Seeing the Connections: The Bible in a New Light

The problem with blogging is that I only seem to have great ideas when I'm away from the computer, living life. That's not actually the problem with blogging so much as the joy of living.  I guess it's more a problem that I never bother to record these great thoughts in the moment, to be more fully fleshed out later. So today I'm resolving to write a post, though I'm tempted to make a mental note and write it later (riiight).

Today I sat down somewhat discouraged at the amount of Scripture I needed to read to catch up.  I've had a very busy week and never seemed to be able to quite finish my chapters for the day.  This means I was 3.5 days behind on reading... It's discouraging when looked at as an assignment, and that's how i saw it.  God is good, though, and when we are faithful, He blesses us.  Sometimes these blessings are immediate!  I dug in and lo and behold, I had an Aha! moment.

I was part way through my reading of Matthew when I got to a section of scripture that was obviously a quote.  I was in Matthew 11:10 if you're curious.  It says "This is he of whom it is written" -- okay, that's a pretty clear indication of a quote.  Jesus is referring to John the Baptist.  I looked to the footnotes and there was no Scripture reference.  "Huh!"  Well, this time I decided not to give up so easily. I looked to the column of tiny print that's set in toward the center binding of most Bibles.  I found verse 10 and saw the note "10: Mark 1:2; Cited from Mal. 3:1". I flipped to Malachi 3:1 and there it was!  I decided to write in the NT reference alongside the Scripture in Malachi.

I've always known that there are hundreds, maybe thousands of prophecies in the Old Testament that come to fruition in the pages of the New Testament.  Known, but rarely seen.  Some I've learned about in church sermons or Bible studies, but I've rarely taken it upon myself to seek further examples.  Today the Scriptures came alive for me!  This is truly the living, breathing, timeless, timely Word of God!

There in the Old Testament pages, in a part of my Bible where the pages are pristine from lack of study, I found a reference to John the Baptist!  I read the surrounding section of Malachi with an interest it's honestly never commanded before.  Here was a piece of insight that will help me understand the often confusing and dense prophecies in the Old Testament!

I returned to my New Testament reading and found further examples of cross-referencing. I realize now that in my frustration with the lack of footnotes and the pitifully incomplete concordance at the back of my Bible, I've been missing out on a key resource!  Inset on each page is the truest help in understanding Scripture: reference to other Scripture!

I'm excited to continue my study of the Word and have decided that when I can, I'm going to rewrite those tiny little letters into the margins of corresponding Scripture.  For me this is a visual reminder of the connectedness of all Scripture!  It shows again the proof that this Book could only be ordained and breathed by God.  What human, let alone dozens of humans, could ever have written such a perfectly cross-referenced, cohesive, self-evidencing work over so many centuries?!

So today I found myself unexpectedly and joyously encouraged in the Word.  I challenge you to seek out the center column next time you sit down to the Word.  I know you'll be encouraged.  Why wait? Go try it out now if you haven't ever before!

Simple things that bring great joy

There are many simple things in my life that bring great joy.  There were a few things today that just made my soul light.  Here's a little glimpse into our day:

We started our morning today snuggled under the covers, listening to the rain beat down on the roof. It's so lovely to listen to the storm outside, feeling safe, secure, and perfectly content indoors.  We have a vaulted ceiling in the living room, so we can really hear the rain when the bedroom door is open or if we come out to the couch.

During breakfast we sat and read our Bibles together.  I have to brag on my husband because he has really taken spiritual leadership to heart.  He sets such a wonderful example to me with his consistent faithfulness to studying and meditating on Scripture.  Today we sat and ate breakfast together, then spent some quality time reading and discussing what we'd read.  It's a treat for me to be able to look up from the verses we're both reading and ask questions and hear him share his wisdom.  I've grown so much in my faith and my understanding of Scripture since we've been married!

Later we went to church, followed by a wonderful visit with family.  Now we're back, snug in our house, my husband helping me with a craft project (re-upholstering a chair cushion) that had me stuck and almost in tears.  He very gently led me away and quietly took over.  It's almost done (we ran out of tacks) and it looks amazing and I'm able to relax and let him help me.  

Soon it will be time to put on jammies and snuggle up with hot tea and cocoa and watch a movie my sister lent us, while listening to the steady and uncharacteristically heavy rains fall outside.  We might even have one last fire for the season. 

I love our home and building it and nesting in it with my wonderfully loving husband and crazy pup.  

Speaking of Charlie, he's not so subtly requesting my assistance in procuring his ball which has rolled under the chair.  Guess I should be going.  Happy Sunday! 

Oh, Anne!

I have days, like today, when all I want to do is curl up and watch Anne of Green Gables (hint for my birthday: I'd LOVE the DVDs).  Today's one of those days. I want to lose myself in the beauty of Anne's imagination, love, and sweetness. Her world is always dramatic and full, up or down, it's refreshing and joyful. How I long to have lived in a world where Anne was real and we were chums.  What a life that would have been!

But instead I live in reality, where I have nightmares all night, oversleep, ignore the whining dog, have to clean up poop from said whining dog (he was trying to warn me...), rush out of the door, get to work where I'm inundated with little tasks, it's gray outside, and quite frankly, I'm in a bit of a funk.

I've been listening to Anne's Theme over and over on my ipod as I'm sitting here eating my lunch. It takes me back to that most Anne-like moment of imagination coming true: I was dressed in all white on my Papa's arm, walking far too quickly up the aisle, smiling til my cheeks hurt, and focused on one man, my very own, real life Gilbert Blythe!  Oh, I DID feel as if I were in a fairy tale that day.

So while my life is not a storybook, it does have its moments, and at the end I'm grateful for each (mis)adventure, and ever more thankful that I get to go through them with my Jesus and my loving husband who points me to Jesus each and every day.

A Practical Display of God's Providence

Back story: Last week I told Isaac that my car was making a really strange sound when I made a hard left (like turning into a parking space). He couldn't replicate the noise and we forgot about it...

Friday my car started to make a slight thumping noise but it was intermittent and we weren't worried. We heard it but attributed it to the rutted road we were on. Over the course of Saturday and Sunday it grew steadily more pronounced and Isaac did a visual check of our titles: they were all fully inflated in spite of sounding like one was flat.  We decided to trade cars on Monday so he could take it in. 

We stopped for gas just before jumping on the freeway to head to Tacoma from West Seattle. Again he looked at the front tire and all seemed well.  He decided (for reasons we now know were solely providential) to reach down and touch a lug nut. It was LOOSE as in loose to the touch!!! He grabbed the lug wrench and gave each nut a solid three turns before they were tight.  We shudder to think what would have happened if God had not intervened and we had gotten on I-5! The tire would not have stayed on much longer in the state it was.

Thank you Lord for showing yourself in a very real way on such a beautiful Easter! You truly reminded us you are alive and active in our lives!

HE IS RISEN!

The Kingdom of God and the Modern Mind

Hey friends and family,

Isaac has a fairly new blog project, “The Kingdom of God and the Modern Mind”, and we’d like to get the word out as there’s now a fair number of postings up. 

His blog is certainly more intellectual than my anecdotal “this is our life” blog, but it’s not so deep as to be unreachable for the masses.  Please take a few moments and read through a couple posts (or all of them!) and leave him a comment and please SHARE his blog!  Share it with friends, family, co-workers, your community groups…people that agree, people that DISAGREE!  Isaac loves honest discussion at all levels so long as it’s respectful. 

Below is a brief description of the two sides he’ll argue for and against in each post:

THE KINGDOM OF GOD

A vision of the world as it ought to be.

The Kingdom stands for the hope of man through the Gospel of Christ. It is a recognition of man's utter inability to create for himself an Earthly utopia and a reliance on a Kingdom not built by human hands.

This Kingdom is a gift bestowed on an undeserving people; to enter into it is to recognize that man cannot find happiness in fame or money; he cannot save himself through learning or through science or through a devotion to the pleasures of the world.

The Kingdom of God is the antidote to the misery of the Modern Mind; it is the cure to the disease of hopelessness; it is an end to the despair of man.

THE MODERN MIND

The force opposing The Kingdom of God.

Every word uttered in favor of God and his Kingdom is uttered against the Modern Mind.

The Modern Mind is ignorance in the disguise of learning; it is foolishness in the guise of wisdom; it is credulity in the guise of modernity.

The Modern Mind believes it may become its own savior by seeking the approval of man; it may earn favor by worshiping at the twin altars of science and pleasure.

The Modern Mind has long sought to build a kingdom of heaven on Earth, and its efforts have led to more bloodshed, more hopelessness and more foolishness than any other force.

The Modern Mind is the force that I mean to oppose, to be replaced by a mind set upon the beauty of the Kingdom of God.

I know you might be thinking that this is a shameless plug by a proud wife. Well, yes, it is, BUT it’s truly worth your read. If I could be completely unbiased by my relationship with Isaac I would still read and be encouraged and challenged by his words.  As his wife, though, my heart’s desire is to see him reaching others and engaging them in dialoguing and discussion on the modern mind and how the Gospel, though it may on the surface seem outdated, is still relevant.

In Isaac’s own words:

My passion is to offer a clear, literary demonstration of God's work both in the present and throughout history. I hope to embolden those who believe already, to elicit thought from those who are skeptical, and to utterly confound those who stand in opposition to God and His Kingdom. My educational background is in literature, my writing background in science. My love for literature has led to the desire to see quality in the things written of God; my love for science has made it all the more tragic that it is here where the presence of God today is most often opposed. I have born witness to the hand of God in everything I have done--the purpose of this blog is to demonstrate God's presence in all things and to offer a clear response to the arguments against God.

Now, how can you NOT want to read his blog and share it after that?

The goal is not to make converts. Only God has that power. The intent is to open the lines of communication, to challenge mainstream, analytical, “modern” thought. It is to show, though not attempt to prove, the relevancy of the Gospel even in our post-modern, modern world.

The long-term goal of this blog would to be to open doors for Isaac to realize his dream of being a full-time author.  Though he is gifted in and loves writing fiction, his heart’s calling is to share the gospel in a way that is real and intriguing for those with an analytical and modern mind.

Please pass my few humble introductory words along to those around you who might take a few moments to engage in something deeper than my tales of homemaking, sewing disasters, and toenail drama.

If you know someone who is an author, a modern mind, a fellow redeemed sinner, please pass this along and encourage them to leave comments. 

Let my final words be this: “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.”  (Proverbs 2:17) -- Please be iron to Isaac’s iron. Help sharpen and edify him through agreement, disagreement, or open-ended questions. 

God bless and thank you! 

6 month-iversary!!!

Happy SIX MONTHS to my best friend, my love, my husband. Isaac. It's been an incredible journey thus far and I can't wait to live out the next six months and then the rest of my life with you!

We went to our favorite spot for breakfast to celebrate!

Here's to the rest of our lives together!  I love you, sweetheart! 

Charlie!

We've had our pup for just over four months now. He's fattened up a lot since those early days. He's filled out so much that his collar, which used to hang on him is now almost too tight even though we've let it out all the way.  I think he's about 65 pounds now (up from 52 when we got him). He's also learned "sit" and "stay" and "down".

He loves to jump in the creek near our house and is getting really good at returning when we call him.