The Doctrine of Grace and Moral Laxity

Those who suppose that the doctrine of God's grace tends to encourage moral laxity ('"final salvation is certain anyway, no matter what we do; therefore our conduct doesn't matter") are simply showing that, in the most literal sense, they do not know what they are talking about. For love awakens love in return; and love, once awakened, desires to give pleasure; and the revealed will of God is that those who have received grace should hence-forth give themselves to "good works" (Ephesians 2:10, Titus 2:11 f.); and gratitude will move any man who has truly received grace to do as God requires, and daily cry out thus--

Oh! to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be;
Let that grace now, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee!
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it;
Prone to leave the God I love--
Take my heart, oh, take and seal it,
Seal it from Thy courts above!

~J.I. Packer, Knowing God

I Get To! You Get To! Praise God We Get To!

"I sit at my dining room table and fight back tears because I get to live the blessing of Psalm 128:

Blessed is every one who fears the LORD,
Who walks in His ways.

When you eat the labor of your hands,
You shall be happy, and it shall be well with you.
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
In the very heart of your house,
Your children like olive plants
All around your table.
Behold, thus shall the man be blessed
Who fears the LORD.

The LORD bless you out of Zion,
And may you see the good of Jerusalem
All the days of your life.
Yes, may you see your children's children.

Peace be upon Israel!

Those children were not, but now they are. And I am falling into the modernist's erroneous thinking if I say they came here merely through natural processes. If I reduce the whole process to the birds and the bees, I miss the beauty and glory of God orchestrating our conception of six of those eight children as well as orchestrating our two adoptions. Of course, ultimately He controls all things--from the rise and fall of nations to the descent of a single leaf in autumn. But here, He bends over backward to remind us that He forms our children and puts homeless children in families.

There are circles in circles that multiply the glory of the dance. I get to sit at the table and watch my firstborn delight in her younger brother. I get to see him drink in the joy of the five-year-old. I get to see my thirteen-year old establish a bond with her littlest brother, and he her. I get to see my two youngest girls delight in each other and also welcome their new brother into their world. I get to experience this reality--not the exasperating, wallet-stretching view that I have eight--eight--children. No, I get to live in a world with my beloved wife, with Darby, Campbell, Shannon, Delaney, Erin, Claire, Maili, Reilly, and Donovan. I may be the dad, but I am a kid in a candy store, a candy store owned and stocked by my heavenly Father who loves me.

I get to...
What do you get to do?

~R.C. Sproul, Jr. , A Call to Wonder


And mothers, think of all we "get to" do each day. Are we losing the wonder underneath the laundry and dishes and millionth time of correcting the same child for the same sin? I often have those momentary lapses of gratitude.

Our "get to" stories are different, but they should all move us to a place of wonder that the God who made us has given us so much, and we deserve none of it. Write your own "get to" story. Fill in the blanks. It can only leave you overwhelmed by His goodness and giving Him all of the glory.

With love,
Trisha

A Gem of a Book You'd Probably Never Pick Up

For Christmas, our Pastor gave us a little book packed full of the wisdom of John Piper and Don Carson, The Pastor as Scholar and the Scholar as Pastor. It's a quick read, but one you'll go back to over and over. As our Pastor rightly observed, there's much in this book for everyone.

On shortcomings of the internet:
"First, it is so democratized that it is more difficult than ever to distinguish between truth and error, between authoritative opinion and fatuous opinion, between speculation and learning. Second it swamps us with brief information and opinion; it entices us into endless worthless discussions even on blogs that may themselves be valuable."
~Carson

Are we aware of these dangers, and are we easily caught up in worthless discussions?

On reading the Word devotionally vs. critically:
"Scripture remains Scripture, it is still the Word of God before which (as Isaiah reminds us) we are to tremble--the very words we are to revere, treasure, meditate on, and hide in our hearts (minds?), whether we are reading the Bible at 5:30 am at the start of a day, or preparing an assignment for an exegesis class at 10:00 pm."
~Carson

Is there a difference in how we treat the Word of God when we're reading it ourselves, and when we're teaching it to our children? Is there passion and reverence?

On the danger of applause:
Carson shares about approaching a friend to join him in a writing project regarding the doctrine of Scripture..."He replied that although he wished our project well, he did not want to write on a subject like that since he thought it would queer any chance he might have of getting a post at Oxford of Cambridge, where he would eventually do a lot more good. My response was that if he took that approach to confessional matters, it would not be long before he distanced himself not only from defending the doctrine, but from the doctrine itself. And that, I regret to tell you, is exactly what happened over the ensuing years. Beware the seduction of academic applause...On the last day, we stand or fall on the approval of one person, one master, the Lord Jesus."

Have I been seduced by blogger applause or other forms of approval? Have I watered down my beliefs to avoid offending others, or have I abandoned those truths altogether?

On what a student remembers:
"I dare never forget that students do not learn everything I try to teach them but primarily what I am excited about."
~Carson

What would our children say we're excited about? Would Scripture and prayer and the Gospel be on their list?

There's much more, and yes, Piper's contribution is every bit as beneficial. You'd do well to invest your time in this one.

With love,
Trisha

Morning Readings

The children and I just finished reading through James Smith's Daily Bible Readings for the Lord's Household.  These are short but very meaty devotions that we read together in the morning at breakfast.  It's a wonderful way to be meditating on the same Scriptures throughout the day.

We're now moving on to The Pastor's Morning Visit.  And, yes, I print out all of the readings.  It's worth the ink!

You can find more to choose from at Grace Gems.

With love,

Why We Love Fridays

Have you heard of Ligonier's Five Dollar Fridays?  We've purchased some amazing resources in the past few weeks because of these weekly specials.

We're currently watching Knowing Scripture by Sproul, and yesterday, we received this bundle.

Amazing prices and very prompt shipping!


With love,

Spurgeon on Reading the Bible

"But what poor reading some of you give to your Bibles. I do not want to say anything which is too severe because it is not strictly true—let your own consciences speak, but still, I make bold to enquire,—Do not many of you read the Bible in a very hurried way—just a little bit, and off you go? Do you not soon forget what you have read, and lose what little effect it seemed to have? How few of you are resolved to get at its soul, its juice, its life, its essence, and to drink in its meaning. Well, if you do not do that, I tell you again your reading is miserable reading, dead reading, unprofitable reading; it is not reading at all, the name would be misapplied. May the blessed Spirit give you repentance touching this thing."

A Simple Reminder

I love Rev. M'Cheyne's reminder that the Scriptures read "both for family and private readings, would be greatly illuminated if they were preceded by a moment's silent prayer" of Psalm 119:18.

So, I made this very simple bookmark to help us each remember to cry out for understanding before we read as well as to remember the joy and the privilege of hearing God's voice first in the morning.

Notes from the Reading Chair

"Look at a biblioholic's living quarters.  If he or she has furniture--not all biblioholics do--one particular item will leap out and grab your attention: the biblioholic's reading chair...the armrests will be worn through.  With the right light, you can comb your hair in the reflection off the cushions.  The springs will be shot.  And sit down in the thing and your fanny will bounce three feet off the floor....it is where communion between biblioholic and book takes place, and any monkeying around with the authenticity of that place is aesthetically unnerving." ~Tom Raabe, Biblioholism

Each week I hope to post some thoughts from our readings as well as offerings for the commonplace books.  What interesting discussions we've had this week as a result of our varied reads!

I'm enjoying Douglas Wilson's biography of Anne Bradstreet, the Puritan poet.  He does a thorough job of not only painting a portrait  of Anne's life but also correcting many misunderstandings about Puritan life in general. 

For instance, did you know that...

~Puritans were not opposed to alcohol but it was in fact a daily part of their lives.
~Puritans were not hostile to Christmas itself but instead to the way Christmas was celebrated at that time.
~Despite characterizations of Puritans as "wannabe ayatollahs and manufacturers of scarlet letters," their criminal laws were based mostly on the Mosaic Code and were actually not as harsh as the laws in England

One of my favorite passages is Mr. Wilson's description of Anne's perspective on her life's purpose.

Her identity was not that of a poet.  She did not adopt poetry as a minor "career."  She was a wife and a mother, and she used her poetic gifts from the vantage point of that identity.  She did not cling to them as a substitute for that identity.  When she later wrote down a prose account of her life for her children, she did not mention her poetry at all.  Our tendency is to remember her life in terms of her poetry.  When she recalled her life, she did so in terms of her God and her family.

Wilson also addresses many of the attempts by feminists to ascribe to Anne characteristics of discontent and theological difficulties that simply aren't reflected in her life and her poetry.

In David Allen's Ready for Anything, I found these words an encouraging jumpstart to tackle some of those less-than-desirable tasks before me.

Completion of open loops, whether they be major projects or boxes of old stuff we've yet to purge and organize, prepares the ground for cleaner, clearer, and more complete energy for whatever shows up.  We're often not sure what's next or what to tackle.  At that point just clean or complete something--something obvious and in front of you, right away.  Soon you'll have the energy and clarity to know what's next, and you'll have cleared the decks for more effective responsiveness on every front.  Process your in-basket, purge your e-mails, or clean your center desk drawer.  You've got to do it sometime anyway.

Little Big Man finished Gary DeMar's Memory Mechanics and summed up his opinion on the book in these simple terms, "The tricks suggested for memorizing things are much more complicated than just memorizing what you have to memorize."  He's half-way through G.A. Henty's The Dash for Khartoum and recommends it, saying it's his favorite Henty book thus far.

Mountain Man finished up Whatever Happened to Justice and was more than a bit surprised by what he read.  It was all new information and definitely not what he was taught in his public school government classes.  Recommended!

He's now into The Search for God and Guinness by Stephen Mansfield and is finding it very enjoyable.  Can you imagine these benefits of a Guinness worker during the 1920's:

~full medical and dental care
~massage services
~reading rooms
~subsidized meals
~a company-funded pension
~subsidies for funeral expenses
~education benefits
~sports facilities
~free concerts, lectures and entertainment
~2 pints of Guinness beer a day

Arthur and Olivia Guinness had 10 children, four girls and six boys.   "What this happy list of deeply loved children does not betray is there were actually twenty-one pregnancies but Olivia miscarried eleven times.  She must have been a sturdy, courageous woman.  Despite her losses, she kept having children until 1781, when she was in her late forties."  And no, the Guinnesses weren't Catholic or Mormon, and I'm sure they knew what caused "that." :)

Happy Reading!
~Queen Mom

Reading Lists 2010~Part 2

"Read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them at all."

~Henry David Thoreau

I continue to be amazed at the power of a list when it comes to being intentional.  I'm just now posting Little Big Man's list, and yet he's already finished several of the books. :)  Of course, he's chosen these in addition to his readings from Ambleside, and I do envy his progress a bit. The best part is that he's really enjoying the books, and I'm hoping I can squeeze a few reviews out of him.  (the titles marked through are the ones that have been read) 

Little Big Man's Reading Goals for 2010

History
1776  by David McCullough

Biography
The Journal of a Trapper by Osborne Russell
Jedidiah Smith by Dale L. Morgan
Joe Meek the Merry Mountain Man by Stanley Vestal
A Heart Promptly Offered~The Revolutionary Leadership of John Calvin

Fiction/Historical Fiction
Mr. Bliss by J.R.R. Tolkien
Hunted and Harried by R.M. Ballentyne
The Wrecker Series by Ian Lawrence
Iron Scouts of the Confederacy by Lee McGiffin
The Dash for Khartoum by G.A. Henty
The Jacobite Exile by G.A. Henty
The Escape by A. Van der Jagt
Sword Song by Rosemary Sutcliff

Education
Memory Mechanics  by Gary DeMar

Theology/Discipleship
Chosen by God by R.C. Sproul
Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God by J.I. Packer
Holiness by J.C. Ryle
Adventures of Missionary Heroism by John C. Lambert
How to be a Man~Useful Hints on the Formation of Character by Harvey Newcomb

(psst...don't tell him, but I do think he'll have this list finished way before the end of the year and will be adding titles to the list....just a mother's intuition)

Queen Mom's Did-I-Bite-Off-More-Than-I-Can-Chew-Especially-with-a-New-Baby-On-the-Way-? 2010 Reading Goals

Biography
In Trouble and in Joy (various) by Sharon James
Marriage to a Difficult Man (Life of Jonathan Edwards) by Elisabeth D. Dodds
Beyond Stateliest Marble (Anne Bradstreet) by Douglas Wilson
Jonathan Edwards by Iain Murray

Homemaking/Organization
Getting Things Done by David Allen
Ready for Anything by David Allen
Sink Reflections by Marla Cilley
Fix, Freeze, Feast by Kati Neville
A Life that Says Welcome by Karen Ehman
Keeping House by Margaret K. Peterson
Family Feasts for $75.00 a Week by Mary Ostyn

Education
A Thomas Jefferson Education by Oliver V. DeMille
The Wisdom of Fenelon by Fenelon
When Children Love to Learn ed. Elaine Cooper
From Playpen to Podium by Jeffrey L. Myers
The Harp and Laurel Wreath by Laura M. Berquist
When You Rise Up by R.C. Sproul, Jr.
So Much More by Ann and Elizabeth Botkin
Laying Down the Rails by Sonya Shafer
Life Skills for Kids by Christine Field

Christian Growth/Discipleship
All Things for Good by Thomas Watson
The Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul
Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung
Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges
The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis
Discipline by Elisabeth Elliot
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
Ordering Your Private World by Gordon MacDonald
The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence

Family Life
Home-Making by J.R. Miller
Your Family God's Way by Wayne A. Mack
Shepherding a Child's Heart by Ted Tripp
The Peacemaker by Ken Sande
The Contemplative Mom by Ann Kroeker
Not So Fast by Ann Kroeker
Shaping of a Christian Family by Elisabeth Elliot
A Sane Woman's Guide to Raising a Large Family by Mary Ostyn
Family Practice ed. by R.C. Sproul, Jr.

Fiction/Classics
Animal Farm by George Orwell
The Daisy Chain by Mary E. DeMuth
Witch Wood by John Buchan
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Emmuska Orczy

Financial
The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
How to be the Family CFO by Kim Snider

Culture
Ideas Have Consequences by Richard Weaver
All God's Children and Blue Suede Shoes by Kenneth Myers

As I was making my own list, I realized that I suffer from a severe case of Attention Deficit Disorder when it comes to reading.  I want to read it all, and I get easily distracted by each new book title that I discover.  I'm hoping a list will help me stay a bit more focused.  

This list is also stretching me a bit because there are some genres that I tend to read very little from.....like fiction and culture.  So, I was quite intentional about making myself read from broader categories than I would typically choose from.  Writing everything out helped me see my weaknesses. 

I'll be happy if I conquer half this list this year, but if there are any books listed that you consider "must reads," please let me know so I can make it one of my priorities!  Happy reading!

~Queen Mom

2010 Reading Lists

"I find television very educating.  Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room to read a book." ~ Groucho Marx

"He who lends a book is an idiot.  He who returns the book is more of an idiot."~Arabic proverb

"Never judge a book by its movie."

~J.W. Hagan

Why did we wait so long to do this?

What is this? Well, this is simply sitting down together and brainstorming about our reading goals for the year and then actually making a LIST.

Is the list to impress or give us the illusion of being smarter than we are?  Hardly.  The purpose of the list is to help us have goals and to actually know where we want to go.  It's about living intentionally and being good stewards of the little time we have. (It's been said that we'll be the same persons five years from now except for the people we meet and the books we read.  Thankfully, God doesn't just leave us to those two things, though....He's sanctifying us day by day.)

I'm terrible about knowing the many books I want to read but then getting distracted by the latest book recommendation, never making significant progress even though I'm always reading something.  And,  though I probably won't get to read every book on my list, I will at least have a focus and most likely be much more productive than I think I'm going to be when I'm just winging it.

Sitting down together and discussing what we wanted to read this year was so much fun.  We encouraged one another and made recommendations (Scribe and Little Big Man especially), and left the table feeling like one of the most difficult things was done (or perhaps making the list was actually the easy part!).  I'm also looking forward to the discussions our readings will provide as we'll be enjoying many of the same books together.

Scribe posted his reading list earlier.  Today I'll post Mountain Man's and then Little Big Man's and my own.

I must say how proud I am of my Beloved for even agreeing to attempt this.....his free time is so scarce.  He will be doing many of his books on audio since he has so much drive time each day (3-1/2 hours).

Personal Productivity

Getting Things Done by David Allen

Memory Mechanics by Gary DeMar

Money Management

The Complete Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey

Christian Living/Discipleship

Chosen by God by R.C. Sproul

The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

Desiring God by John Piper

The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis

The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis

(ahem....Scribe slightly influenced this list :))

Family Life

Shepherding A Child's Heart by Ted Tripp

Your Family God's Way by Wayne Mack

Culture/Politics

Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman

All God's Children and Blue Suede Shoes by Kenneth A. Myers

Glenn Beck's Common Sense

The Search for God and Guinness by Stephen Mansfield

Is Christianity Good for the World by Doug Wilson

Historical Fiction/Fiction

Witch Wood by John Buchan

St. George for England by G.A. Henty

At Agincourt by G.A. Henty

The Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis

Classics

The Confessions of St. Augustine

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

Biography

Joe Meek the Merry Mountain Man by Stanley Vestal

A Heart Promptly Offered-The Revolutionary Leadership of John Calvin by David Hall

The Journal of Jacob Fowler

Education

When You Rise Up by R.C. Sproul, Jr.

A Thomas Jefferson Education by Oliver Van DeMille

Philosophy

The Compleat Angler by Izaak Walton

History

"1776" by David McCullough

The Battle for Iwo Jima by Robert Leckie