Continuing from way back when..

When I was last doing regular devotions I was going through Hebrews. We had stopped at Hebrews 7, I had done a post on Melchizadek. I figured I would try to pick up from there.

⁴See how great this man was to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils! ⁵And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers,^" though these also are descended from Abraham. ⁶But this man who does not have his descent from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. ⁷It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior. ⁸In the one case tithes are received by mortal men, but in the other case, by one of whom it is testified that he lives. ⁹One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, ¹⁰for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.

We had been talking about Melchizadek and how he was greater than Abraham and all the other priests.

The priests under Judaic law where supported by a 10% tithe. All Israelite people descended from Abraham. And what one person does, affects their offspring. (not quite something I get in this day of individualism and stuff, but I kinda get it).

So if Abraham tithed to the priesthood, all of his descendants did so as well.

Melchizadek though is different.
1. has no genealogy...therefore is not a descendant of Abraham
2. he is superior to the rest of the priesthood, as in that he is a forever priest.

Melchizadek is a different sort of a priest.
and so one comes who is like Melchizadek...of a different order of the priesthood.

We read that as this chapter continues:

¹¹ Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron? ¹²For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well. ¹³For the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar. ¹⁴For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.

¹⁵This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, ¹⁶who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. ¹⁷For it is witnessed of him,

"You are a priest forever,
after the order of Melchizedek."

¹⁸For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness ¹⁹(for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.

²⁰And it was not without an oath. For those who formerly became priests were made such without an oath, ²¹but this one was made a priest with an oath by the one who said to him:

"The Lord has sworn
and will not change his mind,
'You are a priest forever.'"

²²This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.

²³The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, ²⁴but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. ²⁵Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

²⁶For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. ²⁷He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. ²⁸For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.

Jesus comes. He follows after the office of Melchizadek.

And as such...changes the rules. :)

Won't go through the whole chapter today, I just figured this would be a good reintroduction to where I was back then. :)

In the Pondering Stage

okay...done doing the devotions from the true woman conference.

trying to decide what to do next for devotions.

Want something that is relatively short as that seems to be how my time is lately.

want something VERY biblical.
My preference is always just to go to God's word.

But I don't want something so long that I get lost from start to finish either....

ah..probably being too picky and should just dive into some bible book and start reading one -four verses every day......

Any thoughts for me out there?

True Woman - a lasting kindness

it's the last email from the true woman conference I attended last October in Chicago.

here's the email teaser.

A Lasting Kindness

When a friend from church is in the hospital or has a new baby, what do you do? Many women spring into action, buying gifts, making meals, and showing great kindness in practical ways. But when someone closer to home has a need, do you spring into action with the same enthusiasm? Learn to take kindness home.*

• How will you be remembered? What I want people to remember about me is that I cared, that I was kind, that I loved, that I touched their lives in practical ways that made a difference.
• Sometimes our own families are the ones we show the least kindness to. Sometimes it’s because we’ve been hurt, sometimes it’s because we’re lazy, sometimes we just take them for granted. We need to think about kindness in our own homes.
• It’s not your responsibility to fix all the problems of the needy in the world. But God has called you to be sensitive to the needs of those that He’s put into your sphere of influence and to open your eyes and be available to minister to their practical needs.

Listen to or read more from “A Lasting Kindness”

oh my...read that opener and thought...actually no I don't. I often don't even think about it. I figure someone will care for them. Sounds bad I know...but I just don't think that quickly about it. NOW...if I KNOW there's a need and someone points it out to me...yes, I'll act. But normally I need these things pointed out to me.

From Titus 2 we read:

³ Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, ⁴and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, ⁵to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.

To be kind, that's the focus of this lesson.

Nancy says the following, which made sense to me:

Now if you go to the Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians chapter 5, verse 22—you know there’s love, joy, peace, longsuffering—two of the Fruit of the Spirit relate to this concept. One is goodness and the other is kindness. These are related concepts. The word that is translated kindness in the Fruit of the Spirit is a word that has to do with having a kind heart attitude or disposition toward others. It’s a kind heart.

The word that is translated goodness in the Fruit of the Spirit and the word that is used here in Titus 2 is a word that means not just a kind heart, but kind activity on behalf of others. This word is active goodness. You have a good or kind heart but you don’t just keep it in your heart. You do something about it. It comes out.

Jerry Bridges talks about these twin, or cousin, qualities of kindness and goodness. He says, “Kindness is the inner disposition created by the Holy Spirit that causes us to be sensitive to the needs of others, whether physical, emotional or spiritual. Goodness is kindness in action, words, and deeds.”

Goodness is a kind heart in action. (I do like that way of looking at it). :)

Goodness is the sensitivity of the Holy Spirit within us, acted out in the lives of others.

I want to be 'show more goodness'. :)

I don't always think of myself as being kind.

When I'm tired (which seems like all the time lately) I'm more prone to just zone into myself unless someone forces me out of it (preschoolers are good at that). "Mommy...come play with me". Or "HUN! I need your help! NOW!" (both work well). :)

Kindness to me is...making meals my hubby likes, it's playing with my boy when I want to do my own thing, it's treating a sick bunny's eye so that it heals more quickly, it's smiling at a stranger, it's trying hard to organize a house in a functional for the family manner (not just functional for me), it honouring my hubby when he makes me proud...and even when he doesn't, it's extending grace to a preschooler who hasn't slept enough and is cranky and whiney and finding ways to make it better for us both to cope when we're alone AND THEN...not complaining about it when hubby gets home from another meeting.

I know that there is more to kindness and goodness. I know that MY HEART needs much more refining by the Holy Spirit. I know that my heart is not so very naturally kind...but that God is changing me and making me more aware of my very real need for him. I find the more that I am aware of HIM the more I am able to better serve my family and others in a kindly manner.

Nancy goes on in her message to talk about Dorcas, in Acts 9 we read:

³⁶Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity. ³⁷In those days she became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. ³⁸Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him, "Please come to us without delay." ³⁹So Peter rose and went with them. And when he arrived, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them. ⁴⁰But Peter put them all outside, and knelt down and prayed; and turning to the body he said, "Tabitha, arise." And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. ⁴¹And he gave her his hand and raised her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. ⁴²And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. ⁴³And he stayed in Joppa for many days with one Simon, a tanner.

Putting aside the amazement of someone who was dead being raised to life again....I still find that idea stunning (outside the fact that Jesus rose from the dead...he was GOD!)...but this woman was missed because of how very kind she was. look at what is says here:Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity. This disciple of God was full of good works and charity. It doesn't say that she was kind...it says that she was full of good works and charity. One can do these things without being kind...but consider how badly she was missed

All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them

....that speaks to these things being done with kindness. This is how we want to be remembered isn't it? With people missing us because of how well we treated them. And it all starts with us being disciples of Christ. Loving him and through the loving of him being changed into people of kindness, making our acts of services deeds of good works.

Be changed in your heart by the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit.

Develop a kind heart.

Let that kindness flow out into your life as good works. Go out there...Serve your God by serving others. :)

Justin having fun with bunnies

jesse from Jesse's hilltop rabbitry has sold crystal some bunnies. I'm driving them out tomorrow.

Of the five bunnies I'm bringing Justin was totally captivated by this one.

Here he's playing with one bunny.





for those who are biblically aware, you will see that one bunny is sporting "the coat of many colours". :)

he didn't like her sister because "she poops too much".

10 minutes of hoppitty fun. And one bunny not too severely traumatized. (it really didn't seem to mind the "coat" at all. Just hopped everywhere.

The only trauma occurred when bunny left his "bunny pen" and went visiting Thomas the train. Then bunny well....Mommy rescued that bad bunny. :)

Proud of my hubbie

So today was the closing service of my parents church. 59 years of ministry this church had. It was a good service, very sad in some ways, and yet in other ways...good.

Jim, as president of Classis, did the liturgy of the service.

I was very proud of how he handled everything.

He let his emotion show without losing it.

Kept the whole service moving smoothly.

Excellent job hun!

True Woman - the Beauty of Holiness pt 2

Continuing my devotion from yesterday as the whole household is still quiet. :)

I felt like my devotion was very incomplete yesterday.

I really liked how Nancy put it (when talking about women, christians and holiness).

He washed us with the renewing of regeneration of the Holy Spirit, whom He richly poured out on us through Jesus Christ, (paraphrase, verses 5 - 6). He saved us! Saved us from what? From sin, from impurity, from debauchery, from decadence, from our flesh, from being slaves to various passions and pleasures.

Those who belong to Christ have been saved. They've been rescued from that impure life. They've been set free from sin. They are different than those who don't follow Christ, and the difference should be obvious to everyone.

This is the thing that has so struck me about the book of Titus as I've been meditating on the whole three chapters—the context of the passage we're studying in Titus two—is the stark contrast between those who follow Christ and those who don't. That's the way it's supposed to be. There's supposed to be a stark contrast.

It shouldn't be difficult for people to know whether someone is really a Christian. The unbelieving world is characterized by impurity, and believers of Christ are supposed to be pure.

Chapter 2, verse 14 of Titus says that Christ, “Gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness.” How much? All lawlessness, “and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.”

We are saved from having to...being enslaved to..being forced to .... live a life of impurity. Consider that for a moment. Consider that Easter has just passed. Christ died to save me from sin. From being forced to live in a way that doesn't please God one bit.

My life should be remarkably different from the world around me simply because God is the reason for my existence. I know it, he knows it, and my life should reflect that reality.

We are to be pure, a holy people, set apart, different from the world. Our job is simple....make the God that we serve look good. Anything else is self-serving and idolatrous. If we believe in God we make him look good. We are to glorify him in EVERYTHING that we do, whether we are at home or away. Whether we are in church or at home or at work or wherever.

How are you doing at your 'job' as a Christian?

How can you answer these questions that Nancy puts to us?

• Do you have eyes that are wide open to everyone else's sin but too proud to see the defects in your own life?
• Are you able to be entertained by that which is unholy, to laugh at it, to enjoy it?
• What kind of tolerance level do you have for things that are impure? Do you tolerate a little bit of it?
• What kind of people do you gravitate toward? We see David in the Psalms saying, “I'm drawn to people who have pure hearts. That's who I want to be around.”
• Are you drawn to people whose hearts are pure, or are you drawn to those whose conversation and their lifestyle are coarse or off-color or perverse?
• Again, equally important, what kind of people gravitate towards you? Do coarse and perverse people feel comfortable telling their stories around you, and if so, you might want to ask, why?

Are you ready to be that pure, holy bride of Christ? Have you made yourself ready for him?

The question to me is....how will I change to become more of the person that God has called me to be? Am I really willing to have myself changed all the more for him?

Ah Lord God...make me that person I want to be:

⁹But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. ¹⁰ Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

(from 1 Peter 2) Let me be that called out person who proclaims your glories!

Amen.

Christian Carnival season again :)

will be working at this throughout the day, interspersing my daily activities just because ...well..it's my blog and I can do that. :)

Just finished playing farm town on facebook. It's an addicting game. rather fun to meet people from around the world and chat while farming.

and well..I was just about to put in my first carnival entry and it tells me that google mail is not available...so y'all will have to wait for a bit! :)

Just in from doing the bunnies. I raise bunnies. You can check out my blog here, or my website here. I am currently trying to finalize a sale for two female mini rex.

So here's the first entry: Covetousness, which is Idolatry brought to us by parableman.

In Colossians 3:5, Paul lists a bunch of things to put to death in oneself, ending with "covetousness, which is idolatry". He also links the two in a similar way in a parallel passage in Ephesians 5:5. The usual explanation for how covetousness is idolatry is to find elements of idolatry in covetousness. At root, idolatry in the Hebrew scriptures is the placing of anything above God or in the place of God. Having your priorities in the wrong order can be idolatry if it involves moving God to any place lower than the top. So if you're longing after something that's not yours, to the point where you place your desire for it above your desire for God, including the desire to be righteous and to be content with what God has given you, then you are in effect practicing a sort of idolatry.

Pseudo-Polymath presents Holy Week and Eastern Traditions.

Tonight we celebrated the last of the three Bridegroom Matins services. Wiki informs us in the post on Holy Week (and the East) that tonight in Greece a significant (majority?) of the sex trade industry workers attend this service. Why?

Okay...just took some time to do my devotions since my household is still very quiet at 920 a.m.! This is indeed unusual. :)

damascusmoments submitted two posts, can't do that so I willy-nilly picked this one: Religulous.

I’ve read a few reviews. They made me question whether I should steer clear, especially the ones from Christian sites, which major on the offence the Christian community might take. But then again, if something really annoys someone, there’s usually a reason for that…

The True and Perfect Word comes to us by way of The Bible Archive. And I have to admit, I didn't get the point of this post at all. Didn't even know what snippet to take to inspire others to read it. Perhaps others will get it. But I didn't. Sorry.

Christ's Bridge stops in with Prayer of the Week- Jesus's Blood. Nothing to clip and paste here otherwise you'll have no reason to stop in. :) Simple prayer.

My hubby just got up! We have life and movement in the house. I'm going to go get myself a late breakfast. Ah turkey and cheese sandwich...do like them! :)

C. Orthodoxy shows up with the post Twilight.

My wife is home sick today, so being the loving husband that I am, I rented Twilight for her to watch, then decided to watch it with her.

Thoughts and Confessions of a Girl Who Loves Jesus... gives us this post on Philippians 2:14-16 revisited .

14 Do all things without grumbling or questioning, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast to the word of life…

As I sat in Good Friday service last night, remembering all my Savior suffered for my sake, I cried. The above verses, which I promised to strive to achieve, so quickly forgotten this week. I am such a wretch.

Threads from Henry's Web developed this post called Stuck on Silent Saturday?

OK, it’s Easter Sunday morning, and I can join the chorus: He is risen!

But I know from experience that there are Christians out there who are stuck on silent Saturday or Good Friday. For them, Christianity is all–and only–about the cross. Jesus died, they died in Jesus. They had no hope. Jesus is their hope–but they don’t seem to live it.

Blessed by the Best is brought to us by Manely Montana. I couldn't get into see it as it's apparently protected. If someone could help me out with it, that would be nice. thanks.

What are we Celebrating Easter Sunday? is the question posed to us by Boston Bible Geeks.

On Easter Sunday, many pastors around this country will preach about new beginnings. They’ll draw analogies with the coming of Spring; the budding flowers and chirping birds show us that life begins anew and we can start a new phase of life. Christ’s resurrection will be spiritualized and said to be significant because it shows us that our lives can be refreshed.

And they’ll all miss the point.

Crossroads: Where Faith and Inquiry Meet tells us a story in For Easter - - A Testimony - - Mine.

A week from this next Tuesday (April 21), I will be celebrating my 46th spiritual birthday. I grew up in a liberal Protestant PCUSA-type of church (liberal Presbyterian) and didn't hear the gospel there. You might hear bits and pieces of the gospel in liberal Protestant churches, but most people, espeically children, would be hard pressed to put the few pieces together and fill in all the cracks.

Time Out for a conversation break with my hubby and to check on some laundry. Just found out that Walmart is going to be rounding it's pricing off to the dollar. Good idea thinks me. :)

Who Am I? asks the question Is it necessary to believe in the resurrection of Jesus to be saved?

Since it’s Easter week, I want to resurrect (I know–that’s a terrible pun) a discussion I participated in over at Evangelical Village a week or so ago. It began when my friend Matt posed a simple but important question:“What must a person know in order to be saved? What theological knowledge must a person know in order to become a believer?”

Ricks Victory Blog comes to us with The Benefits of the Worst Days of My Life. This post was hard for me to pin-point a selection out of. It's worth a read though. Go check it out.

The Minority thinker presents us with this post on Understanding God.

God is, well, God. He is not human; He is immeasurably more.

Taking another break to watch this short you-tube video.


and I'm starting to hear sounds of my preschooler waking up after a very restless night of sleep.
So my time will become more truncated this day.

at My Meditation Garden we find the questions Is Prayer a Form of Meditation? another post that I wasn't quite sure what to pull out as a teaser. not entirely sure what I think of this post either. thought provoking...but not sure if that's in a good way or not.....give it a read.

sitting here cuddling with a still waking up boy child for a while.

The Life I Now Live gives us More than Enough. A devotional based on the following:

Devotional for April 13-19, 2009

“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” 2 Corinthians 9: 8 NIV

Two days since Easter and shows up at Tidbits and Treasures.

We can shout from the rooftops that ‘Jesus is still alive’. No amount of circumstances can change that fact. The storms that have been raging throughout the territory will not change it. They may change the face of the earth, upset us, but they will never change the fact that Jesus rose from the dead and is alive in us today.

Listening to Thomas the train, the magic railroad as I finish this carnival.


RodneyOlsen.net presents us with this query Who is the guy with the beard?

Then comes the question that should be directed to each one of us.

“But what about you? Who do you say I am?”

Jesus was very wise in the way he asked his question. (After all, he is Jesus.) He says to his disciples, “Firstly let’s clear up what everyone else is saying about me.” It can be very easy for us to parrot someone else’s idea of who Jesus was or is. There are so many options that we can easily pick one that sounds reasonable to us.

Top 10 New Spiritual Discoveries on the Last Segment of My Christian Journey is located at parables of a prodigal world.

It's been about 9 months or so since my last act of processing/synthesizing the latest segment of my Christian journey. Figured its about time for another one.

So, in no particular order...

and I think that's the last of them. I'll go now and double check my inbox and see what shows up there. if nothing, then enjoy the reads. and if there are I'll add them afterwards. There are some good ones, some thought-provoking ones and well...of course some that I just didn't get. :) Enjoy!

ah... Rob Haslam submitted his whole blog but we can't quite do that, so....I'm not adding that one until I get confirmation on the entry that he is submitting.

So that's it for now!

Pooh Sticks

First you start with sticks and a bridge


add one boy child and gramma throwing sticks (not sure if you can see the sticks)

then you race madly to the other side of the bridge....
where you watch to see just who's stick comes out ahead
of course Justin's sticks always won! :)

True Woman - the Beauty of Holiness

The Beauty of Holiness

Sometimes pressures come at you so fast it seems like you can’t think straight. Learn to develop a biblical, sound mind so that you can think clearly no matter what is happening around you.*

• You never get to the point where you don't need the grace of God to protect and safeguard your heart and keep you from sin.
• The real test of your purity is who you are when you get home and how you treat those around you.
• The goal of being pure of heart is not to make us look good. That's self-righteousness. The goal is to make God look good.

Listen to or read more from “The Beauty of Holiness”

Now I have to admit, the title of this day's devotional really appeals to me. :) The beauty of holiness. How many see holiness as a thing of beauty? Not too many I think....but mmmmm... to be seen as beautiful because of my holiness...isn't that something to aspire to?

wow....okay...it's hard to concentrate when Thomas the Train movie is playing in the background. But we'll keep trying.

In her devotion Nancy refers to some different scriptures:

Titus 2:3-5, 11-14

³ Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, ⁴and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, ⁵to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.

¹¹For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, ¹²training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, ¹³ waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

Titus 1:15-16

¹⁵ To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled. ¹⁶ They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.

We are called to be pure, pious, submissive and keepers of our homes.

We are called to be more than what we were before we knew Christ.

To not to be slaves to sin, but to be a people earnestly desiring MORE than what the world offers to us. To love and serve in ways that please God not ourselves.

How does one live this out? For answers, Nancy turns to Psalm 101 which shows practical ways to living out what we believe.

A Psalm of David.

¹I will sing of steadfast love and justice;

to you, O LORD, I will make music.

actions: singing to God.

²I will ponder the way that is blameless.
Oh when will you come to me?
I will walk with integrity of heart
within my house;

Ponder: to meditate, to think about something more than yourself. To see what is blameless.
Choosing to walk with integrity.

³I will not set before my eyes
anything that is worthless.
I hate the work of those who fall away;
it shall not cling to me.

Watch what you watch. Do you engage the worthless? what type of books do you read, shows do you watch, people do you associate, activities that you are part of? do you watch these things carefully? Not saying you can't be involved with people who engage in worthless activities...if you don't, how might to draw them to Christ...but you don't need to engage in the worthless activities that they do.

⁴ A perverse heart shall be far from me;
I will know nothing of evil.

⁵Whoever slanders his neighbor secretly
I will destroy.
Whoever has a haughty look and an arrogant heart
I will not endure.

Do you correct ungodly behaviour? do you call it for what it is? Do you do your best to stay away from evil actions?

⁶I will look with favor on the faithful in the land,
that they may dwell with me;
he who walks in the way that is blameless
shall minister to me.

Do you encourage your brothers and sisters in their walk with Christ?

⁷No one who practices deceit
shall dwell in my house;
no one who utters lies
shall continue before my eyes.

⁸ Morning by morning I will destroy
all the wicked in the land,
cutting off all the evildoers
from the city of the LORD.

Do you do your best to cut off the wicked from within your midst?

I look at this and I see church discipline at work too.

I look at this and I see moms guarding their households, protecting their children from those who would lead them astray.

I see constant vigilance.

Anyways, there is oodles more here but Now I have a preschooler demanding my attention and I just can't concentrate here anymore. talk and think more later.

Banner of Truth Minister's Conference

The Banner of Truth Minister's Conference.

This is a conference for male minister's of the conservative nature.

Jim goes every single year. He attends the one in Pennsylvania.

He comes back happy, refreshed and with loads of books.

What more could a minister ask for from a conference?

GO, check it out. Send your minister if you can.
You will be blessed for doing so. :)

New Math

You have to go to this site.

It is filled with humour.

New Math.

It will not be what you may initially be expecting.

happy Easter everyone!

Just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a happy Easter.

If you attend services, may you be richly reminded of all that God has done for us, through his Son.

If you don't, please realize there is more to Easter than bunnies and chocolate (though they can be fun!). :)

Happy Easter ALL! :)

Someone on my facebook directed to me to this article.

It's a young lady speaking about youth groups and telling them what she thinks. It's an indictment against them.

True Woman - Sound Thinking

Sound Thinking

Sometimes pressures come at you so fast it seems like you can’t think straight. Learn to develop a biblical, sound mind so that you can think clearly no matter what is happening around you.*

• If you have sound doctrine, that will result in sound thinking about all of life—thinking that is wise, discreet, sensible, and self-controlled. Sound thinking will result in sound living.
• You can’t love your husband and your children if you don’t have sound thinking. Because when they are not loveable, if you don’t have sound thinking, you’re going to respond in unloving ways.
• A godly woman's heart and mind are always under the guard and protection of the Spirit of God, the truth of God, and the truth of God’s Word.

Listen to or read more from “Sound Thinking”

so goes the teaser sent to my inbox. :)

And from Titus 2:1-5 we read:

1But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. 2Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. 3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.

Nancy had a lot of good to say today. Really appreciated her devotional. So you'll need to go read it.

here is part of what Nancy has to say:

We’ve said that these qualities are very personal. They’re centered around our relationships, and they really focus a lot on our relationships within the family. So let me pick up in Titus chapter 2, beginning in verse 2, just to give us some context here.

I want you to see how this concept of self-control, the word is sophron—we were looking at it in our last session—sober-minded, of a sound mind. You see how this phrase occurs three times in these verses we’ve been looking at.

Titus 2, verse 2: First of all, “Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled.” There’s our word—sophron—self-controlled. It’s of a sound mind. They’re to be “sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness.”

Verse 3: “Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women…”

Now, you don’t see the word “self-control” there, but that word “train” is in the same family in the original Greek language as the word sophron. It actually means to train them to have sound minds, to train them to think soundly, to train them to be sober-minded.

You don’t see all of that in the English translation, but that’s what’s behind it in the original. “Train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled” (verse 4). There’s our word again, sophron—sober-minded, of a sound mind. In the New American Standard Bible, you have the word sensible there. Sensible, discreet in the King James, sound-minded, of sound thinking.

What does it mean to be a person who has sound thinking, to be a person who is sober minded?

Does it mean a person who never laughes at things, or enjoys life?
No.

It means a person who is minded by more. A person who is self-controlled and aware of what they are doing. Not driven by the moment, or ones' own desires, but by something more. In the life of the Christian that would be having GOD be our driving force.

So what does a sober-minded, a self-controlled person act like?

• one who can respond in faith rather than fear when facing challenges
• one who guards her heart - discernment be exercised
  
• one who guards her mind - discernment be exercised
  
• one who is mentally disciplined
• one who is able to resist temptation
• one who is able to delay gratification
• one who has the attitude of work first and play later (not that playing is bad either). :) sometimes one needs to play first as part of enjoying one's family/children.
• one who is modest in their dress and actions
• one who lives a thoughtful and intentional life --- not someone just going along with the flow
• one who knows where all things come from and lives a life of thankfulness
• one who bases life decisions on what is wise and what is biblical
• one who prays
• one who is very much aware of the need for God in all areas of life

Is this possible all the time?
No...we are after all sin-filled people, who should be striving to be like God but so often failing miserably.
BUT it is something that we can strive for.
It does give us something to base our actions on ... and to help us evaluate the actions we have taken over the course of a day...and therefore become more of the people that GOD wants us to be.

A high standard we are called to.
A high standard we are to teach.

Let us be women of sound thinking, focused on the one who created us, able to see beyond ourselves to the greater picture.