Taking Offense?

Have you ever been in one of those situations in which you were going along, cheerful and happy and enthusiastic and excited about a project and all of a sudden, WHAM!!  You get a phone call, or in my case, an email, that says, "You've offended me."  Oh, not in so many words but, nevertheless, the message is clear.  Your actions have been invested with motivations and intentions that you never in your wildest dreams imagined, but there you are.  Someone has been offended, someone has been hurt. 

This happened to me recently and it was devastating.  Someone dear to me had been offended.  And to tell the truth, as I read the email, I became offended myself.  How in the world could she think that?  Doesn't she know me well enough after all these years to know that that is not how I think, nor how I operate?  How quickly I went from, "oh, no!" to "why me?"  That's the way it is with a strong offense.  We so often respond with a strong defense.  But relationships are not football games and I knew I had to deal with this.

I was still reeling from the email when I came across this post at Lisa Writes.  Her post gave me courage to do the right thing.  I apologized to the offended person and did my best to smooth things over and begin again.  I wish I could say that it was received in the spirit it was given.  It was not.  My words of apology and reconciliation came back to me in a form I did not recognize, twisted again.

Lisa republished her post this morning and it spoke to me, yet again.  I realized that I hadn't done enough.  It's not enough to  do the right thing and then if it doesn't work, to go into defensive mode.  No, the offenses may have morphed, but that doesn't give me the right to go into defensive mode. 

If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.  Romans 12:18

If it is possible. . .presumes it may not be possible.  I don't know.  Paul doesn't address the "other" person in this passage. 

. . . as much as depends on you. . .I know now that I haven't done "as much as depends upon me."

. . .live peaceably with all men.  I'm painfully aware that the subject of that sentence is still "you"--meaning me and not the other person.  I'm also painfully aware that this is an imperative sentence.  A command. 

I must do as much as depends on me to live at peace with this person I dearly love.

Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith

March 27
Drawing Near to God

Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. (James 4:8)

The nearer we come to God, the more graciously will He reveal Himself to us. When the prodigal comes to his father, his father runs to meet him. When the wandering dove returns to the ark, Noah puts out his hand to pull her in unto him, When the tender wife seeks her husband's society, he comes to her on wings of love. Come then, dear friend, let us draw nigh to God who so graciously awaits us, yea, comes to meet us.

Did you ever notice that passage in Isaiah 58:9? There the Lord seems to put Himself at the disposal of His people, saying to them, "Here I am." As much as to say—"What have you to say to me? What can I do for you? I am waiting to bless you." How can we hesitate to draw near? God is nigh to forgive, to bless, to comfort, to help, to quicken, to deliver. Let it be the main point with us to get near to God. This done, all is done. If we draw near to others, they may before long grow weary of us and leave us; but if we seek the Lord alone, no change will come over His mind, but He will continue to come nearer and yet nearer to us by fuller and more joyful fellowship.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon 

Quote of the Week

Yesterday was a gorgeous spring day here in my neck of the woods.  So gorgeous that I forgot to update the Quote of the Week!  I had a quote picked out but this morning I read something simple but profound and so I changed my mind.

"The day I began to read the Bible for myself, with solid study methods, in contextual truth, seeing Scripture interpret Scripture was the day my mind began to be renewed and my life transformed. (Rom 12:2)"

Elle, A Complete Thought

This is a small excerpt from her post linking John Piper's article about hearing the voice of God.  You've seen it everywhere, haven't you?  Of course you have; it's a must read.

Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith

March 26
The Care of the Poor

The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing. (Psalm 41:3)

REMEMBER that this is a promise to the man who considers the poor. Are you one of these? Then take home the text.

See how in the hour of sickness the God of the poor will bless the man who cares for the poor! The everlasting arms shall stay up his soul as friendly hands and downy pillows stay up the body of the sick. How tender and sympathizing is this image; how near it brings our God to our infirmities and sicknesses! Whoever heard this of the old heathen Jove, or of the gods of India or China! This is language peculiar to the God of Israel; He it is who deigns to become nurse and attendant upon good men. If He smites with one hand, He sustains with the other. Oh, it is blessed fainting when one falls upon the Lord's own bosom and is born thereon' Grace is the best of restoratives; divine love is the safest stimulant for the languishing patient; it makes the soul strong as a giant, even when the bones are breaking through the skin. No physician like the Lord, no tonic like His promise, no wine like His love.

If the reader has failed in his duty to the poor, let him see what he is losing and at once become their friend and helper.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon 

On to the Final Four

 

Go Bucks!

Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith

March 25
Refreshing Sleep

When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet. (Proverbs 3:24)

Is the reader likely to be confined for a while to the bed by sickness! Let him go upstairs without distress with this promise upon his heart "When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid."

When we go to bed at night, let this word smooth our pillow. We cannot guard ourselves in sleep, but the Lord will keep us through the night. Those who lie down under the protection of the Lord are as secure as kings and queens in their palaces, and a great deal more so. If with our lying down there is a laying down of all cares and ambitions, we shall get refreshment out of our beds such as the anxious and covetous never find in theirs. Ill dreams shall be banished, or even if they come, we shall wipe out the impression of them, knowing that they are only dreams.

If we sleep thus we shall do well. How sweetly Peter slept when even the angel's light did not wake him, and he needed a hard jog in the side to wake him up. And yet he was sentenced to die on the morrow. Thus have martyrs slept before their burning. "So he giveth his beloved sleep." To have sweet sleep we must have sweet lives, sweet tempers, sweet meditations, and sweet love.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon 

Precious in the sight of the Lord

Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints. 

Psalm 116:14

Tonight I learned of the passing of a dear friend.  Jim was a servant.  A prayerful man, a kind hearted friend, a generous and godly saint.  He touched our lives in deep and lasting ways.  Jim was the pray-er for an entire community--Medina, Ohio.  When trials, or illness, or death touched a family, Jim was there.  He was there for us when our family was in need.  Who will be there the next time someone is in need and thinks, "We'll call Jim; he'll come."

O LORD, truly he was Your servant and now You have loosed his bonds.

This evening, I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the LORD.

Thank you, Lord, for Jim. 

Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith

March 24
Established and Kept

But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil. (2 Thessalonians 3:3)

MEN are often as devoid of reason as of faith. There are with us still "unreasonable and wicked men." There is no use in arguing with them or trying to be at peace with them: they are false at heart and deceitful in speech. Well, what of this? Shall we worry ourselves with them? No; let us turn to the Lord, for He is faithful. No promise from His Word will ever be broken. He is neither unreasonable in His demands upon us nor unfaithful to our claims upon Him. We have a faithful God. Be this our joy.

He will stablish us so that wicked men shall not cause our downfall, and He will keep us so that none of the evils which now assail us shall really do us damage. What a blessing for us that we need not contend with men but are allowed to shelter ourselves in the Lord Jesus, who is in truest sympathy with us. There is one true heart, one faithful mind, one never changing love; there let us repose. The Lord will fulfill the purpose of His grace to us, His servants, and we need not allow a shadow of a fear to fall upon our spirits. Not all that men or devils can do can hinder us of the divine protection and provision. This day let us pray the Lord to stablish and keep us.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon 

A note for those who are subscribers

I'll be doing some organizational "housekeeping" on the blog today, a little bit here and a little bit there, as I have time.  I need to better organize my stored resources and that will require moving pictures to new storage locations, which will require re-publishing some old posts.

I don't expect to be posting any more "real posts" today, so if I were you, I'd hit the "mark all as read" button when my posts show up today.   

I'm sorry for clogging up your Bloglines and feed readers but it really must be done.

Think of it as spring cleaning for the blog.  You really wouldn't want to go visit a friend when she's cleaning cupboards and moving furniture, would you?

Anyway, thanks for your patience! 

Update on Saturday, March 24, 2007 at 06:54AM by Kim from Hiraeth

UPDATE: 

Hmmmm. . .Here's another reason to chose Squarespace over Blogger.  Even though I moved many pictures which involved republishing many posts, my subscription box was not overflowing with old posts.  (Yes, I do subscribe to my own blog, don't you?)

I learned this morning that if you WANT to update and republish a post, all you have to do is chose "follow up" instead of "modify post." 

I love Squarespace!

This is what it's all about

I hardly know how to introduce this post, other than to say that I want you to read it.

This song came to mind while I was reading. . .

 All creatures of our God and King

All creatures of our God and King
Lift up your voice and with us sing,
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thou burning sun with golden beam,
Thou silver moon with softer gleam!

O praise Him! O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Thou rushing wind that art so strong
Ye clouds that sail in Heaven along,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Thou rising moon, in praise rejoice,
Ye lights of evening, find a voice!       

O praise Him! O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Thou flowing water, pure and clear,
Make music for thy Lord to hear,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Thou fire so masterful and bright,
That givest man both warmth and light.   

O praise Him! O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

And all ye men of tender heart,
Forgiving others, take your part,
O sing ye! Alleluia!
Ye who long pain and sorrow bear,
Praise God and on Him cast your care!   

O praise Him! O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Let all things their Creator bless,
And worship Him in humbleness,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son,
And praise the Spirit, Three in One!       

O praise Him! O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith

March 23
A Sure Guide

I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not. (Isaiah 42:16)

THINK of the infinitely glorious Jehovah acting as a Guide to the blind! What boundless condescension does this imply! A blind man cannot find a way which he does not know. Even when he knows the road, it is hard for him to traverse it; but a road which he has not known is quite out of the question for his unguided feet. Now, we are by nature blind as to the way of salvation, and yet the Lord leads us into it and brings us to Himself, and then opens our eyes. As to the future, we are all of us blind and cannot see an hour before us; but the Lord Jesus will lead us even to our journey's end. Blessed be His name!

We cannot guess in which way deliverance can possibly come to us, but the Lord knows, and He will lead us till we shall have escaped every danger. Happy are those who place their hand in that of the great Guide and leave their way and themselves entirely with Him. He will bring them all the way; and when He has brought them home to glory and has opened their eyes to see the way by which He has led them, what a song of gratitude will they sing unto their great Benefactor! Lord, lead Thy poor blind child this day, for I know not my way!

Charles Haddon Spurgeon 

An old piece

 

I came across this old piece tonight while I was looking for something else.  I used to have it tacked to a bulletin board that hung above my drawing board, probably 20 years ago.  It's a rather large piece and I had to shrink it quite a bit to make it small enough to post to the web.

I was learning how to use a split nib and this was one of those practice sheets that I held on to because I liked the sentiment.  

File this one under "a walk down memory lane. . ." 

Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith

March 22
Grace for the Humble

He giveth grace unto the humble. (James 4:6)

HUMBLE hearts seek grace, and therefore they get it. Humble hearts yield to the sweet influences of grace, and so it is bestowed on them more and more largely. Humble hearts lie in the valleys where streams of grace are flowing, and hence they drink of them, Humble hearts are grateful for grace and give the Lord the glory of it, and hence it is consistent with His honor to give it to them.

Come, dear reader, take a lowly place. Be little in thine own esteem, that the Lord may make much of thee. Perhaps the sigh breaks out, "I fear I am not humble." It may be that this is the language of true humility. Some are proud of being humble, and this is one of the very worst sorts of pride. We are needy, helpless, undeserving, hell-deserving creatures, and if we are not humble we ought to be. Let us humble ourselves because of our sins against humility, and then the Lord will give us to taste of His favor. It is grace which makes us humble, and grace which finds in this humility an opportunity for pouring in more grace. Let us go down that we may rise. Let us be poor in spirit that God may make us rich. Let us be humble that we may not need to be humbled but may be exalted by the grace of God.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Thursday Photo Challenge: Green

 

Sunshine Through Linden Leaves

Thursday Photo Theme
Green

Next Week's Theme:  Spring

Introducing the Bookmarklet

Today I am introducing a new product at Bookworm Bookmarks--one that has been borne out of my own personal preference when it comes to bookmarks.

Because of the way I use books, I like to have a "dedicated bookmark" for my favorite books.  I like them to be small enough to "hide" inside the book when not in use, but always available if I pull the book down from the shelf.

Here is the one I keep in my copy of The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien.  

Bookmarklets, as I have chosen to call them, are about the size of a business card.  They are laminated for durability, but because of their size and their function, ribbons are not an option.

You can find pricing information here.

Spring Cleaning

The first day of spring.  I looked out the window.  Rain.

"Sun won't show it's face much today, I'm thinking." 

I stood with my elbows on the kitchen counter and gazed out the window this morning, contemplating my change of plans.  What to do?

As the quotation above suggests, (spoken by Tom Bombadil)  my thoughts turned to a passage in the Fellowship of the Ring--Goldberry's Washing Day. 

"This is Goldberry's washing day," he said, "and her autumn cleaning.  Too wet for hobbit-folk--let them rest while they are able!  It's a good day for long tales, for questions and answers. . ." 

I have a choice before me.  Be a responsible wife and mother and clean house, (which I do every Wednesday) or pretend I am a hobbit and spend the day reading tales and blogging answers to questions I have receieved in my inbox.

What to do. . .what to do. 

I will clean my house.  But I will dream of working in the yard and reading tales and I will compose posts in my mind.

What do you do on a rainy first day of spring? 

Victim Mentality

Rosemary of Seasonings of the Heart has posted an important, thought provoking piece this morning on what I am calling "Christian Victim-hood." (an oxymoron if there ever was one!)

 This is a subject that has been bothering me for some time now and I think that Rosemary has "nailed it."

While you are over there, why don't you subscribe?  You'll be glad you did! 

March is Here

March is Here

by Lawrence Keister

SUNSHINE floods the peaceful land,
Grass is growing, leaves expand;
Summer must be drawing near--
So it seems, for March is here.

Nature clothes herself in white,
Doing this just over night;
Wind is roaring, sky is drear--
Can it be that March is here?

Robins flit about the lawn,
As though winter now was gone,
Making room for spring-time cheer--
But remember! March is here!

Summer, Winter, here contend
Each may win, the two may blend;
Days are dark--as often clear,
What a mixture! March is here!

Buds awake from winter nap,
Feel the flow of rising sap,
All unconscious of the cost
They must pay for each late frost.

Summer comes when winter goes,--
Leaves and fruit and fragrant rose,
Balmy breezes, friendly sky--
Call up March and say Good-bye!

The First Day of Spring

Eija asked a question in the comments yesterday.  Why does the date of the first day of spring move around from year to year?  Sometimes it is the 20th and sometimes it is the 21st.  Here's why:

From the article, Equinox, Wikipedia 

An equinox in astronomy is the event when the Sun can be observed to be directly above the Earth's equator, occurring around March 20 and September 23 each year. More technically, the equinox happens when the Sun is at one of two opposite points on the celestial sphere where the celestial equator and ecliptic intersect. In a wider sense, the equinoxes are the two days each year when the center of the Sun spends an equal amount of time above and below the horizon at every location on Earth. The word equinox derives from the Latin words aequus (equal) and nox (night)

The two equinoxes can be distinguished by different pairs of names, depending on which feature one wants to stress.

    * Spring equinox (Chunfen) and autumn (Qiufen) or fall equinox. These names can be used when one wants to relate the equinox to a season. The seasons of the northern hemisphere and southern hemisphere are opposites (the spring equinox of one hemisphere is the autumn equinox of the other) so these names can be ambiguous.

    * March equinox and September equinox. An alternative to the previous set, but without the ambiguity for which hemisphere they are intended. These names are still not universal, however, as not all people on Earth use a solar based calendar where the equinoxes occur every year in the same month (they differ in the Jewish calendar, for example). The names are also not useful for other planets (Mars, for example), even though they have seasons.

    * Vernal equinox and autumnal equinox. These names are direct derivatives of Latin (ver = spring, autumnus = autumn), and as such more apt to be found in writings. Although in principle they are subject to the same problem as the spring/autumn names, their use over the centuries has fixed them to the viewpoint of the northern hemisphere. As such the vernal equinox is the equinox where the Sun passes from south to north, and is a zeropoint in some celestial coordinate systems. The name of the other equinox is used less often.

    * The calculation of Easter in the Christian church (first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the March equinox), uses its own definition for the equinox — it always falls on March 21. The earliest possible Easter date in any year is therefore March 22.

One of the effects of equinoctial periods is their temporary disruptive effect on communications satellites. For most geostationary satellites, there is almost always a point when the sun is directly behind the satellite relative to Earth. The Sun's immense power and broad radiation spectrum overload the Earth station's reception circuits with noise and, depending on antenna size and other factors, temporarily disrupt or degrade the circuit. The duration of those effects varies but can range from an hour to a few minutes.  (Who watched American Idol last night?  I wonder if that is what caused the distruption after LaKisha sang.)

Folk tales from various European countries claim that only on the March equinox day (some may add the September equinox day or may explicitly not), one can balance an egg on its point.  (We'll take pictures if we can get some standing.)

Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith

March 21
Avoid That Slip

Then shalt thou walk in thy way of safety, and thy foot shall not stumble. (Proverbs 3:23)

THAT is to say, if we follow the ways of wisdom and holiness we shall be preserved in them. He who travels by daylight along the highway is under some protection. There is a way for every man, namely, his own proper calling in life, and if we devoutly walk therein in the fear of God He will preserve us from evil. We may not travel luxuriously, but we shall walk safely. We may not be able to run like young men, but we shall be able to walk like good men.

Our greatest danger lies in ourselves: our feeble foot is so sadly apt to stumble. Let us ask for more moral strength that our tendency to slip may be overcome. Some stumble because they do not see the stone in the way: divine grace enables us to perceive sin and so to avoid it. Let us plead this promise and trust in Him who upholds His chosen.

Alas! Our worst peril is our own carelessness, but against this the Lord Jesus has put us on our guard, saying, "Watch and pray."

Oh, for grace to walk this day without a single stumble! It is not enough that we do not actually fall; our cry should be that we may not make the smallest slip with out feet but may at the last adore Him "who is able to keep us from stumbling."

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
      And to present you faultless
      Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
       25 To God our Savior,
      Who alone is wise,
      Be glory and majesty,
      Dominion and power,
      Both now and forever.
      Amen.