Hamburg

   I have been accused of calling any road crossing with more than two houses a town.  Not so, say I.  In order for a town to be a town, it MUST have a grain elevator.  I didn't show you the grain elevator in Heimdal, but there is one.

   The next town to the east is Hamburg.  It's a dying town which celebrated its "Last Hurrah" this past July, but it does have an active grain elevator.

A Christian Home

    Naomi of Starlight and Sunshine recently posted some provocative thoughts about what a Christian home should be.  She also shared a breathtaking view of the early homelife of Hudson Taylor.  His family is indeed one of the stars that light our way in a dark world, giving us hope and inspiration.


   "A Christian Home"  is the aspiration of every believer in the Lord Jesus.  We each want to have a home like that described in the hymn by Barbara Hart::


O give us homes with godly fathers, mothers,
   Who always place their hope and trust in Him,
Whose tender patience turmoil never bothers,
   Whose calm and courage trouble cannot dim;
A home where each finds joy in serving others,
   And love still shines, tho days be dark and grim.


  But what if we don't have that?  God in his word speaks to every person as an individual, regardless of his circumstances.  We desire to have Christian homes, but the first thing is to have Christ and to be Christ's ourselves.  I thank God that Christianity is not dependent upon having a Christian home, Christian neighbors, or a Christian nation.


   Too often, while looking to have perfection in our surroundings, we fail to overcome in the little things of life.  Someone else becomes impatient in turmoil, and we get discouraged.  Someone else fails to remain calm and courageous in a time of trouble, and we are disgruntled.  Those in our home don't seem to find any joy in serving others, and so we excuse ourselves for being the same way ~ and we wonder what happened to love in the days dark and grim.


   The trouble is that we are looking too much for results and have lost our focus on the Savior. Oh, to maintain high aspirations and to expect great things from God, including great changes in ourselves and our family, without taking our eyes off the one and only, the Lord Jesus Christ!


   None of us is without sin, and no family is perfect. Some are beautiful and worthy of imitation, but all have their blemishes. If we look upon the blemishes, we may become disheartened and justify our own wayward behavior, even thinking, perhaps, that we must have a certain kind of Christian home in order to be the sort of Christian we desire to be ~ when the exact opposite is true. Our power to live a Christian life is in Christ, and in him alone.  And only in discovering this can we do our part to make a Christian home.


  A Christian home where others behave as they ought to will diminish our temptations, but it will not give the power to become the sons of God.  It will not give us the victory of faith.  Those things are available only in the Lord Jesus Christ, and they are available whatever our circumstances, and regardless of what sort of home we have.


   A home is made up of a family, but the family is made up of individuals.  Each of us is responsible first and foremost for ourselves. We may not have the power to make our home a Christian one in the sense we desire, but we do have strength in Christ to be such Christians who "always place their hope and trust in him," and who walk in the power of his resurrection ~ regardless of our circumstances.

Gossip

   Mommamindy's blog post  with a tract on gossip inspires me to post a poem I wrote a couple years ago. Mindy addressed speaking gossip.  My poem is about listening to it.

Gossip

After I have listened

                        to gossip for an hour,

Vainly I imagine

                        that I’ve escaped its power.

Totally unconscious,

                        I drank in every word;

Soaked up all the passion

                        of everything I heard.

Thinking I’m impartial,

                        I never really dream

Someone I have honored

                        is losing my esteem.

Haven’t I intended

                        to vindicate my friend?

Haven’t I attempted

                        his motives to defend;

Spoken of his virtue,

                        and taken up his part?

Yet insinuations

                        were pressed upon my heart.

All I’ve said is nothing

                        but lame apology,

Not to be compared to

                        the vile effect on me.

The Wonderful Wallaby on a Wilcox

This sweater is another of Carol Anderson's Cottage Creations designs. It is on display at the Beehive in Spencer, Iowa.

Signs

   After a visit to North Dakota Mommamindy wrote about signs.  I have been struck by the signs here, too.  This one, seen everywhere, is my favorite:

   Another I like is this one at Goose Lake just north of Harvey --- where Lee has been working with a road crew to eliminate the need for taking turns:

   Near our house is a helpful sign not to be ignored when the snows come:

   Just so you know that North Dakota is part of the world, and is not the heaven some of us wish it were, I must add that with a few exceptions the billboards here (as everywhere) are disappointing.  Billboards are always a distraction that mars the beauty of God's creation.  But they are also a sign of the times.  There is no need to go out of your way to read the temperature of the world.  It is written on our highways.  The billboards are a true reflection of the essence of the world:  The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.  


   Sometimes we are so grieved by the signs that depict the lust of the flesh that we are relieved and even pleased by those that portray the pride of life.  Let us not be deceived into thinking that the pride of life is less part of the world's system or less dangerous to the soul than the lust of the flesh.


  

A Variation on the Felt Button

   Sometimes a pattern will tell you to make a knotted button out of I-cord.  Now, I like something a little more substantial to button with.  That's why I developed the pattern for a bobble with a plastic disc inside.  But the disc idea will work with an I-cord knot, too.  Here, instead of making a bobble, I made a knot out of I-cord and wrapped it around a discarded button:

After felting it looks like this:

And here it is in use:

Prayer in Poetry

   Charles Wesley knew how to pray.  He was known to pray with such confidence for the convicted criminals on death row that he would raise his hands and say, "We shall have them all!" And then go to the gallows and win them to Christ.


   When I read these lines from one of his poems, they struck me as a beautiful balance between effectual fervent prayer and submission to the will of God in matters where his will is not obvious.  In the midst of a passionate prayer for the healing of a sick friend, he says:


                                                Humbly prostrate at Thy feet,
                                                We our will to Thine submit;
                                                Yet, before Thy will is shown,
                                                Trembling we present our own.

   I am reminded of David's earnest prayer for his son, who nonetheless died.  Until David knew of a certain what God's will was in the matter, he did as Charles Wesley, and presented his own.

The full poem:

Lover, Friend of Human Kind

                     

Lover, friend of human kind,

Call Thy days of flesh to mind,

When Thou didst our sorrows bear,

All our sinless frailties share.

When Thou didst converse below,

Every shape of human woe,

Every supplicant in pain

Could Thy ready help obtain.

Melted by Thy creature’s tears,

Troubled with our griefs and fears,

Pity made Thy Spirit groan,

Made our miseries Thine own.

None applied in vain to Thee;

Thy Divine philanthropy

Cheer’d the faint, the hungry fed,

Heal’d the sick, and raised the dead.

Hear us then, Thou Man of grief,

O make haste to our relief,

After Thee for help we cry,

Come, before our sister die.

Jesus, evermore the same,

Manifest Thy saving name,

Good Physician from above,

Heal the object of Thy love.

Humbly prostrate at Thy feet,

We our will to Thine submit;

Yet, before Thy will is shown,

Trembling we present our own.

Till Thy love’s design we _see_,

Earnest, but resign’d to Thee,

Suffer us for life to pray,

Bless us with her longer stay.

Let the balm be now applied,

Touch her, and the fever chide,

Now command it to depart,

Sprinkle now her peaceful heart.

Thou with equal ease and skill

Canst the soul and body heal:

Raise her, Lord, the vessel raise

Of Thine all-sufficient grace.

Let her long a witness live

That Thou canst on earth forgive,

Live, Thine utmost love to see,

Live to serve Thy church and Thee.

Then, when all her work is done,

Thou Thy faithful servant crown,

Take her, Jesus, to Thy breast,

Take us all to endless rest.