Soli Deo Gloria

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The glory of God and our joy weave together a bond that cannot be broken. We are made by our Creator to see, know, experience, and shine forth His glory. That is our purpose. And when we are living that purpose, our joy is full to overflowing. As we walk in love and obedience (which are really the same thing), the glory of God shines upon and into us and is likewise reflected back to its Luminary Source for all to see. This is beauty itself.

And yet, this joy-glory experienced here in our whisper of a life is nothing, nothing, compared to the glory that awaits in Heaven, in eternity. C. S. Lewis said it well in the Chronicles of Narnia when the children have been brought through a fatal train crash into the real Narnia that is to be their home forever.

Then Aslan [the Christ-like lion] turned to them and said:
“You do not yet look so happy as I mean you to be ... all of you
are (as you used to call it in the Shadowlands) dead. The term is over;
the holidays have begun. The dream is ended: this is the morning.”

. . . We can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after.
But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in
this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover
and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the
Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on for ever:
in which every chapter is better than the one before. 1

Do we dare to live our lives this way? That all our days now are only the cover and title page to a tale we can hardly imagine? One yet to come?

Amy Plantinga Pauw captures it as follows:

Because “heaven is a progressive state,” the heavenly joy of the saints,
and even of the triune God, will forever continue to increase.... Saints
can look forward to an unending expansion of their knowledge and
love of God, as their capacities are stretched by what they receive ...
there is no intrinsic limit to their joy in heaven.... As the saints con-
tinue to increase in knowledge and love of God, God receives more and
more glory. This heavenly reciprocity will never cease, because the
glory God deserves is infinite, and the capacity of the saints to perceive
God’s glory and praise him for it is ever increasing. 2

Ah! What earthly trinkets can compare to such as this? Let us live now with this glory in view, beating in our hearts, animating our lives. Let us prepare now for the wonders we shall yet behold.

~~~

1 C. S. Lewis, The Last Battle (Harmondsworth, UK: Penguin, 1964), 165.

2 Amy Plantinga Pauw, “The Supreme Harmony of All”: The Trinitarian Theology of Jonathan Edwards (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2002), 180-181.

Both as quoted in A God Entranced Vision of All Things, edited by John Piper and Justin Taylor (Crossway Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 2004), 93.

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Rejoicing in the Thou

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Another bite from the dessert of my day. Chew very, very slowly to taste the sweet and the bitter in these oh so wise words.

This is ... the difference between the joy of the hypocrite,

and the joy of the true saint.

The [hypocrite] rejoices in himself;

self is the first foundation of his joy:

the [true saint] rejoices in God....

True saints have their minds, in the first place,

inexpressibly pleased and delighted

with the sweet ideas of the glorious and amiable [friendly, pleasant] nature

of the things of God.

And this is the spring of all their delights,

and the cream of all their pleasures. ...

But the dependence of the affections of hypocrites is in a contrary order:

they first rejoice ... that they are made so much of by God;

and then on that ground,

he seems

in a sort [in some sort of way],

lovely to them.

~ Jonathan Edwards, quoted in A God-Entranced View of All Things; The LIfe and Legacy of Jonathan Edwards

The first thing I thought of was how many of us Christians worship. Yes, God is personal and pours His blessings of comfort and joy and help and so on.

But do we ever worship Him merely for His greatness? Who He IS?

Is that where our thoughts start, when they wander on their own? His excellencies?

Is that where we take our thoughts when we are troubled? His supremacy? Or merely, our need?

Let's reintroduce these words in our daily vocabulary:

Thou, Thee, Thine

and stay there, linger there, dwell there... first and foremost.

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Missing the Majesty

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Another bite from the dessert of my day, regarding Evangelicalism today:

What is missing is the mind-shaping knowledge and the all-

transforming enjoyment of the weight of the glory of God. The glory of

God—holy, righteous, all-sovereign, all-wise, all-good—is missing. God

rests lightly on the church in America. He is not felt as a weighty con-

cern. Wells puts it starkly: “It is this God, majestic and holy in his being,

this God whose love knows no bounds because his holiness knows no

limits, who has disappeared from the modern evangelical world.”It is

an overstatement. But not without warrant.

~ John Piper, A God-Entranced Vision of All Things, The Life and Legacy of Jonathan Edwards

Oh, to read one's burning thoughts within on the (electronic tree-free) page!

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Scattered Beams

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A bite from the dessert of my day:

The enjoyment of God is the only happiness with which our souls can

be satisfied. To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than

the most pleasant accommodations here. Fathers and mothers, hus-

bands, wives, or children, or the company of earthly friends, are but

shadows; but God is the substance. These are but scattered beams, but

God is the sun. These are but streams. But God is the ocean. Therefore

it becomes us to spend this life only as a journey toward heaven, as it

becomes us to make the seeking of our highest end and proper good,

the whole work of our lives; to which we should subordinate all other

concerns of life. Why should we labour for, or set our hearts on, any

thing else, but that which is our proper end, and true happiness?

~ Jonathan Edwards, as quoted in A God Entranced Vision of All Things, The Life and Legacy of Jonathan Edwards

I can tell that this will be a fantastic book. Onward...

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The Cross in Christmas

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Photo by Tammi

Quiet yourself and drink this in...

the cross in christmas from tammi dryden on Vimeo.

HT: Ann at holy experience

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This Duty, This Delight

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inspiration and logo from holy experience

"We never approach God without cause for gratitude.
Thankfulness,

a duty and delight

greatly prominent in the Bible,

is the declarative mood of gratitude -

a bright fire in the world's frigid zone,
the memory and homage of the heart,

a master force in soul-building,

the greatest tonic faith has.

Be ye thankful."

attributed to Robert G. Lee

This duty, this delight! A simple spiritual discipline that melts cold indifference and sets the soul aflame... Counting... thanking... living...

399.

The Winter's first snow fall

Greeted in the early morning by a dusting of white.

Before the house awakes to the wonder

I step out into the white.

Down steps

as leaves poke their heads through the cold

Even a light snow

has its beauty and serene quiet

Autumn is not content

to pass away entirely into that good night.

It leaves its memories

even as Winter takes the stage.

Spidery lines of the Creator's design.

If we only have hearts to seek

and eyes to see.

Hints of spring to come,

there is always

life

after death.

Jesus

always puts it in that order,

not the reverse.

All things

in His hands,

lead to

l i f e.

400.

We begin... to wait

Our Advent celebration begins

(better late than never!)

Family gathered around fire and candle,

words of life spoken,

blessing beyond expectation.

Download this free Advent devotional here.

401.

Fun!

Kids receive a Christmas treat from Grammie

and I feel like a kid again

Join the joy of the Gratitude Community! See the link in the menu bar at the top.

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"My Precious"

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Gollum's "My Precious"

from the movie of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings

What is precious to you?

Most precious?

What would you name, "My Precious"?

From Timothy Keller's Counterfeit Gods:

The Ring is what Professor Tom Shippey calls "a psychic amplifier,"

which takes the heart's fondest desires

and magnifies them to idolatrous proportions.

Some good characters in the book want to

liberate slaves,

or preserve their people's land,

or visit wrong-doers with just punishment.

These are all good objectives.

But the Ring makes them willing to do anything

to achieve them,

anything at all.

It turns the good thing

into an absolute

that overturns every other allegiance or value.

...

What is an idol? It is anything more important to you

than God,

anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more

than God,

anything you seek to give you

what only God can give.

A counterfeit god is anything so central

and essential

to your life that,

should you lose it,

your life would feel hardly worth living.

...

An idol is whatever you look at and say,

in your heart of hearts,

"If I have that,

than I'll feel my life has meaning,

then I'll know I have value,

then I'll feel significant

and secure."

...

If anything becomes more fundamental than God to your happiness,

meaning in life,

and identity,

then it is an idol.

...

All good things can

and do

take on disproportionate size and power within a society.

They promise us

safety,

peace,

and happiness

if only we base our lives on them.

Fix our eyes, Lord Christ, upon You. Wrench our gaze from any lesser thing.

Let our love and allegiance admit no impediments.

For love is not love

Which alters when it alteration finds,

Or bends with the remover to remove:

O no! It is an ever-fixed mark

~ from Shakespeare's Sonnet 116

May it be so in us, by Your grace, Amen.

Replete with Thankfulness

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logo and inspiration from holy experience

O Lord, that lends me life,

lend me a heart replete with thankfulness.

~ William Shakespeare

374.

White, flowy femininity

A newly acquired white skirt

with white ribbon, sequins, beadwork and lace embroidery

that suits a lady who enjoys being a lady.

It's amazing what some people throw away in the trash,

isn't it?

375.

God's artistry

Raindrops that came last night

and stayed to greet me this morning,

painting nature's artwork

upon the blue tarp above our tent.

It's always amazing what you see

when you look UP.

376.

Sharing and growing friendship

Our home away from home this weekend,

shared with another family,

a widow and two sons,

so that the younger son could have a special birthday.

377.

Firelight

I could stare silently

into the flames of a camp fire

for endless hours,

basking in the warmth against the crisp night air,

and simply

be

as I watch the flames

dance under a star-lit sky.

378.

Creation's cathedrals

What need have I today

of stained glass windows,

sonorous organ,

and arches of stone?

Sun rays

split through leafy branches,

a sweet chorus of bird songs glitter through the air,

and lofty trees raise their canopies towards Heaven...

All is well.

379.

Windows to sky

Above our heads,

Above our minds,

Above our cares,

Above our busyness...

Pause

and point your gaze

to His higher ways.

380.

The deep glow

Reminder

that it's the embers

crowded together

that keep their heat

and feed the beautiful flames above.

Come together,

family,

church,

in community of heart, mind and labor,

and keep each other hot and glowing,

fanning the flame of faith,

for the King.

381.

Fun visitor

Mrs. Turtle

pays a visit to our back yard.

What joy to wonder at the Creator's hand,

as we gather as a family to watch

and help this two foot long mother along her way.

382.

Joy

... to see my teen daughter

and, Lord-willing a mother-to-be some day,

naturally delight in entertaining seven children

along the river

on a restful Sunday afternoon.

To learn more about the 1000 Gift List and the Gratitude Community, click on the links on the menu at the top of the blog. Join the joy...

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A Living Doxology

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logo and inspiration from Holy Experience

A child of God should be a visible beatitude,

for joy and happiness,

and a living doxology,

for gratitude and adoration.

~ Charles Spurgeon

368.

Appreciation

Love gifts of tangible appreciation,

His heavenly love experienced in time and space.

369.

Sharing new life

As a family, we made flower beds,

trimmed bushes, mulched and pruned

as a Mother's Day gift for Grammie.

As we pulled, dug and shoveled in her yard,

we prayed out loud with each other

that God would plant and grow seeds of new life

in her life that has grown numb and quiescent.

370.

Little love gifts

Finding a sweet offering of love

of clover, dandelions and buttercups

on my desk.

371.

Coming to the quiet

One of my favorite places to go

when I am weary of carrying life's load,

a place that is always silent and serene

and where tears, if seen,

would never be out of place.

And where chiseled stones

remind

that this life is short

and but a prelude to my real home...

"So live life well

as a good and faithful servant"

this place speaks to me.

372.

Clean laundry

Nonthin' more need be said!

373.

Monkey bread

A breakfast treat for Mother's Day

from my little monkies!

Join the joy of the Gratitude Community! See the link in the menu bar at the top.

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Choosing Joy

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logo and inspiration from holy experience

Like returning to an old friend, after a hiatus I lay fingers on keys and mouse to... choose joy. Here I seek and find the fingerprints of love that my God has left on the passing days of my little life. Each is a gift, of grace, for which I am so very thankful. My gratitude is now my gift in return as I worship this Sabbath morning. Counting, to 1000 and beyond...

361.

Tying strings of fellowship

between father and son

Husband and elder son

spend the night on a submarine

and tour military vessels

on a Boy Scout trip.

A whole weekend for just the two of them.

362.

Young boy doin' his thing

I discovered my son in the back yard,

having prepared his rod and reel all by himself,

fishing. What joy to see him growing up

and enjoying the great outdoors.

(I tried to sneak up on him to take pictures,

but he saw me, of course!)

363.

(name retouched out of photo)

Chalk love

Younger son scribbles

that he hearts his family on back porch.

Encouragement to press through times that are discouraging

at times.

364.

Family bike ride

One of our family's favorite things to do together

is pedaling the bike paths near our home.

This trip was 6-7 miles.

Life seems so care free on a spring bike ride...

365.

"Fort Friends"

A sign made and planted

by my children and a friend

after building a fort

amongst the towering tree-bushes in our yard

with wood and old sheets now become painting drop cloths.

Good home-grown fun.

366.

Standing up and being counted.

A husband who not only thinks deeply

about important issues that affect our nation,

but does something about it.

This is his sign he carried at a demonstration

in our nation's capital.

367.

The circle of service

Giving time and sweat

to clear a neighbor's fallen tree,

receiving the gift of church members and a neighbor

splitting the wood for free,

giving the wood splitters a gift of thanks,

giving friends and neighbors much firewood for free,

receiving the joy of giving and receiving

in God's special economy.

Join the journey of the Gratitude Community... Just click on the Gratitude Community link at the top menu bar.

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