He Sees Us

Wherever we may be, or whatever our circumstances, the Lord Jesus sees them. Alone, or in company–in sickness or in health–by sea or by land–in perils in the city–in perils in the wilderness–the same eye which saw the disciples tossed on the lake, is ever looking at us. We are never beyond the reach of His care. Our way is never hidden from Him. He knows the path that we take, and is still able to help. He may not come to our aid at the time we like best, but He will never allow us utterly to fail. He who walked upon the water never changes. He will always come at the right time to uphold His people. Though He tarry, let us wait patiently. Jesus sees us, and will not forsake us.

~ J.C. Ryle

This quote seems to reinforce what I'm struck with time and time again in my study of Isaiah.  Nothing is outside of His hand, He is sovereign in all - good times and difficult times.  May the name of the Lord be praised!

His Eye

‎"The FALSE Christian shrinks from the eye of an all-seeing Savior. 

The TRUE Christian desires the Lord's eye to be on them morning, noon and night. 

They have nothing to hide." 

~ J.C. Ryle

May this be true of me and of those I love....that we DESIRE His eye on us at all times!

Home

“Start by making your own home a place where happiness and love abound,

through your love for each member of your family and for your neighbor.

Try to put in the hearts of your children a love for home.

Make them long to be with their families.

So much sin could be avoided if our people really love their homes.”

{Mother Theresa}

No Doubt

Let your Christianity be so unmistakable, 

your eye so single, your heart so whole, 

your walk so straightforward that all who see you 

may have no doubt whose you are, and whom you serve." 

~ J.C. Ryle

Double Nature

There is a double nature in all believers. Converted, renewed, sanctified as they are, they still carry about with them a mass of indwelling corruption, a body of sin. Paul speaks of this when he says, “I find a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind” (Romans 7:21-23). The experience of all true Christians in every age confirms this. They find within, two contrary principles, and a continual strife between the two. To these two principles our Lord alludes when He addresses His half-awakened disciples. He calls the one flesh and the other spirit. He says, “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

~ J.C. Ryle

Yesterday and today, I've been struggling with this reality.  And at the same time struggling against the enemy who whispers that because I struggle in this way, I'm a failure and unworthy.  Thank you Father for leading me to read this quote from Ryle this morning.  My flesh can be so weak at times and yet ironically loud!  Determining my value based on what others do and say, or don't do and say, has been the strife in my heart these past few days.  Thank you for the reminder that You know it's there, You do not condemn me for it, but that You are there for me to strengthen my spirit.  Holy Spirit do Your work in me this day and may I be more in tune to what You say, than the enemy. 

A Small Thing

Let us ever bless God that the Gospel sets before us such a Savior, so faithful to the terms of the covenant–so ready to suffer–so willing to be reckoned sin and a curse in our stead. 

Let us not doubt that He who fulfilled his engagement to suffer, will also fulfill His engagement to save all who come to Him. 

Let us not only accept Him gladly as our Redeemer and Advocate, but gladly give ourselves, and all we have, to His service. 

Surely, if Jesus cheerfully died for us, it is a small thing to require Christians to live for Him.

~ J.C. Ryle

I am struck by the last line....Jesus cheerfully - willingly died for me, what is it for me to live for Him....Do I live for Him or do I live for myself more?  When my life is over, what will be my testimony?  It grieves me to ponder how many times in a day I give Him no thought.  How dare I!  Father, may who You are - past, present, future - be revealed more and more in my heart and replace the stumbling realities of who Charli is.

Tied Down by Edgar A. Guest

"They tie you down," a woman said,
Whose cheeks should have been flaming red
With shame to speak of children so.

"When babies come you cannot go
In search of pleasure with your friends,
And all your happy wandering ends.
The things you like you cannot do,
For babies make a slave of you."

I looked at her and said: "'Tis true
That children make a slave of you,
And tie you down with many a knot,
But have you never thought to what
It is of happiness and pride
That little babies have you tied?
Do you not miss the greater joys
That come with little girls and boys?

"They tie you down to laughter rare,
To hours of smiles and hours of care,
To nights of watching and to fears;
Sometimes they tie you down to tears
And then repay you with a smile,
And make your trouble all worth while.
They tie you fast to chubby feet,
And cheeks of pink and kisses sweet.

"They fasten you with cords of love
To God divine, who reigns above.
They tie you, whereso'er you roam,
Unto the little place called home;
And over sea or railroad track
They tug at you to bring you back.
The happiest people in the town
Are those the babies have tied down.

"Oh, go your selfish way and free,
But hampered I would rather be,
Yes rather than a kingly crown
I would be, what you term, tied down;
Tied down to dancing eyes and charms,
Held fast by chubby, dimpled arms,
The fettered slave of girl and boy,
And win from them earth's finest joy."

Edgar Guest is a poet that my dad cherishes and I love his easy poetry as well. Each day this is where I want to be....tied down to my home, to my children, to our homeschool. It is earth's finest joy!

Who am I?

“Satan accuses Christians day and night. It is not just that he will work on our conscience to make us feel as dirty, guilty, defeated, destroyed, weak, and ugly as he possibly can; it is something worse: his entire play in the past is to accuse us before God day and night, bringing charges against us that we know we can never answer before the majesty of God’s holiness.  What can we say in response? Will our defense be, ‘Oh, I’m not that bad?’ You will never beat Satan that way. Never. What you must say is, ‘Satan, I’m even worse than you think, but God loves me anyway. He has accepted me because of the blood of the Lamb.”  —D.A. Carson, Scandalous: The Cross and Resurrection of Jesus

How quickly I can go down this road, buckle under Satan's accusations.  When I read this it makes me burst out in a grin because I just visualize Satan's face after the last line!  Sucker!!!

Count the Cost

It costs something to be a true Christian. Let that never be forgotten. To be a mere nominal Christian, and go to church, is cheap and easy work. But to hear Christ’s voice, and follow Christ, and believe in Christ, and confess Christ, requires much self-denial. It will cost us our sins, and our self-righteousness, and our ease, and our worldliness. All- all must be given up. We must fight an enemy who comes against us with twenty thousand followers. We must build a tower in troubled times. Our Lord Jesus Christ would have us thoroughly understand this. He bids us “count the cost.”

~ J.C. Ryle

This last week in Experience God I was bombarded with the words costly....to be obedient will be costly....to follow Him where He leads will be costly....God is so cool how He doesn't let me get away with my, "I'll just think about that tomorrow" heart lately.  I love Him!

I Thank Thee

O Thou whose bounty fills my cup,

With every blessing meet!

I give Thee thanks for every drop—

The bitter and the sweet.

I praise Thee for the desert road,

And for the riverside;

For all Thy goodness hath bestowed,

And all Thy grace denied.

I thank Thee for both smile and frown,

And for the gain and loss;

I praise Thee for the future crown

And for the present cross.

I thank Thee for both wings of love

Which stirred my worldly nest;

And for the stormy clouds which drove

Me, trembling, to Thy breast.

I bless Thee for the glad increase,

And for the waning joy;

And for this strange, this settled peace

Which nothing can destroy.

--Jane Crewdson (1860)

I Am a Disciple of Christ

A student in Jake's History Co-op Class, shared this quote and it takes my breath away.  How I want these words to flow from my lips and my children's lips and be lived out moment by moment.

"I’m a part of the Fellowship of the Unashamed.
The die has been cast.
I have stepped over the line.
The decision has been made.
I’m a disciple of His and I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.

My past is redeemed.
My present makes sense.
My future is secure.
I’m done and finished with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap living, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity.
I don’t have to be right, or first, or tops, or recognized, or praised, or rewarded.
I live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by Holy Spirit power.

My face is set.
My gait is fast.
My goal is heaven.
My road may be narrow, my way rough, my companions few, but my Guide is reliable and my mission is clear.

I will not be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded or delayed.

I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice or hesitate in the presence of the adversary.
I will not negotiate at the table of the enemy, pander at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won’t give up, shut up, or let up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, and preached up for the cause of Christ.

I am a disciple of Jesus.
I must give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes.
And when He does come for His own, He’ll have no problem recognizing me.
My colors will be clear for “I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes…” Romans 1:16"
Don Ray, missionary to the Congo, 1940

"Hope" is the Thing with Feathers

"Hope" is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul

And sings the tune without the words

And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;

And sore must be the storm

That could abash the little bird

That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land

And on the strangest sea,

Yet never, in extremity,

It asked a crumb of me.

by Emily Dickinson

I wear a ring that says the word HOPE on it.  My sister got it for me when Ted and I got back together after being seperated for over a year.  My story, my life, who I am all is wrapped up in that little word and what it means to hope in God!

Glorifying God Where I am and As I Am

If you begin to say,
“I cannot glorify God where I am, and as I am;”
I answer, neither could you anywhere if not where you are.

Providence, which arranged your surroundings,
appointed them so that, all things being considered,
you are in the position in which you can best display
the wisdom and the grace of God.

Now, if you can once accept this as being a fact,
it will make a man of you.
My Christian brother, or my dear sister,
it will enable you to serve God with a force which you have not yet obtained,
for then, instead of panting for spheres to which you will never reach,
you will inquire for immediate duty, asking,
“What does my hand find to do?”

You need not use your feet to traverse half a nation to find work,
it lies close at hand.
Your calling is near at home;
your vocation lies at the door, and within it.
What your hand finds to do, do it at once, and with all your might,
and you will find such earnest service the best method
in which you can glorify the Lord Jesus Christ.
{Charles H. Spurgeon}

I believe this has been a lesson God has been revealing to me over and over and over again in this past year....To look at circumstances as providence, to believe that God has a plan and a purpose for me in every circumstance - not just the ones that I chose, and then to seek His will for me in those hard circumstances.  In our world today, we tend to bail or leave behind anything that is difficult or pushes our endurance to the limit because Satan's theme of "It's all about you, you deserve a break today" is so prevelant in our schools, our businesses, our homes. 

Jake left in the wee hours this morning for Celebrate Life at ONU, where he will be quizzing on the varsity level.  Last night, when I was saying goodbye to him, he got teary-eyed because he knows he's stepping into a place he does not want to go.  The voices in his head repeat over and over that he will fail miserably at the varsity level and right now, Satan is working overtime on his confidence in baseball and quizzing.  I told him, "Jake - God is sending you to Celebrate Life for a reason and knowing God, I don't think the reason is to achieve man's view of success by being the best quizzer there.  God's purpose has something to do with your heart and your identity in Him, all He's asking of you is to be obedient, to keep your eyes on Him and then do your best.  He's bigger than the Quizzing results - look to HIM and it will bring Him glory."

Please pray for Jake this weekend, that he's protected from the enemy's lies, that he uses scripture to fight the lies, that he finds himself wrapped around his Daddy's leg and in for the "ride" of his life!

One Whose Strength Becomes My Strength

God is not a belief to which you give your assent. 

God becomes a reality whom you know intimately, 

meet everyday, 

one whose strength becomes your strength, 

whose love, your love.  

Live this life of the presence of God long enough 

and when someone asks you, “Do you believe there is a God?” 

you may find yourself answering, 

“No I do not believe there is a God. I know there is a God.” 

~Ernest Boyer, Jr.

 Lately, I find this quote ringing so true in my life.  I can do nothing on my own.  I cannot truly love anyone.  I cannot be unselfish with my desires.  I cannot do for others without wanting it to have a return.  I cannot stop wanting to have value in this world.  But this doesn't stop me from trying, from daily crying out to God that I'll die to myself and let Him reign in me.  Then I am able to see His love, be willing to trust in His plan, to see others as He sees them, to serve knowing that He blesses me, and to keep my eyes peeled on the One who truly knows my value.

 

Gratitude for the Cross

Let us turn from the story of the crucifixion, every time we read it, with hearts full of praise. 

Let us praise God for the confidence it gives us, as to the ground of our hope of pardon. 

Our sins may be many and great, but the payment made by our Great Substitute far outweighs them all. Let us praise God for the view it given us of the love of our Father in heaven. 

He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, 

will surely with Him give us all things. 

Not least, let us praise God for the view it gives us of the sympathy of Jesus with all His believing people. 

He can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. 

He knows what suffering is. 

Jesus is just the Savior that an infirm body, with a weak heart, in an evil world, requires.

~ J.C. Ryle

Today I've been struck with a mental replay of what Christ endured for me, for the most unworthy.  What a paradox that is brings me to tears, yet leaves me with joy!

The Hand of the LORD Has Done This

This afternoon, fighting against the mental list of things to do, I ventured outside with camera to see what had captured my children's attention today.   It wasn't Algebra, Latin, or Spelling....it was building a tree fort (even though we have a pretty nice one their dad built for them), playing pretend knights on a fallen tree, tromping through underbrush and waterholes to explore with Nate.   

Nate and I tromped off in mud boots to explore the creek....He showed me skunk cabbages just coming up and preceded to tell me he always destroys them, but first he "takes their brains out."  I told him he could check for their brains, but to please not destroy them. 

"But ask the beasts, and they will teach you;

the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you;

or the bushes of the earth,and they will teach you;

and the fish of the sea will declare to you.

Who among all these does not know

that the hand of the LORD has done this?

In His hand is the life of every living thing

and the breath of all mankind."

Job 12:7-10

Private Prayer

“My failure to be true even to my own accepted standards,

My self-deception in face of temptation,

My choosing of the worse when I know the better,

O Lord, forgive.

My failure to apply to myself the standard of conduct I demand of others,

My complacence towards wrongs that do not touch my own case 

and my over-sensitiveness to those that do,

My slowness to see the good in my fellows and the see the evil in myself,

My hardness of heart towards my neighbors faults and my readiness to make allowance for my own… 

O Lord, forgive.”

What Tomorrow Brings

"It is tomorrow that fills men with dread.
God is there already.
All the tomorrows of our life have to pass by Him
before they can get to us."
{F.B. Meyer}

This quote was timely....I seem to be struggling with what our tomorrows will hold....and God has been reminding me again and again that His plans are perfect.....

Forsaking the World for Christ

True Christians must make up their minds to trouble in this world. Whether we are ministers or hearers, whether we teach or are taught, it makes little difference. We must carry “a cross.” We must be content to lose even life itself for Christ’s sake. We must submit to the loss of man’s favor, we must endure hardships, we must deny ourselves in many things, or we shall never reach heaven at last. So long as the world, the devil, and our own hearts, are what they are, these things must be so.

~ J.C. Ryle

Multitude Mondays

“God is near at hand when you do approach Him in prayer. Oh, comforting truth! A God at hand to hear the softest breath of prayer–to listen to every confession of sin–to every cry of need–to every utterance of sorrow–to every wail of woe–to every appeal for counsel, strength, and support. Arise, O my soul! and give yourself to prayer; for God is near at hand to hear and answer you.”

- Octavius Winslow

513.  a new day will come....this past week, we've all struggled with having a bad day...as the week went on we all got better and better about stopping, praying, and asking God to change our outlooks and attitudes and circumstances may not have changed, but our attitudes did
514.  glimpse of a fox running across Crocus Trail
515.  spending the night up at my sister's....catching up, a "place" to be truly honest about our struggles and insecurities, trusting that it will not affect the opinion held by sisters, knowing that in the end we'll spur one another on to be better reflections of Christ....the love the cousins have for one another
516.  beautiful weather...our first picnic outside

517.  preparing our hearts for Resurrection Day
518.  things kids do in the warm weather....play basketball, whittle a new weapon, ride bikes, play baseball with neighbors

519.  first signs of spring

520.  playing fetch with the dogs....Annie has been in 7th heaven with kids outside and tennis balls no longer buried in snow!
521.  the determination by 5 children to catch the Leprechaun this year.....they spent over an hour brainstorming how best to trick him, but to no avail!

522.  watching Allie....it's been a long time since we've had a full day together...so sweet to see Jake playing with her

523.  homeschooling fun....Nate hammering out an N with nails and Ben creating a treehouse from the idea of Swiss Family Robinson with Madeline's help

524.  homemade jam on tortillas....Nate's idea of a great lunch

525.  bedhead

526.  homemade jam with cheese sandwich...another of Nate's ideas of a great lunch

527.  the "normalcy" of a dog wearing underwear

 528.  since we're talking about undergarments, I'll add another undergarment thankfulness....new bras....I know this is a little private, but I have to include it on my list....I wore nursing bras for sooooo many years and would just "get by" with bras from pre-children time, so I'm grateful a friend who does enjoy shopping asked me to go along with her and then encouraged me to find something I needed at Younkers because she had awesome coupons!  (no pictures posted!)
529. Jake & Isaiah and their friends, Jonathon & Harrison,  qualifying and being asked to go compete in the Regional World Quiz Meet this summer!  They have all worked so hard, and yet have had so much fun hiding God's Word in their hearts.
530.  as if there's not enough farting in our home, the boys bought a whoopie cushion and since then it's like non-stop noise with giggles....I looked at them this morning and asked, "How long can you find that funny?"  and they couldn't answer because of their giggles