It is difficult to define Hiraeth, but to me it means the consciousness of man being out of his home area and that which is dear to him. That is why it can be felt even among a host of peoples amidst nature's beauty. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
. . like a Christian yearning for Heaven. . .
Sunday, August 19, 2007 at 07:36AM I had a huge laugh this morning when I visited my friend, Pam, at a rustling of leaves. You just have to go see what it's all about.
I will mention that there is an invitation and that you're invited. I noticed at least one unclaimed tea cup at the table.
Go see. You'll laugh.
Sunday, August 19, 2007 at 06:51AM 
August 19
Reward for the Righteous
So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth. (Psalm 58:11)
God's judgments in this life are not always clearly to be seen, for in many cases one event happeneth alike to all. This is the state of probation, not of punishment or reward. Yet at times God works terrible things in righteousness, and even the careless are compelled to own His hand.
Even in this life righteousness has that kind of reward which it prefers above all others, namely, the smile of God, which creates a quiet conscience. Sometimes other recompenses follow, for God will be in no man's debt. But, at the same time, the chief reward of the righteous lies in the hereafter.
Meanwhile, on a large scale, we mark the presence of the great Ruler among the nations. He breaks in pieces oppressive thrones and punishes guilty peoples. No one can study the history of the rise and fall of empires without perceiving that there is a power which makes for righteousness and, in the end, brings iniquity before its bar and condemns it with unsparing justice. Sin shall not go unpunished, and goodness shall not remain unrewarded. The Judge of all the earth must do right. Therefore, let us fear before Him and no more dread the power of the wicked.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Saturday, August 18, 2007 at 07:28AM August 18Friday, August 17, 2007 at 10:01AM It's nice to have generous, talented friends, isn't it?
Ever since I fooled around and made changes with my template, my sidebar has looked funny in Internet Explorer. I had no idea what I had done to cause it and even less of an idea how to fix it. Quelle domage.
As you can see, it's fixed now due to the generous help of my friend, Chad.
Merci, mon ami.
Friday, August 17, 2007 at 07:55AM "Poetry is ordinary language raised to the nth power. Poetry is boned with ideas, nerved and blooded with emotions, all held together by the delicate, tough skin of words. "
-- Paul Engle
Last week I stumbled across The Wordy Girls blog. On Thursdays, they post a photograph and the challenge is to write a poem of 15 words or less (not counting the title). I decided to give it a go. I thought it would be hard. I thought I couldn't do it. But I did it and it was fun and I'll probably try to do it each week. I promised myself that I would do it as soon as I see the photo and would never spend more than 15 minutes on the exercise.
I'm not the poetic type; I am a logical, linear thinker and it's hard for me to express myself through poetry so I figure this will be good for me. I'll be posting my poems here on Friday so that I can remember them and find them again. You can see the photo that inspired the poem here.
Impermanence
Packing , dumping, planning, shaping.
Building impermanence.
Slipping, slipping, slipping
through the hour glass of life.
---Kim from Hiraeth
And my first entry: (photo of a door and dark windows, no sign of life)
Unforgiveness
Stark.
Dark.
Parked on the threshold.
Right hand fisted,
knocking resisted.
Entrance doubted.
Forgiveness withheld.
--Kim from Hiraeth
For more Poetry Friday entries, click on the Poetry Friday button in the side bar.
Friday, August 17, 2007 at 06:53AM August 17
Who Has the Majority?
And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. (2 Kings 6:16)
Horses and chariots and a great host shut up the prophet in Dothan. His young servant was alarmed. How could they escape from such a body of armed men? But the prophet had eyes which his servant had not, and he could see a greater host with far superior weapons guarding him from all harm. Horses of fire are mightier than horses of flesh, and chariots of fire are far preferable to chariots of iron.
Even so is it at this hour. The adversaries of truth are many, influential, learned, and crafty; and truth fares ill at their hands; and yet the man of God has no cause for trepidation. Agencies, seen and unseen, of the most potent kind, are on the side of righteousness. God has armies in ambush which will reveal themselves in the hour of need. The forces which are on the side of the good and the true far outweigh the powers of evil. Therefore, let us keep our spirits up, and walk with the gait of men who possess a cheering secret, which has lifted them above all fear. We are on the winning side. The battle may be sharp, but we know how it will end. Faith, having God with her, is in a clear majority: "They that be with us are more than they that be with them."
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Thursday, August 16, 2007 at 06:38AM August 16
Uncover and Confess Sin
He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. (Proverbs 28:13)
Here is the way of mercy for a guilty and repenting sinner. He must cease from the habit of covering sin. This is attempted by falsehood, which denies sin; by hypocrisy, which conceals it; by boasting, which justifies it; and by loud profession, which tries to make amends for it.
The sinner's business is to confess and forsake. The two must go together. Confession must be honestly made to the Lord Himself, and it must include within itself acknowledgment of the wrong, sense of its evil, and abhorrence of it. We must not throw the fault upon others, nor blame circumstances, nor plead natural weakness. We must make a clean breast of it and plead guilty to the indictment. There can be no mercy till this is done.
Furthermore, we must forsake the evil; having owned our fault, we must disown all present and future intent to abide in it. We cannot remain in rebellion and yet dwell with the King's majesty. The habit of evil must be quitted, together with all places, companions, pursuits, and books which might lead us astray. Not for confession, nor for reformation, but in connection with them we find pardon by faith in the blood of Jesus.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Wednesday, August 15, 2007 at 02:39PM 
Wednesday, August 15, 2007 at 06:53AM August 15
A Name Guarantee
And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son, (John 14:13)
It is not every believer who has yet learned to pray in Christ's name. To ask not only for His sake, but in His name, as authorized by Him, is a high order of prayer. We would not dare to ask for some things in that blessed name, for it would be a wretched profanation of it; but when the petition is so clearly right that we dare set the name of Jesus to it, then it must be granted.
Prayer is all the more sure to succeed because it is for the Father's glory through the Son. It glorifies His truth, His faithfulness, His power, His grace, The granting of prayer, when offered in the name of Jesus, reveals the Father's love to Him, and the honor which He has put upon Him. The glory of Jesus and of the Father are so wrapped up together that the grace which magnifies the one magnifies the other. The channel is made famous through the fullness of the fountain, and the fountain is honored through the channel by which it flows. If the answering of our prayers would dishonor our Lord, we would not pray; but since in this thing He is glorified, we will pray without ceasing in that dear name in which God and His people have a fellowship of delight.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Tuesday, August 14, 2007 at 07:15AM So our question to our PoMo neighbors and colleagues, is (or should be): which of these points do you not understand, or do you reject? David Wells
This spring, my ladies' small group book study worked our way through J. I. Packer' Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God. Over and over throughout our study, the same question came up: "How do you break through the fog of postmodern thinking? How do you talk about the gospel with people who have no categories by which to make sense of it, whose hearts and minds seem hard wired to reject objective truth?"
This morning, Dan at TeamPyro, has a great post about Preaching the Cross to Those Without the Categories to Understand It.
He shares a bit from David Wells address at the recent Founder's Conference. Definitely worth checking out.
Also worth checking out are Frank's notes on Wells' address.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007 at 06:55AM August 14
Child Chastisement Not Forever
And I will for this afflict the seed of David, but not for ever. (1 Kings 11:39)
In the family of grace there is discipline, and that discipline is severe enough to make it an evil and a bitter thing to sin. Solomon, turned aside by his foreign wives, had set up other gods and grievously provoked the God of his father; therefore, ten parts out of twelve of the kingdom were rent away and set up as a rival state. This was a sore affliction to the house of David, and it came upon that dynasty distinctly from the hand of God, as the result of unholy conduct. The Lord will chasten His best beloved servants if they cease from full obedience to His laws: perhaps at this very hour such chastening is upon us. Let us humbly cry, "O Lord, show me wherefore thou contendest with me."
What a sweet saving clause is that—"but not for ever"! The punishment of sin is everlasting, but the fatherly chastisement of it in a child of God is but for a season. The sickness, the poverty, the depression of spirit, will pass away when they have had their intended effect. Remember, we are not under law but under grace, The rod may make us smart, but the sword shall not make us die. Our present grief is meant to bring us to repentance that we may not be destroyed with the wicked.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Monday, August 13, 2007 at 07:28AM "Talk sense to a fool and he calls you foolish."
Monday, August 13, 2007 at 06:42AM August 13
Before and During the Call
It shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. (Isaiah 65:24)
Quick work this! The Lord hears us before we call and often answers us in the same speedy manner. Foreseeing our needs and our prayers, He so arranges providence that before the need actually arises He has supplied it, before the trial assails us He has armed us against it. This is the promptitude of omniscience, and we have often seen it exercised. Before we dreamed of the affliction which was coming, the strong consolation which was to sustain us under it had arrived. What a prayer-answering God we have!
The second clause suggests the telephone. Though God be in heaven and we upon earth, yet He makes our word, like His own word, to travel very swiftly, When we pray aright we speak into the ear of God. Our gracious Mediator presents our petitions at once, and the great Father hears them and smiles upon them. Grand praying this! Who would not be much in prayer when he knows that he has the ear of the King of kings? This day I will pray in faith, not only believing that I shall be heard, but that I am heard; not only that I shall be answered, but that I have the answer already. Holy Spirit, help me in this!
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Sunday, August 12, 2007 at 06:40PM 
It's Sunday and Kyle has posted Westminster Confession of Faith Chapter IV. Have you been following along? If not, you can always catch up by clicking on the button in the sidebar!Sunday, August 12, 2007 at 08:03AM August 12
Light in Darkness
For thou art my lamp, O Lord: and the Lord will lighten my darkness. (2 Samuel 22:29)
Am I in the light? Then Thou, O Lord, art my lamp. Take Thee away and my joy would be gone; but as long as Thou art with me, I can do without the torches of time and the candles of created comfort. What a light the presence of God casts on all things! We heard of a lighthouse which could be seen for twenty miles, but our Jehovah is not only a God at hand, but far off is He seen, even in the enemy's country. O Lord, I am as happy as an angel when Thy love fills my heart. Thou art all my desire.
Am I in the dark? Then thou, O Lord, wilt lighten my darkness. Before long things will change. Affairs may grow more and more dreary and cloud may be piled upon cloud; but if it grow so dark that I cannot see my own hand, still I shall see the hand of the Lord. When I cannot find a light within me, or among my friends, or in the whole world, the Lord, who said, "Let there be light," and there was light, can say the same again. He will speak me into the sunshine yet. I shall not die but live. The day is already breaking. This sweet text shines like a morning star. I shall clap my hands for joy ere many hours are passed.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Saturday, August 11, 2007 at 08:57AM "Back to the ol' drawing board" and literally mean, "Back to the old drawing board?"
C'est finis.
Saturday, August 11, 2007 at 07:34AM August 11
Waiting, Not Running
Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation. (Psalm 62:1)
Blessed posture! Waiting truly and only upon the Lord. Be this our condition all this day and every day. Waiting His leisure, waiting in His service, waiting in joyful expectation, waiting in prayer, and content. When the very soul thus waits, it is in the best and truest condition of a creature before his Creator, a servant before his Master, a child before his Father. We allow no dictation to God, nor complaining of Him; we will permit no petulance and no distrust. At the same time, we practice no running before the cloud and no seeking to others for aid: neither of these would be waiting upon God. God, and God alone, is the expectation of our hearts.
Blessed assurance! From Him salvation is coming; it is on the road. It will come from Him and from no one else. He shall have all the glory of it, for He alone can and will perform it. And He will perform it most surely in His own time and manner. He will save from doubt, and suffering, and slander, and distress. Though we see no sign of it as yet, we are satisfied to bide the Lord's will, for we have no suspicion of His love and faithfulness. He will make sure work of it before long, and we will praise Him at once for the coming mercy.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Friday, August 10, 2007 at 04:52PM That loud gasp, followed by a loud shriek and gnashing of teeth?
That was me.
Take a peek below and if you proof read very carefully, you will see why. . .
