I Don't Understand

Psalm 131
My heart is not proud, O LORD,
my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters
or things too wonderful for me.
But I have stilled and quieted my soul;
like a weaned child with its mother,
like a weaned child is my soul within me.
O Israel, put your hope in the LORD
both now and forevermore.

This is my current memory work. I've been working on this passage for a while, as I'm having a bit more difficulty concentrating at the moment than I was a few weeks ago. I'm also reading "Faith on Trial: Studies in Psalm 73" by Martyn Lloyd-Jones.

And it really struck me about how I so often complain in my heart about the way things are going for me. I was pretty sick for two years (turns out it was undiagnosed allergies), always tired, stressed beyond belief from work, and single whilst a lot of my friends (Christian and non-Christian) are beginning relationships. It's all been hard for me.

The thing is, I so often whinge to myself about these facts. It's not fair. Why is all this happening to ME. I don't UNDERSTAND.

The thing is, I'm not always called to understand. Often we will, later down the track, but often we won't. Either way doesn't help us now. We are not called to understand everything. We are called to be obedient. We are called to do what God has asked us even though it would be so much easier to do things in a manner that doesn't reflect Christ.

God says in Isaiah, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8-9) God's ways are not always understandable for us. His purposes are not always clear. But we know that "All things work together for the good of those who love Him" (Romans 8:28a) even the things that we do not like or understand.

It remains for me to still and quiet my soul, and to trust more completely in the LORD.

Do Not Be Afraid

We are told many, many times throughout scripture to not be afraid. It doesn't mean we won't die, but it means that no matter what God is with us, and He is working out all things in our life according to His plan.

But many Christians are afraid.

I remember a conversation I had with a teenage girl from my church. She was very admiring of my desire to have lots of children. I'm used to that. People either think I'm loony or I'm a saint.

I told her why I believe that children are a blessing, and that that had made up my mind in the decision to have as many of them as God should choose to give me. She agreed with me. God said children were a blessing from God. We should not actively reject God's blessings.

And then she said it.

"I could never have more than two children. I mean, the great tribulation will come, and they'll probably be killed, and I'd be devestated."

I couldn't believe it. Seriously, I couldn't. Now, I don't have any particular view of end times. My philosophy is "God wins". I don't currently understand the book of Revelation, though I hope to with future readings and illumination from the Holy Spirit. But the thing is, IT DOESN'T MATTER.

We need to obey God regardless of external circumstances. Now, if I have 20 children, and every one of them gets killed in the great tribulation, then that is God's business. I need to be obedient to the Scriptures as I see them. And I can be confident that no matter what, God has all things under His control, and that all things are for His greater glory.

Are You Idle?

I have often thought that the best of Christians are found in the worst of times. And I have thought again that one reason why we are no better is because God purges us no more. Noah and Lot - who was as holy as they in the time of their afflictions? And yet who was so idle as they in the time of their prosperity?
- John Bunyan

So many of us are idle. I know that I frequently am. And there are few times when we are idle that we don't end up drifting into sin. After all, one of the deadly sins is SLOTH. But that's not the only one that being idle will lead to. An awful lot of sins would be avoided if we were not being so idle.

I'm not saying be busy for the sake of business, but what are you doing with your time? Are you doing anything? Is what you are doing worthwhile?

The big problem for a lot of my generation is idleness. We don't need to work in order to survive - even for those who do nothing they are extremely unlikely to die from starvation, or general necessity. Indeed, most people have far more than they can ever use, and far more leisure time than they need. That time gets filled with idleness.

For many people this means rubbish entertainment. Bad TV, dodgy movies, violent computer games, and mindless internet surfing, which can easily lead to active sinful behaviours.

What is the alternative? As I said, don't just be busy. But DO be productive!

What can you do? Do it! There are lots of things that need doing - books need to be written, people need food that tastes good and is nutritious. Gardens are frequently neglected (I know mine is!). Read a book on a new topic. Learn a new skill. Help the needy. Craft. Clean. And remember Who we are ultimately working for:

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
Colossians 3:23-24

Money and Missions

Did you know that the average Christian spends less than $1 in a thousand on foreign missions?

Now, I'm not denying that there are needs in the West, material and spiritual, and that there are no doubt people who would rather give money to help ease homelessness etc in Australia (or the US, or UK, or where-ever). There are those who literally need every dollar they can to survive. There are those who save in order to adopt the orphan literally into their own home - a process that is far from cheap.

But still - less than $1 in $1000! I honestly don't think that is more than what unbelievers give.

I would give just over 1.35%, not including one off donations. That's more than 10 times the general rate, and yet I look at that number and I am appalled. I have a LOT of stuff, I have plenty of food. I may save for a future adoption (I'm over 2/3 of the way there) but STILL.

If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? (James 2:16) What kind of percent do you give to missions (or for my non-Christian friends, to charity), and is that really enough?

Jules Verne vs Edgar Allan Poe

I recently read Master of the World by Jules Verne. The book was interesting, but most interesting was the introduction. This stated:

"And the irony is that Edgar Allan Poe, a materialist, is best know (sic) for his tales of the supernatural; while Jules Verne, a convinced Catholic, has no supernatural elements in his stories. Verne believes in God, but expresses his belief in divine Providence through reason and explorations of the wonders of a logical and orderly universe, where science is the key to greater understanding of reality and of human progress." (Introduction by Robert A W Lowndes).

I don't think that this is ironic. Edgar Allan Poe was determined to deny the reality of God. In order to deny that reality he was willing to admit the supernatural. In contrast, Jules Verne (who was far from perfect in his view of God) believed that God had ordained laws, and that just as we can depend on God we can depend on His laws for a consistant reality. Gravity consistently applies, because God is who He is.

There are few things as reality-denying as a hardened atheist.

Psalm 1

1 Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.

I've been thinking about this recently. You know, for many Christians it is enough to do the first verse. To not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers. And these are important things. I'm not denying that - indeed, I wish more Christians would actually apply verse one of this Psalm.

But it isn't ENOUGH. We need to be meditating on the law of the LORD, day and night! Staying away from immorality is not enough, like Sodom did with Lot, it will draw us closer, bit by bit, until we are immersed in it, even if still repulsed by it.

No, we need to have God's word in our mind, contantly reminding us of His ways, so that we may not sin against God (I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you - psalm 119:11). That is what will keep us from being drawn into the counsel of the wicked.

The thing is, memorising Scripture is not easy. Especially if you want more than a verse here and there, but want passages, chapters, even whole books of the Bible to be in your heart.

It's something I'm working on. I don't have the level of passages memorised that I would like. Here are some ways that I use that help me.

1. Music
This is one of the easiest ways. Choose a passage and either find a song for it or make one up yourself. The main problem with this is that many Scripture songs are either very tacky or annoying (so you don't WANT to be meditating on them day and night) or they only have an isolated verse or two in them. Which if you want to be memorising passages is not great.
One group I like is Sons of Korah. They set entire psalms to music - pretty much word for word, usually NIV version - which is beautiful to listen to!

2. Write it out and Just Do It!
The other method I'm using sucessfully at the moment is to write out a passage on a piece of card and carry it around with me. Writing it out helps me to remember it a bit better. I then am able to look at it throughout the day. At the moment I spend two hours of my work day putting children to sleep - and this means I have time to bring out the card and read over it, slowly commiting it to memory. On one good day I memorised all of Psalm 1! Yay!

So, are you meditiating on the law of the LORD day and night? Do you even have enough Scripture memorised to be able to?

Just Finished!

This is a knitted plastic bag I've been working on. I finished it this morning. My fingers are just about blistered. Knitting with plastic is tricky.



Now I get to continue sewing my knitted cream and black lion! Pictures when I'm finished!

Single Women and the Picture of Christ and His Church

Like many (though far from all) conservative Christians, I believe that a Christian marriage should be a reflection of the relationship between Christ and His Church, and that this will mean that the wife will submit to the husband, and that the husband will lay down his life for his wife.

Except that at the moment, I'm not married, so it doesn't apply to me.

Or doesn't it?

The thing is, we're kinda without the Bridegroom at the moment. The church, that is. He's in Heaven, reigning there. And while we have Love Letters and His Spirit, the actualy physical presence isn't there.

And yet the church is called to be faithful to Him, to be His Spotless Bride, to remember her first love for Him, to follow Him even to the shedding of blood.

I'm not married - I'm not even courting anyone. But I can still be a picture of Christ and His Church. I can immerse myself in the cleansing power of the Word. I can keep myself spotless for my husband. I can work to prepare for the day when I will be married. I can model the patience the church has as we wait for our Bridegroom - and who is worth all the wait!

Soap Balls - Christmas Gifts for Kids to Make

I'm one of those sickening people who likes to be ready for Christmas early. I used to do my Christmas shopping in the after Christmas sales. It was nice, because I could get the person to check that I was getting exactly what they wanted, and by Christmas time they would have forgotten.

Now that I am sick and working I'm much more disorganised. It's September, and I'm only beginning to get ready.

Here though is one of the easiest presents I know of. I made a type of these with the chickadees (my kinder students) and they LOVED it. Not only that, but it's SOAP. It's CLEAN! Wonderful!

All you need is some soap flakes, some oil, and some "additions". In the lot I just made I used lavender, along with some lavender oil and some olive oil. In the other version (made with the chickadees) we used cinnamon, poppy seeds and sesame seeds.


Mix the ingredients together. Add a small amount of water. Add less rather than more, because it's easy to add more as you go.


Squeeze the soap in your hands into small balls, and lay them out onto a tray or newspaper.


Beware! If they look nice someone will try to eat them! (One of my boys thought they looked like chocolate!)


Leave them to dry overnight. Then wrap them in little bags or cloth or tissue paper. And voila! Presents that almost everyone will love!

Steiner Dolls

Last Tuesday, I went to a PD on making Steiner dolls.

First, we sewed up a tube, and stuffed it.


Then we divided it into two sections. In my later doll I used a rubber band, but for this one we used tapestry thread.


Then we cut a hole in the middle of a small piece of satin, and put it on the doll like a petticoat. We stitched it on the doll.


Then we cut a hole in a piece of muslin and put it also on the doll, then stictched it in place. We added another piece of muslin, doing the same thing, and arranging the top piece so that all of the petticoat is covered before stitching this second piece into place.


We chose a hair-piece, and stitched it to the middle of the head. We only need to cover the front of the head, as there will be a head-piece covering the back of the head.


Sew the hair to both sides of the head.


Fold up a smaller piece of muslin, and arrange into a head-piece shape that you want. It might be like a peaked cloak, or like a bonnet, or however you want. This doll has a peaked cloak hat, my next doll has more like a bonnet (picture later).



Decorate the head-piece as you like. This doll has lace flowers with sequins in the centre. Pretty! Decorate the neck band, and any other parts you want.


Draw or stitch on the eyes and mouth. Steiner dolls have no nose, a straight line for the mouth, and small stitches for eyes. The point is that children can project any kind of emotion onto the doll that they want. In order to get the eyes etc in the right spot, use pins as markers and check to see that you like the expression.

That's it!

Here's the doll I made today. I used the scraps from the holes in the middle of the muslin and satin pieces to make the flower..