Thanksgiving Day

We try to have a little skit or presentation each year from the kiddos. I can't download the video for some reason, but the pic is above. God is so good; it was a blessed day! (Cousin Libby joins Hope and Faith in the pic. They just love their cousin!)

Unexpected Blessings

We were able to get a new recliner and a little playhouse out of the recliner box.

Actual Quote

Will sent the actual quote:

"Aim at heaven, you get earth thrown in. Aim at earth, you get neither." CS Lewis

Lewis and Piper

Will and I were speaking the other day of CS Lewis. We both admitted they we do not "get him." However, Will said there was one quote of Lewis's that he sort of "got." He paraphrased. .

"When we look to heaven and earth, we get neither. When we look to heaven alone, we get both."

Isn't that an extension of Luke 9:24?

I'm attempting to read Piper's Desiring God, again. Hopefully this time I will get through the entire book. Anyway, this pure happiness and joy found in Christ is a pursuit of mine and what better to do than to read a book on Christian Hedonism.

Here are some words from the introduction:

"Worship is basically adoration, and we adore only what delights us. There is no such thing as sad adoration or unhappy praise. We have a name for those who try to praise when they have no pleasure in the object. We call them hypocrities."

Great Song

How Sweet and Awful Is the Place
1. How sweet and awful is the place With Christ within the doors, While everlasting love displays The choicest of her stores.

2. While all our hearts and all our songs Join to admire the feast,Each of us cry, with thankful tongues,"Lord, why was I a guest?"

3. "Why was I made to hear Thy voice,And enter while there's room,When thousands make a wretched choice,And rather starve than come?"

4. 'Twas the same love that spread the feastThat sweetly drew us in;Else we had still refused to taste,And perished in our sin.

5. Pity the nations, O our God, Constrain the earth to come; Send Thy victorious Word abroad, And bring the strangers home.

6. We long to see Thy churches full, That all the chosen race May, with one voice and heart and soul,Sing Thy redeeming grace.

Love

George Herbert. 1593–1632

286. Love

LOVE bade me welcome; yet my soul drew back,

Guilty of dust and sin.

But quick-eyed Love, observing me grow slack

From my first entrance in,

Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning
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If I lack'd anything.


'A guest,' I answer'd, 'worthy to be here:'

Love said, 'You shall be he.'

'I, the unkind, ungrateful? Ah, my dear,

I cannot look on Thee.'
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Love took my hand and smiling did reply,

'Who made the eyes but I?'


'Truth, Lord; but I have marr'd them: let my shame

Go where it doth deserve.'

'And know you not,' says Love, 'Who bore the blame?'
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'My dear, then I will serve.'

'You must sit down,' says Love, 'and taste my meat.'

So I did sit and eat.

Hope

Hope's been a cutey lately.

A few nights ago, she came to the dinner table after her shower. As she was looking down at her food, she said quietly, "I should be in a commercial." I asked her what she was talking about. She immediately looked up with bright eyes and cheerfully began-

"Wow! That's some great looking hair you have. And we'll help you keep that way- simple and manageable. . . . "

She continued on and on. I discovered that while taking a shower Hope had memorized the entire "commercial" on the back of the Pert Plus bottle. It was hilarious! Now I know why our water bill is so high.

Then, during politic season, she heard the entire name of Barak Hussein Obama. She couldn't believe it! "His middle name is Insane?" she cried.

Finally, I like that she likes everything! She has begun to go shooting guns with her grandpa at his gun club. They gave her a trophy for being the youngest participant at the gun club. She's fun!

Please Vote

I received this in a forwarded email- I'm not sure who the author is, but it is worth noting:

1. From bondage to spiritual faith

2. From spiritual faith to great courage

3. From courage to liberty

4. From liberty to abundance

5. From abundance to complacency

6. From complacency to apathy

7. From apathy to dependence

8. From dependence back into bondage

"The teacher reminded us that Rome's liberties were not auctioned off in a day, but were bought slowly, gradually, furtively, little by little; first with a little corn and oil for the exceedingly poor and wretched, later with corn and oil for voters who were not quite so poor, later still with corn and oil for pretty much every man that had a vote to sell- exactly our own history over again." - Mark Twain

Pictures in the Park

Another fun day! Some of the funny poses were Will's idea- he says he's not creative but he IS, and I love it!