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Saturday, September 27, 2014

Jane Austen on Siblings




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Children of the same family, the same blood, with the same first associations and habits, have some means of enjoyment in their power, which no subsequent connections can supply; and it must be by a long and unnatural estrangement, by a divorce which  no subsequent connection can justify, if such precious remains of the earliest attachments are ever entirely outlived. Too often, alas! it is so. Fraternal love, sometimes almost everything, is at others worse than nothing. But with William and Fanny Price it was still a sentiment in all its prime and freshness, wounded by no opposition of interest, cooled by no separate attachment, and feeling the influence of time and absence only in its increase.

~ Mansfield Park: Chapter 24

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Thursday, September 25, 2014

How Deep ...




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How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure:
That He should send His only Son,
To make a wretch His treasure.
How great the pain of searing loss;
The Father turns His face away,
As wounds which mar the chosen One
Bring many sons to glory.

Behold the Man upon the Cross,
My sin upon His shoulders;
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
Cry out among the scoffers.
It was my sin that held Him there,
Until it was accomplished;
His dying breath has brought me life,
I know that it is finished.

I will not boast in anything,
No gifts, no power, no wisdom:
But I will boast in Jesus Christ,
His death and resurrection!
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer!
But this I know with all my heart:
His wounds have paid my ransom.

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 Stuart Townend

A Capella version here.

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Good reading!


        

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Ryan Sollars, a friend of ours and a brother in Christ, has recently written some excellent material I wanted to share! He's put out two e-books centering on God's view of children in the home, His plan for homemakers, and the heart Christians should have in embracing God's plan for both. I've been encouraged by these e-books. His website is here, and the current materials are here:


and



Ryan has done a great job in outlining the Lord's plan for the family unit from the beginning, and our responsibilities to follow the plan today for His glory. Do hop over and take a look -- and don't forget to check back again, since he has more writings in the works! :)

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Monday, September 1, 2014

Ordinary Trials




Just as God's standards of greatness are different from ours, the process through which He produces greatness is also different. Who but God would have thought to prepare Moses or David to lead the nation of Israel by sending them off for years to herd flocks of animals? And who but God would have seen that His own Son, the King of Kings, would be born in a stable and raised in one of the poorest homes in Galilee, fare from the usual training grounds of leadership? It was in a simple carpenter's shop that Jesus "increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men" (Luke 2:52). How is it that we think our own hardships have to make the evening news before they are significant?

Gary Henry, Diligently Seeking God, from August 29th
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