Celtic Prayer

Lord of my heart, give me vision to inspire me, that, working or resting, I may always think of you.

Lord of my heart, give me light to guide me, that, at home or abroad, I may always walk with you.

Lord of my heart, give me wisdom to direct me, that, thinking or acting, I may always discern right from wrong.

Lord of my heart, give me courage to strengthen me, that, amongst friends or enemies, I may always proclaim your justice.

Lord of my heart, give me trust to console me, that, hungry or well-fed, I may always rely on your mercy.

Lord of my heart, save me from empty praise, that I may always boast of you.

Lord of my heart, save me from worldly wealth, that I may always look to the riches of heaven.

Lord of my heart, save me from military prowess, that I may always seek your protection.

Lord of my heart, save me from vain knowledge, that I may always study your word.

Lord of my heart, Save me from unnatural pleasures, that I may always find joy in your wonderful creation.

Lord of my heart, whatever may befall me, rule over my thoughts and feelings, my words and action.

If you’ve read through this today may I suggest you go back now and pray it and if you can, pray it out loud. Blessings!

The Decade of the 50’s at a Glance

Here are 3 of my siblings, me and my pop in the glorious 50’s. Fred, Pop, Ellen (me), Kathy and Vera. The next four siblings started arriving from 1958 through 1963.

I was born in 1951. The beginning of the 50’s. Here are some amazing events that occurred in this decade.

1950 – Senator Joseph McCarthy embarks on a public crusade to uncover Communist activity in the U.S.

1950 – First kidney transplant and first successul heart massage are performed.

1950 – U.S. sends troops to Korea.

1951 – Color television is introduced. [Ellen was born, maybe this is the reason I’m visual!]

1952 – A priest, minister, and rabbi sanction the appearance of Lucille Ball’s pregnancy on her TV show.

1952 – Albert Scweitzer is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

1952 – President Dwight D. Eisenhower is elected.

1953 – Jonas Salk’s polio vaccine is certified to prevent infantile paralysis.

1954 – Congress adds the phrase “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance.

1954 – Brown v The Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas outlaws segegation in schools striking down the doctrine of “separate but equal.”

1955 – Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat on a city bus and, in effect, begins the civil rights movement.

[1955 – Disneyland Opens in Anaheim, California.]

1956 – Elvis Presley releases “Heartbreak Hotel” and starts a music revolution.

1956 – Eisenhower and Nixon win again.

1957 – Federal troops are called in to protect the Little Rock Nine, the first black students to attend all-white Central High.

1957 – The baby boom peaks at 4.3 million births.

1957 – The USSR launches a satellite, Sputnik I, into orbit around the earth.

1959 – The first Barbie doll is introduced.

1959 – Texas Instruments invents the microchip.

1959 – Alaska becomes the 49th state, Hawaii the 50th.

Some memorable quotes to go with this decade…

“We conclude that in the field of education the doctrine of “separate but equal” has no place.” Earl Warren, Chief Justice, Brown v. The Board of Education, 1954

“Recognition of the Supreme Being is the first, the most basic, expression of Americanism. Without God , there could be no American form of government, nor American way of life.” Dwight D. Eisenhower – American Chronicle, 1955

“If the television craze continues with the present level of programs, we are destined to have a nation of morons.” Daniel Marsh (President of Boston College, Columbia Chronicles, 1950)

“Roll over Beethoven. And tell Tchaikovsky the news.” Chuck Berry, “Roll Over Beethoven,” 1956

This photo was taken in the late 60’s. Top Row: Oldest sister Kathy, pop, mom, Vera, Me, Tim, Leonard, Lana and Steve. Our brother Fred who is older than me is missing from this photo. All of my parents kids were born in the late 40’s, 50’s with the twins arriving in the 60’s.

I couldn’t finish this post without an additional photo of the last two siblings in our family. Twins born in 1963, Lana and Leonard. Oh the tales we can tell you about the marvelous 60’s and these two, but this is a post about the 50’s so those tales will have to wait….

Letters to an American Lady ~ C.S. Lewis ~ Quote

This quote comes from Letters to an American Lady ~by C.S. Lewis

Another thing that annoys me is when people say “Why did you give that man money? He’ll probably go and drink it.” My reply is “But if I’d kept [it] I should probably have drunk it.

This really convicted me because I’ve used this excuse not to be generous with beggars, homeless, needy people. What am I wasting my money on (the money I’m guarding and protecting from people like them)? Teach me Lord and let me be generous with your money. Forgive me for my arrogance and selfishness. Let me trust that you will lead me to give where and when and to whom you want. Let me respond to your leading.

http://images.scotsman.com/2006/05/02/begging.jpg

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.

Future Grace ~ John Piper

There are certain books that I keep on my nightstand that I only read a chapter at a time. Future Grace by John Piper is one of these. This is a quote from Chapter Thirteen.

In God’s Place, At God’s Pace, By Future Grace

Impatience is a form of unbelief. It’s what we begin to feel when we start to doubt the wisdom of God’s timing or the goodness of God’s guidance. It springs up in our hearts when our plan is interrupted or shattered. It may be prompted by a long wait in a checkout line or a sudden blow that knocks out half our dreams. The opposite of impatience is not a glib denial of loss. It’s a deepening, ripening, peaceful willingness to wait for God in the unplanned place of obedience, and to walk with God at the unplanned pace of obedience – to wait in his place, and go at his pace. And the key is faith in future grace.

…God is ruling the world. He is ruling history. And it is all for the good of his people and the glory of his name. ‘From of old they have not heard nor perceived by ear, neither has the eye seen a God besides Thee, who acts in behalf of the one who waits for Him’ (Isaiah 64:4) The power of patience flows through faith in the future, sovereign grace of God.”

The Lord is good to those who wait for Him. (Lamentations 3:25)

Blessings on your day as you live in faith for our future grace!

Living The Life of God’s Chosen Ones

Colossians 3:12-17 (ESV)

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

Here it is in one passage, Christianity 101, 201, 301 and 401! Now to go and do and be what we were chosen to be, holy and beloved ones. Grace and blessings on you today!

The Four Loves ~ C.S. Lewis ~ Quote

This quote is from The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis. My friend Jan sent it to Jody and I as it describes what happens in close friendships between 3 or more people. I love this quote and I hope it will augment your idea of friendship. I chose this book to illustrate this quote because the 3 friends Lewis speaks of are pictured on the cover.

Lamb says somewhere that if, of three friends (A, B, and C), A should die, then B loses not only A but “A’s part in C,” while C loses not only A but “A’s part in B.” In each of my friends there is something that only some other friend can fully bring out. By myself I am not large enough to call the whole man into activity; I want other lights than my own to show all his facets. Now that Charles is dead, I shall never again see Ronald’s reaction to a specifically Caroline joke. Far from having more of Ronald, having him “to myself” now that Charles is away, I have less of Ronald. Hence true Friendship is the least jealous of loves. Two friends delight to be joined by a third, and three by a fourth, if only the newcomer is qualified to become a real friend. They can then say, as the blessed souls say in Dante, “Here comes one who will augment our loves.” For in this love “to divide is not to take away.” Of course the scarcity of kindred souls – not to mention practical considerations about the size of rooms and the audibility of voices – set limits to the enlargement of the circle; but within those limits we possess each friend not less but more as the number of those with whom we share him increases. In this, Friendship exhibits a glorious “nearness by resemblance” to Heaven itself where the very multitude of the blessed (which no man can number) increases the fruition which each has of God. For every soul, seeing Him in her own way, doubtless communicates that unique vision to all the rest. That, says an old author, is why the Seraphim in Isaiah’s vision are crying “Holy, Holy, Holy” to one another (Isaiah VI, 3) The more we thus share the Heavenly Bread between us, the more we shall all have.”

http://www.tolkienlibrary.com/reviews/images/Inklings2.jpg

Preaching The Cross

My husband and I have decided it’s time to stop dancing between our church in Seattle and our church in Southern California. We are going to settle into reality. Although I’ve been traveling back and forth we live in Southern California because that’s where “Dear” is working full-time. To make our departure official we gave our two pastors whom we love dearly a copy of Preaching the Cross by Mark Dever, J. Ligon Duncan III, R.Albert Mohler Jr., C. J. Mahaney with contributions by John MacArthur, John Piper, R.C. Sproul. It was hard to “join” another church after 18 years of being faithful to our church in Seattle.

We love this body of believers and we have grown significantly through our experiences here. Our very closest friends and children have gone to this church. “Dear” was an elder at this church, I was a deaconness. But…God is calling us to something new, a change, something different. We choose to be obedient and though it’s hard we look forward to what new thing God will do with us for His Kingdom and we hope we can be faithful servants in this new thing. There is a quote by A.W. Tozer in the introduction to Preaching the Cross that I thought was very good reminder to all of us in the Body of Christ.

“Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshipers meeting together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be were they to become ‘unity’ conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship.” -A.W. Tozer

Thank you Lord for Sunrise, where we learned to love you more, love your people, we learned through experience what true forgiveness and reconciliation look like, and learned that suffering makes us more like you.

My prayer is that we all bow the knee to Jesus and keep our eyes on Christ, our Standard, so we can truly become nearer to each other as the Body of Christ.

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

Category Archives: Quotes