular Providence over all the saints. “Precious shall their blood be in His sight.” “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.” “We know that all things work together for good to them who love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” Let the fact that while He...

Teddy Bear's voice makes me think of Edward G. Robinson on helium. Here's a 2nd video with subtitles. Someone must have the gift of porcupine tongue interpretation.

Here I raise my Ebenezer... ~ A relatively uneventful year in comparison to previous, which was a welcomed change. ~ God's provision. Even when I forget and revert to panic-mode, He reminds me of His faithfulness to the widow and orphan. ~ The first year without any court dates. It is a relief to have that behind us. ~ Health and strength at the half-century mark. ~ Abundant grace with my ex-husband's remarriage. God has given us a burden for their restoration and/or salvation. Because of my daughter's good relationship with them, there is still an open door for the gospel. ~ My daughter. Familial ties are wonderful, but how much sweeter when the Lord binds us too. ~ A long visit with family. I'm especially thankful for God's keeping of my parents. ~ Meeting internet friends face to face: Trisha  and baby Jedidiah, Corey ,  Vicki , Elizabeth and Tony, Christine , Ruth, Trina, Stephanie , Teresa , Diana and family, and Melissa . ~ Growing relat...

From R. C. Sproul in December's Tabletalk Magazine: "The New Testament puts a priority on the church's concern for widows and orphans. Widows and orphans are human beings who have suffered broken families not through divorce but through death. Obviously, the church's concern must extend beyond those whose brokenness has been caused by death. Anyone who is involved in a broken family relationship needs the ministry and care of the church... Divorce can no longer be seen simply as an extreme case of marital failure. Since it has reached not only epidemic but pandemic proportions, it cries out for the application of the means of grace to those who suffer as a result of it." Having been through this trial, I can attest to needing the care of the church. I have been blessed by brothers and sisters who did not see me as a charity case, but loved me and ministered the gospel to my family in word and deed. Here are some ways I have been helped, and I share these ho...

Here's my initial book list for 2012: The Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin. If I read one chapter a week, I should finish it in less than 2 years. Total Truth  by Nancy Pearcy. I skimmed the intro and I'm hooked. In Christ Alone  by Sinclair Ferguson. John G. Paton, Missionary to the New Hebrides by John G. Paton, edited by his brother, James Paton. God's Wisdom in Proverbs by Dan Phillips. Christ and Him Crucified by Jon Cardwell. How the Gospel Brings Us All the Way Home by Derek Thomas. What is the Mission of the Church? by Kevin DeYoung & Greg Gilbert. What Did You Expect? by Paul Tripp. The Good News We Almost Forgot by Kevin DeYoung for Sunday devotional. 365 Days with Calvin edited by Joel Beeke for daily reading. I'm sure others will be added as time goes on. Plus I also have a quasi-research project requiring some reading. What's in your book queue for 2012?

Here are my top 10  books for 2011 : 9. & 10.  Think by John Piper & Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know and Doesn't by Stephen Protheroe - I'm putting these together as a pair. From the Christian perspective, Piper deals with the misconception that thinking deeply about what we believe is mutually exclusive to our heart's affection towards God. Rather than pitting one against the other, we need both. Protheroe does not claim to be a believer, but he documents the historical move away from doctrine in evangelicalism to a least common denominator, an experience.  (Very interesting when an unbeliever sees things more clearly than believers.) It's worth reading these together. 8.   Don't Call it a Comeback  by Kevin De Young, et. al. - Almost a mini-course in systematic theology plus social issues facing believers today. Great resource for any age but particularly for younger believers. 7. Living for God's Glory, An Introdu...