The Church Walking with the World – A Poem

 

The Church Walking with the World

The Church and the World walked far apart
On the changing shores of time,
The World was singing a giddy song,
And the Church a hymn sublime.
“Come, give me your hand,” said the merry World,
“And walk with me this way!”

Continue reading.

Matthew 7:13-14  Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:  Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

Aussie Memories – Nephew

 

In order to share more photos with you from our trip, I’m going to post some on Thursdays.  Since I had my photos already scheduled through the end of the year, I’ll only replace the ones that seem less interesting for now, but starting next year I am thinking of sharing a lot of photos from this trip on my usual Thursday photo posts.  We took a lot! :-)

Today – some favorites of my nephew, since his birthday was this week.

Reading with Grandpa.

Engrossed.

“Making dirt.” (He was crushing rocks to “make dirt”.)  :-)

A Reminder for this Time of Year

 

I posted this article about a year ago.  It deals with Halloween, the Twilight series, Harry Potter, The Hunger Games and more.  If you have not read it, I encourage you to do so.

If you still think Halloween is cute and “just for fun”, please open your eyes to what is going on in our culture, please read this and please consider what you are doing before the Lord.  We are called to be separated unto the Lord.  Being friends with the world and doing what they do will not make you a better testimony.  James 4:4  …know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?…  It will actually please the world to have you join their works of darkness because if you approve their evil they feel justified in continuing in it.  John 3:19-20  And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.  No excuse you can come up with justifies observing a celebration that is “wholly given to idolatry” (Acts 17:6) – in this case, witchcraft, paganism and the occult! 

Note: By “observing” I mean participating in the traditions and customs specific to this “holiday”.  Handing out Gospel tracts to those who come to the door is up for debate.  Some Christians don’t wish to participate in any way, which I understand and my family has done.  To others it seems useful for spreading the Gospel message, and my family has done this at times as well.

In Titus 2:10-12 we’re told regarding servants’ behavior that their lives should adorn the doctrine of God. …that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things. For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,  Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;  All believers are (or should be) servants of God.  Obviously, it is right that all our lives should adorn sound doctrine as the next verses indicate.  How does the celebration of a Satanic “holiday” adorn the doctrine of God? 

2 Corinthians 6:14 and 17  Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?…Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

Ephesians 5:11-17  And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.  Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.  See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.

Hard Questions: What would the Ephesian Believers Think of Halloween, Twilight and Harry Potter in Christian Homes?

Just for Fun – Some Humorous Thoughts On Marriage

 

Original photo by Matt Stephens

Since our wedding anniversary was yesterday, I thought it would be appropriate to share some Baby Blues comics on marriage.  They don’t all apply to us, but I appreciate the principle of the thing.  :-)

Not A Monster

Good Reasons…

How to Tell…

It’s All In the Perspective

Shared Duties

Gotcha Covered

Night Time Confusion

Gross things married people do.

This can happen even if you don’t have kids.

How was your day?

And, for all the parents who long to talk…

The Road that Leads Home

 

Dear Christian friend, are you struggling along the journey?  Are you discouraged?  Please read and follow the link below.  This has been such an encouragement to me – more than once.

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Psalm 16:11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life:
in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right
hand there are pleasures for evermore.

It was past, well past midnight as we made our way down the deserted highway towards our hometown.

My wife and I had been on a rather long journey and were beginning to grow weary. I was driving and my eyes were tired.

Our spirits weren't what you would call down, but we definitely could use a lift.

And the road we were traveling was all but empty.

Continue reading here.

Sew Happy Saturday – More Australian Memories

 

Sewing with Grandma -

Well, not exactly sewing, but cutting out an apron. :-) 

My mom took some fabric and pattern for an apron for my niece.  She wanted to try to sew it with her while we were there, but they only managed to get it cut out.  Still – great memories.

(Mom is going to love me for posting a picture of her with curlers in her hair. hehe)

Meanwhile, my sister-in-law was sewing diligently in the background.

One of our first adventures in Australia was visiting a fabric and craft store called Spotlight.  It is similar to JoAnn in many ways, though they do offer some housewares as well.  The prices there did seem high to us on many things, but the sale prices seemed quite good.  There were some good sales on while we were there, as well as some interesting Australian themed fabrics, and I did come home with a nice pile (mostly) to add to my stash. :-)

The kookaburra in the foreground is actually printed on a handkerchief which I bought at a gift shop.  I hope I still have my mom’s vintage hanky collection somewhere around here, as this would make a nice addition to some project with those.  The yellow fabric with the strawberries was a sweet gift from my sister-in-law. :-)

The fabric wasn’t the only “stash” we brought back, however.

Even better! :-) 

Most of the chocolate was a gift from my brother and his wife for all of us here to enjoy together.  Some was already eaten before this photo was taken.  <grin>

And, of course, I couldn’t leave without taking a photo of this amazing stash!  So much visual happiness!

My sister-in-law has inherited and been given a lot of fabric and has also bought a lot herself.  This is a great blessing from the Lord.  As you may know from previous posts, she has her own Etsy store where she and the children sell handmade items.  She also makes custom orders, which keeps her quite busy.  After seeing this fabric stash I hope my husband won’t pester me too much about mine – at least for awhile. ;-)  It’s a lovely arrangement too, because in that dark closet her fabrics stay well away from the light, but they are easily accessible for choosing what to use next.  Ah!  What to make next!  Sweet thought.

Thousand Word Project – Autumn at the Lake

 

Circa 1960s.  Gull Lake, Michigan.