Monday Morning Thoughts in Isaiah|Bible Reading

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The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace,

Because he trusts in You.

Trust in the LORD forever,

For in God the LORD, we have an everlasting Rock.

Isaiah 26:3-4

I love the comfort of these verses from Isaiah, but one thing that stands out to me is the condition in the first line of the passage, "The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace." Isaiah is simply reminding us that ONLY the ones who are staying true to God will have the peace He promises. That blessing is reserved solely for those who are right with Him - the ones who have not only obeyed His plan for salvation, but are continuing to obey Him and walk in Him. Reminds me of Ephesians 1:3,

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ ..."

The only way we get the spiritual blessings is by being in Christ. And we can't be "in Christ" just by being a good person most of the time - that's not how God's plan of salvation works. And we can't be "in Christ" just by believing and getting baptized either - that's only part of the equation. The only way we will have the perfect peace Isaiah talks about, and the spiritual blessings mentioned by Paul, is by remaining steadfast. Getting in Christ and staying in Christ - "steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." (1 Cor. 15:58)

Those are some verses that encouraged me this morning. I hope they encourage you too! It's so easy to get into our everyday ruts of living, and either grow so complacent with or so discouraged by our surroundings that one day we wake up and realize we are no longer steadfast of mind, and maybe haven't been in a long time. And God does not promise us His peace if we're in that condition! He wants passionate, determined, zealous workers for truth and He won't take anything less than full commitment. That scares me. And it motivates me. Here's to being steadfast of mind!

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Birch Leaves and Little Women

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Jo was alone in the twilight, lying on the old sofa, looking at the fire, and thinking. It was her favorite way of spending the hour of dusk; no one disturbed her, and she used to lie there on Beth’s little red pillow, planning stories, dreaming dreams, or thinking tender thoughts of the sister who never seemed far away. Her face looked tired, grave, and rather sad; for tomorrow was her birthday, and she was thinking how fast the years went by, how old she was getting, and how little she seemed to have accomplished. Almost twenty-five, and nothing to show for it. Jo was mistaken in that; there was a good deal to show, and by and by she saw, and was grateful for it.

Little Women: ch. XLIII

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The 7 Mile Walk

My sis and I went on an adventure a couple Fridays ago, in the form of a good long walk! It was such a beautiful afternoon .... we started off on the trail around 1:30 and didn't arrive home until after 5pm .... a marvelous, if tiring journey. :o)

There's something lovely about embarking on a long walk with only your sister and autumn countryside! It was so nice that I completely spaced out and didn't start taking pictures until basically the homeward bound half of our trip. Ah, well. I still got enough pictures to make any long-suffering blog readers glad I exercised a little prudence and self-restraint and didn't post them all! ;) Here you go!

After being horrified by the number of Woolly Bears crushed by the wayside, my sister made it her mission to Save the Woollies and scooted many a one out of the paths of errant bicyclists and to safe harbors along the path. :)

Contemplating a streamlet by the way.

Lone little pine!

The end. :)

Humbled or Humiliated

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Painful memories can be helpful if they humble us and make us more compassionate toward others. But there is a difference between being humbled and being humiliated. If our memories drag us so far down into the black pit of despair that we quit reaching forward to heaven, then we've let our memories do something that God never intended. Even after forgiving us, God is still aware of our past,  and we should remain aware of it too. But although our past is a part of the truth about us, it is not the whole truth. If we've been forgiven, that is also a part of the truth, not to mention the truth of what our future can be with God's help. That is the part of the situation that God is most interested in. So we need to adopt His perspective on our lives. We need to be concerned not only with where we've been but with where we can go.

::Excerpt from Reaching Forward, October 15::

Gary Henry

Fall's Little Pleasures

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A homemade pumpkin spice latte on a cloudy afternoon ... life just doesn't get much better than that. ;o) 

(Especially if you have homegrown pumpkins to use as props for your blog pics!! #excitement)

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My soul waits in silence for God only;

From Him is my salvation.

He only is my rock and my salvation,

My stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken.

Psalm 62:1-2

Autumn Joy Harvest

Hello hello! Happy October -- one of my favorite months of the whole year!! At some point each October, after my millionth expression of fall love, my family begins to roll their eyes and say, "Yes, dear, we KNOW you love fall!" Soooo .... instead of reminding them again I'm blogging about it to all of you people instead. Hah. :o)

One of my favorite autumn flowers is Autumn Joy, a sedum that is a lovely rusty color and grows pretty much anywhere with pretty much no care needed. (I cut some snips off for my tree house garden earlier in the year and planted the cuttings without even letting them root first, and with a little watering they are growing just fine. You basically have to work really hard to kill them.) We had a bush that got so huge it fell over and I really couldn't just let aaaaall those flowers go to waste, so I pruned the bush and this is what I had as a result:

A mess.

It was a smidge overwhelming. :P (Plus the fact that the bees also were after them, which was marvelous). But after some snipping and snapping (who caught the children's-literary reference??) I reduced the mess and I think it was worth it:

Because I ended up with a basket full of fall loveliness for the house!

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Happy Autumn! :o)

A Woman's Question

Another poem from The Best Loved Poems of the American People. Love this, very thought-provoking.

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Do you know you have asked for the costliest thing
Ever made by the Hand above?
A woman’s heart, and a woman’s life –
And a woman’s wonderful love. 

Do you know you have asked for this priceless thing

As a child might ask for a toy?

Demanding what others have died to win,

With the reckless dash of a boy.

You have written my lesson of duty out;

Manlike, you have questioned me.

Now stand at the bar of my woman’s soul

Until I shall question thee.

You require your mutton shall always be hot,

Your socks and your shirts be whole;

I require your heart to be true as God’s stars

And as pure as His heaven your soul.

Your require a cook for your mutton and beef,

I require a far greater thing;

A seamstress you’re wanting for socks and shirts –

I look for a man and a king.

A king for the beautiful realm called Home,

And a man that his Maker, God,

Shall look upon as He did on the first

And say: “It is very good.”

I am fair and young, but the rose may fade

From my soft young cheek one day;

Will you love me then ‘mid the falling leaves,

As you did ‘mong the blossoms of May?

Is your heart an ocean so strong and deep,

I may launch my all on its tide?

A loving woman finds heaven or hell

On the day she is made a bride.

I require all things that are grand and true,

All things that a man should be;

If you give this all, I would stake my life

To be all you demand of me.

If you cannot be this, a laundress and cook

You can hire and little to pay;

But a woman’s heart and a woman’s life

Are not to be won that way.

Lena Lathrop

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