Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs ~ "Hail, Sovereign Love"

I love this theologically rich hymn! The writer did a magnificent job of establishing the order of God's providence, our condition without God, what God accomplished for us through His Son, and our matchless inheritance because of Christ!

I 'see' myself in this hymn every time I sing it or simply read it (and have highlighted those phrases that remind me of His mercy in my life). Enjoy!

Hail, Sovereign Love

Hail, sovereign love that first began,
The scheme to rescue fallen man;
Hail matchless free eternal grace,
That gave my soul a hiding place.

Against the God who rules the sky,
I fought with hand uplifted high,
Despised the mention of His grace,
Too proud to seek a hiding place.

Enwrapped in thick Egyptian night,
And fond of darkness more than light,
Madly I ran the sinful race,
Secure without a hiding place.

But thus th’ eternal counsel ran,
“Almighty Love, arrest that man!”
I felt the arrows of distress,
And found I had no hiding place.

Indignant justice stood in view,
To Sinai’s fiery mount I flew,
But Justice cried with frowning face,
“This mountain is no hiding place!”

Ere long a heavenly voice I heard,
And Mercy’s angel form appeared.
Who led me on with gentle pace,
To Jesus Christ, my hiding place.

On Him Almighty vengeance fell,
That must have sunk a world to hell;
He bore it for a chosen race,
And thus became their hiding place.

Should storms of sevenfold vengeance roll,
And shake this earth from pole to pole;
No flaming bolt could daunt my face,
For Jesus is my hiding place.

A few more rolling suns at most,
Shall land me safe on Heaven’s coast.
There I shall sing the song of grace,
To Jesus Christ, my hiding place!

On Being the Mother of One of God's Chosen, and One of God's Enemies

Today I've had another 'bittersweet' time of rejoicing in God's providence. I have the joy of being the mother of one of His chosen children, and the sanctifying burden of being the mother of one of His enemies. The weight often seems like more than I can bear, but it always drives me to Him as I remember that it is God who softens a hard heart, and it is God who saves--not me, not others, and not some 'event'.

Thus Saith...

... J.I. Packer on the topic of Joy ~

The knowledge of one's saving relationship to Christ can bring unquenchable joy into believing hearts, and this is something that only Christians can ever understand. 'Rejoice in the Lord' means rejoice in being Christ's, in having Christ's Father as your Father, in being right with God the Father and an heir of his glory through Christ's mediation, and in possessing salvation and eternal life as Christ's gift. We are to let joy flow from this source. How will that happen? Through the fulfilling of a four-source formula.

The first source of joy is the awareness that one is loved...

The second source of joy is the acceptance of one's situation as good...

Joy's third source is possession of something worth possessing...

The fourth source of joy is to give something worth giving...

From: Great Joy - A 31-Day Devotional

I wasn't really 'looking for love'...

...but 26 years ago God's providence smiled on me when I noticed a very nice-looking guy across the room during a Sunday School teachers' training class. We ended up sitting together during the evening service, and then stood outside in the parking lot and talked for at least two hours--we had SO much in common!

However, just weeks after that I was engaged--to someone else! It's a long story, of course. God certainly writes some interesting and unexpected chapters in our lives! :-)

Even so, a little over a year later I said "I do" to that very nice-looking guy I met in the teachers training class. Next to my salvation, my husband has been God's greatest gift to me.

Survey of Denominations: another visit today

Here's where we'll be visiting today, Faith United Methodist, as part of Olga's "Survey of Denominations" course.

The church's motto is, "Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors". We'll be attending the contemporary morning service (Olga's choice) where I expect we'll witness evidence of highly feminized church ecclesiology.

I'm especially looking forward to seeing how they accomplish,

"A contemporary praise and worship service with relevant, biblical messages along with upbeat praise and worship music are major components of the warm and relaxed atmosphere. Not to mention the coffee and donuts offered immediately following the service!"

All I've got to say to that is, 'feed them and they will come' (something a Seminary friend of ours said way back when we all were fresh out of Seminary--clearly it's still sad but true).

Mowing Meditations

I enjoy mowing our quite large lawn--really, I do! I don't mind the sweating, I don't mind getting all dirty, and I don't mind the 'peace and quiet' alone with my thoughts. As a matter of fact, when I mow I actually 'write' my BEST blog posts--too bad they don't actually materialize in cyberspace as I imagine. :-) Still, I get a lot of thinking done while I mow and have actually solved a multitude of the world's problems while mowing. :-)

Here are some thoughts--fragmented as they may be--from today's "Mowing Meditations":

1) Inter-racial and inter-cultural adoption should be a 'no-brainer', but as long as we live in this fallen world there will be many fears and endless questions.

2) I really should follow through with my plan & desire to blog on the topic of "...people think 'we can learn much from charismatics' "

3) Am I seizing every opportunity to point our youngest daughter to the gospel?

4) Is our lawnmower going to last through this season? (it's well over 10 years old)

5) Would I welcome or loathe a riding lawn mower? (mixed emotions on that one!)

6) Will I ever complete my NANC exams? (still picking away on those!)

7) What is it like to be a grandmother/Nana? :-) (I'm really in no hurry, but so many of our friends make it look & sound like lots of fun!)

8) Ahhh, there's my daughter bringing me a nice cold cup of water!!! (They take turns doing this--it's part of their training!)

9) What must I do to 'light a fire' under my reluctant reader & reluctant student?

10) I sure can't wait till this evening when we'll gather together for "Family Movie Night" and watch National Treasure 2--I've heard it's good!

Practicing Theology: no longer orphans

I just added a post to our adoption blog--I'm slowly 'filling in the blanks' telling the story of how God has built our family through adoption and what life has been like these past 5+ years.

As former orphans our girls were often subject to the 'whims' of their caregivers and/or the dictates of poverty. Consequently, when our girls both decided to grow out their hair (because they COULD) and donate it (because the WANTED to), we seized the expected and unexpected opportunities that brought for teaching and training! HERE'S a link to that post.

The "Martha" side of me: favorite brownies from scratch

Here's a recipe I promised in THIS POST.

I've been using this brownie recipe exclusively since our 'seminary days', it's from our 1988 Dallas Theological Seminary Cookbook. The Seminary wife who submitted this recipe also was a very talented calligraphy artist whom I hired to write out the song my husband wrote for me for our wedding--a total surprise to me during our wedding ceremony. Hmmmm, I think I just might post the lyrics to that sometime soon.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this recipe, it's not only an easy and delicious recipe for me, it's a really easy recipe for kids--our Nina has become quite accomplished at it!

Favorite Brownies

1/2 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla flavoring (I prefer to use extract)
2 eggs
1/3 c. dry cocoa
3/4 c. flour
1/2 c. chopped nuts (optional)
1/4 c. chocolate chips (or try white choc. chips, or Nina's personal creation and favorite-- miniature M & M's!)

In saucepan, melt butter.

Add sugar, vanilla, cocoa, and eggs; mix well.

Add flour, stir until just blended--don't over stir.

Pour in a greased 8 x 8 pan, sprinkle nuts and/or chips on top.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, until knife or toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Unnecessary to think?

There was a time in my life when I readily believed just about anything I was told, saw, or read--pretty much without question. That played itself out in various arenas; theology, church practice, politics, career, relationships, etc.

However, having survived the fallout of that in my early 20's, I soon began to question pretty much EVERYTHING! Sure, there's a danger of becoming cynical, but I must say it has served me well both in my secular career (Banking--more specifically, fraud prevention and loss control), and my spiritual understanding & practice.

And one other area recently was brought to my attention by our oldest daughter who commented something to the effect that, "...I can count on mom to point out other things to consider." Hmmm, I've been thinking on that a good bit lately but for now I'm taking it as a compliment.

I don't ever want to be a 'lemming' again, and I certainly don't want my loved ones to be one either! So, when I read this earlier this week, I had to smile (emphasis mine):

"One of the reasons for this situation [being inundated with facts to the detriment of understanding] is that the very media we have mentioned are so designed as to make thinking seem unnecessary (though this is only an appearance). The packaging of intellectual positions and views is one of the most active enterprises of some of the best minds of our day. The viewer of television, the listener to radio, the reader of magazines, is presented with a whole complex of elements--all the way from ingenious rhetoric to carefully selected data and statistics--to make it easy for him to 'make up his own mind' with the minimum of difficulty and effort. But the packaging is often done so effectively that the viewer, listener, or reader does not make up his own mind at all. Instead, he inserts a packaged opinion into his mind, somewhat like inserting a cassette into a cassette player. He then pushes a button and 'plays back' the opinion whenever it seems appropriate to do so. He has performed acceptably without having had to think."

~ How to Read a Book, Adler & VanDoren

Semantics?

"Precise definitions are the sign of careful theological thinking. Every definition must be an accurate reflection and summation of the biblical truth involved.

When insisting on good definitions from students, and especially when challenging a word that a student might have used because it was not the most precise one, I would often receive this retort, 'It's only a matter of semantics. One word is as good as another.' The retort is totally without merit. Definitions are very much a matter of semantics; therefore, one word is not necessarily as good as another. Accurate definitions have to be constructed with carefully chosen words. Sloppy formulation is never acceptable."

Charles C. Ryrie, Basic Theology - A Popular Systematic Guide to Understanding Biblical Truth (don't worry, I read Ryrie through my 'reformed' glasses!)

The "Martha" side of me: great recipe to make for those in need

As I have mentioned (countless times) before, cooking is not my strength, nor is it my passion. But I do have some recipes that I rely on and wanted to share one with you that has turned out to be 'perfect' to make for families in need (new baby, illness, death, etc.).

I always purchase a disposable foil casserole pan so there is no clean up necessary and no 'worries' about washing and returning a dish! For a "complete meal" I normally bake a loaf of "Easy French" bread in my bread machine, and a batch of my favorite (from scratch) brownies. I'll provide those recipes later! :-)

Make It Easy Chicken!

1 Reynolds® Oven Bag, Large Size
2 tablespoons flour
1 envelope golden onion soup mix
1 cup water
3 medium carrots, cut in chunks (a sm. bag of baby carrots works well, too)
2 medium red potatoes, cut in wedges (I've used different varieties of potatoes with no problem, I also scrub them clean and leave the skin on)
1 medium green bell pepper, cubed
6 chicken pieces, skin removed (I prefer to leave the skin on cause I like the flavor it gives the veggies as they cook, but will take it off if I am aware of any special 'diet' needs.)

Seasoned salt, pepper (I use Paprika instead of pepper)

PREHEAT oven to 350°F.

SHAKE flour in Reynolds Oven Bag; place in 13x9x2-inch baking pan.

ADD onion soup mix and water to oven bag. Squeeze oven bag to blend in flour. Add carrots, potatoes and green pepper to oven bag. Turn oven bag to coat ingredients with sauce. Sprinkle chicken with seasonings; add to oven bag. Arrange chicken and vegetables in an even layer in oven bag.

CLOSE oven bag with nylon tie; cut six 1/2-inch slits in top. Tuck ends of bag in pan.

BAKE 55 to 60 minutes (Be aware that I've had to cook thick pieces of chicken longer), until chicken is tender and juices run clear or meat thermometer reads 170°F for breasts and 180°F for other pieces.

Number of Servings: 4-6Nutrition Information:(Per Serving)

If you'd like to see the nutritional info., go here Make It Easy Chicken!

God's Providence

"God's providence is His constant care for and His absolute rule over all His creation, directing all things to their appointed end for His glory and for the good of His people."

The truth of God's providence is a wonderful comfort to His elect, but an intolerable mystery to those who are counted among His enemies.

"He works in providence by an unseen hand. He works through what we call secondary causes--the actions of people and other living creatures, as well as the so-called laws of nature. God often governs His universe through unwitting and even unwilling instruments."

Quotes from: I Exalt You O God, by Jerry Bridges

Redefining Prophesy

As I've said before, I consider many 'practicing' charismatics to be brothers and sisters-in-Christ. Even so, I'm still unable to reconcile the habit of redefining prophesy as illustrated in this post, "Spontaneous and Prophetic Songs" (Please remember that questioning, examining, or challenging a teaching and/or a practice in light of Scripture is NOT an attack upon the person.)

I've always wondered--even during my days as a 'full blown" charismatic--what this practice is intended/hoped to accomplish that Scripture apparently is assumed to be deficient in?

Worship or Entertainment?

"Much of what passes for worship today is nothing more than lightly baptized entertainment, and therefore is idolatrous. It is idolatry from which serious churches must distance themselves. Our principle must be (with apologies to Luther): 'Let us, therefore, repudiate everything that smacks of entertainment.' "

THAT is what deeply concerns me about the church today, so I was encouraged to read THIS article today posted by Ligonier.

Our oldest daughter and I are still visiting churches as part of her "Survey of Denominations" course, and we've seen the entertainment factor over and over again--not in all churches, but most (one church used concert-esque 'fog' on it's stage prior to the music team's arrival--I resisted the urge to find a cigarette lighter, hold it high and start stomping my feet on the floor). :-)

There's nothing wrong with 'excellence' in what we do, but in many cases we are forcing our assumptions about worship on the church and failing to hold those assumptions up against God's Word--thus offering man-centered worship rather than God-centered, God-honoring worship.

Would it surprise you to know...

...that I own a headcovering (I made mine, but it's very similar to the one pictured above) and have used it regularly? And, would it surprise you that I keep it handy since I have no Biblical or personal objections to covering my head if the leadership of a church we visit/attend determines that it is fitting for women to cover their head during worship?

I recall my first encounter with a sister-in-Christ who practiced covering her head in the assembly, it was in the mid-80's while my husband was attending Dallas Theological Seminary. Up until that time the only women I'd ever seen cover their head for 'religious reasons' was the occasional Mennonite women at the grocery or discount store--and even then I'd 'written them off' as odd and old-fashioned.

So when my friend and neighbor, Gaye, came knocking at our apartment door one evening I was more than a bit puzzled when she asked if she could 'borrow a doillie' since she was scheduled to sing in one of the upcoming chapel services at DTS (DTS did not require this, it was Gaye's practice). Keep in mind that this was the 80's and the "country" style of decorating was still quite popular, so I actually had a number of doillies for her to choose from. She selected one that covered just the crown of her head, thanked me and promised to return it in a few days. Thus began my initial quest to understand, and submit to if necessary, the practice of Christian women wearing headcoverings.

I soon found out that I was not alone, as I met other seminary wives (women married to seminary students) who were curious about this practice and were eager to know if it was something they should also consider and embrace. While we enjoyed countless conversations and many 'working lunches' together studying the topic in light of scripture, none of us came to a firm conclusion or conviction that headcoverings were required of us.

However, what I did walk away with was the desire and willingness to submit to--and embrace--the practice if/when I (or my husband) confidently came to a Biblical understanding of it's necessity. Consequently, when we began to attend a small 'Brethern' assembly in the early 90's I was glad that I'd decided to wear a hat that first morning, and subsequently made a trip to the local Wal-Mart where I bought some lace fabric for my own headcovering.

Thanks the time devoted to discussion and study, and time among the 'Brethern' assembly (who by the way, welcomed us in spite of our 'reformed/Calvinistic' theology), I have absolutely 'zero' problem and no reservations whatsoever with joining other Christian women in covering my head when/if called for by the leadership of a church.

I realize that this is not a common or even a popular topic, but I'm still surprised when I hear an attitude of scoffing--even scorn--among women (professing believers) who have admittedly given little to no careful consideration of the practice, but steadfastly renounce it as something 'I could/would never do!'. As Bereans wouldn't the better response and attitude be, 'Maybe I need to study and consider that...'?

Sidenote: while we were in Russia adopting our daughters our translator and our host took us to visit a number of Russian Orthodox churches--I wonder if it surprised them how willingly I (a thoroughly 'modern' American woman) followed their lead and covered my head as we entered their places of worship?

Headcovering photo found at, Headcoverings.com

Family Movie Night

Tonight was "Family Movie Night", and I don't remember when I saw a movie that moved me as much as this one, bella.

Just thinking out loud...

I've been a believer for more than 25 years, and as I continue to see things (mostly fads) come and go within today's American evangelical church, I find myself wondering how many out there are thinking,

"Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt--which is now only useful as a rag to clean up nasty messes."

Please pardon the 'dust', I'm doing a little blog cleaning...

A Few of My Favorite Things...

My china pattern is Royal Doulton's "Old Country Rose". I can't remember when I became 'smitten' with this beautiful china, but 17 years ago when my dear husband offered to buy me a set to show his appreciation for helping him through seminary I jumped at the chance--and shed more than a few tears!