Through Gates of Splendor - Jim Elliot

I am reading "Through Gates of Splendor" by Elisabeth Elliot. It is the account of the martyrdom of Five American Missionaries in the Equador jungle. First published in 1957, it recounts how five young husbands lost their lives in the attempt to reach the Auca Indians with the gospel of Christ.

I told my children today that our lives must have purpose. We must live deliberately, striving to know God and to serve Him in any capacity He has planned for us.

That's how Jim Elliot lived. Even as a young man, he chose not to be involved in too many extra-curricular activities, because he did not want to become occupied with non-essentials, and miss the essentials of life. He wrote to his mother, explaining his choice to participate in wrestling, "I wrestle solely for the strength and co-ordination of muscle tone that the body receives while working out, with the ultimate end that of presenting a more useful body as a living sacrifice." He chose this physical activity deliberately, knowing it would further his usefulness in the Kingdom of God.

Jim knew that he was just passing through, that this world was not his home, but that he was only here to serve Christ until he was called to his REAL HOME.

"Life is not here, but hid above with Christ in God, and therein I rejoice and sing as I think on such exaltation."

His reflections indicate that he was well aware that he might be martyred. Yet he wanted to live passionately for His God.

"'He makes His ministers a flame of fire.' Am I ignitable? God deliver me from the dread asbestos of 'other things'. Saturate me with the oil of the Spirit that I may be a flame. But flame is transient, often short-lived. Canst thou bear this, my soul - short life? In me there dwells the Spirit of the Great Short-Lived, whose zeal for God's house consumed Him. 'Make me Thy Fuel, Flame of God.'"

Oh, my children, learn from Jim Elliot. Learn that to be satisfied in Christ, you must live each day to the full, deliberately choosing those activities that further your usefulness for the work God has prepared you to do. (For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, that God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10)

Learn that this world is not your home. You are just travelling on the path to the Celestial City. On the way, you may encounter many obstacles. Yet you must know, and rest in the fact, that NOTHING will ever happen to you that is not planned by your loving Heavenly Father, for your good and His glory.

Learn, too, that to serve the God of Glory is to be wholehearted before Him. Nothing else is reasonable. (We are to present our bodies a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable to God, which is our reasonable service. Romans 12:1) If God is Who He Says He is, then we must be in awe. We must be aflame! We must be willing to do and be anything He wants us to do and be. Learn this, and rest in it. Jim wrote, "Wherever you are, be all there. Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God."

What a wonderful example Jim Elliot is to our sons and daughters! Thank You, Lord, for calling Jim to the jungle of Equador. Thank You for giving him a heart aflame for Your glory. Help us to live like Jim lived, with deliberate purposeful hearts before our Beautiful God. In Jesus' wonderful name, Amen.

Wisdom from Mother

1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE .
"If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning."

2. My mother taught me RELIGION.
"You better pray that will come out of the carpet."

3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL .
"If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"

4. My mother taught me LOGIC.
" Because I said so, that's why."

5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC .
"If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me."

6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT.
"Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."

7. My mother taught me IRONY.
"Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about."

8. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS.
"Shut your mouth and eat your supper."

9. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM.
"Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!"

10. My mother taught me about STAMINA.
"You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone."

11. My mother taught me about WEATHER .
"This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it."

12. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY.
"If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!"

13. My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE.
"I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."

14. My mother taught me about BEHAVIOUR MODIFICATION.
"Stop acting like your father!"

15. My mother taught me about ENVY.
"There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do."

16. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION.
"Just wait until we get home."

17. My mother taught me about RECEIVING.
"You are going to get it when you get home!"

18. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE.
"If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way."

19. My mother taught me ESP.
"Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?"

20. My mother taught me HUMOUR.
"When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."

21. My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT.
"If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."

22. My mother taught me GENETICS.
"You're just like your father."

23. My mother taught me about my ROOTS.
"Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?"

24. My mother taught me WISDOM.
"When you get to be my age, you'll understand."

25. And my favourite: My mother taught me about JUSTICE.
"One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you."

Thanks, Heather, for sending this to me! I am glad that my kids turned out just like me...at least when they emulate my good characteristics.

Today is my grandson's birthday! Nate is 6, so in honour of that special event, I quoted the following poem by A.A. Milne. It's a poem I always quote to every one of my kids, and now my grandkids, when they turn six.

When I Was One

When I was one, I was just begun.
When I was two, I was nearly new.
When I was three, I was hardly me.
When I was four, I was not much more.
When I was five, I was just alive,
But now that I'm six, I'm better than better-
I think I'll stay six now forever and ever!

Happy Birthday, Nater! Keep that smile and that sense of humour! Love, Granny.

Daniel is Eighteen!

I haven't posted for a couple of days, because something was up with my internet connection. Rick's internet seemed to work with no problem, but mine was s - l- o - w, so slow that I gave up.

But, I'm back. :)

Yesterday was Daniel's 18th birthday. He was our 8th child, 3rd son, but first C-section. Due to a placenta previa, Daniel was snatched from my womb six weeks early. Poor guy! Not only that, but because the surgeon cut through the placenta, little Daniel went into shock, and for a few hours they weren't sure he would make it.

Warning: Breastfeeding info in the next paragraph. You may want to just skip it.

Make it he did, but he didn't thrive. He actually lost weight for the first couple of months. He was alert enough, but seemed to sleep quite a bit. One day, while giving him a bath, I realized that something was dreadfully wrong. He looked like a little birdie that fell from the nest too soon. (He had gone from 7 lbs to 5 lbs 9 oz.) Off I went to the doctor, and after the doc said to put him on formula, I insisted on seeing a pediatrician. That lovely man told me that of course I could breastfeed my 8th child...I just had to get him going. Turns out that he was simply taking in enough to get by, but because he was a premie and didn't stay awake much, he was growing weaker and weaker. I had to nurse, pump, feed him the pumped milk with a premie nipple, then do it all over again two hours later. I did this round the clock for about a week, and he started to gain an ounce a day! All I did was nurse, pump, feed him the pumped milk, then sleep. I set an alarm so I could wake up through the night. It didn't take long before my milk supply was built up, and he was strong enough to latch on and suck well.

I watched Daniel yesterday, interacting with friends and family, and rejoiced in my heart. The little one with a shaky start has grown to 6 feet tall. He hasn't only grown in stature, but in wisdom. He knows the value of hard work, but also understands that everything we have is a gift from God, and there is no room for boasting.

Children are an heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is His reward. Blessed is the man who hath his quiver full of them!

Thoughts for this day...

It was a whirlwind of activity, as we can see the light at the end of the tunnel! We have spent months renovating (new windows and wall) and organizing the GREAT room we use as our learning centre and communications centre. I am down to one table's worth of papers to sort. I know I said that before, but Daniel cleaned the edges, behind the filing cabinets, and on top of desks. He piled my nearly clean table up with more stuff to sort. But this time, I truly am almost finished.

A couple of comments, then I am heading to bed.

What pleased me most today was Cindy Rushton's Brain in a Binder. I printed out the pages I will find useful, and I organized my binder. This is not new to me. For many years I kept a binder with all of my appointments, plans, ideas and goals in it. Somehow I fell out of the habit, and the whole family has suffered since. Mom has a better memory when I write things down. Life in general is better, easier, more peaceful, when Mom remembers all that needs to be done.

So I am back to a binder, and actually excited about it!

What infuriated me the most today was a website I stumbled upon (after following links for a bit) that had an article condemning John Piper for a sermon on interracial marriage. John was making the Biblical point that God created male and female, and that one man can marry one woman, no matter what the colour of eyes, skin, hair or teeth! This 'moran' (couldn't spell moron) tried to say that when God divided the nations at the Tower of Babel, He meant to separate the people into "races", and that it was going against the Bible if you don't marry within your race.

Poppycock!

I married a man with much darker skin than mine. What's that got to do with anything?

It infuriates me that this guy takes verses out of context and seems to think that white people are superior.

As a white-skinned blonde-haired blue-eyed woman, I can tell you that I WISH my skin was darker, and that I am GLAD I married a man with darker skin. Of our 12 children, we have 4 with darker skin and 8 with whiter skin. The ones that don't burn in the sun are the ones with the darker skin, like their dad's. Seems to me, that's the better skin.

Not that we can choose our skin tone, or our eye colour, or our height, or the number of hairs on our heads. God is the One who Provided us with those things. And He is the One who teaches that His family will be made up of people from every tribe and nation and tongue and continent!

Goodnight, all.

God, the Gardener

That God once loved a garden We learn in Holy writ. And seeing gardens in the Spring I well can credit it.~Winifred Mary Letts

Genesis 2: 7 - 9 "then the Lord God formed man of the dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food.


Of course, now that it's past the middle of January, and the days are getting slightly longer, my thoughts turn to spring. Have I ever mentioned that spring is my favourite time of year?

I was reading Genesis this morning, and it struck me that God is a Gardener. He formed man out of the dust of the ground, then planted a garden in the ground. Out of the ground came beautiful things, tasty things... wonderful things!

And we get to be like God in this, too! Mere mortals we are, yet we can plant flower gardens that are pleasant to the sight, and vegetable gardens that are good for food.

A Garden is a lovesome thing, God wot!
Rose plot,
Fringed pool,
Ferned grot -
The veriest school
Of Peace; and yet the fool
Contends that God is not -
Not God! In Gardens!
When the eve is cool?
Nay, but I have a sign:
'Tis very sure God walks in mine.

~Thomas Edward Brown

(wot: knows; grot:like a cave, secluded)

The gardens I am planning for the Spring will be glorious in colour and texture. They will grab the senses and pique the interest of those who visit. My daughter Adeena sent me some plans for perennial gardens, like the one pictured above. It has

1. 3 Mixed Lupines
2. 3 Crimson Coral Bells
3. 3 Barlow Columbine Mix
4. 1 Scarlet Bee Balm
5. 3 Tenor Tall Hybrid Phlox
6. 3 Montana Skies Delphinium
   

Not only do I want a full-sun garden, a shade garden, and a vegetable garden, I want to plan an herb garden, too.

I will soon pull out the garden manuals and order some seed catalogues. I plan on starting my own tomatoes this year, and I want to make sure I have nicotania, because it smells incredible.

It is such fun to dream of gardens in January!

The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth, -
One is nearer God's heart in a garden
Than anywere else on earth.

~ Dorothy Frances Blomfield

The garden seems the one spot on earth where history does not assert itself, and, no doubt, when Nero was fiddling over the blaze of Rome, there were florists counting the petals of rival roses at Paestum as peacefully and conscientiously as any gardeners of today. ~ Edmund Gosse.

I have lost 8 lbs!

I have been on an Elimination Detoxification diet for about two weeks. It hasn't been fun, but I am persevering, simply because I want to be a better steward of my body, and I want to be a healthy mom who is around to see Christopher, my youngest, get married and have babies. He is only 8, so I need to take care of myself NOW so I can live a lot longer than my mom or grandmother did.

The diet was recommended by my naturopath.

	Foods to Include	Foods to Exclude
Fruits	Unsweetened fresh, frozen, water-packed or canned fruits (except oranges)	Oranges, orange juice
Vegetables	All fresh raw, steamed, sautéed, juiced or roasted vegetable focusing on low carb choices	Corn, creamed vegetables
Breads & Cereals	Non-gluten products made from rice, millet, buckwheat, potato, tapioca, arrowroot, amaranth, quinoa, teff	All gluten products
Legumes	All beans, peas, and lentils	All soybean products like tofu, tempeh, soy milk, soy nuts, etc.
Nuts & Seeds	Almonds, cashews, walnuts, sesame (tahini), sunflower, pumpkin, (all best consumed raw and fresh); butters made from these nuts and seeds	Peanuts and peanut butter
Meat & Fish	Fresh or frozen and water packed fish, organic chicken, turkey, lamb and wild game	Beef, pork, cold cuts, hotdogs, sausages, canned meats, shellfish, eggs
Dairy & Milk Substitutes	Milk substitutes such as rice milk, almond milk, coconut milk, and other nut milks	Milk, cheese cottage cheese, cream cheese, yogurt, butter, ice cream, frozen yogurt, non-dairy creamers
Fats & Oils	Cold-expeller pressed oils such as olive, flaxseed, canola, safflower, sunflower, sesame, walnut, pumpkin or almond oils	Margarine, butter, shortening, processed and hydrogenated oils, spreads and mayo
Beverages	Filtered or alkalized water, herbal tea, mineral water, green tea	Pop, alcoholic drinks, coffee, tea, other caffeinated beverages, distilled water
Sweeteners	Brown rice syrup, blackstrap molasses, stevia, honey, fruit sweeteners such as agave nectar	White or brown sugar, maple syrup, high fructose corn syrup, candy, desserts made with these sweeteners
Spices & Condiments	All spices	Chocolate, ketchup, mustard, relish, chutney, soy sauce, BBQ sauce, or other condiments containing vinegar or sugar

I haven't found the diet to be too difficult. When I think about it, I miss chocolate, beef, coffee and cheese/cream the most. Rick and I were in the car this evening, and I suddenly had a craving for chocolate, triggered by the fact that we were close to a convenience store. My mouth actually watered!

I tried to add exercise into the mix, but injured my hip. For two days I was crippled, and it hurt to walk, to stand, to sit and to lie down. Nothing helped. So I don't want to do that again.

If I am to lose all of the weight I need to lose, I should be on this diet ( or A diet recommended by our NPD ) until December.

It's a small price to pay for being healthy.

Janet

God's Kind Care

God hath not promised
Skies always blue,
Flower-strewn pathways,
All our lives thro';
God hath not promised
Sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow,
Peace without pain.

God hath not promised
We shall not know
Toil and temptation,
Trouble and woe;
He hath not told us
We shall not bear
Many a burden,
Many a care.

God hath not promised
Smooth roads and wide,
Swift, easy travel,
Needing no guide;
Never a mountain,
Rocky and steep,
Never a river
Turbid and deep:

But God hath promised
Strength for the day,
Rest for the labour,
Light for the way,
Grace for the trials,
Help from above,
Unfailing sympathy,
Undying love.

~Annie Johnson Flint

We had a great day today. After yesterday's blue day, it was a treat to awaken this morning with a new song in my heart. God is so faithful.

The children and I read the Bible together, as is our habit. Then we read some quotes by Robert E. Lee and others about the importance and power of prayer. We prayed, for those in authority over us, for missionaries, for our government, for friends, for family.

Adeena and Heather and their children came for a visit. We had lunch together, then Heather had to go. The rest of us went to work - Adeena and I were sorting and filing papers, Daniel was repairing an old computer, Patrick was cooking and caring for grandkids, Linda was teaching the children, and the rest of them were learning.

Matt & Joanna came for supper and a visit. We don't see them often enough, because Matt works long hours, and Joanna is tired in the evening after caring for two little go-getters all day. So it was wonderful to sit and visit.

God has promised us strength for the day. He gave that, today. He also gave us rest, as we sat and visited with family members. He gave us light for the way as we read and meditated on His word. How gracious He is to us. His mercies are new every morning!