worn out, in a good way

"what nobler medal of honor could any godly person seek than the scars of service, personal loss for the crown of reward, disgrace for the sake of Christ, and being worn out in the Master's service." -L.B. Cowman

i am already being poured out like a drink offering... i have fought the good fight.
i have finished the race. i have kept the faith

jane austen on family

austen's description of the comfort family brings, via fanny price in mansfield park, may be one of the best explanations of why there's no place like home. fanny is presented with two options when a man she doesn't love begins pursuing her romantically. her uncle, whose home fanny lived in from maybe age 8, says she can marry the suitor or go back to her filthy childhood home and destitute family. when she tells him she may choose home, her cousin and best friend edmond quickly, disbelievingly asks her why.

"to be home again," she tells him. "to be loved by family, to feel affection without fear or restraint, and to feel myself the equal of those that surround me."

what can we deduce from spilt milk?

thank you c.s. lewis, for putting it in laymen's terms! and thank you Father, for being the intelligent designer.

"saying the solar system was brought about by an accidental collision is like expecting that the accidental shape taken by the splash when you upset a milk jug should give you a correct account of how the jug was made and why it was upset."

the ministry of presence

"i've come to realize that all of us just want some company. angela didn't need me to do anything. she didn't need another plant or magazine... what really matters is the company of another beating heart, the presence of someone who cares about you, even if all they do is sit in a chair and bear witness to the trials at hand."
-elizabeth owen, my (not so) storybook life, on friend angela's battle with cancer

though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves; a cord of three strands is not quickly broken

when being followed is a good thing

"o Love that wilt not let me go,
i rest my weary soul in thee;
i give thee back the life i owe,
that in thine ocean depths its flow
may richer, fuller be.

o light that foll’west all my way,
i yield my flick’ring torch to thee;
my heart restores its borrowed ray,
that in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
may brighter, fairer be.
-george mattheson

His light follows me as His word pierces and changes me; His nearness and wisdom light my path, nourish me for the journey, etc etc. but what struck me most when we sang the mattheson hymn recently at church was how He uses people in my life to follow me to dark, shameful places. they come after me in His name, asking the piercing question reminiscent of eden, "where are you?" they help expose my sin and lift the heaviness of shame. thank you Father for your followers who pursue me when i resist or avoid, for comraderie around your truth that illuminates my darkness and deceit.

if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another.

2 timothy 1:5

with my mom's birthday in a few days, this commentary on 2 timothy 1:5 is particularly poignant. paul commends timothy for his "sincere faith," and it "dwelt" first in his grandmother and mother...

thus pious women may take encouragement from the success of lois and eunice with timothy, who proved so excellent and useful a minister. some of the most worthy and valuable ministers the church of Christ has been favoured with, have had to bless God for early religious impressions made upon their minds by the teaching of their mothers or other female relatives.
-matthew henry

what a privilege. thank you Father! give us grace and insight for the task of helping our children know and serve You.

shine like stars

gospel-centered people are under the command of God to create alternative cultures of honor, called churches, where people are lifted up, their accomplishments celebrated, their strengths admired, their weaknesses forgiven. this new relational environment has high standards, in keeping with the glory of the gospel.
-ray ortlund

do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ i will have reason to glory because i did not run in vain nor toil in vain