This song was written by Gilbert Keith Chesterton, one of the brightest minds of the last century. It was true then in 1906, and it was true during the Bush years when the phrase “from all that terror teaches” had a new meaning.  But now, with the exponential ballooning of governmental power under Obama, I’m holding on to this song.  I’m trying to trust God with my future in a nation weighted with debt — “the walls of gold entomb us.”  I’m trying to trust God with a nation open to the re-invention of morality — “from sale and profanation of honor, and the sword.” And I’m praying that all would turn to God and choose his “living tether.”

Even though he was a clear-sighted critic of the world around him, Chesterton recognized the sin in his own heart. When a newspaper asked several writers to answer the question “What is wrong with the world?” Chesterton answered:

Dear Sirs,
I am.
Sincerely yours,
G. K. Chesterton

So, following his example, I also realize I need to trust God with my own sinful tendencies, trust Him to keep me and help me follow in Jesus’ steps.  Only when individuals recognize their poverty before God, can their hearts change and their nation change.

(Oh, and another reason I like this song is that it has an English Traditional Melody, harmonized by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Bonus!)

O God of earth and altar,

Bow down and hear our cry,

Our earthly rulers falter,

Our people drift and die;

The walls of gold entomb us,

The swords of scorn divide,

Take not Thy thunder from us,

But take away our pride.

From all that terror teaches,

From lies of tongue and pen,

From all the easy speeches

That comfort cruel men,

From sale and profanation

Of honor, and the sword,

From sleep and from damnation,

Deliver us, good Lord!

Tie in a living tether

The prince and priest and thrall,

Bind all our lives together,

Smite us and save us all;

From ire and exultation

Aflame with faith, and free,

Lift up a living nation,

A single sword to Thee.

I finally got around to reading an article by a philosopher and teacher named Mortimer Adler.  He was a  born to lower-class parents, but driven by a love of learning became a great thinker and writer.  He attended Columbia university, read all the classics he could get his hands on, and soon after became an instructor there. Throughout his life he endeavored to help people read great books.  Adler was for many years a pagan, but late in life converted to Christianity.

I just learned all this from Wikipedia. I do not know anything about Adler, except this article, which is one of the most inspiring and convicting pieces of writing I have read in a long time.  Perhaps I will now do the hard work and check out one of his books.

In “Invitation to the Pain of Learning,  Adler debunks our desire for learning to be easy and fun, and rebukes our laziness.  This was convicting to me, because many times this semester I have wished my assignments were easier, blamed my professors for not spoon-feeding me information,  and resented having to work hard in service to others and myself.   Adler rebukes me, quite literally, for acting like a baby in kindergarten.  Learning is painful, girl!  Get over it and get going on it!

Why is learning hard? Surely we can “get an education” without stressing?   Adler points out that there are two possible views of an education:

In one view, education is something externally added to a person, as his clothing and other accoutrements. We cajole him into standing there willingly while we fit him; and in doing this we must be guided by his likes and dislikes, by his own notion of what enhances his appearance.

In the other view, education is an interior transformation of a person’s mind and character. He is plastic material to be improved not according to his inclinations, but according to what is good for him. But because he is a living thing, and not dead clay, the transformation can be effected only through his own activity. Teachers of every sort can help, but they can only help in the process of learning that must be dominated at every moment by the activity of the learner. And the fundamental activity that is involved in every kind of genuine learning is intellectual activity, the activity generally known as thinking.  (Emphasis mine.)

Education is not about learning things.  It is about learning how to think. It is not about faking through the next exam in that class unrelated to my major.  It is about going the extra mile and growing as a result.

And it is hard work.  Adler does not throw out inspirational messages about the delights of learning.  Learning is painful.  It entails striving for something that is “over my head,” when that is difficult and discouraging.  I need to believe it is really worth it.

Whoever passes by what is over his head condemns his head to its present low altitude; for nothing can elevate a mind except what is over its head; and that elevation is not accomplished by capillary attraction, but only by the hard work of climbing up the ropes, with sore hands and aching muscles.

I’m experiencing some of that soreness these days.  I have wept tears over my acoustical physics homework, resented my history paper, wished I hadn’t taken that challenging piano accompaniment job.  (And wished, ungraciously, that I was charging more money for it.)  I have complained and moaned about hard work.  Now spring break is coming and I plan to  seek some rest and refreshment, but I do not want to put learning on pause.  April is ahead of me and it is full of the hard work of learning.  I want to embrace it.

painting by Mandy Budan

Be to me as the sun, and not the moon, dear Lord.

I may gaze on the moon as I am, unmediated.
But it is cold and distant and small.

I need a God who blinds me, as Saul
Who parches and melts and purifies my human strength.

Then like Paul’s, perfect my eyes, Jesus Savior
To see your love and grace and glory, in Your strength.

Spirit, in all my actions I need your piercing fire
To penetrate, surround, and brighten me for yourself.

Never may I hide in my soul’s dark rooms
To think and move and feel by my own reason.

Be to me as the sun, your beauty to my face, my Father,
For from you come whiteness, greenness, and sunsets,

Glorious one.

Addictions are terrible things. When that word comes to mind, we think of alcohol, drugs, and illicit sexual things.  I heard recently about a guy addicted to internet games, another one addicted to online blitz chess.  It is easy even to hold myself superior to those people, but the truth is we all tend to addiction. How about these things for addicive substances:

• Self-pity – Stroking the little me inside, I make excuses for myself and blame others for my problems. What I feel is totally justifiable, right? Mama, how dare you keep making demands on me! I feel sooo overworked.
• Internet – Just one more link, just one more comment, one more check of the Facebook page! I’ll make it quick. I deserve it, right?
• Procrastination – I’ll do it later. Really, I need a break. I work better under pressure anyway. I’m relaxed; I’m not going to stress or worry; that’s obedience to God, right?

The sad thing is, these indulgences, compulsively obeyed, don’t satisfy. From Isaiah 55 and John 6:

Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.
Incline your ear, and come to me;
hear, that your soul may live…

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

God give me your grace, to addict myself to what You give: yourself. Like the song says,

“Give me one pure and holy passion;

give me one magnificent obsession,

give me one glorious ambition for my life:

to know and follow hard after You.”

I went to give blood the other day, and they turned me away! They have a new rule that you have to weigh a certain weight if you are a certain age, instituted because they want to reduce complications. I was shocked, because I was just under the limit and they could not let me donate!  I was not sure exactly how much I weighed, so I went to a therapy center down the street and weighed myself, discovering I weighed less than I thought! It was a wake-up call to get stronger. Weight is not as important as strength. The absence of fat means nothing if I also lack muscle. Last semester and summer I worked out some, but inconsistently, but now the break has given me more time, and I am resolved to get strong!

These are the home exercise-DVDs that I am using. I like them very much. The ladies on them are not “sexy” or fitness-clubbish, but strong and straightforward:

Erin O’Brien has a tough but fun workout, mixing aerobics, weights, Pilates, and stretching. I get sore from it, but end up getting much stronger. It is five-stars on Amazon, for good reason. I wish she would make more workouts.

Miranda Esmonde-White has developed a method called “Classical Stretch.” Much of it is stretching, which tones and strengthens your muscles. Some of it is more strengthening, and quite challenging. I like most of this one and feel expanded and loose after doing it.

Fun times of vacation! I have the time to do this. Hopefully, I’ll get in shape by the time school starts, and be able to maintain throughout next semester. Ask me how it goes.

Last night I went to a friend’s tea party. She prepared all sorts of lovely cookies, as well as her signature Russian Cream, basically jellified and flavorful whipped-cream with raspberries! As I sat down next to the fire, I just soaked it in. After the semester of stress, I just savored being at rest, with friends and lovely yummies, and no to-do list at the back of my mind!

 

Contrast that — a couple weeks ago I was out driving with my mother in our neighborhood, and I saw a bright-eyed grey squirrel on a wall. He was so cute, and seemed to be watching me. Two hours later, I rode my bike down that same street on the way to school, and I saw something grey and squashy on the road! It was the squirrel, dead. Roadkill is always disgusting, of course, but this was particularly sad since I had seen him, so full of life, just a couple hours earlier.

 

Holiday enjoyments in context, I remember that we are all going to die.

All flesh is grass,
and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower fades
when the breath of the Lord blows on it;
surely the people are grass.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever. (Is. 40:6-7)

 

Yes, death is inevitable, and it may come sooner than I expect. It is good to remember this. In the New Testament, Peter mentions this verse from Isaiah, and shows us what that “word” is that stands forever: the good news.

You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers,

not with perishable things such as silver or gold,

but with the precious blood of Christ,

like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

He was foreknown before the foundation of the world

but was made manifest in the last times

for the sake of you who through him are believers in God,

who raised him from the dead and gave him glory,

so that your faith and hope are in God.

(1 Peter 1:18-25)

 

Knowing that death is not the end, hold onto Jesus’ steadfast love, and rejoice! Receive God’s gifts with joy, enjoying fellowship and lovely cookies! 

I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live;

also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil

—this is God’s gift to man. (Eccl. 3)

 

This is not the end. Someday we will die, or Jesus will return for his children. So enjoy life, and be ready.

Ere Thanksgiving was over, Christmas music was upon us. I was asked to play piano at a party, and searched around for a book of lively Christmas music, discovering one in my teacher’s office. I played “Rudolf, the Red-Nosed…”, “Sleigh Bells,” “I’ll be Home for Christmas,” “Merry Christmas Darling,” (I’m fond of that one) etc. But not until I opened my hymnal a couple nights ago did I feel I was playing music having to do with Christmas. Those holly-jolly songs I played at the party do not feel like Christmas to me. In fact, I said then that they are nice sit-’round-the-fire-and-drink-hot-cocoa-and-sing songs, but not Christmas songs. Samuel, my brother, pointed out that their jollility does, indirectly, come from the joy of Christ’s birth. That may true, and I think I can call them Christmas music. But they are not music that celebrates His birth, so instead I’ll make this distinction: they are not Advent songs. The songs I love are Advent songs.

At church we played some good Christmas carols, but I was too busy to let them sink in. When I opened our good old Mennonite hymnal, that’s when Advent started to touch my spirit. That was when we started to sing about Emmanuel, God With Us.

He came to dwell with us:

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

He came that He might dwell in our hearts, and fill us with love and the fulness of God.

so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith

—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,  and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge,

that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Eph. 3:17-19)

He came, that someday he might return and dwell with us forever.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth…

And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Rev. 21:1-4)

Oh, the mystery, that God became man and dwelt among us that we might know the intimacy of dwelling with him forever! This is what Advent is, as Noel Piper puts it:

Advent is a season of looking back, thinking how it must have been for those awaiting the promised salvation of God, not knowing what to expect. And at the same time, it is a season of looking ahead, preparing ourselves to meet Jesus at his Second Coming.

And so, I opened my hymnal and saw this song, a song of the Second Advent. And it gave me true Christmas joy:

Wake, awake, for night is flying,

The watchmen on the heights are crying;

Awake, Jerusalem, at last!

Midnight hears the welcome voices,

And at the thrilling cry rejoices:

Come forth, ye virgins, night is past!

The Bridegroom comes, awake,

Your lamps with gladness take;

                        Alleluia!

And for His marriage feast prepare,

For ye must go to meet Him there.

 

Zion hears the watchmen singing,

And all her heart with joy is springing,

                        She wakes, she rises from her gloom;

For her Lord comes down all glorious,

The strong in grace, in truth victorious,

                        Her Star is risen, her Light is come!

Ah come, Thou blessed Lord,

O Jesus, Son of God,

                        Alleluia!

We follow till the halls we see

Where Thou hast bid us sup with Thee.

 

Now let all the heav’ns adore Thee,

And men and angels sing before Thee,

                        With harp and cymbal’s clearest tone;

Of one pearl each shining portal,

Where we are with the choir immortal

                        Of angels round Thy dazzling throne;

            Nor eye hath seen, nor ear

Hath yet attain’d to hear

            What there is ours,

But we rejoice, and sing to Thee

Our hymns of joy eternally.

 

By Philipp Nicolai, 1599

 

May the joy of Jesus’ birth, and the hope of his return, dwell with you richly.

My almost-twelve-year-old brother Daniel wrote this story, which I am now “publishing” for him:

Hello everybody,

this is a short story that I wrote for school called-

The Trio’s Pictures

 
    ” Where is he, that rascally, mischievous twin brother of mine?” Noah asked.
    ” Probably getting into trouble again,” his cousin Josiah replied, ” or maybe he left
without us.”
    Just then Moses came around the corner and exclaimed ” Let’s get going!”  However, Josiah wasn’t  willing to go until he could say bye to his mother. But the others insisted that would get the parents into asking unnecessary questions.
    The eleven-year-old twins were on vacation in the Rockies with their family and their eight- year-old cousin Josiah and his family.  The adventuresome trio had been advised by their leader, Moses, that they should climb to the top of a steep mountain near the campground and see the spectacular view. Moses had sneaked along his older brother’s camera to take a picture of the view.
    The climb up the mountain was steep and sometimes slippery with a cliff on the left side that had several ledges projecting near the top.  The ledges gave Moses an idea.  When they got to the top Moses proudly revealed the camera and introduced his idea. “Now, suppose one or two of us jumped off the cliff and fell harmlessly to the next ledge. The other person would take a picture at that second so that it would look like he was jumping off the cliff into empty space,” said Moses.
    At first the others thought that they were in enough trouble already and that to take pictures with Matt’s camera would just mean more trouble. But soon they were convinced by Moses that it would be worth it.
    They took a picture of Noah who happened to be wearing blue sweat pants and a black coat, so he looked almost like Batman jumping off the cliff. One picture had Moses shoving Josiah off the cliff and another showed Moses’s fingers hanging on to the edge of the cliff with Noah “stamping on them.”  Then they took a timed picture of them all walking off into the air.
    After they were done Noah and Josiah convinced Moses they had better be getting back before dark, so they started off. Moses had strapped the camera around his wrist and was about to put his hand down to support himself when it happened. All of a sudden the camera went tumbling down the mountainside and Josiah reached out and caught it, but lost  his grip on the rock he was holding onto. As he tumbled down the mountain Moses and Noah looked at each other open-mouthed with the same thought: “He’s gonna die!”
      Next thing they knew they were both scrambling down the mountain to see what happened. They heard a cry and wailing, which quickened their pace still more. When they found Josiah, he had many cuts and scratches as well as a big gash on his leg. Still, that was nothing compared to what they had feared. Relieved, they limped home.
    As soon as they all hobbled into camp, Moses and Noah were thoroughly scolded and spanked to punish them for endangering Josiah’s life. Worst of all, Matt threatened never to develop the film.
    When the vacation was over, however, Matt relented.  The pictures were spectacular. The boys decided to enter them in Dallas’s huge fair. They entered them in the main photography section where the professional photographers had their pictures. When the judges saw the pictures of the boys who had jumped off the cliff and lived to tell the tale, they immediately gave the pictures first prize. Naturally, this gave the triumphant trio much joy.

Abraham Piper has two conference registrations for a pastor, awarded to someone who blogs about why he is thankful for his pastor. I don’t know if my pastor would be interested in going, but I certainly am thankful for my pastor.

Thank you, Pastor John Powell

• For being a man of integrity. Your rock-solid commitment to God’s Word, to His service, and to your family has been a foundation to your ministry.
• For being a man of faithfulness. You have been at our church over twenty years, which is quite a record by today’s standards. One of the men in our church, Elliot Bergsagel, mentioned this during the Thanksgiving service. He added that you may be one of the longest-serving pastors in our city. Again, this has laid the foundation for steady, deep growth within our church.
• For being a man willing to get his hands dirty. You jump into many different kinds of service, from fixing a car, to maintaining the local Moody radio station (89.7 FM) to networking someone to find a job, to couseling the soul.
• For being committed to God’s Word. You are very smart, but you don’t rely on your own reason. Your careful study of the scripture comes through in your exegetical preaching. You don’t avoid the awkward parts of Scripture (like the end of the book of Judges), because you believe that all of God’s Word is living, breathing, and able to pierce through the division of soul and spirit.
• For taking care of your health. This may seem like a small thing, but your commitment to staying active physically in order to stay healthy is an example to your congregation.

And Pastor Gordon, thank you too!

• For being willing to serve with your administrative skills — behind-the-scenes work that is often unnoticed. 
• For also having stuck with this congregation for over fifteen years. 
• For being a faithful husband, son, and father. Your love for his daughters shines through and they have thrived. 
• For being available to disciple young men in the church, and building relationships with each member of the youth group. Again, this is something that is not broadcast before the congregation, but has been a form of nurture that has been greatly used by God.

In today’s world, it is a frequent thing to see negativity toward the Christian church. Because of the integrity and faithfulness of our pastors, the entire leadership team’s dedication to Scripture, and the blessing of strong families in my church, I have no such feeling. I have grown and been blessed immensely in this church. Even as I see its problems, I also can understand that the worldwide Body of Christ is ordained by God, and it is a wonderful thing. I sometimes feel an irritation mixed with sorrow that so many people fail to see this. Sadly, this hostility to the church, though it is a sinful attitude, is based upon truly bad experiences. I am so grateful for God’s grace to First Evangelical Free, and I hope that as I mature, I will find my place to serve within it and similar churches.

Thank you, Lord! Come Lord Jesus.

I am nearing the end of a lovely Thanksgiving break. My church community is such a great place to be during Thanksgiving. No one, I repeat, NO ONE, can be alone on this day! Even if someone is from a foreign country, and missing Thanksgiving dinner would not matter to them, they still must have a place at someone’s table. Generosity is given without reservation. I am so grateful for the love of everyone in our church.

Now, a bit of a switch: I just discovered www.gutenberg.org, the project for publishing e-books. I had seen it a long time ago, but today I just read some sweet children’s books on it!

Check out the tale of Willie Mouse, and Beatrix Potter.

I read the Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, and savored it greatly! I enjoy these books ten times more as an adult even than as a child. They grow with you.