faith building

Jim Mather posts and blogs some of the most challenging thoughts of any man that I know personally. Here are some thoughts he posted this past month...God has recently been rocking my spiritual world!

People with a real and dynamic faith should not only embrace change...
we need to anticipate it and plan for it.

When we resist change we ignore the spiritual realities of life.
At the center of the universe is a spiritual being...God.
God has created not a static universe but an ever expanding reality.

When we cry out to God and he "imprints" our hearts and minds with a vision and plan we MUST MOVE with him into his future, the only secure place on the planet.

As my faith is stretched in this growing time, I embrace it as a runner in the Race to the finish!

post-Christmas reflections

"...for it is good to be children sometimes, 

and never better than at Christmas, 

when its mighty Founder was a child himself."

~Charles Dickens

I showed the film "The Nativity" to my students at school over this last month. I watched most of it with them, to remind myself of the Advent of the Son of God coming to our Earth, His cradle, as a babe. The humanity and Jewishness of Mary (Myriam in Hebrew) and Joseph stood out to me. The search of the magi to find the king foretold and pointed to by the celestial "Star of Bethlehem." Kepler thought that this nova was most likely a conjugation of Jupiter and Saturn around 7 B.C., while other astronomers say that they were in triple conjugation with the constellation Pisces. The Chinese even recorded a comet standing still for 70 days in 5 B.C. Who really knows? It is fascinating to conjecture though. :-D

When I think how far we have come from that event, that day when Christ was born in humanity to be our Savior, I wonder what Mary must have thought about her role in Jehovah's master plan. The Scriptures indicate that she thought about it, pondered it, and hid those thoughts in her heart. The immense responsibility of such a young girl bearing the Messiah must have weighed heavy in her.

This brings me to the idea of faith.

By faith, Elizabeth believed that the babe that Mary bore was the Messiah. By faith, Mary believed the angel Gabriel and accepted her role in the eternal drama. By faith, Joseph took Mary to be his wife, knowing full well that they would be ostracized for the unlawful pregnancy.

There is something about faith that stirs the human soul beyond itself.

It cannot be explained with logic or psychological means.

Faith is, of course, "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1).

Some of my former students are now sworn atheists. Once visited me two weeks ago, one day after returning from his second Army tour in Afghanistan. I sat and listened and talked for over an hour. What traumas he has experienced. What bloody hell-on-earth he has seen. I would not trade places with him for the world. But I do pray for his soul, his scarred and bruised and jaded soul. I want to see him in Heaven one day, so to that end I pray and intercede.

I feel that I have come to a point in my life that God is requiring me to dig deeper into my spiritual self and find a deeper faith, one that does not murmur or complain or gripe or ask "WHY?!?" It's as though He does not want me to question Him at all, to be acquiescent to His plan for my family, and more specifically my own life. And it is hard, so hard for this logical girl! :-)

oodles of gifts

55. A wonderful Christmas Eve, spent with family and long-time friends- the Touarts, Haights & Paynes

56. A spicey Jones clan Christmas Day (must everyone be so cranky about my kitchen buzzer?!?)

57. Excited glee from our nieces over their gifts, especially over the old toddler desk that "Unker Danner" refinished and painted anew for the next generation of Joneses to enjoy

58. Red Box movies

59. Renfroe Praline Pecans...soooo delicious & yummy!

60. The pretty red-blooming amaryllis I found in Winn Dixie's flower store

61. New Christmas music CD's: Michael Buble, Justin Bieber, Kutless

62. Last-minute Christmas gifts for my family & employees

63. Grace to properly react to a failure of trust in someone I should have been able to trust to carry out my good wishes

64. Strength to stop murmuring against the Lord for what I "have not"

65. Getting to see Orion and its nebula M42 tonight in our clear skies

66. Extra buttery popcorn

67. Energy and good health, to do what needs to be done

68. The luxury of sleeping through the night, every night

69. God's creation of a clean and pure heart, and a quiet spirit, within me

70. Being able to pay my mortgage and bills, once again, this month

71. Another NIECE...or nephew (this is Cori & Brian's #3) on the way!!! :-D

72. A future sister-in-law (via my brother Daniel), Brittany

73. The Holy Writ, that never-ending source of unfathomable riches and wisdom!

74. Dinner at Friday's tonight with my baby sis Sarah

75. Getting to sleep in late during my holiday

76. The knowledge that my sisters, Tricia and Sarah especially, have my back

77. Being raised in the knowledge of righteousness and holiness (without which, I would not see God!)

78. Two wonderful, however flawed, parents who listened to the voice of the Holy Ghost

79. Sparkly lights at Christmas, all over everywhere

80. The liberty and freedom of being able to worship my God freely, without censure


"Give thanks to the Lord! His Love Endures Forever!"

Merry Christmas!

Borrowing this from Ann Voskamp's blog...

”He was poor, that he might make us rich.
He was born of a virgin that we might be born of God.
He took our flesh, that he might give us His Spirit.
He lay in the manger, that we may lie in paradise.
He came down from heaven, that he might bring us to heaven….
That the ancient of Days should be born.
that he who thunders in the heavens should cry in the cradle….
that he who rules the stars should suck the breast;
that a virgin should conceive;
that Christ should be made of a woman, and of that woman which himself made,
that the branch should bear the vine,
that the mother should be younger than the child she bare,
and the child in the womb bigger than the mother;
that the human nature should not be God, yet one with God
Christ taking flesh is a mystery we shall never fully understand till we come to heaven
If our hearts be not rocks, this love of Christ should affect us .
Behold love that passeth knowledge!”
~Thomas Watson

Isn't that beautiful?!?
My "Jones Clan Christmas Craziness" will be posted on another blog with pictures. Where on earth does time go?!?

My meditations...
Oh, those mysteries that perplex us, drive us to distraction! The Great Enigma made this earth His cradle.

Humble Jesus, hear my prayer and help me to understand the things about my life that perplex and distract me! There is so much that, without explanation, would drive the joy of my salvation right out of my heart. My burden is too heavy.

Blessed Comforter, be with me now and infuse Faith into my soul, for I need it so! It is birthing a deeper walk with God that I am not accustomed to...causing "soul stretchmarks" that are painful, yet needful to my spiritual life. May His life be birthed in mine!

"The darling of the world is come..." ~R. Herrick

more thanks

41. celebrating the Happy 1st Birthday of our precious niece Juliana Mae.

42. getting a break from school, and being well enough to enjoy it

43. two successful days of pie making at the bakery

44. time to catch up on laundry and house cleaning

45. finding new Amish romance books to read over this week's break

46. restful manis/pedis with my sister Sarah on Saturday

47. winning splendid eBay auctions for two figurines for my nieces' birthdays

48. grace to wait for God to multiply the seed of faith in my heart

49. being able to listen to uplifting Christian radio, especially Power 88

50. the freedom to celebrate my Savior's birth and remember all that He has done for me

51. an offer from the grandparents of a CIAS family to provide a MUCH NEEDED vacuum for the school in barter for their tuition

52. paying off our television this month

53. alertness to hear the Holy Spirit's direction and quickening

54. much-needed rain

thanksliving

33. warm socks for cold evenings

34. the romantic simplicity of watching my old "Anne of Avonlea" vhs

35. Tricia's made-from-scratch deliciously warm and comforting chocolate pudding this evening

36. sleeping in this morning

37. a successful grocery and Thanksgiving dinner shopping excursion (all I need now is the turkey and some fresh greens!)

38. a pretty plum & gray printed top at Target yesterday

39. a 20 oz. Shakespeare from The Drowsy Poet. soooo hot and yummy!

39. cute little orange pumpkins on our table- Corrie Lynn's very own "punkin patch"

40. the cutest hearty little laughs from Julieana as she tossed Meg's colorball today

Psalm 30:12

"That my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever."

state of the church

"The true man of God is heartsick, 

grieved at the worldliness of the Church, 

grieved at the toleration of sin in the Church, 

grieved at the prayerlessness in the Church. 

He is disturbed that the corporate prayer of the Church 

no longer pulls down the strongholds of the devil."

-Leonard Ravenhill

No matter how much we try to fit in and be comfortable with those around us, no matter how close to the world our lifestyle tends, there is yet a great chasm between the broad and narrow ways (Matt. 7). And sadly, Jesus says that few will find the narrow way that leads to true life! The more I read about the faith of our fathers, the more I think that modern Christians have missed it.

Several weeks ago, one of my FB acquaintances posted that his church was having a Wednesday prayer and worship evening, so he invited everyone on his friends list to come. And then he said, "Come out and support our pastor." I recoiled, "WHAT?!? What does supporting a pastor have to do with worshiping and praising and magnifying and spending time before our AWESOME GOD?!" Besides missing the point, his post reflected a "churchianity" that I don't share or believe in. God calls us to Himself, to worship Him, to commune with Him, to let Him change us into His image, and to let Him turn us into ministers of His saving grace. Not to follow a man or a dogma or doctrine.  Or get hung up" on one issue or another, totally missing the whole picture of our purpose for existence and life here on earth in view of eternity.

Paul addressed this in 1 Corinthians 3 when he was confronted with Christians who wanted to segregate and divide Jesus' followers into "camps of belief." He first states that some ministers plant seeds and some water them, but God is the one who  gives the increase. You almost think he is dismissing his own role in the ministry process, yet he says that every man shall "receive his own reward according to his own labor." So, yes, the church does play an important role in the spiritual life, but "supporting our pastor" should not be a motivation to spend an evening with our Maker and Savior!

I counsel and talk to students and parents every week who have no tools of the Kingdom, no power of the Holy Spirit, and no victory over their flesh, sin, and the devil to live a dynamic Christian life. It is sad but true. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by the tide or spiritual and Scriptural ignorance that surrounds me (and I am not talking about my immediate family here!). I can only do my part to stem it and shine the light towards paths of righteousness, and leave the rest to the Lord! 

Case in point...several months ago, I had to call for an intervention meeting with the parents of one our struggling students. Only the mom could make time in her schedule to come. And when I asked her if she and her husband prayed over their children, she looked at me with a blank look and didn't know what to say. I still can't fathom the feeling that crashed into my spirit as I sat there, realizing that this parent didn't really care about their child's spiritual welfare. She could cry and weep all she wanted, but when the rubber hit the road, she wasn't willing to do what that Bible says to train up and intercede for her child(ren). 

Demonic apathy is rendering us powerless...it has crept in and stolen our zeal and thirst and hunger. In Matt. 11:12, Jesus was talking to his followers about John the Baptist, and explaining why John was so different and why he couldn't be like everybody else around him. And He ends with, "From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force."

"May the things of this world so lose their power over us that we do not in the slightest wish to be "worldly"; nay, we even delight in not remaining 'in the world.'"

-Watchman Nee