Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ ~ John Piper

I was really struck by this prayer by John Piper at the end of chapter 11 in this book.

A Prayer

Lord, thicken our skin. Not that we be less tender, but that we be less easily offended. Take away our bent to self-pity. Give us a passion for the truth that is stronger than our inborn passion for being praised. Forgive us, Father, for calling words unloving just because they were tough. Forgive us for attributing malicious motives to people when we don’t know their motives. Help us to learn from Jesus when to be tough and when to be tender. Guard us from justifying merely human anger with the hard sayings of Jesus. But don’t let us become so mushy that we can’t speak a firm word in season. We marvel at the words of our Lord Jesus. How unpredictable he was! No one ever spoke like he did. He is in a class by himself. We bow before him and shut our mouths. We are eager for him to speak – and to speak any way he pleases. We are the silent learners. He is the sinless teacher. We put our hands upon our mouths and take our place at his feet. Do with us as you please, Father. We are not your judge, nor the judge of how your Son speaks. Have mercy on us – tough or tender – and lead us to your everlasting joy. In the name of your Son, our Lord Jesus, amen.”

Blessings on you this day…

Solzhenitsyn: A Pictorial Record, 1974

How easy it is for me to live with you, Lord!

How easy it is for me to believe in you!

When my mind is distraught and my reason fails,

When the cleverest people do not see further than this evening what must be done tomorrow

You grant me the clear confidence

that you exist, and that you will take care

that not all the ways of goodness are stopped.

At the height of earthly fame I gaze with wonder at

that path through hopelessness –

to this point from which even I have been able

to convey to men some reflection of the Light

which comes from you.

And you will enable me to go on doing

as much as needs to be done.

~ALEXANDER SOLZHENITSYN

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Clinging: The Experience of Prayer, 1984 ~ Emilie Griffin

There is a moment between intending to pray and actually praying that is as dark and silent as any moment in our lives. It is the split second between thinking about praying and really praying. For some of us, this split second may last for decades. It seems, then, that the greatest obstacle to prayer is the simple matter of beginning, the simple exertion of will, the starting, the acting, the doing. How easy it is, and yet – between us and the possibility of prayer there seems to be a great gulf fixed: an abyss of our own making that separates us from God.

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Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer, C.S. Lewis ~ Quote

If we were perfected, prayer would not be a duty, it would be delight. Some day, please God, it will be. The same is true of many other behaviours which now appear as duties. If I loved my neighbor as myself, most of the actions which are now my moral duty would flow out of me as spontaneously as song from a lark or fragrance from a flower. Why is this not so yet? Well, we know, don’t we? Aristotle has taught us that delight is the “bloom” on an unimpeded activity. But the very activities for which we were created are, while we live on earth, variously impeded: by evil in ourselves or in others. Not to practise them is to abandon our humanity. To practise them spontaneously and delightfully is not yet possible. The situation creates the category of duty, the whole specifically moral realm.

It exists to be transcended. Here is the paradox of Christianity. As practical imperatives for here and now the two great commandments have to be translated “Behave as if you loved God and man.” For no man can love because he is told to. Yet obedience on this practical level is not really obedience at all. And if a man really loved God and man, once again this would hardly be obedience; for if he did, he would be unable to help it. Thus the command really says to us, “Ye must be born again.” Till then, we have duty, morality, the Law. A schoolmaster, as St Paul says, to bring us to Christ. We must expect no more of it than of a schoolmaster; we must allow it no less…

But the school-days, please God, are numbered. There is no morality in heaven. The angels never knew (from within) the meaning of the word ought, and the blessed dead have long since gladly forgotten it. This is why Dante’s Heaven is so right, and Milton’s, with its military discipline so silly.

…In the perfect and eternal world the Law will vanish. But the results of having lived faithfully under it will not.

I am therefore not really deeply worried by the fact prayer is at present a duty, and even an irksome one.

The Transforming Power of Prayer ~ James Houston

I used to think that prayer was a spiritual exercise – something that needed to be worked at, like running or vaulting. But I was never any good at sports, and perhaps I would never be any good at prayer either. After years of feeling useless and guilty, I began to realize the truth of a comment made by one of the early Fathers of the church, Clement of Alexandria. He said that “prayer is keeping company with God.” This began to give me a new focus on prayer. I began to see prayer more as a friendship than a rigorous discipline. It started to become more of a relationship and less of a performance.”

~ James Houston

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BBC ~ Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell, George Eliot

O.K. this is kind-of cheating on the Works For Me Wednesday theme but here’s my tip for summer boredom. This tip is for the Moms…Send your kids off to grandma’s (that will help their boredom) then get your flannels on, brew a pot of tea and settle in the comfy chair and choose one of these BBC productions to escape to a quieter, gentler time… (if you have a 16 year or older daughter have her escape with you)

My daughter and I love BBC videos. I found some at a good price and couldn’t resist adding them to our viewing library. These are more typically DVD’s that we will watch over and over again so our money was well invested (in our minds anyway). I’m including a little review of the ones we’ve seen to give you an idea as to whether you might enjoy them. We like the detailed slow plot development that these longer series afford.

Pride and Prejudice ~ Jane Austen

Hands down our favorite. Well worth the 5 hour viewing time. This A & E version is a must have. We love this Elizabeth Bennet character Jennifer Ehle over the well acted Kiera Knightley in the new shorter version.

Wives and Daughters ~ Elizabeth Gaskell

Our charming Scottish Cinderella is just as likable as her stepmother is unlikeable in this gossip riddled tale set in the 1800’s. We’d watch this one again, not because of the gossip but the way that the heroine gracefully copes with it and her impossible stepmother.

North & South ~ Elizabeth Gaskill

Takes on the same sorts of class divide issues as Jane Austen but in the English industrial era. It may take a long time to develop but it’s worth the wait.

Persuasion ~ Jane Austen

One of Jane Austen’s later novels with a heroine that combines some of the lovable qualities of Elinor Dashwood and Jane and Elizabeth Bennett.

Mansfield Park ~ Jane Austen

Jane Austen’s most unlikeable heroine, Fanny Price, proves that the meek will inherit the earth by triumphing over the superficiality and virtue-lessness of her relatives and their friends.

Middlemarch ~ George Eliot

In this 19th century George Eliot story the plot is slow to develop and full of unlikeable characters. When the decent characters finally get their reward you don’t care anymore. Tedious but informative about some period customs and practices.

Berkeley Square

There are ten 52 minute episodes in this series that we haven’t had a chance to watch yet. It is described as a warm-hearted family drama set in turn-of-the-century-London, where three young girls come together as nannies and grow to be friends.

Dorothy Sayers Mysteries ~ Gaudy Night ~ Have His Carcase ~ Strong Poison

Dear and I are reading some of the Sayers mysteries and are looking forward to watching these three soon. These are described as three elegant murder mysteries adapted from the crime novels of Dorothy L. Sayers. Set in the 1930’s the relationship of amateur sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane unfolds in a realm of romance and intrigue. Dear and I just watched Strong Poison the first in this series. It’s presented as a serial not a movie. It was prepared for T.V. so it’s 3 one hour long episodes on one dvd. We really enjoyed it. We like the development of the characters as much if not more than the mystery…

Now if you’d like more tips about how to beat the summer boredom for your kids go over to Rocks in My Dryer.

On Things Above ~ C.S. Lewis ~ Longing for Heaven

Colossians 3:1-4 (NIV)

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Colossians 3:1-4 (ESV)

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

This quote by C.S. Lewis comes from Mere Christianity

Most of us find it very difficult to want “Heaven” at all – except in so far as “Heaven” means meeting again our friends who have died. One reason for this difficulty is that we have not been trained: our whole education tends to fix our minds on this world. Another reason is that when the real want for Heaven is present in us, we do not recognise it. Most people, if they had really learned to look into their own hearts, would know that they do want, and want acutely, something that cannot be had in this world. There are all sorts of things in this world that offer to give it to you, but they never quite keep their promise.”

Life Together ~ Bonhoeffer

This is a quote from Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer from the section on Community:

Christian community is like the Christian’s sanctification. It is a gift of God which we cannot claim. Only God knows the real state of our fellowship, of our sanctification. What may appear weak and trifling to us may be great and glorious to God. Just as the Christian should not be constantly feeling his spiritual pulse, so, too, the Christian community has not been given to us by God for us to be constantly taking its temperature. The more thankfully we daily receive what is given to us, the more surely and steadily will fellowship increase and grow from day to day as God pleases.

Christian brotherhood is not an ideal which we must realize; it is rather a reality created by God in Christ in which we may participate. The more clearly we learn to recognize that the ground and strength and promise of all our fellowship is in Jesus Christ alone, the more serenely shall we think of our fellowship and pray and hope for it.

Life Together. Copyright 1954 by HarperCollins Publishers.

Meeting God in Quiet Places ~ F. LaGard Smith

Wherever we are, God is always close. But as Jesus himself demonstrated, there is something about quiet times and quiet places that helps us to get closer to God. That special solitude provides a time of rest and renewal from a secular world that is busily ignoring God. It is a time of remembering who we are and why we are.

In the Cotswolds, I experience daily the words of that great hymn written by I. B. Sergei:

My God and I go through the fields together.
We walk and talk, as good friends should and do.
We clasp our hands, our voices ring with laughter.
My God and I walk through the meadow’s hue.

He tells me of the years that went before me,
When heavenly plans were made for me to be.
When all was but a dream of dim conception,
To come to life, earth’s verdant glory see.

For those who walk hand in hand with Jesus, every day is a holiday – a holy day before God. Some of us are specially blessed to have a life more conducive to the peace and quiet of holy days before God. But as someone who finds himself thrust back each year into the harsh reality of big-city madness, I know that the greater challenge is to find God in the midst of a metropolis. To see his hand in the inner city and among the urban sprawl; to find time for him in an already-overbooked schedule; to find a quiet place amid a constant bedlam of noise.

If we don’t take the time to remember, we’re in danger of forgetting his blessings. Therefore, take a few moments every day, if possible, or perhaps plan ahead to spend an afternoon walking in prayer with him. Whenever you feel your hand slipping from his, take some extra time to remember all that he has meant to you. And why not write down some of his special blessings throughout the year?”

This is the village of Buckland in the Cotswolds. I was so excited to stumble upon it with “Dear” and Katie in 2004 after reading this devotional by F. LaGard Smith. The book is “Dedicated to the people of Buckland, who have opened their hearts and homes to make me feel a part of the village.” We strolled around Buckland and it made me want to re-read the book. This book was one of those “treasures” that I happened upon in my thrift store shopping. I found it at the Senior thrift shop on Whidbey Island in the little village of Langley, Washington. If you ever visit Washington take a ferry to Whidbey Island and enjoy the many quaint towns and beautiful scenery this Island affords. Whidbey Island is one of those places on earth that you can feel closer to the Lord just by being there. May you walk hand in hand with Jesus wherever you are today, in the hustle and bustle, or in a serene and quiet place.

Beatrix Potter ~ Miss Potter

Katie and I just returned from seeing Miss Potter with our dear friends tonight.

Jan, Katie, Jody, Lucy, and Bridget at the Crest Theater in Seattle. We were all pleased with the film and delighted to have experienced it together. I’m easily enchanted with all things Beatrix Potter and this movie took me back to the land of enchantment for me, Great Britain. This was a fun event to share on Lucy’s birthday. Happy Birthday, Lu

I started my love of Beatrix Potter books and figurines when I toured England in a Christian Rock Band (rock band story in future post) in 1973. I bought little figurines as my souvenirs from Britain. I bought the full set of her Peter Rabbit and Friends books. Our first baby room was all about Peter Rabbit and friends.

Some of these figurines were purchased in England. Others were gifts over the years. There are some that might have your name given to them because they remind me of you. Something to ponder. Remember I did say I love these figurines…

I’ve picked up some framed pieces of Beatrix Potter illustrations from Goodwill.

We visited the area around Derwentwater where Beatrix Potter spent time and was inspired for some of her illustrations and stories.

When our kids were young we read to them every night. It did not take Josh long to figure out that The Tale of Pig Robinson was the longest book in this set of 24 books by Beatrix Potter. This was the book he requested many nights in a row for us to read. It’s pretty worn.

The DVD will soon be released (June 19th). It’s already released in Great Britain. I will be buying it and am looking forward to watching it again with “Dear” in California.

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The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

Category Archives: Books