Idols: Wisdom from the "Prince Of Preachers"

"But seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you"  (Matthew 6:33) 

Yesterday I was feeling very low. Mostly because I was frustrated with a bunch of events in the week, but when I vented out my frustration on God, He made me realize I had a spiritual problem at the root of it all--an idol. Many idols, actually. As I identified them, I realized that I had over 10 main activities in my life that, while they might not have been sinful, they were stealing my time and sapping my desire for God. A few of them include the Internet, shopping, reading, and *ouch* sometimes even my blog!

Daughters, and Sons...we tend to replace God so easily, don't we? Once we start to love (be devoted to) something else more than Him, in essence, we begin to worship ourselves. God repeatedly commands us to worship Him alone.

"You shall have no other gods before me." (Deuteronomy 5:7)
"Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God." (Exodus 34:14)
Indeed: "Who among the gods is like you, O LORD? Who is like you--majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?" (Exodus 15:11)

To wrap this up, I'd like to share a passage from a sermon preached by Charles Spurgeon, who was known in the 1800's as the "Prince of Preachers". I read it earlier today on "Spurgeon's Daily Devotional" for October 25 (on SermonAudio.com). It's entitled: "God First, Then Extras"

See how the Bible opens: "In the beginning God." Let your life open in the same way. Seek with your whole soul, first and foremost, the kingdom of God, as the place of your citizenship, and His righteousness as the character of your life. As for the rest, it will come from the LORD Himself without your being anxious concerning it. All that is needful for this life and godliness "shall be added unto you." What a promise this is! Food, raiment, home, and so forth, God undertakes to add to you while you seek Him. You mind His business, and He will mind yours. If you want paper and string, you get them given in when you buy more important goods; and just so all that we need of earthly things we shall have thrown in with the kingdom. He who is an heir of salvation shall not die of starvation; and he who clothes his soul with the righteousness of God cannot be left of the LORD with a naked body. Away with carping care. Set all your mind upon seeking the LORD. Covetousness is poverty, and anxiety is misery: trust in God is an estate, and likeness of God is a heavenly inheritance. LORD, I seek Thee; be found of me. (Spurgeon, 1834-92)

We all have our battles to fight, interior and exterior; some secret, some a roaring storm we all must wade through. But Christian, no matter what, be confident-- you do not walk alone. 

Leah

  Note: To check out the resource mentioned above, visit Sermon Audio at http://www.sermonaudio.com/main.asp

J.M. Barrie: Life & Legacy of "Peter Pan"

“All children, except one, grow up.”

-- J.M. Barrie, opening sentence of "Peter Pan"

J.M. Barrie, as portrayed by Johnny Depp in "Finding Neverland"

“If you have it [love], you don't need to have anything else, and if you don't have it, it doesn't matter much what else you have.”

(J.M. Barrie)

J.M. Barrie has become known by some investigators today as a queer, conflicting genius.

As a child, he was dealt a tragic blow when his older brother David drowned, leaving his mother shocked by grief. During his adult life, he and his wife were unable to have any children. However, he later became the guardian of five orphaned boys when their parents both died of cancer, the Llewelyn-Davies brothers. They were his main inspiration in writing Peter Pan, modeling Peter after one of the youngest boys, Michael.

When his novel, "Peter Pan", became a success, Barrie gave the copyright ownership to the nation's most prominent children's hospital, the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London.

Barrie died on June 19, 1937, still a boy at heart and known for his fondness for children. Peter Pan, and the invention of the world of Neverland, I believe, was his classic achievement. In Neverland, a light shines into the window of childhood and remains, making us believe anything is possible and we truly can fly. And I admit, like Wendy, Peter Pan actually was my first crush while growing up, thanks to Disney.

But on another note, Barrie tells us that Peter Pan is known as "the boy who never grew up". While he experiences the freedom of eternal childhood and independence, there is a cost: he cannot love. In reference to his own life, Barrie made this statement:,
"..if you don't have love, it doesn't matter much what else you have."

“There could not have been a lovelier sight; but there was none to see it except a little boy who was staring in at the window. He had ecstasies innumerable that other children can never know; but he was looking through the window at the one joy from which he must be for ever barred.”

 

“Peter was not quite like other boys; but he was afraid at last. A tremour ran through him, like a shudder passing over the sea; but on the sea one shudder follows another till there are hundreds of them, and Peter felt just the one. Next moment he was standing erect on the rock again, with that smile on his face and a drum beating within him. It was saying, "To die will be an awfully big adventure.” 

“For long the two enemies looked at one another, Hook shuddering slightly, and Peter with the strange smile upon his face.
"So, Pan," said Hook at last, "this is all your doing."
"Ay, James Hook," came the stern answer, "it is all my doing."
"Proud and insolent youth," said Hook, "prepare to meet thy doom."
"Dark and sinister man," Peter answered, "have at thee.” 

“She [Tinker Bell] liked his [Peter's] tears so much that she put out her beautiful finger and let them run over it.

Her voice was so low that at first he could not make out what she said. Then he made it out. She was saying that she thought she could get well again if children believed in fairies. ” 

 “But where do you live mostly now?"
""With the lost boys."
Who are they?"
"They are the children who fall out of their perambulators when the nurse is looking the other way. If they are not claimed in seven days they are sent far away to the Neverland to defray expanses. I'm captain."
"What fun it must be!"
"Yes," said cunning Peter, "but we are rather lonely. You see we have no female companionship."
"Are none of the others girls?"
"Oh no; girls, you know, are much too clever to fall out of their prams.” 

“On these magic shores children at play are for ever beaching their coracles. We too have been there; we can still hear the sound of the surf, though we shall land no more.”

~~~

  “If you shut your eyes and are a lucky one, you may see at times a shapeless pool of lovely pale colours suspended in the darkness; then if you squeeze your eyes tighter, the pool begins to take shape, and the colours become so vivid that with another squeeze they must go on fire.”

 “If you cannot teach me to fly, teach me to sing.”
~~~

“You must have been warned against letting the golden hours slip by; but some of them are golden only because we let them slip by.” (Barrie )

 “Feeling that Peter was on his way back, the Neverland had again woke into life."

  “Wendy, Wendy, when you are sleeping in your silly bed you might be flying about with me saying funny things to the stars.” 
~~~
“Peter,' she asked, trying to speak firmly, 'what are your exact feelings for me?'
'Those of a devoted son, Wendy.'
'I thought so,' she said, and went and sat by herself at the extreme end of the room.
'You are so queer,' he said, frankly puzzled, 'and Tiger Lily is just the same. There is something she wants to be to me, but she says it is not my mother.'
'No, indeed, it is not,' Wendy replied with frightful emphasis.” 
~~~
Wendy: "Sir, you are both ungallant and deficient!"
Peter: "How am I deficient?"
Wendy: (sadly) "You're just a boy.” 

 “The last thing he ever said to me was, 'Just always be waiting for me, and then some night you will hear me crowing.”   (Peter to Wendy)

Leah A.

So Long, Insecurity!

Happy Thursday to you ladies (and gentlemen)! :) Today I thought I might share something that's been on my heart all week. It's about beauty: What makes a woman beautiful, in God's eyes?

All this week, while I've have gobs of time for thinking over a lot of issues, I've found that I am often unsatisfied. That I wish I could be somebody else.

A confession: For so long I've assumed that since I'm a young adult, past my teenage years, I would no longer feel blatantly insecure. But lately, especially this week, I have been discovering that no matter what stage of life I am in, if I am not focused on GOD, then I will always be disappointed with myself. Lately...I have not been focusing on my Savior, but on how the World would want me to look and act. Without Him, I'm joyless. I'm unhappy with my family, my blog, my friends, my life...it's all meaningless without Him at the center.

Here's something I read this morning, which really stuck in my mind, considering true beauty:

“When Christ overtakes a woman’s life and transforms her from the inside out, she becomes truly feminine - a picture of elegance, grace, and loveliness blended with sacrificial selfless devotion to her King.”
-- Leslie Ludy, "The Lost Art of True Beauty"

The transformation of the heart is what makes us beautiful.  God transforming us from the inside! That's something that no amount of fashion, worldly advice, makeup, tweezing, or tanning can do. As Daughters of the Living God, we are not to be of this world, but evidence of the God Who has placed us here, with His Holy Spirit. Not to be self-absorbed, but absorbed by Something bigger.

“As long as we live, our self-absorption and our insecurity will walk together, holding hands and swinging them back and forth like two little girls on their way to a pretend playground they can never find. Human nature dictates that most often we will be as insecure as we are self-absorbed. The best possible way to keep from getting sucked into the superficial narcissistic mentality that money, possessions, and sensuality can satisfy and secure us is to deliberately give ourselves to something much greater...[Christ] showed us that giving, rather than getting, is the means to receiving...to find yourself, your true self, you must lose yourself in something larger.” -- Beth Moore, "So Long, Insecurity: You've Been A Bad Friend To Us"

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.^" -- Romans 12:1-2

 "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." 
-- Romans 12:21

 In Christ is where true, feminine beauty lies. That's what makes us into the young women, wives, mothers, grandmothers, adventurers and business women that He desires us to be.
Having a Christ-Centered heart. 
Wow... praise God that He enables us to do just that.

Leah

What it means to Love.

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.” 
-- C.S. Lewis

Engaged!

Hear ye hear ye!
Congratulations to my oldest sister Emily Anne Albright and her new fiance Sean Christopher Scott on  announcing their engagement today! I'm so happy for you both! If you could please keep them in your prayers, it would be greatly appreciated. Love you guys!

Congrats again!
Leah

The Questionnaire

A friend of mine and fellow blogger asked me very sweetly around February to answer these 11 questions about myself. It's taken a very long while to respond, and for that I sincerely apologize! Here are my answers. Feel free to take these questions and pass them along! :)

1. What is something that you dream of doing someday?
Travel through England, Scotland, and Wales with my dad. Being the history buffs in my family, we've talked for years about exploring the history of World War II, and visiting the haunts of Tolkien and C.S. Lewis (including touring Oxford). I want to explore my European roots.

 

2. Have you ever been on a missions trip? Where did you (or would you like to) go?

No, I've never had the opportunity. But if I had the chance I would go to rural New Zealand, as a teacher.

3. What is your favorite kind of pet?
A dog, preferably one that loves water, is intelligent, and protective. Probably a Newfoundland.
 
4. How do you normally do your hair?
Long, wavy, sometimes intricately braided. I like to go natural and unique...very earthy.

(Teaching a Literature lesson to 3rd grade, using The Chronicles of Narnia.)

 

5. What are your favorite hobbies?
I enjoy camping, hiking, writing, reading, studying, teaching, decorating, and baking.

6. What is your favorite article of clothing (hoodies, PJ pants, jeans, skirts, etc)?My plaid flannel shirts...ahh amen. And my various assorted scarves. lol

7. Do you play any instruments? If so, how long have you played?
Alas, no. I can't read music, but I love to sing and I'm handy with woodwind instruments. I really want to learn the recorder, penny whistle, maybe even the bagpipes and harp (any Celtic instrument).

8. What are 5 words that you would like to describe you?
Nurturing
Refreshing
Valiant
Imaginative
Mother

9. Do you prefer to be indoors or outdoors?
Definitely outdoors, whenever possible!

10. What is/was your favorite topic in school?I have to say I loved History and English both. I can't choose just one.


11. Who do you talk to most on a daily basis? My mother, Lisa. Whenever she gets home from teaching, I love to be around her...her presence fills the house with assurance that no matter where I go, she will always be ready to listen and love, laugh and heal. I hope I can be as good a wife and mother as her, someday.

Love, Leah

"Though the Lord is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly; though lofty, he sees them from afar. Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life. You stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes; with your right hand you save me. The Lord will vindicate me; your love, Lord, endures forever—do not abandon the works of your hands." (Psalm 138:6-8)

Dose of Classic Poetry

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alfred Lord Tennyson

The splendour falls on castle walls
And snowy summits old in story:
The long light shakes across the lakes,
And the wild cataract leaps in glory.
Blow, bugle, blow, set the wild echoes flying,
Blow, bugle; answer, echoes, dying, dying, dying.

O hark, O hear! how thin and clear,
And thinner, clearer, farther going!
O sweet and far from cliff and scar
The horns of Elfland faintly blowing!
Blow, let us hear the purple glens replying:
Blow, bugle; answer, echoes, dying, dying, dying.

O love, they die in yon rich sky,
They faint on hill or field or river:
Our echoes roll from soul to soul,
And grow for ever and for ever.
Blow, bugle, blow, set the wild echoes flying,
And answer, echoes, answer, dying, dying, dying.

("The Splendour Falls")

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Walt Whitman

THIS is thy hour O Soul, thy free flight into the wordless,
Away from books, away from art, the day erased, the lesson done,
Thee fully forth emerging, silent, gazing, pondering the themes thou
lovest best.
Night, sleep, and the stars.  

("A Clear Midnight")

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Robert Frost

He halted in the wind, and -- what was that
Far in the maples, pale, but not a ghost?
He stood there bringing March against his thought,
And yet too ready to believe the most.

"Oh, that's the Paradise-in-bloom," I said;
And truly it was fair enough for flowers
had we but in us to assume in march
Such white luxuriance of May for ours.

We stood a moment so in a strange world,
Myself as one his own pretense deceives;
And then I said the truth (and we moved on).
A young beech clinging to its last year's leaves.

("A Boundless Moment")

I had withdrawn in forest, and my song
Was swallowed up in leaves that blew alway;
And to the forest edge you came one day
(This was my dream) and looked and pondered long,
But did not enter, though the wish was strong:
You shook your pensive head as who should say,
‘I dare not—too far in his footsteps stray—
He must seek me would he undo the wrong.

Not far, but near, I stood and saw it all
Behind low boughs the trees let down outside;
And the sweet pang it cost me not to call
And tell you that I saw does still abide.
But ’tis not true that thus I dwelt aloof,
For the wood wakes, and you are here for proof.

("A Dream Pang")

The line-storm clouds fly tattered and swift,
The road is forlorn all day,
Where a myriad snowy quartz stones lift,
And the hoof-prints vanish away.
The roadside flowers, too wet for the bee,
Expend their bloom in vain.
Come over the hills and far with me,
And be my love in the rain.

The birds have less to say for themselves
In the wood-world’s torn despair
Than now these numberless years the elves,
Although they are no less there:
All song of the woods is crushed like some
Wild, easily shattered rose.
Come, be my love in the wet woods; come,
Where the boughs rain when it blows.

There is the gale to urge behind
And bruit our singing down,
And the shallow waters aflutter with wind
From which to gather your gown.
What matter if we go clear to the west,
And come not through dry-shod?
For wilding brooch shall wet your breast
The rain-fresh goldenrod.

Oh, never this whelming east wind swells
But it seems like the sea’s return
To the ancient lands where it left the shells
Before the age of the fern;
And it seems like the time when after doubt
Our love came back amain.
Oh, come forth into the storm and rout
And be my love in the rain. 

("A Line-Storm Song") 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 e.e. cummings

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)  

~~~

i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes

(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun's birthday; this is the birth
day of life and of love and wings: and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)

how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any--lifted from the no
of all nothing--human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?

(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

 

"In the Garret" : A poem by Louisa May Alcott

 

Four little chests all in a row,
Dim with dust, and worn by time,
All fashioned and filled, long ago,
By children now in their prime.
Four little keys hung side by side,
With faded ribbons, brave and gay
When fastened there, with childish pride,
Long ago, on a rainy day.
Four little names, one on each lid,
Carved out by a boyish hand,
And underneath there lieth hid
Histories of the happy band
Once playing here, and pausing oft
To hear the sweet refrain,
That came and went on the roof aloft,
In the falling summer rain.

Meg on the first lid, smooth and fair.
I look in with loving eyes,
For folded here, with well-known care,
A goodly gathering lies,
The record of a peaceful life
Gifts to gentle child and girl,
A bridal gown, lines to a wife,
A tiny shoe, a baby curl.
No toys in this first chest remain,
For all are carried away,
In their old age, to join again
In another small Meg’s play.
Ah, happy mother! Well I know
You hear, like a sweet refrain,
Lullabies ever soft and low
In the falling summer rain.

 

Jo on the next lid, scratched and worn,
And within a motley store
Of headless, dolls, of schoolbooks torn,
Birds and beasts that speak no more,
Spoils brought home from the fairy ground
Only trod by youthful feet,
Dreams of a future never found,
Memories of a past still sweet,
Half-writ poems, stories wild,
April letters, warm and cold,
Diaries of a willful child,
Hints of a woman early old,
A woman in a lonely home,
Hearing, like a sad refrain
Be worthy, love, and love will come,
In the falling summer rain.

My Beth! the dust is always swept
From the lid that bears your name,
As if by loving eyes that wept,
By careful hands that often came.
Death canonized for us one saint,
Ever less human than divine,
And still we lay, with tender plaint,
Relics in this household shrine
The silver bell, so seldom rung,
The little cap which last she wore,
The fair, dead Catherine that hung
By angels borne above her door.
The songs she sang, without lament,
In her prison-house of pain,
Forever are they sweetly blent
With the falling summer rain.

Upon the last lid’s polished field
Legend now both fair and true
A gallant knight bears on his shield,
Amy in letters gold and blue.
Within lie snoods that bound her hair,
Slippers that have danced their last,
Faded flowers laid by with care,
Fans whose airy toils are past,
Gay valentines, all ardent flames,
Trifles that have borne their part
In girlish hopes and fears and shames,
The record of a maiden heart
Now learning fairer, truer spells,
Hearing, like a blithe refrain,
The silver sound of bridal bells
In the falling summer rain.

Four little chests all in a row,
Dim with dust, and worn by time,
Four women, taught by weal and woe
To love and labor in their prime.
Four sisters, parted for an hour,
None lost, one only gone before,
Made by love’s immortal power,
Nearest and dearest evermore.
Oh, when these hidden stores of ours
Lie open to the Father’s sight,
May they be rich in golden hours,
Deeds that show fairer for the light,
Lives whose brave music long shall ring,
Like a spirit-stirring strain,
Souls that shall gladly soar and sing
In the long sunshine after rain.

                                  

Jesus, Miracles, and Amazing Leaves

Happy October, Friends!

 

Wow. It's so wonderful-- Fall is officially here at last!! This my favorite month of the year, next to the Spring months, March, April and May. And now that the trees are beginning to blaze with extravagant colors, I couldn't resist giving the blog a new Fall face-lift! Hope you are getting outside to enjoy the colors!

This morning God "tapped my shoulder". I crawled out of bed, starting my daily tasks of cleaning and making phone calls, plus planning a camping trip I and my family are going on this weekend, without even a "Good morning!" directed heavenward. Hmmm. 
But in mid step, He wrapped me in a hug and said, "Leah, come sit down with me. Let's talk. Be still." (Psalm 46:10) Once again He showed me that His Word is relevant to my life, no matter what I'm going through, because I did not expect to be directed to Mark 6:45-52, the account of Jesus walking out on the Sea to His disciples: 

Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He sent the multitude away. And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray. Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land. Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by. And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were troubled. 

But immediately He talked with them and said to them, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased. And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled. For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.

The disciples, even after seeing Jesus feed a massive crowd, still were amazed when they saw Him walking on water! What crowd? Well, previous to this miracle, Jesus fed 5,000 people (that number was just counting the men, so it must have been far greater!) with just five loaves of bread and two fish (Mark 6:30-44). 

I'm glad I'm not Jesus. Being selfish, I would have waved the crowd aside when they were hungry. "It's been a long day, I'm tired, thirsty, I need to rest! Go home and make your own dinner, honestly!"
But He is God. He had compassion on them, not sending them away to walk the distance to their homes when they were hungry. Even though His body got tired, He regarded their spiritual and physical needs important enough to put His own needs aside. He loved them. These ordinary people, who crowded, complained, were sick, crying, blind, lame, deaf, and sometimes hardhearted. Who, much like us, kept missing the point.
He fed, healed, touched, held, and took time for them. 
He chose to dwell among us.  

This causes me to ask: What miracles has God performed lately in our lives, yours and mine, that we have taken for granted? Do we ignore others who may need prayer? Prayer for God to work a miracle in their hearts, in their lives?

If you feel lost in the noisy crowd, in need of healing, in need of Jesus love, this is for you:

Now as they went out of Jericho, a great multitude followed Him. And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!”

Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!”

So Jesus stood still and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” 

They said to Him, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.” So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him. (Matthew 20:29-34)

 If you are calling, listen. Jesus is answering. (Psalm 91:15)

Love, Leah
Psalm 139