Mary overcame in the way women are called to conquer—
by giving birth to conquerors,
or by giving birth to daughters who will give birth to conquerors.And this explains how the Magnificat can have been
composed by a woman
and still be so gloriously militant.Godly child-bearing is militant.
The seed of the woman has crushed the dragon’s head.~Douglas Wilson, God Rest Ye Merry, p26~
Needing Rescue
The fall of man did not introduce evil; it placed us on the wrong side of it, under its rule, needing rescue.
~N.D. Wilson, Death by Living, p77~
Real story grip
Mary knew she was a pregnant virgin,
Mary knew what Simeon told them here [in Luke 2:25-35],
she knew what the angel had said, and more.
So she knew that the cross was not the end of the story—
but it was true grief in the story nonetheless.
Knowing we are in a story does not prevent real story grip from happening.
A sword went straight through Mary’s soul—
and she knew that it was coming years in advance.
~Douglas Wilson, God Rest Ye Merry, p29~
Diligence & Fatness
Proverbs 13:4
The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.
(Great)Grandparents, married in 1952
(Grand)Parents, married in 1975
Colin & Ashley, married in 2005
Steven & Melissa, married in 2007
(Great)(Grand)Children:
Gabriel (6 1/2), Noah (5 1/2), Hannah (5 1/2), Clara (3 1/2),
Asher (3), Evangeline (22mo), Lucy (4 1/2 mo)
Isaiah 55:2
…hearken diligently unto Me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
Grace & More Grace
Grace is one of the most difficult things in the world for sinners to grasp.
~Douglas Wilson, God Rest Ye Merry, p33~
God’s future grace in Christ is more real than all of the anxiety-ridden hypothetical situations
that threaten to keep us awake tonight.
~Gloria Furman, Treasuring Christ When Your Hands are Full, p122~
Gingerbread Houses
Impossibillions
Imagine sticking your fingers on your pulse
and thanking God every time
He gave you another blood-driving, brain-powering thump.
We should.
And we shouldn’t,
because if we did,
we would never do anything else with our living;
we wouldn’t have the time to look at or savor
any of the other of our impossibillions of gifts.
~N.D. Wilson, Death by Living, p108~
Contemplations
I have been sitting here by the fire, by the tree, one toddler napping, two young boys creating desserts with playdough… and I have been contemplating many things. Including how different it would be if I had a little newborn here resting on my chest. Fidelis would have been born this week, presumably, and to continue moving forward through time continues to reopen so many hard corners. Yet at a Classical Christian school’s Christmas concert last night (we wanted to go fellowship with friends, and let the kids cheer on some of their friends on stage!), rather than sitting there wistfully thinking about how hard it is to have a small family when I have a big-family-heart (which is SO true in my life every single day), the Lord mercifully granted me the thought instead ~ how marvelous that our laps are full of these three amazing miracles and that God is giving all five of us SUCH JOY in this music and this night and this place and this fellowship! So God’s faithfulness continues to show up in many facets, with many nuances, in many different circumstances. My joys AND my sorrows are beautiful because they have been given to me by my Father.
Of course that doesn’t mean that my sorrows don’t make me cry just like my joys make me laugh.
It just means that I occasionally have the grace to recognize that my life is a masterpiece created by The Artist with skills that utilize both light and shadows for His glory. And sometimes He even gives me the eyes to see beauty from His perspective.
Leadership
The right kind of hard man is hard for his wife. Soft men are hard on their wives. In the same way, hard men are hard for their people; soft men are hard on their people. As we deal with these perilous times, we need hard pastors — pastors who are hard for their congregations, not hard on their congregations.
We need Christian leadership, in short, that is meek and gentle in its responsiveness to the Word of God, and that absolutely refuses to budge whenever the world demands it. And that is something that I am afraid we do not currently have.
~Douglas Wilson, blog~
Preparing!
I got goosebumps when reading this post on Preparing Him Room, as we delve into the season of Advent.
And while I am a CREC girl at heart, attending an ACNA Anglican church now, it is really great to see some of the Advent nuances making an impression on my family. Yesterday the liturgy at church was different, it began with the lighting of the hope/prophecy candle, and the vestments had changed to a rich purple color which inspired my little Asher to gasp “the church changed its clothes!” when we walked into the sanctuary.
We had our first Advent feast this weekend, and had the joy of sharing it with my parents & grandparents. We also have little chocolates as a family each night, reminding the kids that Christmas is coming ~ Jesus has come and changed the world, and soon we will once again share in a glorious celebration of that, but we still also get to look ahead to when He comes again and anticipate the enormity of that feast and wedding!
And we have a mite box to collect money to donate for well digging in needy countries. We are donating shoes to a local community center that provides for local needy families. We have activities and music and games and readings.
And we have decorated our home to remind us that this season of the year is special, set apart.
So we’re in the midst of preparing and anticipating. And it’s a joyful thing. And boy oh boy, are we eagerly looking forward to the culmination of it all on Christmas day! Just ask my kids ~ they’re counting down. 🙂
