You will never have peace in your relationships as long as you are trying to be in control of them.

I’m always looking for excuses to steal away for a few moments with my love!

February 20, there will be a Total Lunar Eclipse. < --- click on the link for viewing times.

Ladies, this is your chance to surprise your husbands and plan something cool! The eclipse is visible in most parts of North America.... so start scouting NOW for a quiet spot with a view uninhibited by city lights. Get out your sleeping bags or favorite snuggly football-game blankets out of the storage closet and clean 'em up!

(I do have confess that, despite the above fantasy - which strongly I encourage my readers to carry out - since this is such a spectacular event, we'll likely have our young astronomers with us... but the hot chocolate in mommy & daddy's Thermos might be a little on the Irish side. Just sayin'... )

"I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine." Song of Solomon 6:3

This is a comment from PJ in our Ron Paul meetup:

We were encouraged by the many, many RP supporters we saw there, along with the prominent RP signs and banners. Also encouraging was that we saw only one little, hand-made “Grassroots for Huckabee” sign and only one Thompson sign (I missed that one). RP was among the legislators who took a few minutes at the podium, and he was the only presidential candidate there.

Article from a Michigan paper:

Ron Paul gets Roe nod
by Press wire services
Wednesday January 23, 2008, 9:19 AM

AP PhotoThe doctor is in: Ron Paul used his medical background to argue against abortion Tuesday.

WASHINGTON — Ronald Reagan and other Republican presidents have addressed the thousands of abortion opponents who annually march from the National Mall to the Supreme Court in remembrance of the court’s Roe v. Wade decision.

The event has not always been a draw to GOP presidential hopefuls, but Tuesday’s pre-march rally on the 35th anniversary of the landmark ruling had one notable exception: Ron Paul.

Among people holding up more typical “Defend life” and “Stop abortion” signs, some held banners in support of the Texas congressman, a libertarian with an anti-war bent.

Paul was among about a half-dozen lawmakers who spoke at the two-hour rally, and he cited his credentials as an obstetrician who has delivered 4,000 babies.

“The debate over when life begins should not be a debate. Let me assure you: All life begins at conception,” he said.

Paul also scored a right-to-life coup of sorts by claiming the endorsement of the Roe in Roe v. Wade — Norma McCorvey, who won the case for abortion rights but has since changed her stand. She runs the Crossing Over Ministry, formerly called Roe No More.

“He has never wavered on the issue of being pro-life and has a voting record to prove it,” McCorvey said in a press release from the Paul campaign. “He understands the importance of civil liberties for all, including the unborn.

“After taking all of the presidential candidates into consideration, it is obvious that Ron Paul is the only one that doesn’t just talk the talk,” McCorvey said.
(more…)

From Reason Magazine:

“Jane Roe” Endorses Ron Paul
David Weigel | January 22, 2008, 11:52am

About an hour ago Norma McCorvey, a.k.a “Jane Roe” from the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, formally endorsed Ron Paul at the Phoenix Park hotel in Washington. Why didn’t she endorse a frontrunner like Mike Huckabee? Thank the grassroots: She saw a newspaper ad in Nevada, bought by Paul supporters, using the analogy of the frog and the pot of boiling water to demonstrate what was happening to America. “It touched my heart.” That was three weeks ago, and McCorvey keynoted a pro-life Paul rally in Nevada on January 12th, but the campaign made the official announcement today before Paul spoke at the March for Life. McCorvey:

I support Ron Paul for president because we share the same goal, that of overturning Roe v Wade. Ron Paul doesn’t just talk about being pro-life, he acts on it. His voting record truly is impeccable and he undoubtedly understands our constitutional republic and the inalienable right to life for all. Ron Paul is the prime author of H.R. 300, which would negate the effect of Roe v. Wade. As the signor of the affidavit that legalized abortion 35 years ago I appreciate Ron Paul’s action to restore protection for the unborn. Ron Paul has also authored H.R. 1094 in Congress, which seeks to define life as beginning at conception. He has never wavered on the issue of being pro-life and has a voting record to prove it. He understands the importance of civil liberties for all, including the unborn.

Paul took questions from a tiny audience of press and local supporters after elucidating his abortion views. Roe was wrongly decided; federal courts need to be taken out of the loop on abortion law to let states make their own laws. A constitutional amendment would be “a tedious solution; it takes a long time.” Pro-lifers need to make this possible, in public opinion, before lawmakers move. “The ultimate test of the right to life movement is how we change attitudes on this.”

McCorvey was frustrated at the lack of attention her original Reno endorsement got, but she was lighthearted today. “When you’re president,” she asked Paul, “can I stay over at the White House?”

“Anytime,” Paul said. The supporters in the back of the room cracked up.

“I’ll take the Lincoln Bedroom,” said McCorvey.

While shaking my fist at my oven tonight (I need to recalibrate the temperature - it runs, I’m guessing, about 50 degrees too hot) for burning my homemade onion & rye bread, I was listening to audio from one of Pastor Strawbridge’s archived sermons from March of last year entitled, “The Spiritual Discipline of Prayer”.

At the end of the sermon, Strawbridge read a quote from C.S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters that stuck with me enough to replay the audio and jot it down. The quote encourages Christians to pray even when we feel far from God or don’t feel like praying.

As you read this excerpt, bear in mind that it is written from the point of view of the devil teaching another devil how to tempt a new Christian. When the devil refers to “our cause”, it is the cause of getting Christians to fall away from the Lord. The “Enemy” is, in this context, referring to God.

Now it may surprise you to learn that in His efforts to get permanent possession of a soul, He relies on the troughs even more than on the peaks; some of His special favorites have gone through longer and deeper troughs than anyone else. The reason is this. To us a human is primarily food; our aim is the absorption of its will into ours, the increase of our own area of selfhood at its expense. But the obedience which the Enemy demands of men is quite a different thing.

Hence the prayers offered in the state of dryness are those which please Him best. We can drag our patients along by continual tempting, because we design them only for the table, and the more their will is interfered with the better.

Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do our Enemy’s will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys.

*Trough
Pronunciation: \ˈtrȯf, ˈtrȯth, by bakers often ˈtrō\

2 a: A conduit, drain, or channel for water; especially : a gutter along the eaves of a building b: a long and narrow or shallow channel or depression (as between waves or hills); especially : a long but shallow depression in the bed of the sea — compare trench

This is a response to a recent comment left on an earlier post:

I do hope you reached out to your friend and gave her the gift that spoke to you..

There is truth in many things, and not just in one religion.

Jesus walked among the masses and did not judge them. He gave unconditional love and acceptance. Do this for your friend and you will both be blessed!

God and Goddess Bless you.
karen

Hello Karen!

Thanks for your comment on my blog. I am very glad to know that my readership is diverse, and I am thankful that you felt comfortable enough to comment.

I do agree with you that there is truth in many things. In religions other than Christianity, certainly there are people who practice self-sacrificing behavior of being kind to others, albeit with different motivations.

It is very hypocritical when Christians abuse the environment instead of caring for it, when they flaunt Christianity as a means to obtain political power, when they have hot tempers and pick fights, when they harm animals, when they abuse other people both spiritually and physically.. and the list could go on.

Yet, Jesus came to sacrifice himself as payment for these horrible sins. The Bible is clear these things are sinful - but the Bible also offers hope through Christ instead of condemnation. There can be forgiveness of these sin-debts against God because they have been paid for by Christ.

I appreciate your bringing up Christ, who did walk among the masses as you said. He dined with “tax collectors and sinners” (Mark 2), people who were outcasts in society.

How many Christians today would go into a bar and strike up a conversation with society’s outcasts?

Not many, but I know some! And, I certainly have friends from all walks of life. This love for people comes from a heart dedicated to God. It comes from recognizing how much we have been forgiven and not thinking of ourselves as better than others. It can be frightening to talk to people who have made themselves to look unfriendly - but as the Bible says in 1 John 4, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear.”

You are right that Jesus did not judge people in the sense of avoiding them or publicly shaming them.

I am reminded of one such story, found in John 8, of a woman who was about to be stoned by the Pharisees for adultery, whom Jesus rescued. Jesus simply saying to the Pharisees, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.”

But, the story does not stop there.

When the Pharisees dropped their stones and stepped away, Jesus said “Woman, where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee?” And she said, “No man, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.”

Go and sin no more does imply a judgment of sorts - he did not say that her adultery was acceptable.

There are many similar stories in the Bible (including the aforementioned one in Mark 2), but in all of them, Jesus offers something better, and it involves repenting of sin and following Him.

My concern is many Wiccan teachings are in opposition to Christianity. It’s not that there wouldn’t be truth and insight in a Wiccan gardening book, but I would consider it blasphemous to promote a book that pointedly undermines the premise that God is the creator of the plants, water, weather systems.. of the whole universe (Genesis 1; Job 38:4; Isaiah 42:5; Isaiah 45:18; Revelation 4:11 - and I would add Romans 1:18-32, which specifically speaks of consequences for those who do not acknowledge God as Creator and Lord.).

That’s why I think that a book about gardening, without the Wiccan-specific teachings, would still make a great gift for a Wiccan friend.

There are some fantastic, breath-taking pictorial books of beautiful gardens, which upon viewing, certainly stir my soul. A book like this would affirm the friendship - because that’s what the gift symbolizes: understanding a friend’s love for gardening, and doing something that would bring joy to the friend.

As you said, there is truth in many things and I think there is a way to show love to a Wiccan without compromising the Christian friend’s faith. Besides, if the Wiccan friend truly loves her Christian friend, she would not want the Christian friend to have a hurt conscience over a gift.

Again, thanks for reading my blog and I hope to have dialog with you in the future.

Much love,
Sarah Joy Albrecht

Happy New Year!

It’s hard to believe it’s January 1, 2008. But, here we are!

We had a wonderful New Years Eve with my in-laws and husband’s siblings and their friends. We ate Jambalaya and stayed up quite late to watch stunt man Robbie Maddison set a record by jumping a football field on a motorcycle. There was so much anticipation for a few seconds of a man blurring through the air. It was fun and my boys, especially, loved it. Whenever I have to cover my eyes when my four year old climbs trees, I am reminded that Evil Knievel had a mother, too.

Last night, we added all of the important birthdays and anniversaries to our new Audubon bird calendar. My children looked to see where their birthdays were located on the unmarked pages.

Looking at the calendar, with so many blank boxes that will surely fill up quickly, caused me to think about the past year - loved ones that have died (I put the anniversaries of their deaths on the calendar, as well as their birthdays and wedding anniversaries), the kids various milestones, our month long trip to Japan…. what a great year! And yet, at the beginning of the year, I had no idea that God had so much in store for our family!

So, it is with eagerness that I am looking forward to the year ahead. As I put away my calendar and was reflecting on these thoughts, humbled by how the Lord has worked in our lives in the past year, it was pressed upon my heart how HARD it is sometimes to have a fresh start in life. It’s not always as easy as putting a new calendar on the wall. Broken relationships do take time to mend. Sometimes when we have sinned, we have consequences to pay - they’re not over instantaneously. If we have done something that has hurt someone, there is a regaining of trust that sometimes takes place. Job situations are no different - it’s pretty rare and unheard of to just leave your job and go to a new one all within one day… there are interviewing processes, two week notices, training the person filling your shoes… all of these life changes take TIME. Fresh starts are often a progression of the ‘ducks being in a row’ so to speak.

BUT… even though all of these fresh starts, which can even be admirable and worth hanging in there over, aren’t instantaneous, there IS one LIFE-CHANGING fresh start that happens INSTANTANEOUSLY:

Placing our trust and belief in the Lord Jesus Christ.

There is no waiting period for a fresh start with the Creator of the universe. It’s as simple as confessing our sinfulness, seeking God’s forgiveness, acknowledging with thanksgiving that Jesus paid for our sins on the cross, and striving to study and obey God’s Word.

Perhaps there are Christians out there who need a fresh start.

For example, it’s easy to get into a groove where our relationship with God is as scheduled as our family calendar. When we find ourselves going through the motions of church attendance and “being spiritual” when its convenient, it’s easy to rationalize away or turn a blind eye to those in need: “Someone else will take care of them, my plate is too full” or “I know I need to seek so-and-so’s forgiveness, but she contributed to the situation and I’ll wait until SHE says something first.” We serve God with our minds and our bodies, but not with our heart and soul. The root is that we pridefully want to be in control of our lives, and even our relationship with God, and we are afraid to turn the reigns over to God. What if we turn control over to God and He gives us something we can’t handle or puts someone who is a nuisance in our life? What if He calls us to face our worst fear?

Or, perhaps there is great hurt that is in the way of a relationship with God. Sometimes the things of this earth seem so big that God seems distant. We are consumed by our hurt, to the point of even cherishing it and holding it up as an idol. I know this sounds harsh! It’s not meant to be - but I do know what it’s like to focus on a problem and trying to solve it ourselves or bear the hurt or burden of it ourselves, instead of focusing on God and trusting in Him for our comfort or for the things that our out of our hands.

A fresh start in these situation would be seeking God’s forgiveness for doing things our way, or stubbornly holding onto hurt and trying to hold it all together on our own strength, pridefully refusing to admit that our burdens really our too big for us to bear alone.

When we seek God’s forgiveness, He grants it to us instantaneously.

I John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

There is no waiting period to receive God’s forgiveness - Christ has already done the work on the cross for us, thousands of years ago. All we have to do is admit our sinfulness, lay it at the cross with thanksgiving, repent of our sin, and place the reigns in God’s hands.

If it sounds similar to salvation, that’s because it is! Although we don’t have to keep getting saved every time we sin, we must constantly be going back to the cross in all that we do. Our salvation is constantly being worked out in our lives - this is called sanctification.

As you look to the year ahead, pause for a minute and check to make sure your heart is right before God. Confess your sins and sinful attitudes - we all have them! The Bible says that if we say we’re without sin, we’re liars! Then, humbly dedicate 2008 to the Lord. Thank Him for being a God who does care about the details of our lives. Bask in the awesomeness of His power. Ask for Him to guide your path in the coming year. Say, “Lord, I am your servant. Please give me help me to be a good steward of the time you have given me. Please open my eyes to opportunities to serve you and help me to grow closer to you.”

Right there with all of you - reflecting, confessing, rededicating,
With much love,
Sarah Joy Albrecht

Dear L&F,

I miss seeing you! I hope that you are having fun in this lovely snow. The snow is perfect packing snow - not too powdery and not too slushy. Have you attempted to make snowmen yet?

Sadly, I am sick with pneumonia. That means that there is mucous in my lungs. It’s sort of like drowning from within. So, I haven’t been able to go out with my children in the snow yet this year.

BUT — I did look out this morning from my bedroom window and saw the sun glistening over our snow covered yard. It reminded me of Isaiah 1:18:

“Come now, and let us reason together,” says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; Though they are like crimson, the will be like wool.

I don’t know if you have ever had the experience of retrieving the laundry from the wash, only to find that a red sock found its way into the white-wash and all of the laundry has turned pink as a result. There is nothing that can be done, either, to effectively get the red out. The clothes are permanently pink.

The Bible compares sin to this. Even in Bible times, red dye was especially staining and permanent. Just one “little” sin - just like one little red baby sock - eternally stains our soul. It is ruined like the stained laundry. But, God forgives us and cleanses us so that all traces of sin are washed away, white as snow.

As you look at the snow, take a moment to thank Jesus for shedding His blood for you so that our souls can be cleansed. What a beautiful reminder we have, right at Christmastime, as we think of Jesus’ birth, to also have snow on the ground to remind us that our sins are forgiven.

I love you both very much and I’m thankful to have you and your whole family as friends.

Much love,
Mrs. Albrecht

This is today’s Purpose Driven Life Daily Devotional. Wow. So simple, so profound. If you want to read it from it’s original source, click here.

Fellowship Without Forgiveness: Impossible
by Jon Walker

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32 NIV)

Fellowship without forgiveness is impossible.

As believers, we’re called “to settle our relationships with each other.” (2 Corinthians 5:18 MSG) We need to consistently forgive others and receive forgiveness from others, or we’ll “give up in despair.” (2 Corinthians 2:7 CEV)

Whenever we’re hurt by someone, we have a choice to make: Will we focus on retaliation or resolution?

The Bible speaks candidly about settling the score: “Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.” (1 Thessalonians 5:15 NIV)

In God’s economy, it’s not enough to say we won’t seek revenge; we’re to press into the very heart of forgiveness, forgiving each other, just as Christ forgave us. (Ephesians 4:32 NIV)

The Bible is very clear that forgiveness is not optional for the Christ-follower. God sets this high standard because he knows how much is at stake in your life: Bitterness and unforgiveness are a cancer that eventually will destroy you from the inside out. Forgiveness is the scalpel that removes the tumor.

This doesn’t mean you’ll always be able to immediately forgive and be done with it. As you become more and more Christ-like, that will become possible, but for now you may have to work at forgiving someone who has hurt you in a particularly painful way. In other words, you may forgive this person but soon begin to feel a root of unforgiveness growing in your heart.

When this occurs, you can go to King Jesus and ask him to help you with this cycle. He will help you release the offender, and the Holy Spirit will guide you in your effort.

A major point here is that forgiveness is a choice you can make. The power of God, working within you, means you no longer have to remain a slave to unforgiveness or bitterness.

In Colossians, the Apostle Paul provides the basis and motivation for forgiveness: “You must make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.” (Colossians 3:13 NLT). When we remember the price Jesus paid to forgive us, how can we not forgive? (Romans 5:8)

What now?

When you forgive, you’re not pretending it didn’t hurt – Forgiveness means you no longer hold the offense against the offender. It means you’ve pardoned the debt, and you’ve intentionally chosen to release the one who hurt you. We’re to love deeply, because “love covers over a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8 NIV)

Stop right now and talk to God – Have an honest conversation with God about someone you need to forgive. Our heavenly Father knows that it’s not easy to let go of our hurts, but he will give you the grace to forgive.

Be honest with God – Cry out to God; tell him exactly how you feel. He won’t be surprised or upset by your anger, hurt, insecurity, or bitterness.

If you feel like you are despairing, my parting thought is this: “Is there someone I need to seek forgiveness from or someone I need to forgive?” I love the part in the devotional that reminds us that God “won’t be surprised or upset by your anger, hurt, insecurity, or bitterness.”

Many times we avoid pouring our heart out to God by praying little one-line prayers that redirect attention away from our own hearts or only scratch the surface. When we do this, we are only giving lip-service to God - we are not placing our full trust in Him. This is a symptom of pride in our hearts - thinking we can do a better job than God. It is only when we humbly place our trust in God’s power, acknowledging that we cannot forgive or seek forgiveness by our own strength, that we can unreservedly pour out our hearts (to God AND to those with whom we are in conflict!) and get to the root.

We don’t have to be afraid to tell God what we have done or how hurt we are - He already knows. He LOVES us and will give us the strength to seek forgiveness and forgive others. We can boldly seek forgiveness from others because our eternal debt has been paid through Christ’s sacrifice in our place - this takes the impossible weight off of the restoration process. We must forgive others and be restored to them because we have been forgiven an eternal debt and restored to God the Father through Christ’s sacrifice.

By the way, here’s a perspective-changing article on the difference between seeking mercy and seeking grace.

And, for further information on how to be at peace with others, check out the resources at Peacemaker Ministries.

Some of you might know that my husband and I were both homeschooled from elementary school through graduation.

While I have a lot of experience with being a homeschooled student, and have an understanding of homeschooling - the philosophies, politics, and the memorized retorts when nosy people at the grocery store ask silly questions like, “shouldn’t you be in school?” - this is the first year that my husband and I have made a structured attempt to be homeschooling teachers.

At the beginning of the school year, I confess that I had a lot of expectations for what homeschooling was going to be like this time around.

Honestly, I felt overwhelmed. I realized that while there were some aspects of homeschooling that I liked from my own education, I also carried a lot of fears of things I struggled with as as a homeschooled teenager - like math.

However, something interesting happened to my perspective.

Today, I caught a glimpse of the bigger picture.

This morning, as I was putting away laundry, I quietly observed my children playing. I listened, unobtrusively, as they assimilated what they had learned about the five senses into their play.

Suddenly some of our Barbies are now, apparently, “blind”.
(more…)