Arthur turns 16!

Arthur had cousins Will, Grace and Claire and Aunt Jeanette over to help him celebrate turning 16 on March 1st. I couldn't figure out how to post the photos in the order they occurred, but a good time was had by all!

The Warrior is a Child

The Warrior is a Child is the name of a song by Twila Paris. Those words are very true. As Christians living in a world of sin, we are warriors in the continual spiritual battle we face until our Lord Jesus Christ returns in his Day of the Lord to judge those not found in him and to make us his Bride. But, we are also children, his children, right here and now. Warrior children.

I am old enough to remember a time in the church when songs like "Farther Along", "Where Could I Go But to the Lord?","This World is Not My Home", "I've Got a Mansion Just Over the Hilltop" and "I'd Rather Have Jesus" were sung with conviction and the singers found comfort in the words of those songs. Then, simultaneously, the increasing prosperity of our nation combined with the decreasing belief in the supernatural world and all those songs became passe, even wrong. They were called, "pie in the sky by and by" because, the new way said, we could have it all right here and now! We could have peace and prosperity and health right here in this world, they said. You just have to think positive because the devil was defeated by Jesus on the Cross and the Lord wants you to prosper: such was the new way to think and live as a Christian. Heaven even started to look pretty boring.

I tried to live in that fantasy for many years, and you know what? It is exhausting! Any time anything went wrong or got hard or uncomfortable, I would think I had done something wrong. Everything became man-centered and God was somewhere on the periphery, maybe. Reality became something to avoid.

But the truth is, this world is not basically good. It is fallen and people living in it are sin-filled, controlled by the father of lies, Satan. I should not be amazed when things go wrong! It does not mean that Jesus did not defeat the devil on the cross or that God does not want me to prosper in the wealth I possess in Christ. But he says, "You will have trouble." He says, "If they hated me, they will hate you." The Apostle Paul's life was not a bed of comfort! It is hard to imagine anyone having a harder life, yet his faith in Christ is unsurpassed as far as I know. He says he knows how to be abased as well as how to abound. I've spent my life running from anything that resembled being abased! But no more.

These days I am happily singing those old songs, for they are true. The "Poor Wayfaring Stranger" and the "Man of Constant Sorrow" do have "a home in gloryland that outshines the sun" where there will be no more sadness or sorrow or sickness or sin. For now, the warrior is a child, singing as she goes!

Little Children

"Except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever shall humble himself as a little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:3

"Suffer the little children and forbid them not for such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein." Mark 10:14,15

Our Lord is asking us to enter his kingdom as a little child, not as a mature adult. Mature adults know the ropes and can do lots of things well without thinking. A little child is filled with the wonder of discovery, attempting to imitate, without regards to perfection, what they see the big people around them doing. They make lots of mistakes and need much correction. In the same manner we come to know who God is and how he desires us to live in the new kingdom he has given us birth into. He knows we don't inherently know all of his ways well but he is delighted we chose to embrace his adoption into his family. He trains us very patiently, helping us at every step, sometimes allowing us to let us fall or fail. Our growth in faith in him is his goal. He is very interested in our becoming like him but he is not crushed or disappointed in us when we err for he knows we are clay.

"As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word that ye may grow thereby." 1 Peter 2:1 He gives us everything we need for life and godliness, including his word of Truth, which changes our old, deceived ways of thinking into his mind of Christ, full of Light, in a lifelong process called sanctification. If we start thinking we should be able to become like an adult, 'getting down' this being able to be like him, knowing the ropes and able to live holy without continual dependence upon him, then we haven't understood the nature of our new birth and have forgotten the depths of sinfulness from which we have been rescued. Continued humility as his child, content in his hands and in dwelt by his presence, begins from knowing the utter darkness of the vain life he rescued us from. He did not redeem us to live in the same manner as adults do in our fallen world.

The unspoken, ingrained motto of a little child is, "Anything worth doing is worth doing imperfectly." They want to find out about everything around them and care not at all about their skill level. When a child starts to value being right or looking all together more than exploring or experimenting in the world around them, their ability to learn begins to diminish. God never wants us to stop learning about the unsearchable riches he has bestowed on us in Christ! He is the one who changes us from the inside out. He is the one who makes us able to obey and learn his ways. He is the transformer.

God never desired that Adam and Eve would know the difference between good and evil. That is why he forbade them to eat of that tree. Little children do not trust in their ability to be good; they trust in their parents! Until a certain age, little ones are not aware they are their own separate person but rather see themselves as an extension of their mother. It is not that God doesn't want us to grow and mature in him and be a fruitful ambassador of his kingdom. Of course he desires that and makes it possible by his Spirit dwelling within us. However, he never wants us to trust anyone but him. He never wants us to trust in our own ability to be good, for apart from him, we have none. He is in us and we are in him and he is our Goodness.

Swishers!

Just now, Arthur and I went out for a few minutes of basketball. We haven't been able to do it much lately due to weather, but it is a cloudy 52 today. My first shot went in, nothing but net. Arthur and I ran down the drive dribbling and back a few times and kept shooting baskets. In the next few minutes, in between missed baskets and some off the back board or rim, I made five swishers!

Why is this so astounding? Because just a few months ago I could barely make a basket! My strength had diminished so much I couldn't correct my shot for it. I could still hit the backboard, but hardly ever make a shot. Swishers were fond memories from high school, when I could make them from half court.

So today I am very thankful to be getting strong enough to be able to put the ball where I aim it! Praise the Lord! Arthur has a more energetic playmate now, which makes him happy too.

Truth and Wisdom

Even though Jesus says he is the Way, the Truth and the Life, when I used to read that verse (John 14:6), I would automatically think it meant: Jesus shows me the Way, helps me understand principles of Truth and gives me eternal Life.

Then, around 10 years ago, Henry Blackaby's Experiencing God taught me that Truth is a Person, that Jesus himself is Truth. This started a revolution in my thinking. I went from trying to follow or imitate Jesus to embracing what he has done in me when he made me new. His very nature of Truth has been written into the DNA of the new creation he has made me. Formerly, as a fallen, sin-bound child of wrath I did not have truth written in my inward parts. I had, rather, the deception and deceit that is the nature of my former father, Satan. This sin nature of deceit is why I could always spot flaws in others but always excuse them in myself.

But now that I have his nature of Truth written upon my new heart, I am aware of both my inherent sinfulness and of his complete redemption of me from the power of sin. Even while I learn to walk in the power of his Spirit, bringing him glory by doing what he shows me to do by his power, I am increasingly aware of my natural, fleshly proclivity to deceit and sin. I have his power now to resist putting others down while excusing myself, but the temptation to do so will be with me until I receive a new, incorruptible body in Glory. So, the very Spirit of Truth that lives within me and makes me able to live in his supernatural power is also a mirror that reveals to me who I am apart from my Redeemer. This is very humbling. I am not even tempted to take any credit for anything good done through me, for all that is good is of him! When I choose sinful disobedience, I can sin really well, but that is certainly nothing to be proud of! I am so thankful that even when I temporarily revert to the old, familiar, deceitful ways, he patiently and kindly brings me back around to abiding in him, as a parent does their child. He is Truth, and He is mine and I am his.

He is so much more as well. I think of all his names given in his Word. He is my Way, my Life, my Savior, my Redeemer, my Righteousness, etc. in the same way he is my Truth. However, it took another Henry, Henry Morris, to help me realize that Christ himself resides in his Wisdom.

I ask God for wisdom all the time. Debi Pearl clued me in on this in her book, Created to Be His Help Meet. She taught me that if I want to be a help meet in God's image, I'll need constant infusions of his wisdom. He says I can pray for wisdom and he will give it liberally. (Note: apart from Christ, we are all very foolish. A fool thinks, in his deceived mind, that there is no God, that he can act apart from God to do what he thinks is right.) However, once again, I was praying for wisdom like I used to think of Truth, seeing it as principles. I was thinking, "He will show me what to do in this situation." While he always does show me what to wisely do in the same way he shows me what is true, I discovered there is so much more!

I was reading the first seven chapters of Proverbs, which is about seeking wisdom, in the Defender's Study Bible, with notes by Henry Morris. His note on Proverbs 3:19: 'The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens.', reads: 'Since Christ was the one by whom God founded the earth (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16), this verse makes it clear that in Proverbs, "wisdom" is actually personified and identified with Christ.'

I realized that when I am praying for wisdom, I am asking for Wisdom, who is Jesus! He replaces my natural folly with himself, who is Wisdom, just as he replaces my natural deceit with himself, who is Truth. Talk about a personal relationship! I'm beginning to understand what Paul means when he says, "My life is hid in Christ."

Dili Tuna Salad, a gourmet discovery!

So how can tuna salad be considered gourmet? Here is what I discovered today!

Growing up, I always liked tuna salad. We made it with tuna, sweet pickle relish and mayo. I still enjoy the convenience of canned tuna for a quick, protein-rich lunch, but the sweet pickle relishes are all laden with high fructose corn syrup these days and mayo doesn't have much at all to recommend it except nice creamy texture and great flavor.

So today, I opened some tuna and remembered what one daughter-in-law does to make it more palatable for her: she adds the freshly squeezed juice of half a lemon. Then I remembered that mayo is mostly oil and vinegar, and lemon juice is a great sub for vinegar! Which led me next to recall the bottle of gourmet olive oil my other daughter-in-law gave me when I realized could combine the lemon juice and olive oil for a healthy mayo sub! I had already been dealing with the sweet relish problem by mincing dill pickles from the health food store (made without nasty chemicals) and adding a packet of stevia.

So here is what I mixed up today and it was do-it-again-delicious! Serves 4-6

Dili (Daughter-in-laws-inspired) Tuna Salad

3 cans tuna, drained well, flaked into bowl

about 1/2 cup minced onion

about 1/2 cup minced dill pickles

1 packet stevia

juice of 1/2 lemon

scant 1/4 cup cold pressed extra virgin very fresh olive oil

2 tablespoons mayo (I will try it without any mayo next time!)

good dash each: salt, pepper, lemon pepper

Belonging to His Name

"That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you and you in him according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ." 2 Thessalonians 1:12

No one ever really belongs to their self. But before the light of truth dawned, before new birth into God's Kingdom, before I became God's child, I thought I was in control of myself-- I believed that lie. In truth, I was an utter slave of Satan, bound to do his will. In the spiritual realm, my name was Chris of Satan, or Chris d'Evil.

Now that I am born again, this time into the family of God, I am under God's authority. He has given me his Name. He has made me Chris of God, or Chris d'Christ. Because my flesh is not yet redeemed, I can still slip into believing that old lie that I am in control of myself. But the truth is my soul is bound forever to Him who both created and then redeemed me from my former cruel master. Christ's authority over me also gives me grace and power to do the works he ordained for me to do before I was ever born, my purpose. I am able to obey him and walk in these good works that bring him glory when I remember I don't belong to myself, but to him who gave me his Name!