Quote of the Week: Phillips

Because of the finished work of Jesus Christ, our sins do not keep us from the Holy God. It is true that sins affect us. They will, for instance, keep us from enjoying our fellowship with God. But our access to God is secured forever through Jesus Christ because of His finished and sufficient work. The Spirit's work within us reminds us that we are now in fellowship with God and imparts to us the knowledge of His grace.

Richard Phillips, Hebrews, pg 293

Romans 8:14-16

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God

The Barrier Removed

Hebrews 9:1-10

9:1Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness. 2For a tent was prepared, the first section, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence. It is called the Holy Place. 3Behind the second curtain was a second section called the Most Holy Place, 4having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron's staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant. 5Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.

6These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties, 7but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people. 8By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing 9(which is symbolic for the present age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, 10but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation.

The veil that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies was a barrier. It prevented the priests who were serving in the outer room, the Holy Place, from seeing into the Holy of Holies. Only the High Priest could enter there--only once a year, on the Day of Atonement, and "not without taking blood." Richard Phillips in his commentary, Hebrews, says this:

"The whole point of the tabernacle system was on the one hand to show God's intent to have fellowship with His people, while on the other hand showing that the way for this was not yet open. The key phrase is "not yet." No, the way was not open to God; it was barred. But it was not simply not open, but not yet open--not yet, that is, until the time of Christ."

He goes on to explain how the way to fellowship with God was opened through Christ's offering of Himself as the spotless Lamb of God. In Christ, our guilt and sin--the barrier that barred us from God's presence--has been removed. Our debt has been paid in full. In Christ, we can now approach God without fear. No longer is the way closed--"not yet" is no more.

When Christ's work on the cross was complete, the veil within the temple was torn from top to bottom! The way was opened at last!

Colossians 2:13-14

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

The tabernacle with all its rooms and curtains and instruments and furniture and the priestly services that were performed there were but "a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ."

We enter into His presence by faith in Christ.  Our guilty conscience may continue to accuse us and tell us that we are unworthy to approach God, but we have been cleansed by the saving work of Christ! 

One Happy Day

Tuesday.  One happy day with my computer.  Sigh.  It was great while it lasted.

Yesterday, I spent over an hour and a half on the phone with my ISP and Dell trying to get my Outlook email set up.  Back and forth, on hold, waiting for a call back, on hold.  You know the routine.  Finally, we got that squared away.  I can now send and receive email--or I could if my AV/firewall software wasn't duking it out with Windows Security.  My AV/Firewall appears to be downloading new updates, but it closes before it installs and loads the updates.  I've had two email responses from the software company with friendly suggestions about how to fix it but so far, nothing has worked.

So, I'm sitting here banging away on my husband's computer while my sleek, fast laptop sits forlorn with no working security.  Sigh.

On the brighter side, though, our Bible study today was great--Hebrews 9:1-10.  If I weren't so tired right now, I'd share a few quotes.  I'll do that in the morning.  On Tom's laptop.  'Cause I can't use mine.

Sigh.

A strange sight

Last night found me sitting comfortably in my reading chair, texting back and forth with my son asking him questions about setting up my new computer.  My husband thought it was funny; me, of all people, who has always resisted new technology as long as I can, multi-tasking and texting at the same time.  I'm not sure he thought it was quite as funny when he had to upgrade our program to include more text messages a few weeks ago. . .

How about you?  Do you text?  Honestly, I don't think I ever would have cared to learn how to do it if it weren't for the fact that my sons communicate almost exclusively by texting.  Now that I've got the hang of it, I kind of like the simplicity of texting.

Oh, the joys and wonders of walnut ink

Have I mentioned lately how much I LOVE walnut ink? Yessiree, I do!

Here is an unfinished piece I was working on for a calligraphy challenge. The challenge was to choose a word or words from a list of musical terms and interpret the word in calligraphy. One of the words I chose was klangfarbenmelodie (Ger.): "tone-color-melody," distribution of pitch or melody among instruments, varying timbre

By using the walnut ink in different types of nibs, I was able to demonstrate how each nib lays the ink down, or 'distributes' the ink in a different tonal quality:

Here it is up close:

Cool, eh?

Today is the Day

Today is the day my new laptop arrives!  Yippee!  No more borrowing computers to check email!  Oh, it'll be hard to wait until it has come up to room temperature before booting it up!  Anybody know how long that takes?

In my inbox this morning:

 Somebody did some real live crawling right around midnight. I guess a plastic tie from a bag of bread was motivation enough.   John

Robert Burns in the Round

You can listen to HRH The Prince of Wales reading this song, written by Robert Burns in 1794.  Today is the 250th anniversary of Robert Burns' birth.

Update on Sunday, January 25, 2009 at 05:11PM by Kim from Hiraeth

(It is also the 35th anniversary of our first date!)

Some thoughts on penmanship

Thanks to everyone who participated in National Handwriting Day on Friday!  It was great fun to see everyone's handwriting samples.

As a calligrapher, you may think that my interest in regular good old penmanship has mainly to do with form and style.  However, it is the personal nature of the written hand that fascinates me.

One's handwriting is intensely personal; it is an intimate possession of every person as well as an intimate expression of personality.  As such, it is a very powerful voice, as individual as the spoken voice.  Immediately recognizable to those who know and love you, a handwritten note received in the mail carries a bit of you along with the message it contains. 

Whether your handwriting is breathtakingly beautiful, full of expressive flourishes; neat, tidy and utilitarian; or merely jots and smears, everytime you put pen or pencil to paper you leave a little of yourself on that page.

Have you ever seen a handwritten letter from person of historical significance?  I have, and there is such a feeling of closeness--the strong sense of 'this was/is a real person, like me.'  

When we were visiting Gettysburg, I saw a letter written by Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain to his wife, telling her of the commendations he had received as a result of his heroic leadership in the defense of Little Round Top in the Battle of Gettysburg.  I'll never forget standing in the little antique shop in downtown Gettysburg, reading the letter displayed behind the counter.  It was like standing in the presence of a hero.

Last summer our family toured the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.  There were many handwritten songs displayed there.  Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire", written on pages torn from a spiral notebook, strike outs and revisions, marginal notes and all; a note from John Lennon to his son, Julian; handwritten lyrics and childhood drawings by Jimi Hendrix.  Each sample of handwriting exhibited a personal authenticity that spoke clearly, if only from a distance.

Personal pensmanship is not only becoming a lost art, it is in danger of being lost altogether.  It is possible today to survive quite easily without ever putting pen or pencil to paper other than the occasional signature required on legal documents.  We type our engagements into the calendar on our computers, we send emails and text messages to stay in touch, we pay our bills online.

So what's the big deal?  What does it matter if we no longer write things out by long hand?  Actually, it can matter.  Handwritten documents are easier to authenticate.  Studies show that students who never become proficient in cursive writing are less able to express themselves and rely upon less complex sentence structures in their compositions.  There is a sophisticated connection between the flow of thought and the flow of writing.

Deep down, I think we all value handwriting.  We treasure those handwritten notes from our children, we display their work on our refrigerators, we have a shoe box full of notes and letters from our loved ones.

So, write a note to someone today.  Say "I love you."  Put it in an envelope.  Stamp it and stick it in the mail.  Send a permanent expression of your love in your own handwriting to someone you love.  I'm going to.

Quote of the Week: Berkof

For us the existence of God is the great presupposition of theology. . .The assumption is not merely that there is something, some idea or ideal, some power or purposeful tendency, to which the name of God may be applied, but that there is a self-existent, self-conscious, personal Being, which is the origin of all things, and which transcends the entire creation, but is at the same time immanent in every part of it.

Louis Berkof, Systematic Theology, The Doctrine of God, pg.20

Sunday Hymn: All People that on Earth do Dwell

Trinity Hymnal, #1
Psalm 100

All people that on earth do dwell,
Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice;
Him serve with fear, his praise forth-tell,
Come ye before him and rejoice.

The Lord ye know is God indeed;
Without our aid he did us make;
We are his folk, he doth us feed,
And for his sheep he doth us take.

O enter then his gates with praise,
Approach with joy his courts unto;
Praise, laud, and bless his name always,
For it is seemly so to do.

For why? the Lord our God is good,
His mercy is for ever sure;
His truth at all times firmly stood,
And shall from age to age endure.

Update on Sunday, January 25, 2009 at 09:05AM by Kim from Hiraeth

An incidental bit of trivia for you:  I happened to notice as I was publishing this hymn that the post has exactly 100 words in it.  The hymn is based on Psalm 100, and sung to the tune of 'Old Hundredth.'

Now, THIS is chicken scratch

Here's a handwriting sample from someone who will remain nameless.

This person lives in my house.

He isn't a dog, so that rules out Ivy.

Since he's a he and he isn't a dog, that rules out Eve, too.

I never homeschooled him, so that rules out Sam and Jake.

This person (who shall remain nameless) is funny and smart and does many, many things brilliantly.  Handwriting just doesn't happen to be one of those things. . .

My handwritten note

Now THIS should put an end to all those claims of "I could never do calligraphy--you should see my handwriting!"

No more excuses!

I'm going to feel pretty silly if no one else plays along with me!  In honor of National Handwriting Day--Show us your handwriting!

Update on Friday, January 23, 2009 at 05:53PM by Kim from Hiraeth

Ahem.  I just noticed that I dated today's note 2008 instead of 2009.

Can you tell I don't write many checks anymore?  : D

National Handwriting Day

Today is National Handwriting Day! Yippee!

National Handwriting Day is an opportunity to reintroduce yourself to a pen or pencil and a piece of paper. In this day of computers, more and more information, notes, and letters are sent back and forth via a keyboard and cyberspace.

According to the Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association (WIMA) website "The purpose of National Handwriting Day is to alert the public to the importance of handwriting. According to WIMA, National Handwriting Day is a chance for all of us to re-explore the purity and power of handwriting."

Today is the day to reveal your handwriting to the blogosphere! My challenge to you is this: write a brief note to your readers by hand, scan it and upload it to your blog. If you leave the link in the comments of this post, I will post it here.

I'll be adding an image of my own handwriting later today (this borrowing a computer stuff is for the birds!!). 

I hope you'll participate and invite your readers to participate as well!

Signing off until I can get my hands on another computer. . .

Update on Friday, January 23, 2009 at 01:41PM by Kim from Hiraeth

Ann, from Whatever Things, was the first to get her handwriting posted to her blog.  Thanks for playing, Anne!

You can see my chicken scratch here.

Rebecca shows us "How not to Write."  I think her handwriting is very legible, don't you?

Kim from the Upward Call shares her very neat and tidy handwriting. 

So does her hubby, Buggy.  He shares some good advice in a very nice hand.

My dear friend, Dorothy, has her sample posted now.  You've got to go read what she's thinking. . .

Lisa from Lisa Writes shows us her very cheery handwriting and tells us about a new skill.

It's really fun seeing everyone's hand writing style!  Keep 'em coming!

Ellen, the Happy Wonderer, wandered in and posted her sample.  She's another neat and tidy writer!

Check out Carla's penmanship!  She's GOOD!

Scott, the Crusty Curmudgeon, used a real fountain pen and a beautiful ink to write his sample. 

My friend Kate, from regainingparadise, (Australia!) takes advantage of the difference in the time zones to sneak hers in on the 23rd! 

Jen arrived a little later to the party, but that didn't stop her!

Eija, from Clay in His Hands, demonstrates her prodigious photography skills as well as the challenges of being a 'lefty.'

ETA. . .

A new Dell laptop, estimated time of arrival:  next Friday.

I.can't.wait.  The last time we ordered a Dell, it came in about a week; maybe we'll get lucky and this one will come early, too.

So, while I wait, I have a question for you.  How hard is it going to be to get used to Vista?  I've heard good things and I've heard bad things; any opinions?  Advice? 

Inauguration Day

Is it REALLY, finally Inauguration Day?  Seems like it's been going for weeks and weeks already!  Honestly, I am so sick of it already that I am tempted not to watch.  But I will.  I always do.  I always want to hear the new President vow to uphold the Constitution.  That's the moment for me.  I want to hear his speech.  I want to hear what he has to say.  After all, like it or not, he is going to be my President. 

How about you?  Will you be watching today?

Dictionary Word of the Day: Pandiculation

pandiculation \pan-dik-yuh-LEY-shuhn\, noun:

an instinctive stretching, as on awakening or while yawning

Yawn. . .stretch. . .G'morning everyone! Ready to start a new day?  I've been awake since 4:30 ish and up since 5ish.  I'd like to go back to bed.

I'm off to warm up my coffee.  Yawn. . . stretch.  See in in the next post. . .

shuffle. . .shuffle. . .pour. . .sip.

Quote of the Week: Ryle

None are so likely  to maintain a watchful guard over their own hearts and lives as those who know the comfort of living in close communion with God.

J.C. Ryles, Holiness, "Assurance"

Sunday Hymn: Thou Hidden Source of Calm Repose

THOU HIDDEN SOURCE OF CALM REPOSE

Thou hidden source of calm repose,
Thou all-sufficient love divine,
My help and refuge from my foes,
Secure I am, if thou art mine:
And lo! from sin, and grief and shame
I hide me, Jesus, in thy Name.

Thy mighty Name salvation is,
And keeps my happy soul above;
Comfort it brings, and pow'r, and peace,
And joy, and everlasting love:
To me, with thy dear Name are giv'n
Pardon and holiness and heav'n.

Jesus, my all in all thou art;
My rest in toil, my ease in pain,
The medicine of my broken heart,
In war my peace, in loss my gain,
My smile beneath the tyrant's frown,
In shame my glory and my crown:

In want my plentiful supply,
In weakness my almighty pow'r,
In bonds my perfect liberty,
My light in Satan's darkest hour,
My help and stay whene'er I call,
My life in death, my heav'n, my all.

Computer Woes

We had a MAJOR malicious attack on our computer yesterday.  We've figured out at least part of it; somehow an intruder got in to our Security Center and shut down our Automatic Windows Update and also got into our AV program and disabled it.  Not sure which came first.  You can imagine all the gremlins THAT let in the open door!!   We were able to get our AV program fixed, but our Windows Automatic Update program appears to be totally corrupted.  We tried to do a manual Windows Update, but it won't allow it.  Grrr.  Plus the gremlins invited a search engine redirecter in, so everytime I try to search for solutions, I get redirected to other websites.  Double Grrr. 

So, if I disappear for a while, either the computer is in the shop or I'm waiting for a new one to be delivered. 

Thankfully, I can borrow Tom's laptop in the evenings, so I'll be back one way or another.

See you then!