Teaching at the Women's Retreat

When my blogging partner Becky (see the link to our Beautiful Kingdom Warrior blog in the right-hand margin) began organizing a women's retreat for our church, she asked if anyone was willing to be involved and I was eager to volunteer.  It came as a huge surprise when God gave me a burning desire to teach, while the other teaching volunteers backed out.  So I had my first experience leading a women's retreat, and was completely blessed!

 

Becky chose the topic "living imago dei" and right before our week in July at Cottage in the Woods, I came across Hannah Anderson's book "Made for More."  I shared that and other resources that came my way in this post over at TBKW.  I had fun studying and learning in the fringes of my summer - which was insanely busy with seasonal business.  I was working nearly full-time from home, while simultaneously caring for the kids.  Lots of early mornings (often 4 a.m.) and late nights (often 2 a.m.).  I carried books around in my purse and listened to sermons while I was working, and overall did my best to prepare.  It was hard to set aside a chunk of time to prepare a talk, but I did end up with a rough outline a week before the retreat, before a leaders' meeting to wrap up final details.  A couple days before the retreat, I made a computer slideshow from the outline for my Saturday presentation. 

 

The day before the retreat, I was standing at the kitchen stove making a pasta salad when I heard a loud crash up at the road.  I said out loud, "That didn't sound good."  A minute later, once the pasta was boiling, I walked to the door to see what happened.  I saw traffic at a standstill and a small white dog in our front yard, with a bloody face.  I immediately stepped out and the dog ran away, but I was able to get her to come to me by calling "Cookie!"  She was trembling and I petted her for a minute, until we heard sirens coming and she ran away again.  My heart was racing but I went back inside to stay with the pasta and check on Abbey (the boys were at Papa's).  When the pasta finished in another minute or two, I went back out and tried to find "Cookie" (I found out later her name was Gabby).  The rescue workers were crashing through the woods around an upside down SUV in front of our neighbor's house, with chainsaws removing trees and limbs that were obstructing the doors.  When I heard one shout, "I've got a body!" my heart sank and I went back inside to check on Abbey again.  I was now crying.  I took Abbey outside around the back woods to find the doggie, the only thing I felt I could do to help.  I got close a few times but she would always dart away.  I cried a lot the rest of the day.  It was so traumatic.

 

And the next day, I was up at 5 to shower and head up to the women's retreat in Lovell, Maine.  It was a 2.5 hour drive and I tried to keep my mind and spirit quiet and didn't even listen to music.  I was trying to compose myself for the weekend after a hectic summer and a traumatic day.  My eye had been twitching incessantly for over a week at this point.  I prayed briefly and then focused on being still.  It was just what I needed to prepare myself, and then I arrived to this glorious scene:

 

I was there soaking in the beauty and stillness for thirty minutes before Becky, Amy, Lisa and Jessica arrived to setup and pray before the rest of the ladies began rolling in.  Everyone was supposed to arrive by 9:30 so we could start our first session at 10:00.  Everyone was punctual as clockwork!  It was a miracle!  :)

Jess and Kelly

Wendy took loads of pictures, including this gem:

Jessica, Kelly, Lisa and me

Jenn and Becky on the couch, Christina and Linda in the back

Maestro Becky explaining the weekend schedule and leading us in a couple songs

 

Wendy's picture of me doing my talk on living Imago Dei, in the image of God - I adapted my talk in this post on TBKW.

 



Lisa led us in a foot washing ceremony, after which we separated for a prayer walk to meet with God

 

 

 

 

 

Left to right: Amy, Ashleigh, Becky, Kiva, Jen, Hannah, Jess, me, Lisa, Kelly, Wendy, Linda and Christina

Our meals were prepped and cleaned up for us!  It was a huge treat!!!



After lunch, nearly everyone was in the lake for a good hour or two.  This was sooo fun.  And Becky's dad taught an archery class later in the afternoon.

My gal pals Becky and Jen

Amy and Jen with their bulls-eyes

I did archery for a little bit and then had a wave of exhaustion roll over me, so I headed back and passed out for two solid hours, waking up with a drool-soaked pillow, to the sound of a torrential downpour.  I rushed out because my car battery had died with the driver-side window down and I had asked the camp director to give me a jump.  He had just jumped me but didn't see the keys in the car, so I ran out and rolled the window up and let the car run for twenty minutes, enjoying the rain and some pop music on the radio. 

Before dinner, we saw a double rainbow!

Some hang-out pics:

Our board of "lies we believe that keep us from living imago dei" eventually got erased and replaced with the truths.

Saturday night, we lit a fire and had a time of sharing, singing and praying.  Sunday morning, I led a worship service down by the lake and also led a communion service.  It was beautiful but windy and cold, and I ended up dancing around while Kiva was praying, trying to escape from some pesky bees!

I was so blessed by the opportunity to teach and hear from women how they were impacted by my Saturday session.  I loved that I arrived feeling unprepared but God worked His mojo and everything came out well in the end.  I loved every minute of the retreat.

A post I wrote for my other blog...

I wrote a response to blogger Matt Walsh who had written a piece called, "Christian Women: feminism is not your friend."  You can read it at my blog: http://thebeautifulkingdomwarriors.wordpress.com.

I'm sharing it here because this is the first post I've written on the blog that has had traffic beyond a few friends.  People are sharing it and leaving comments and following the blog.  I'm excited!  It's a learning process, figuring out this blogging thing.  I'm trying to figure out "my voice" and what people respond to, etc. 

How The Beautiful Kingdom Warriors was born

I came home from working full-time in August so that I could homeschool the boys.  I'm still working part-time for Osman Page, but I was hungry to find some fulfilling work for mental stimulation and to continue to sharpen a skill or two.  I was thinking about either writing a book on worship for homeschoolers, or starting a Bible study for local women, when my friend Becky...

...approached me about collaborating on a book about the role of women in the Church.  Becky and I attend the same church and are part of a small discipleship group that meets on a monthly basis.  Although we're vastly different from each other as far as personality, appearance, etc., we've discovered a kindred spirit for empowering women to stand alongside their brothers in ushering in God's Kingdom.  On the spot, we decided we'd go for it!  So we met a couple days later and I suggested we start with a blog where we could start developing ideas, practicing our writing, archiving resources, and building community.  And that's what we've done!  Next Monday will mark our two month anniversary of blogging together.
You can visit our blog at www.thebeautifulkingdomwarriors.wordpress.com

Our first blog post is here, and you can "Like" our Facebook page to get additional links we share in your news feed.

Ken Robinson Says Schools Kill Creativity

My nephew Jared is getting concerned because I haven't been blogging this month!  :) 

So here's an excellent TED talk on education that I've watched again and again.  It's entertaining and I whole heartedly agree.

Enjoy!

Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity

And I promise to put some recent pics up.  Something that happens in Maine in the winter is that people go into hibernation mode.  My guess is that it is related to Vitamin D deficiency that leads to tiredness and much earlier bed times.  After my big year end push to get the blog up to date for the 2012 blog book (incidentally, there's a sale so I think I'll go ahead and order that sucker!), I haven't felt as driven this month.  My bad!

Here are some good quotes from the talk:

“I believe this passionately: that we don’t grow into creativity, we grow out of it. Or rather, we get educated out if it.”

“Many highly talented, brilliant, creative people think they’re not — because the thing they were good at at school wasn’t valued, or was actually stigmatized.”

Vulnerability and Shame

Here are two talks from Brene Brown that I highly recommend:

The Power of Vulnerability

Listening to Shame

Passing along an excellent article

I interrupt my Christmas posts to share this article I just read, written by Tim Keller:  "Blemishes in Christian Character: A List for Self-Examination". 

Future Family sermon series

I listened to a great sermon series the last couple days by Andy Stanley.  I highly recommend these sermons, which cover topics ranging from roles in the family, conflict in the family, parenting, and reconciliation.  Futurefamily.org brings you to the series' webpage, with the videos as well as some other resources. 

Charles and Andy Stanley

While we were in NC, I read this CNN article about Andy and his father, Charles Stanley, and the "...Betrayal that Nearly Tore Them Apart."  I remember someone in our church in MA several years ago had been going to Charles Stanley's church at the time that Rev. Stanley was going through a divorce and the church was divided on whether he should remain as pastor.  It had been a very tumultuous time, as our friend described it and as you can imagine.  I didn't really know anything about Andy Stanley (even that he existed) until our church showed a couple of his sermons earlier this year.  I was deeply moved - he is a masterful communicator.  Then he was in the news this summer, being chastised by many Conservative Evangelicals for not outright condemning homosexuality in a sermon illustration he used (in his church plant that has specifically been geared to attract unchurched people, to be unoffensive and gracious).  He is a staunchly conservative pastor though - for example, he doesn't accept remarriage after divorce. 

All that to say, Andy Stanley has been on my radar this year, and I am grateful for his teaching.  Enjoy this terrific and insightful series!  If you only want to listen to one, I really liked #6...although I don't think I can choose just one.  I also liked #2, as Andy preached on the verse, "Wives submit to your husbands."  Oh, and #5 when he and his wife give parenting advice.  Actually, just listen to them all!

Thoughts on Resentment

I heard Dr. Erwin Lutzer share this illustration in a sermon on resentment.  It was written by Roma Wade from the WLS talk show in the Chicago area.  It's worth sharing!

Do you harbor resentment?  Then you are poisoning your own meal at life’s banquet table.  Imagine your mind as a little shop of horrors, a kind of museum filled with relics of all of the injustices and harm you have ever endured.  Each exhibit depicts your memory of what someone did or didn’t do that hurt you.  Brightly illuminated by your resentment, every exhibit has a soundtrack echoing with loud, angry, accusing voices.  The walls are covered with horrible instruments of punishment and long lists of penalties to be inflicted on your wrong-doers.  And coating everything is a thick, clinging residue of self-pity that keeps you from moving along to the New Futures wing of your museum, where exhibits are filled with pleasure and joy and possibilities.  Can you imagine what it would be like to be locked permanently inside such a chamber of horrors?  Of hate and resentment?  If you are unable to forgive others for real or imagined wrongs, then your own horror chamber exists within you.  That chamber of ill-will is your mind.   And what a price you pay for maintaining such a museum of resentment.  The negative reliving of your past stokes anger, resentment and seething hostility.  It also turns your mind against itself.  It’s like a poison to your soul.  The simple profound truth is that the entire horror shop crumbles if you simply forgive.  By forgiving others, you forgive yourself, you gain self-esteem and you free your own spirit to soar to new heights.  There’s no time to waste.  Now is the time to stop the pain of the past from poisoning the joys of your present and future.  Decide to forgive and then let go, lay it down.   Lay it down.

"Sometimes what we see as a curse one day becomes a blessing the next day. How much simpler it would be if we would learn to thank God for everything, instead of using our own judgment." --Corrie ten Boom

"We are saved by a man who died loving his enemies." -- Timothy Keller

"See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled" -- Hebrews 12:15

Puritan Prayer "Sleep" from The Valley of Vision

Blessed Creator,

You have promised your beloved rest; give me restoring rest needful for tomorrow's toil; if dreams be mine, let them not be tinged with evil.

Let Your Spirit make my time of repose a blessed temple of His holy presence.

May my frequent lying down make me familiar with death, the bed I approach remind me of the grave, the eyes I now close picture to me their final closing, keep me always ready, waiting for admittance to Your presence.

Weaken my attachment to earthly things.

May I hold life loosely in my hand, knowing that I receive it on condition of its surrender; as pain and suffering betoken transitory health, may I not shrink from a death that introduces me to the freshness of eternal youth.

I retire this night in full assurance of one day awaking with You.

All glory for this precious hope, for the gospel of grace for Your unspeakable gift of Jesus, for the fellowship of the Trinity.

Withhold not Your mercies in the night season; Your hand never wearies, Your power needs no repose, Your eye never sleeps.

Help me when I helpless lie, when my conscience accuses me of sin, when my mind is harassed by foreboding thoughts, when my eyes are held awake by personal anxieties.

Show Yourself to me as the God of all grace, love and power; You have a blam for every wound, a solace for all anguish, a remedy for every pain, a peace for all disquietude.

Permit me to commit myself to You awake or asleep.


-- Visit here to read more prayers from The Valley of Vision
-- Purchase The Valley of Vision on Amazon

True Hope

This is an article by Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary professor, Edward M. Keazirian, entitled, "True Hope You Can Take To The Bank".  Be encouraged!

Heaven's Incentives

Here is the 4 minute broadcast I heard this morning from Joni Eareckson Tada, at JoniandFriends.org, Heaven's Incentives.

Christian Happiness

I heard a reference to Jonathan Edwards' first sermon, which was on Christian Happiness and was given at the age of 18.  My curiosity was piqued and I embarked on a quick Google search.  This website gives a nice summation and excerpt from the sermon, as well as a link to read the full sermon. He was incredibly wise and brilliant for a teenager!  I had to share.

From the above link:

The thesis of the sermon is simple and large:

Christians should be happy.

Why should Christians be happy? The sermon answers this question in 3 points.

Point 1: Our bad things will turn out for good.
Point 2: Our good things can never be taken away from us.
Point 3: The best things are yet to come. 

He Carried Our Sorrows

Someone who inspires and encourages me greatly is Joni Earickson Tada.  Paralized from the neck down for nearly five decades, living with terrible chronic pain, she ministers to others with a compassionate and joyful heart.  I was listening to her short segment on the radio this morning on the way into work and desperately wanted to share it, but I don't think today's broadcast is up yet.  Here is her daily devotional for today, for now:


Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows… -Isaiah 53:4

Nobody likes to be sad. No Christian welcomes grief. So aren’t you glad that Jesus carried our sorrows when he went to the cross?! But sorrow did not cease with the death and resurrection of Christ. Think of the apostle Paul who confessed to “great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart” over the spiritual lostness of his race. He also described Christ’s apostles as “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.” Jesus’ death did not hinder him from saying, “Blessed are you who weep now.” It did not hinder James from advising us to “grieve, mourn and wail” when we sin. Sorrow and tears, disappointment and grief are written into God's plan for you and me. To be sure, he lightens and brightens our days with glimpses of Paradise; he ladles out foretastes of bliss through a thousand blessings large and small. But they are all just that – glimpses and foretastes. We are not in heaven yet. We are destined to experience earth’s sorrow.

But when tears and sorrow come, we look to Jesus – he bore to the cross the very tears you cry. He blamed no one when he felt the weight of grief and disappointment. He did not shrink from sorrow, nor sink under the burden of sadness. The load was heavy and the way was long, but he persevered. And he gives you power to do the same.

When we grieve and feel deep sorrow, we must look to Jesus who endured a greater grief and sorrow. There’s a reason Jesus says “Blessed are those who mourn” – sorrow forces you and I to identify more deeply with the Savior when he carried his cross. If you are experiencing sorrow, if your tears seem to flow endlessly over a deep disappointment, remember the Savior. He persevered. That means you can, too.

When I grieve, thank you, Lord God, for supporting me with your presence and consolation. My tears help me to know you better. They drive me into your comforting arms. Thank you for that.

The Discipline of Desire

Tim Keller on learning the Discipline of Desire.  "Only God can bring us to the place where we are earnestly seeking him. When we begin to experience a spiritual appetite for him and his presence, we will know that we belong to him."

Psalm 63

A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah.

¹ You, God, are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
where there is no water.

² I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.
³ Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.
⁴ I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.
⁵ I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

⁶ On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.
⁷ Because you are my help,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.
⁸ I cling to you;
your right hand upholds me.

⁹ Those who want to kill me will be destroyed;
they will go down to the depths of the earth.
¹⁰ They will be given over to the sword
and become food for jackals.

¹¹ But the king will rejoice in God;
all who swear by God will glory in him,
while the mouths of liars will be silenced.

For Your Reading Pleasure

I just read a great article that I wanted to share, and then I was inspired to share some other exceptional links too:

6 No-Nos for Relating to Your Man, which reminded me of Shaunti Feldman's book, For Women Only: What Women Need to Know about the Inner Lives of Men.  I read it a few years ago and learned a lot.  I highly recommend!  In a related vein, I came across this article, Marriage is for Losers, a couple months ago.  All three go along with the same theme:  Marriage is about Gospel-reenactment, laying down your own life on a daily basis for another.  Good stuff.

Unrelated - a fabulous article on home schooling, My Education in Home Schooling, and a theological look at poverty, Let Them Eat Cake, which reminded me of a book that stunned me in seminary: Amazing Grace: Children and the Conscience of a Nation.  Your heart will be broken if you take the time to read this book about the children of the South Bronx, our nation's poorest community.

I've been wanting to summarize two books I read while we were in NC, but it's not looking good for that, time-wise.  I'll just mention them here and maybe we'll be able to chat about them one day. Darrell Hammond's memoir, God, If You're Not Up There, I'm *$@%*, (yes, the language is foul...yes, it is poignant and heart-wrenching and funny and very much worth your time), and then Dr. Kevin Leeman's book, What Your Childhood Memories Say About You.  Dr. Leeman is the same author of The Birth Order Book, which I have yet to read but has been on my list for many years.

While I was looking up links on my Facebook page, I was inspired again by quotes I've shared there.  It's easier for me to keep track of what's on my mind here, so I'm copying and pasting.  :)

"When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him. If you injure someone you dislike, you will find yourself disliking him more. If you do him a good turn, you will find yourself disliking him less."  - C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

“Worry is not believing God will get it right, and bitterness is believing God got it wrong.” - Tim Keller

"People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered. Love them anyway. If you do good, people may accuse you of selfish motives. Do good anyway. If you are successful, you may win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway. The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable. Be honest and transparent anyway. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway. People who really want help may attack you if you help them. Help them anyway. Give the world the best you have and you may get hurt. Give the world your best anyway." - Mother Theresa

"Whatever we sow in our secret thoughts and attitudes, we will reap. If we sow love, kindness and forgiveness, we will reap in kind. If we sow generosity and gratitude, we will never feel poor. If we sow hope and praise, we will reap joy and a strong faith." (Author unknown)

A Counter-Culture of Grace

There's a powerful Timothy Keller sermon I've been listening to while I'm at work.  It's making an impact on my life, so I wanted to share it here.  I've been made dramatically aware of my everyday "My life for me" choices, in attitude if not in behavior, and my own low-self esteem pride.  I would think that most people could be faulted for one kind of pride or the other, and that we are all in need of grasping the measure of God's love for us and of finding true community in which to be shaped and molded by God. 

You can listen to the sermon at the following link, and I've typed out my notes (I remembered how I'm a visual learner, as I couldn't retain the sermon at all until I had made some notes!). 

A Counter-Culture of Grace

James 4:1-12

1. Community - Why it is important:

Verse 18 - To reap a harvest of righteousness, with the full lexical range meaning being put right with God as well as with others.  To be a righteous person is to live justly, with integrity, with love.  James likens righteousness to a crop, and this crop needs the seed of peacemaking, which creates a harmonious community.  Your life will not change apart from a peaceable community.

Practical reason why community is important: Americans believe we are who we make ourselves to be, but really we are a product of our community, our relationships, rather than our rationality.  You become like your primary social community.  There is no supernatural character change without deep involvement in community.

Principial reason: Fighting = Friendship with the world and hatred towards God. John 17:20 "Father, may they be in Us so that the world may believe that You sent Me. I in them and they in Me. May they be brought to complete oneness so that the world may know that You sent Me." The number one demonstration of who God is to the world is the beauty and depth of our love for one another. If we fail to do this by fighting, it is hating God.

2.  What are the main barriers to community:

The Cause: Verse 2, "You want something" - hedonai (hedonism) - you want to please yourself.  Your comfort, convenience, control, needs, are more important than those around you.  Because we please ourselves, we cannot realize community.

Thomas Howard in Splendor in the Ordinary, quotes George MacDonald that the one principle of hell is, "I am my own." Howard expounds that we can choose to live by one of two principles: "My life for yours," or, "I am my own, my life for me." Choosing, "I am my own" means you die spiritually and you spread death, while death to individual needs leads to resurrection of community.  The "Thank you" in return says "I owe you and I acknowledge it gratefully" - and a bond occurs.   In heaven, everyone loses their independence and gets happier and happier.  In hell, there is no indebtedness.  "I don't ask for anything and don't ask anything of me."  This leads to cosmic loneliness. 

The Cause of the Cause:  Pride.  Verse 6, "God opposes the proud."  Verse 7, "Humble youselves."  The solution is humility, therefore the problem is pride.

Jonathan Edwards wrote Thoughts on Revival.  He noted that spiritual pride killed revival several times in his town.  So he made a list of the marks of pride: (paraphrased by Keller):

1.  Spiritual pride makes you more aware of others faults than you are of your own.  Spiritual humility disposes you to be far more aware of your own faults than others.  Therefore,

2.  Pride leads you, when you speak of other's faults, to have an air of contempt and disdain, but humility means that whenever you speak of other's faults, you only do it with grief and mercy.

3.  Pride leads you to quickly separate from others you've criticized or who have criticized you.  That means you are cold or you avoid them.  But humility means you stick with people even through difficult relationships.  You don't give up on them.

4.  A proud person is dogmatic and sure about every point of belief.  Proud people cannot distinguish between major and minor points of belief because everything a proud person believes is major.

5.  A proud person either loves to confront because they love winning or they refuse to confront because they don't want criticism and controversy.  But a humble person confronts when it is necessary.  If you over love or hate confrontation, if you do it too much or not enough, you're not a humble person.

6.  A proud person is often unhappy and sorry for himself, because, a.) they're so sure they know how life ought to go, and, b.) they're sure they deserve a good life.   But humble people say, "I deserve to be cast off," and "I don't know what's best for me," and as a result, proud people are filled with self-pity and are very unhappy with life, and humble people never are.

Humble people:

Are slow to speak of others faults and when they do, it's gently, respectfully, kindly, never proudly.

They stick with people through difficult relationships.

They're flexible rather than dogmatic.

They are not afraid of confronting but they don't like it and when they do they're persuasive because they're not out to win, they're out to heal.

They have no self-pity, they're never grumbling or complaining about life.

There are two types of pride:  Arrogance and Low Self-Esteem.  Both forms of pride kill community.

Humiltiy is not thinking less of oneself, it is thinking of oneself less.

3.  How to break through those barriers

Two things you need to know to have this kind of humility:

1. You need to know the enormity of God's love for you.

James calls the church "adulteresses" because God loves us not like a shepherd loves his sheep or a father loves his children, God loves us the way a husband loves his wife.  When we sin, it is spiritual adultery.  He is jealous and envies for us, longing for our love.

2. The upside-down principle that's at the heart of the universe.  "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."  "Humble yourself and God will lift you up."  If you lay down your life for God, if you die to your own power and control, you will get your life back forever, safe and sound.  But if you hold on to your power, to your safety, when you live "My life for me," you become more and more like Satan and your life becomes more and more like hell, and then that's where you are.

Once you understand the degree of your worth to Him, and that He is caring for you, it enables you to have courage, humility, a forcefield in life that enables you to have community.

The Trinity has been loving, serving, glorifying each other from all eternity.  That is why God created a world in which, "My life for yours" is the only principle that works.  You can't even be born without someone laying down their life for you.  Sin is all about, "I am my own."

Romans 15:1, "We should bear with one another and not please ourselves, because Christ did not please himself."  Greatest understatement of the Bible!  Jesus has lived this out perfectly in our place, and faced the penalty of living "I am my own" in our place, so now, if we try to live this out imperfectly, He'll draw near to you!  God loves us "even as" He loves Christ! (John 17).  How much does the Father love the Son?  That's how much he loves us!  Once the confidence that He is working things out in your life for your good grows, you can have humility that builds community with others. 

 
This is the Language of Your Heart

Why should I be selfish when I'm full of real wealth and love?

Why should I be defensive when all charges against me have been dismissed by the Real Judge?

Why should I be offended when I have the love of the King of the Universe?

Why should I begrudge giving forgiveness when I'm awash in Christ's forgivess now?

Humble yourself before the Lord and He will lift you up.

Peace

Something that I have been able to enjoy at my desk job in the mornings has been listening to Tim Keller's sermons online.  He is an exceptional teacher and I highly recommend his sermon and book resources.  His sermons can be found here.

This morning I listened to a very powerful sermon on Peace, and listened to it again this afternoon for good measure.  Then I found a beautiful version of "It is Well With My Soul" for you in response to the sermon:

Tim Keller's Prodigal God

Here is a link to Tim Keller's sermon series on "The Prodigal God", well worth your time!

How to Help Raise Grateful Kids

I want to do this: Raise Grateful Kids, from Ann Voskamp's blog, A Holy Experience.

Lenten Thoughts

"I slew him--this right hand struck the dagger to his heart. My deeds slew Christ. Alas! I slew my best beloved; I killed him who loved me with an everlasting love. Oh eyes, why do you refuse to weep when you see Jesus' body mangled and torn? Give vent to your sorrow, Christians, for you have good reason to do so." - adapted from "The Tomb of Jesus" by Charles Spurgeon

The Hymn, "Ah, Holy Jesus"

1. Ah, holy Jesus, how hast thou offended, 
 that we to judge thee have in hate pretended? 
 By foes derided, by thine own rejected, 
 O most afflicted! 

2. Who was the guilty? Who brought this upon thee? 
 Alas, my treason, Jesus, hath undone thee! 
 'Twas I, Lord Jesus, I it was denied thee; 
 I crucified thee. 

3. Lo, the Good Shepherd for the sheep is offered; 
 the slave hath sinned, and the Son hath suffered. 
 For our atonement, while we nothing heeded, 
 God interceded. 

4. For me, kind Jesus, was thy incarnation, 
 thy mortal sorrow, and thy life's oblation; 
 thy death of anguish and thy bitter passion, 
 for my salvation. 

5. Therefore, kind Jesus, since I cannot pay thee, 
 I do adore thee, and will ever pray thee, 
 think on thy pity and thy love unswerving, 
 not my deserving. 

O Almighty God, who alone can order the unruly wills and affections of sinful men: help us to love what you command, and desire what you promise. Among the world's many distractions, may our hearts be surely fixed where true joy is found, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. - adapted from the Book of Common Prayer