Today's the Day

I've noticed that this is de-lurking day on several blogs.  I don't think I've ever "delurked this blog."  The potential for embarrassingly small responses has always kept me from it.

 But today, I am taking a risk and going along with flow.  If you're reading and you've never commented before, today is the day.  Say hello.  Introduce yourself if I don't know you yet.  Introduce yourself if I DO know you in real life, but you've never commented, so everyone can get to know you a little.

If you've commented before, you can still comment and let me know you're still reading.  With the recent move, I've lost a few readers along the way.  It would encourage me to know you're out there!

For those of you who have followed me over here from Blogger, I have a question.  How do you like Hiraeth on Squarespace?  Does anything need to be changed to make the navigation easier?  How about the content?  How do you like Spurgeon compared to God's Minute?  Feedback is appreciated.  Eija had some suggestions about my template that really made a difference.  You might have some ideas, too.

 Let the de-lurking begin.

Cheque Book on the Bank of Faith

January 11

 

Faith Sets the Bow

And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the beau shall be seen in the cloud. (Genesis 9:14)

 

Just now clouds are plentiful enough, but we are not afraid that the world will be destroyed by a deluge. We see the rainbow often enough to prevent our having any such fears. The covenant which the Lord made with Noah stands fast, and we have no doubts about it. Why, then, should we think that the clouds of trouble, which now darken our sky, will end in our destruction? Let us dismiss such groundless and dishonoring fears.

Faith always sees the bow of covenant promise whenever sense sees the cloud of affliction. God has a bow with which He might shoot out His arrows of destruction. But see, it is turned upward! It is a bow without an arrow or a string; it is a bow hung out for show, no longer used for war. It is a bow of many colors, expressing joy and delight, and not a bow blood-red with slaughter or black with anger. Let us be of good courage. Never does God so darken our sky as to leave His covenant without a witness, and even if He did, we would trust Him since He cannot change or lie or in any other way fail to keep His covenant of peace. Until the waters go over the earth again, we shall have no reason for doubting our God.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon 

I finally saw him. . .

. . .our friendly neighborhood red fox.  My son and daughter-in-law saw a fox in our yard a month or so ago.  Sunday evening, one of the couples in our small group saw him, just standing right there in the yard like he owned the place.

Last night, the boys and I were in the car, backing out of the driveway, and there he was as big as life.  And he did have an air about him that said, "yeah, this is my yard; wanna make sumth'n of it?"

I've seen a fox before.  We used to have them in our backyard in Ohio.  They were the scroungiest, mangiest, skinniest things you've ever seen.  This fox was different.  He appeared healthy and well-feed.

 I'd love to get a picture of him.  I'd love to know where he lives.  I'd especially like to know if red foxes ever tangle with red dogs. 

Cheque Book on the Bank of Faith

January 10

 

Divine Recompense

He that watereth shall be watered also himself. (Proverbs 11:25)

 

If I carefully consider others, God will consider me, and in some way or other He will recompense me. Let me consider the poor, and the Lord will consider me. Let me look after little children, and the Lord will treat me as His child. Let me feed His flock, and He will feed me. Let me water His garden, and He will make a watered garden of my soul. This is the Lord's own promise; be it mine to fulfill the condition and then to expect its fulfillment.

I may care about myself till I grow morbid; I may watch over my own feelings till I feel nothing; and I may lament my own weakness till I grow almost too weak to lament. It will be far more profitable for me to become unselfish and out of love to my Lord Jesus begin to care for the souls of those around me. My tank is getting very low; no fresh rain comes to fill it; what shall I do? I will pull up the plug and let its contents run out to water the withering plants around me. What do I see? My cistern seems to fill as it flows. A secret spring is at work. While all was stagnant, the fresh spring was sealed; but as my stock Rows out to water others the Lord thinketh upon me. Hallelujah!

Charles Haddon Spurgeon 

What's a Buck?

Last evening, I quickly posted up a picture of a plate of buckeyes, a delcious chocolate covered peanut butter candy formed into the shape of a buckeye. 

The Ohio Buckeye is the official state tree of my home state, Ohio.  It is also the name of The Ohio State University's athletic teams, frequently shortened to "the Bucks." 

Last night the Bucks played in the NCAA Championship Game vs. the Florida Gators.  It was not a pretty sight.

But the buckeyes were great.  Here's the recipe:

Recipe for Buckeyes 

 Oh, and for my international friends, just in case it isn't all confusing enough, here's another buck:

Cheque Book on the Bank of Faith

January 9

 

Gaining by Giving

The liberal soul shall be made fat. (Proverbs 11:25)

 

If I desire to flourish in soul, I must not hoard up my stores but must distribute to the poor. To be close and niggardly is the world's way to prosperity, but it is not God's way, for He saith, "There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, and it tendeth to poverty." Faith's way of gaining is giving. I must try this again and again, and I may expect that as much of prosperity as will be good for me will carne to me as a gracious reward for a liberal course of action.

Of course, I may not be sure of growing rich. I shall be fat but not too fat. Too great riches might make me as unwieldy as corpulent persons usually are and cause me the dyspepsia of worldliness, and perhaps bring on a fatty degeneration of the heart. No, if I am fat enough to be healthy, I may well be satisfied; and if the Lord grants me a competence, I may be thoroughly content.

But there is a mental and spiritual fatness which I would greatly covet, and this comes as the result of generous thoughts toward my God, His church, and my fellow men. Let me not stint, lest I starve my heart. Let me be bountiful and liberal, for so shall I be like my Lord. He gave Himself for me; shall I grudge Him anything?

Charles Haddon Spurgeon 

Neighbors Bearing Gifts

Look what my neighbor and fellow Ohioan, Anne, sent over. . .

 Go Bucks!

Cheque Book on the Bank of Faith

January 8

 

Purity of Heart and Life

Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. (Matthew 5:8)

 

Purity, even purity of heart, is the main thing to be aimed at. We need to be made clean within through the Spirit and the Word, and then we shall be clean without by consecration and obedience. There is a close connection between the affections and the understanding: if we love evil we cannot understand that which is good. If the heart is foul, the eye will be dim. How can those men see a holy God who love unholy things?

What a privilege it is to see God here! A glimpse of Him is heaven below! In Christ Jesus the pure in heart behold the Father. We see Him, His truth, His love, His purpose, His sovereignty, His covenant character, yea, we see Himself in Christ. But this is only apprehended as sin is kept out of the heart. Only those who aim at godliness can cry, "Mine eyes are ever towards the Lord." The desire of Moses, "I beseech thee, show me thy glory," can only be fulfilled in us as we purify ourselves from all iniquity. We shall "see him as he is," and "every one that hath this hope in him purifieth himself." The enjoyment of present fellowship and the hope of the beatific vision are urgent motives for purity of heart and life. Lord, make us pure in heart that we may see Thee!

Charles Haddon Spurgeon 

Cheque Book on the Bank of Faith

January 7

 

Always Growing

Thou shalt see greater than these. (John 1:50)

 

This is spoken to a childlike believer, who was ready to accept Jesus as the Son of God, the King of Israel, upon one convincing piece of argument. Those who are willing to see shall see; it is because we shut our eyes that we become so sadly blind.

We have seen much already. Great things and unsearchable has the Lord showed unto us, for which we praise His name; but there are greater truths in His Word, greater depths of experience, greater heights of fellowship, greater works of usefulness, greater discoveries of power, and love, and wisdom. These we are yet to see if we are willing to believe our Lord. The faculty of inventing false doctrine is ruinous, but power to see the truth is a blessing. Heaven shall be opened to us, the way thither shall be made clear to us in the Son of Man, and the angelic commerce which goes on between the upper and the lower kingdoms shall be made more manifest to us. Let us keep our eyes open toward spiritual objects and expect to see more and more. Let us believe that our lives will not drivel down into nothing but that we shall be always on the growing hand, seeing greater and still greater things, till we behold the great God Himself and never again lose the sight of Him.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon 

Kids Say the Funniest Things 4

Technically, this story should be entitled, Kids DO the funniest things.  Well, sometimes it takes a while before they actually become funny.  Sometimes, like in Rosemary's story below, they start out horrifying and shocking and only time allows us to see the humor.

This is one of those stories.

This story comes from the annals of John's childhood.  Yes, I know.  I do have two other boys.  And they did and said funny things, too, but John was one of a kind. Some kids are just like that.

John gave up his naps very early.   By two years of age he decided that he just wasn't that tired and didn't need to sleep.  I disagreed, and I was the mommy, after all, so the "naps" continued.  He didn't have to sleep, but he did have to go to his room and lay down.  He could look at books but he wasn't allowed to get out of his little toddler bed.

Occasionally, he would drop off to sleep, but most of the time he would sing and talk and "read."  Before long, I'd hear, "Mommy!  I'm all done-y."

 One day he was very quite.  Ominously quiet.  I kept sneaking up the creaky old staircase to his room and listening at the door.  When one hour became two hours and then two and a half, I decided I better wake him up or he'd never sleep that night.

I went upstairs and cracked the door of his room.  The smell hit me immediately.  That awful, fishy oily smell of A&D ointment.   That was bad enough but nothing could prepare me for what I saw when I entered his room.

John had managed to silently move every single thing that was within his reach--books, toys, rugs, diapers, stuffed toys, you name it--if he could reach it, he had piled it into a huge mountainous heap on his little toddler bed.  Precariously perched on the very top of the heap, seated in his little wooden rocking chair (which was stacked on top of his wastebasket) was John--naked and covered from head to toe in A & D ointment.

"John!  *gasp* What were you doing?"

"I needed to change my diaper."

Sigh.  It took many repeated washings before his oily, slippery skin stopped repelling the water.  By the time I got him cleaned up, Daddy was home from work. 

 

Have your kids, grandkids, neighborkids said (or done) anything funny?  (Of course they have!--they're kids!) Maybe you said something funny when you were little and your mom still likes to tell the story at every family reunion.   Why don't you write about it on your blog or leave a note in the comments so we can all smile? 

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt: Memory

MEMORY 

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt

 

Quote of the Week

We ought to be continually growing in holiness; and in that respect coming nearer and nearer to heaven—We should be endeavouring to come nearer to heaven, in being more heavenly; becoming more and more like the inhabitants of heaven, in respect of holiness and conformity to God; the knowledge of God and Christ; in clear views of the glory of God, the beauty of Christ, and the excellency of divine things, as we come nearer to the beatific vision.

Jonathan Edwards,

The Christian Pilgrim or A True Christian's Life, A Journey Towards Heaven, 1733

Kids Say the Funniest Things 3

We've got some more funny ones today!  I hope I have remembered them all.  If you don't see your's, please do remind me! 

 Here we go:

Here's one from Sue, grandma extraordinaire:

I do have to share one little story about little "D" our grandson. This happened about five years ago when he was just beginning to be potty trained. We would take him to the potty and tell him to "Just Try" (because he would often state he didn't have to go.)  We were all seated around the table at a very nice restaurant and we decided that it would be a good idea to visit the restroom before the meal came.  My son in law got up to take little "D" and he turned to Bill and asked him if was going to go with them. Bill said "No."  Little "D" said in a voice loud enough for all to hear " Come on Papa, you need to Just Try to go Potty!"

Sherry tells us:

My three year old confided in our neighbor, "I know a Bible verse."
   
"What is it?" she asked expecting to hear a simple verse.
   
"Never play with matches," said my Biblical scholar.

This one from Jill:

Brian and I were at a family Christmas party many years ago and one of my young cousins told Brian that he looked like Abraham Lincoln.

Brian says, "Was that a compliment?"

And Johnny says, "No!  He was a PRESIDENT!"

And I saved the best (or worst!) for last.  I think every mom groaned and grinned when she read THIS one from Rosemary:

This story needs a bit of background. First, I had my children in the Old Days when babies were diapered with cloth diapers. Used ones were put into a pail of soapy water until they were laundered. (YUK).My oldest son sometimes watched Sesame Street while I tended our newborn son. One day, a group of farmer puppets sang a rollicking song called "Slop the Hogs." Well. The next day as I tended the baby downstairs, the 3 year old was upstairs in his bedroom. After a while it occurred to me that he was mighty quiet. I went up to check on him, and he was sitting on his bed, hands folded in his lap, silent. The diaper bucket and potent contents were spilled onto the carpet in front of him. As I entered the room and gasped at what I saw, he looked up at me and quietly said,

"But mommy, I was just trying to slop the hogs..."

 I have my own horrifying story to share, but I'll save it for later.

Cheque Book on the Bank of Faith

January 6

 

Help from Without

Yea, I will help thee. (Isaiah 41:10)

 

Yesterday's promise secured us strength for what we have to do, but this guarantees us aid in cases where we cannot act alone. The Lord says, "I will help thee." Strength within is supplemented by help without. God can raise us up allies in our warfare if so it seems good in His sight; and even if He does not send us human assistance, He Himself will be at our side, and this is better still. "Our August Ally" is better than legions of mortal helpers.

His help is timely: He is a very present help in time of trouble. His help is very wise: He knows how to give each man help meet and fit for him. His help is most effectual, though vain is the help of man. His help is more than help, for He bears all the burden and supplies all the need. "The Lord is my helper, I will not fear what man can do unto me."

Because He has already been our help, we feel confidence in Him for the present and the future. Our prayer is, "Lord, by thou my helper"; our experience is, "The Spirit also helpeth our infirmities"; our expectation is, "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, whence cometh my help"; and our song soon will be, "Thou, Lord, hast holden me."

Charles Haddon Spurgeon 

Please Pray

 UPDATE:  Dr. Mohler is responding well to treatment and as of last night he was improving!  Continue to keep him in your prayers over the next few days.

Please pray for Dr. Al Mohler. He had surgery earlier in the week and has taken a bad turn.

From his blog:

Dr. Mohler's health has sustained a setback. Over the past 36 hours Dr. Mohler has suffered from unrelenting pain. This unusual degree of pain signaled concern for the attending physicians and prompted additional tests this afternoon. In the past hour these tests have revealed that Dr. Mohler is suffering from pulmonary emboli in both lungs. His condition is quite serious and he has been moved to the intensive care unit of Baptist East Hospital in Louisville, KY for immediate treatment.

Please make this a matter of urgent prayer. Thank you once again for your concern and support during these days.

Kids Say the Funniest Things 2

Here's an hysterically funny story that my dear friend, AnnMarie, left in the comments: 

Did you know that the Bible mentions "sandwiches on the beach"? In November 2006, during sunday school I read the following verse to the fifth and sixth graders... "Indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies." Genesis 22:17 NAS Imagine my wonder as they all blankly stared at me and asked what I meant by "sandwiches on the beach"!! The class and I are still laughing about this one...

Don't you love it when kids "mis-hear" Bible verses and hymns?

When Jake, our second, was learning his first Bible verse from John 14 (In my Father's house are many mansions. . .I go to prepare a place for you) he heard it a little differently:

In my Father's house are many mansions, I go to repair a place for you 

Think it had anything to do with the fact that we were living in an old, 1840 house that was in constant need of repair? 

Amy, from Ezekiel's Garden shares a story of misunderstanding from her three year old: 

We were decorating for Christmas a few days before Christmas. The boys were coloring a manger scene I had printed out for them, and they were asking sweet questions about Jesus and how he was a baby. Somehow, dear little Timex (the 3yo) got it into his mind that there were 2 babies in my belly, instead of just one. "Mommy, do you have a baby Jesus in there, too?!?!" It took quite some explanation to help him understand that Jesus was a baby a long time ago, but we finally got that through.

In another life, a long time ago, I was a preschool teacher, so you know I have a lot of funny stories I could tell.  Here's one from a long time ago that involves "kid hearing"

                                        Early in the school year, I was teaching the pledge of allegience to a roomful of three year olds.  I was telling them about respect for the flag and reminded them that we should keep our eyes on the flag when we are reciting the pledge.  As we began to recite, one little guy immediately ran to the small American flag I was holding in my hand and tried to put his eye on it!

Surely you have some funny stories, too!  Whether they come from your own children, your grandchildren, your students, the neighborhood kids, now is the time to send them in!

 Keep 'em coming!

Cheque Book on the Bank of Faith

January 5

 

A Wonderful Guarantee

I will strengthen thee. (Isaiah 41:10)

 

When called to serve or to suffer, we take stock of our strength, and we find it to be less than we thought and less than we need. But let not our heart sink within us while we have such a word as this to fall back upon, for it guarantees us all that we can possibly need. God has strength omnipotent; that strength He can communicate to us; and His promise is that He will do so. He will be the food of our souls and the health of our hearts; and thus He will give us strength. There is no telling how much power God can put into a man. When divine strength comes, human weakness is no more a hindrance.

Do we not remember seasons of labor and trial in which we received such special strength that we wondered at ourselves? In the midst of danger we were calm, under bereavement we were resigned, in slander we were self-contained, and in sickness we were patient. The fact is that God gives unexpected strength when unusual trials come upon us, We rise out of our feeble selves. Cowards play the man, foolish ones have wisdom given them, and the silent receive in the self-same hour what they shall speak, My own weakness makes me shrink, but God's promise makes me brave. Lord, strengthen me "according to thy word."

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Kids Say the Funniest Things

Shanna was the first reader to share a story.

Here's one of my recent favorites from a Sunday school kid:

"Miss Shanna, do you know who my favorite teacher is?"
"Who?"
He pauses, smiles slyly, and says: "You're ONE of them!"

 Rebecca shares two stories:

Oldest daughter at two told her grandpa that his homegrown garden lettuce tasted like "ladybug pee."

When oldest son was three, he woke up on Easter morning, saw the Easter baskets and said, "Oh look! There are presents for the Easter Bunny!"

Here's a funny one from Kim:

Once, when my youngst was about 4 years old, he told us that Jesus washes our sins away.....with a dishtowel.

 Each one of those stories reminded me of my own story.

Our family lived in Kentucky for four years.  For the first two years or so, we had frequent miscommunications because of the differences in accent and culture.  It's a whole different world. . .

I was teaching a Bible lesson on the plagues of Egypt to a room full of three and four year olds.   (I didn't choose the topic. . .)  I asked them if anyone knew what hail was.  One little guy looked at me with a very solemn face and said, "Hail is where the devil lives."  (I later learned that in South central Kentucky a hail storm is pronounced "hell storm.")

Rebecca's stories brougth back some memories, too.

When John was just a little guy--maybe two going on three--he tasted dog food from the dog dish and announced, "I ate some of Dolly's food. (dramatic pause) It was NOT delicious."

This same boy at about the same age, upon discovering his Easter Basket, dumped it all out on the floor and examined the contents.  Apparently, we forgot to take the sales sticker off the little plastic bucket.  He announced, "Hey, the Easter Bunny shops at KMart!"

 This same child, like Kim's, was also a budding theologian at a very early age.  This is one of my all time favorite kid stories.

When this same child was about 5 years old, (that's him, the ornery boy who is seen sitting on the big wheel in the photo in the original post) we had one of those famous "car conversations."  You know the kind.  It's when you're in the front seat driving somewhere, and the boy is in the back seat strapped in his car seat, thinking deep thoughts:

"Mommy, Jesus could come back tonight, couldn't He?"

"Yes, John.  Jesus could come back anytime."

"That would be good, wouldn't it?"

"Yes, honey, that would be very good."

Long pause. . .

"Well, that would be good, but I hope He waits until I'm sixteen so I can get a car and a girlfriend."
 

Cheque Book on the Bank of Faith

January 4

 

In Calm Repose

I will make them to lie down safely. (Hosea 2:18)

 

Yes, the saints are to have peace. The passage from which this gracious word is taken speaks of peace "with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground." This is peace with earthly enemies, with mysterious evils, and with little annoyances! Any of these might keep us from lying down, but none of them shall do so. The Lord will quite destroy those things which threaten His people: "I will break the bow and the sword, and the battle out of the earth." Peace will be profound indeed when all the instruments of disquiet are broken to pieces.

With this pace will come rest, "So he giveth his beloved sleep." Fully supplied and divinely quieted, believers lie down in calm repose. This rest will be a safe one. It is one thing to lie down but quite another "to lie down safely." We are brought to the land of promise, the house of the Father, the chamber of love, and the bosom of Christ: surely we may now "lie down safely." It is safer for a believer to lie down in peace than to sit up and worry.

"He maketh me to lie down in green pastures," We never rest till the Comforter makes us lie down.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Blue Skies in January

It's been an unbelievably mild winter so far.  Today it is sunny and crisp with the bluest sky I've seen in a long time.  This picture was taken without filters of any kind.  The sky really is that color today!