Christless Leisure

An Ark of Refuge for the Weary

Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

~Matthew 11:28

Unrest is one great characteristic of the world. Hurry, vexation, failure, disappointments, stare us in the face on every side. But here is hope. There is an ark of refuge for the weary, as truly as there was for Noah's dove. There is rest in Christ, rest of conscience, and rest of heart, rest built on pardon of all sin, rest flowing from peace with God.
~J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospel, Matthew

When The Frog is Boiling, and the Frog is Us

J. C. Ryle once said that there is a hatred that is downright charity, and that is the hatred of erroneous doctrine. Erroneous doctrine, heretical doctrine is what Mormons believe, and to say anything else is to deny our Christian faith.

I'm shocked by Franklin Graham's being "shocked" that his website labeled Mormonism a "cult." I'm shocked by his reticence to call Mormons what they are...false teachers who preach a different gospel, who are leading many straight to hell, black suits, bicycles, and all.

Why should I care? Why should my blood pressure rise when I read stuff like this? Why should this Mom of 9 take precious time to make my objections known? I mean, there's laundry to do, meals to cook, boo-boos to kiss, and bills to pay.

But there are also souls to disciple and train up for His glory. That's why this matters.

When you teach your children that 2+2=4, and they start hearing the whispers that 2+2 can really equal 3 or 5 or 9 or that we shouldn't declare without apology that 2+2=4, will they abandon the truth or believe they've just misunderstood 2+2 all these years? Perhaps they've defined 2+2 so narrowly, and love and time now reveal to the more enlightened ones that 2+2 can be whatever it needs to be to whomever.

This isn't just about Franklin Graham and his Dad denying the power and truth of THE gospel. They're not the only ones who have compromised.

This is about the slippery slope into heresy, the frog in the pot of boiling water that doesn't even know it's dying. This is about sugar-coated apostasy, weak-willed calls for accountability, and Christians who are so Scripturally ignorant that we buy in to it all.

We are the frogs, Christians, and we're boiling in a pot of lies and heresy and compromise and relativism.

I'm not a pastor or a master theologian. I haven't been to seminary or studied theology for years, but I do know what the gospel is and what it isn't. And frankly, I'm weary of some pastors and master theologians trying to convince me that the gospel really isn't what I thought it was. Or that so-and-so really isn't denying the gospel or truly hasn't left the faith. 

Or that I must tiptoe around the truth, because that's what grace would do.

Don't say Mr. Graham is misunderstood.

Don't say the Mormons are misunderstood.

Don't say it's not loving to speak the truth.

Don't say the gospel is not offensive.

Don't say Graham should not be held to a higher standard and that his politically correct dance around truth and words won't cause some to stumble.

Do say, "God help us."

God help us train us bold souls for His glory, souls that stand fast on His Word and are not carried away by every wind of doctrine, by every man with "strong moral convictions", by every mega church or sharp-dressed preacher with a silver tongue and snow-white teeth who fears man more than he fears the God he professes to love.

God help us not put stumbling blocks before our children by catering to relativistic distortions of the gospel that deny the very Savior who was spat on and beaten and scorned and mocked and who suffered the wrath of God for our sakes.

God help us remember, as Morley said, that the enemies of truth are awfully nice.

We must teach our children, and teach them well. Teach them faithfully. Teach them firmly. Teach them and be willing to be persecuted for what we teach them. Teach them that the truth of His Word is more important than popularity or friends or blog stats. Teach them that it is LOVE to speak the truth, that showing grace doesn't mean compromise, that the gospel is offensive. 

Teach them that we can recite perfectly the truth of the gospel, while boldly living out its antithesis.

With love,

Trisha

I Don't Want a Crystal Ball

How gracious God is in not letting us see all that a new year might hold for us. Instead, He teaches us to trust Him one trial or blessing at a time. 

I would have been overwhelmed if God had shown me ahead of time how 2011 would unfold. I wouldn't have been able to enjoy the daily gifts He poured out on me for fear of what was around the corner. I wouldn't have understood the perfection of God's timing and provision in all things. I wouldn't have learned even more to walk by faith and not by sight.

Some of us will know great joy in 2012. Some of us will know the deepest sorrow ever. Some of us might know both. Whatever trials or blessings God gives us, may we all know more of our Savior, and may we both suffer and rejoice for His glory.

"Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us — looking unto Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith!" Hebrews 12:1-2. Look only, look always, look intently, to Jesus; run looking, work looking, fight looking, suffer looking, live looking, and die looking — to Jesus, who is at God's right hand in glory. Oh, look, look, look to Jesus!

~James Smith, A New Year's Motto

Happy New Year!

With love,

Trisha

Life in Pictures~Almost Christmas Edition

The weather outside is now frightful, even though it's so delightful. I've lost count of how many snow storms we've had.  I think it's 4 so far this month. 

There are cars stuck on the road, and my Beloved almost didn't make it home last night. He had to drive another route and then fight just getting in our driveway. The men of the house will be building more muscles as they shovel lots of snow today.

I can't believe it's just a couple more days until Christmas. Tonight we're supposed to enjoy our annual "drive around and look at Christmas lights" event, followed by our traditional hot chocolate and french fries. :) But, we might have to postpone that activity until next week. Hopefully, we'll still be able to enjoy our amazing Christmas Eve service.

There's been quite a bit of snow cream in our home this month. Have I mentioned Ink is a master at whipping this stuff up? If you're not looking, he might throw in a bit of maple syrup. I think that's to make sure he gets to eat the entire bowl of cream by himself.

We've been enjoying Behold the Lamb of God for our Advent readings. Are we behind? YES. Am I upset? NO. 

Advent chocolates are like socks around here. They mysteriously end up missing. Nonetheless, it's been a sweet way to mark the approach of Christmas Day.

Oh my. I've been the recipient of the kindness of a couple of friends I've met through blogging, and their thoughtfulness has been overwhelming.  This friend sent bookmarks for all our the ladies in the house, paperweights for the writers in the house, a homemade checkers set, the only kind of mouse I like--a stuffed one...for Cap'n to enjoy throwing around, and lovely washcloths and scrubby for my Beloved and me. Everything except the rocks was handmade!

This sweet friend sent me a cookbook (I'm a collector of them) AND chocolate! She knows me so well. :)

Both gifts left me teary-eyed and very thankful and so humbled that these sweet friends would spend their time and money and talents to bless our family.  Thank you!!

There's been a lot of this going on this month....watching for snow and watching the snow.

For those tough guys who are still too short to survive mountain snow drifts, there are always the famous green army men. Daddy threw in a few M&Ms, too, because he felt sorry for Cap'n.

Clairesy enjoyed the snow for a bit, but she's still waiting for her snow boots to arrive. If they've been shipped FedEx, it might be a while before we see them. 

Views like this in Albuquerque made Christmas shopping all the more fun.

There's something special about the sunrise after it's been snowing.

We've spent our days watching sleeping baby, too. That's never a waste of time.

I've made lots of comfort food...soups and casseroles and yummy hot drinks. 

Our original plans to get a real tree this year fizzled, so we stuck with our artificial tree. It's a humble one that provides endless fascination for the Littles. 

We had fun buying ornaments this year that reflect Christ and the story of our redemption....a piece of fruit to remind us of sin entering the world, a cluster of grapes to remind us that Christ is the vine and we are the branches, a sheep to remind us that He is our Shepherd,  and a star to remind us that He is the Light of the World. We'll continue to add more each year, and this is my favorite "new" thing we've done this Christmas.

There's always lots of reading going on. It's exciting to watch Ella read to her little sisters now. The girl is unstoppable! Here she's reading from The Big Picture Story Bible, one of our favorites.

Storytelling and handiwork make a perfect pair for snowy days. Emma is finishing up a cross stitch kit she started when Grandma was here, and Luke is sharing adventures from his many readings.

It was wonderful to watch him get into the part of a Storyteller and to hear his captivated sisters say, "More, more!"

Yes, lying on the back of the couch is allowed during story time. :)

We attended our annual Mountain Man Christmas party. Lots of good food and a great bluegrass band. There was even a drunk woman who offered her comments about the size of our family. "Wow. You've been busy." "You need to get a tv." It's ok. I stopped her from sharing her more explicit thoughts, and she was later escorted away from the party. The whole scene was an opportunity for our children to be reminded of life without Christ and to pray for her.

This gets my "Decoration of the Year" award! Isn't is wonderful? WE ALL FIT!! Our names never fit on anything.  The personalization stops at 6 people on most everything. Yes, Elisabeth is misspelled, but she's quickly getting over any psychological trauma.

Cap'n has been battling our "Jingle Dog." The stuffed pet sings Jingle Bells and causes quite the fright for our little guy. Yesterday we caught Cap'n throwing Jingle Dog across the room. We're thinking they're finally becoming friends.

Clairesy tries her hand at covert ops. Because we'd never notice her trying to play an electronic game under a pillow.

I never knew little white lights could bring me such JOY. I love having these hanging throughout the house, and I'll probably be leaving some of them up throughout winter. They are such a simply way to get COZY. Cost: less than 12.00. 

This is how things look this morning. Remember this tomahawk stand has much longer legs. :) And it's still snowing.

And finally, I'll leave you with this little ditty from my heart:

FedEx, FedEx, where are you?
Yes we know that out there it's a mess
FedEx, FedEx, where are you?
To get the job done, you should hire UPS.

Much love to you all,
Trisha

Savior

"The word Jesus means simply 'Savior.' It is the same word as 'Joshua' in the Old Testament. Very striking and instructive is the selection of this name. The Son of God came down from heaven to be not only the Savior, but the King, the Lawgiver, the Prophet, the Priest, the Judge of fallen man. Had He chosen any one of these titles, He would only have chosen that which was His own. But He passed by them all. He selects a name which speaks of mercy, grace, help, and deliverance for a lost world. It is as a deliverer and Redeemer that He desires principally to be known"
~J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Luke


(My friend, Becky, is hosting a series focusing on the Excellencies of His Name. You can read the posts here.)