The Providence of God in All Things -2

Did not his eye rule all things, and intend
The least of our concerns: (since from the least
The greatest oft originates;) could chance
Find place in his dominion, or dispose
One lawless particle to thwart his plan;
Then God might be surprised, and unforeseen
Contingence might alarm him, and disturb
The smooth and equal course of his affairs. 
- William Cowper Compendium p.737


Part 2 of 5

Everything was created through him;
nothing—not one thing!—
came into being without him.
What came into existence was Life,
and the Life was Light to live by.
The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness;
the darkness couldn't put it out.
 - Gospel of John (The Message)

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. -Colossians 1:15-20

The Providence of God in All Things -1

All that glitters is not gold,
and all  gold doesn't glitter.

Happy the man, who sees a God employ'd
In all the ill and good that checker life! 
Resolving all events, with their effects
And Manifold results, into the will
And arbitration wise of the Supreme.
-William Cowper,  Compendium, p.737



(In Five Parts - Part 1 - These are purely my divisions
- mostly chosen because they are  all marked by the end of a sentence.)

In his hand are the depths of the earth
the heights of the mountains are his also.
-Psalm 95:4

True Philosophy

Philosophy, baptized
In the fountain of eternal love,
Has eyes indeed;  and viewing all she sees
As meant ot indicate a God to man,
Gives Him his praise, and forfeits not her own.
Learning has borne such fruit in other days
On all her branches: Piety has found
Friends in the friends of science, and true prayer
Has flow'd from lips wet with Castilian dews.
Such was thy wisdom, Newton, child-like sage!
Sagacious reader of the works of God,
And in word sagacious.  Such, too, thine,
Milton, whose genius had angelic wings,
And fed on manna!  And such thine, in whom
Our British Themis gloried with just cause,
Immortal Hale!  for deep discernment praised,
And sound integrity, not more than famed
For sanctity of manners undefiled.

Isn't Theology the Mother of all Sciences because it puts Christ as the rightful Center?
Philosophy is now a bunch of gobblely gook because it has lost its truth.  We have a lot to regain.

The Wounded Spirit Healed

I was a stricken deer that left the herd

Compendium of English Literature
Publ - E.C. & J Biddles
1848

Long since. With many an arrow deep inflix'd

My panting side was charged, when I withdrew

To seek a tranquil death in distant shades,

There I was found by one who had himself

Been hurt by the archers.  In his side he bore,
And in his hands and feet, the cruel scars,
With gentle force solicting the darts,
He drew them forth, and heal'd, and bade me live.
-William Cowper p.738


William Cowper (1713-1800) is fast becoming one of my favorite poets, his life was tragic in many ways, yet his verse is filled with the grace and light of Christ's salvation. After raving about Cowper, editor of Compendium states "We might thus fill many pages with encomiastic remarks upon the poetry of Cowper, but the reader would rather taste of the original for himself."  Tangent: His letter "An Epistle in Rhyme" is absolutely "roll on the ground" funny. Love that.

As to the difficulties of Mr. Cowper, he remained unmarried.  He also had at least four serious bouts of depression, the first one being marked by an attempt on his life.  He did however have  a few loyal friends that looked after him, although they were not without jealousies which must have caused Cowper some feeling of isolation.

A survey of Cowper's life makes me ponder what has changed so markedly in the human experience in  the last 250 years that the "Church" in general, overall, (I am not sure which word works best for my meaning) has so divorced struggle from christian life.  We no longer embrace struggle as the common experience of life, nor do we see gratitude as compulsory in the most basics of our blessings.  We, I am filled with entitlement and in great need of repentance. 

Mr. Cowper's poetry is powerful.  I really like it.  "Knowledge and Wisdom" hooked me, "The Wounded Spirit" calls me to gratitude, the others, well I could pontificate... or I can "read and taste the original works".

I had written a poem for Christmas Eve, my daughter's sweet critic, truly, it was spoken in gentleness, made me smiled with joy in the hope of covenental succession (progression-something like that). 

Critic, "Mom, it has really great content, and I see your contrasts, but it is chaotic and lacks rhyme and meter."

My response, "Ummmm. Kay."

Seems I have bad Romanticism chaos running around in this brain of mine.  I want to work on that.

Enter project, posting and reading Cowper for the next 30 days, learning about and trying my hand at real poetry.  "Ummmm. Kay."

Our First Epiphany

We celebrated our first Epiphany with our Bible Study Group on Wednesday night,  we are trying to recover some of the beauty and tradition of the Christian Calendar.  Wouldn't it be great to say K. hadn't missed out on all those years in this area?  I do trust that covenental succession will proceed from these simple beginnings so that her little ones will have King's cupcakes with hidden treasure, homemade crowns, responsive readings, hymns and the like to celebrate even their earliest memories of Epiphany. 

Contrary to the popular perception of wife and motherhood as mundane and unspectacular, I see these roles as the most exciting opportunities of my life.  Just as the family can be the root of the deepest pain, I believe the family can be the root of the deepest joy.  I thus aspire to sacrificially fulfill both roles  and so bring about an environment of growth and love for my family.            -K. Essay to A. College, 2011

Things like cupcakes, laughing, eating, communing together, discussing truth, loving one another in community, the walking out of life in a long series of trifflings is exactly the "stuff" of living. Each event in and of itself is not super signifigant, yet they are not in the least trivial.

"The human house is a paradox, for it is larger inside than out." - G.K.Chesterton

"As for me and my House, we will serve the Lord." - Joshua

We will not do it  perfectly, not even close; but as we continue to fall on the Rock, we will be broken and not crushed, ever putting our hope in what lies ahead.

Favorites of 2010

My Lists of Books, Songs and Moments for 2010

• Books
1. Notes from the Tilt-a-Whirl  -N.D. Wilson - I think this is a mind twisting look at the theology and plan of God, it is full of metaphors and unexpected, descriptive one-liners. It made me laugh out loud at my own absurd self-absorption.
2. A Long Obedience in the Same Direction -  E. Peterson - I now own The Message,  something I thought I would never do, and I have actually read some of it.  My favorite chapter in Obedience is about Psalm 125, which pictures God as the mountains round about us. This book speaks to me about fully trusting in God and His sovereignty.
3. Married to a Difficult Man - E. Dodd - This book is about Jonathan and Sarah Edwards, their life, marriage and ministry.  I came away saying to myself, "Who lives life this?"  The gentleness and piety they showed towards each other and others was amazing. It is  a great defense against the Romanticism which has strangled our modern idea of marriage.  This led me to read Edwards Seventy Resolutions which are mind boggling. 
4. Grand Illusions - G. Grant This is a book full of information about Planned Parenthood, Sanger, Abortion, Sex Ed in School and how the PP machine is almost everywhere.  I learned a lot of  specifics and how they are interrelated. Illusions was helpful in my discussions with friends and family who have teens in public high school.
5. Compendium of English Literature- C. Cleveland. E.C.& J Biddle Publishers. 1848.  Bunyan, Burke, Cowper to Swift, Tydale, and Watts - Just a few of the almost 100 names on the index of authors. Compendium is my oldest book and one of my favorite to browse.  Reading Cowper's "Knowledge and Wisdom" from its musty pages makes me want to gain the wisdom of those that have gone before. 
6. Ideas Have Consequences and excerpts from Reflections on the War in France - R. Weaver and E. Burke respectively.  Interesting and Prophetic. These books challenged me to see and pray for the larger picture of life that is not only outside my home's front door, but crouches in, if given opportunity. Worldview and Historical connections were engaging to the point of addiction.
7. Garden Graces - G. & K. Grant.  I love quote books and gardens.  Letters Home and Shelf Life in this series are also very good, but Graces is my favorite. This was my "go to" gift for gardening friends and family. 
8. Clementine Churchill- Biography of a Marriage - M. Soames.  A great biography written by their daughter.  I really enjoyed the excerpts of personal diaries and letters that essentially spanned over their lifetime.  "And her children will arise and called her blessed" comes to mind.
9. Moral Problems in Hospital Practices - P. Finney.  This is basically a treatment guidelines book for catholic nurses at the turn of the century. Problems challenged me on the definition of sanctity of life and in turn how we should view it as Christians. Not an easy subject... or maybe it is? I am still mulling it over.
10. Frugal Gourmet-  J. Smith.  I really like to read cookbooks, and this is the one I read most often, second to my stalwart standby, Betty Crocker. The little intros to the recipes are fun.  

• Songs- My most listened to CDs and Songs
1. "Better Together" - Jack Johnson  - Favorite line - "Love is the answer for the most of the world's questions..."
2. Pull Up a Chair- Nathan George Clark 
3. My Cry Ascends- Greg Wilber -"Come, Ye Desconsolate" Favorite line - "Earth has no sorrow that Heaven cannot heal."
4. Come Away With Me- Nora Jones, "Seven Years."  Favorite line -"Crooked little smile on her face, tells a tale of grace that's all her own." - I can't hear that line without smiling and seeing K.'s  itty bitty  face in my mind's eye.
5. His Story- Elvis
6.  The Ministry Years- Keith Green
7. Blacklands - Brother Down
8. Live - James Taylor
9. For the Bride - John Micheal Talbot
10. "Stuck Like Glue" - Sugarland - the mid-section rap is hilarious.

• Moments - Two on my List
• The Singing of the Doxology while stuck in a foreign country by a friend.  When I grow up... I want to revert first to trusting in God, instead of feeling anxious, and then remembering to trust!
• Crossing the 5K finish line with my daughter "in all our glory" LOL- for her - definately! for me - not so much.

Musings as We Head into 2011

Beginnings are exciting .  A new year, fresh with promise, just like a new day, but in grand proportion, is weighted with hope and promise. 
Last year, the Colossians passage, that He is the Center of all things, was  my reoccurring theme.
Psalm 46:10 - is on my mind for this year.  I focused on this  same scripture my junior year of college.  I had a scripture border that went all the way around my little dorm room. (It was burgundy roses with hunter green accents- haven't seen that motif in a few decades!)

 Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!

Be still - I continue learning to stand in the footsteps of the past - to follow those that have gone before.  I will be intentional in my reading list of church fathers. I am reading Luther on Prayer and though it is old as dust, it's my first time.
Life takes balance, and I struggle with that, still, even in my forties. I keep thinking shouldn't I have this down by now; I don't. I'm a starter - love a good project, helping someone out, chatting with friends, or browsing through a new book -  but, keeping things in order or being regimented about schedules and chores- I'm simply, a terrible mess.  I love to have visitors after Church; however, I am also thankful having Sunday guests forces me to mop floors on Saturday.
Being Still takes balance, I want to focus on stillness of heart resting in Him whether I'm meditating, learning weathered truths or cleaning house.

He will be exalted - He is Center, He is everything, and therefore only He is exalted, it is always about Him.  He alone deserves my worship, praise and adoration.  At church, Pastor spoke of how "the beautiful things of of life are meant to point you to the greater... that all these (wonderful gifts) bear God's fingerprints" -and He is the real object of our desire - the Lord Jesus Christ. 


I've included a link to the RC Sproul website where I took these Jonathan Edwards quotes regarding his 70 Resolutions.  I've read through the resolutions a handful of times this year.  At some point, I plan to make resolutions of my own.
http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/resolved-grace-god/

A few things Jonathan Edwards said struck me, "We do not seek merely blessings but the one who blesses." and paraphrasing to put it in reference to our family, " We resolve to live according to His will.  Blameless in His sight - it is not to us BUT RATHER to Him all glory belongs."
I had to smile this morning when Pastor started to read his missional statement, I had just written one in my journal yesterday... I don't generally share my prayers on the net, but this one I will.

I am wretched, poor, weak, broken, selfish, and helpless to save myself. Lord Jesus Christ, I am in need of your holiness, glory, strength, wholeness, love and sufficiency to walk in a manner that brings you glory and not shame.   Father God, by your will, through the help of your Holy Spirit and in responsive gratitude to the lavish love and work of our Lord Jesus, I trust you will enable me to walk in the minutes, hours, days, weeks and months of this year in obedience to your Word, which is our perfect rule for faith and obedience.  Grant me mercy, O God, that I may see your goodness in the land of the living and be still and know that you alone are God.  That I would join in exalting your name with all nations, that I will join with the earth to exalt you, that in my home and through my calling, as wife, mother, daughter, friend, teacher I would reflect your goodness and act in a manner which reflects truth regarding your character. 

Pastor Edward's prefaced his Seventy Resolutions with this, it is also an appropriate ending to this year's prayer:

Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God's help, I do humbly entreat him by his grace to enable me to keep these resolutions so far as they are agreeable to his will, for Christ's sake.