Meg's Miscellaneous Monday Mentions

We interrupt embarrassing stories about our children (shared with permission!) to bring you this weeks' round of links to other blogs.

This YouTube clip is cute, funny, but way too close to home when it comes to some of the songs we sing in church or hear floating around the Christian music industry. I thought it was a very good reminder to us all that worship is about God - who He is, what He has done and giving all the praise, honour and glory to Him. It is not about us - our trials and tribulations, our feelings, our lives and what we do for God. If the songs you are singing, both at church, in your car or on your mp3 player are more about 'me' than about Him, then maybe it's time to turn the dial to a new channel. One that points all the glory and praise to Him.

I know that The Muppets are a hard act to follow, but here is a very challenging post

titled, 'Eat Bitter' from Carolyn McCulley over at 'Radical Womanhood'. The full article is here at Boundless Webzine. The phrase, 'eating bitter', comes from the Chinese who are taught that enduring hardship is as valuable as overcoming it. Carolyn puts forward the idea that we so often just seek to change our surroundings as soon as they cause us any discomfort or irritation, rather than face them head on and learn from them whatever lessons it may that God wants us to learn. Obviously this in itself can be a hard thing to read, but I found it very challenging to myself and my own attitudes. Hopefully you will, too!

Last, but not least, is a fantastic quote from Charles Spurgeon, posted over at Pyromaniacs. Although Spurgeon was preaching this message nearly 150 years ago, the powerful words that he has to say about the never changing truths of the Gospel are still completely relevant for today. We are facing the shifting sands of modern times, which is nothing new under the sun. It is obvious from Spurgeons' words that the church faced the same thing in his day. I pray that his words would be a good reminder to you today that God's word is the truth and it is the same yesterday, today and forever. It requires no new thing to add to it, to make it more attractive or entertaining to the masses. It does not need to be intellectualized for the educated, nor does it need to be dumbed down to be easier to swallow.

"Christ's gospel is no new gospel; and moreover, we are old-fashioned
enough to believe that not one doctrine is to be altered, nor half a doctrine,
nor the thousandth part of a doctrine, no nor yet the form of a doctrine. We
would "hold fast the form of sound words"—not only the principle mark, but the
words; and not only the words, but the very form in which the words were
moulded."

Meg's Miscellaneous Monday Mentions

Another glorious Monday and more blog posts to point you towards this week, each one packed with nuggets of wisdom that will hopefully point you towards the Lords.

First up this week is an incredibly well written piece by James McDonald, over at Family Reformation, entitled 'Death of a Salesman'. James writes an incredibly honest and insightful piece about the recent death of his father. While it is apparent that his father continued in his ancestors footsteps by choosing a selfish life, James is still able to acknowledge God's grace in his own life, which has allowed him to still glean something from his earthly father, inspite of his upbringing. Both Patrick and I found this post refreshingly honest, and while sad in part, glorious in another, as James gives great glory to God for what the Lord has done. It is well worth reading, especially for those who may struggle with forgiveness or bitterness. It is a wonderful reminder of the forgiveness we have in the Lord when we trust in Him as our Saviour.

Next, a little unusual, but I am actually going to recommend you head over to Stacy McDonalds' blog, Your Sacred Calling (yes, this is James' wife). While she has also written about her father-in-laws' death, it is slightly different in that she addresses how we can use our upbringing as an excuse for sin. I think that this can equally apply to using any bad circumstance or experience as an excuse for sinning - anything from lack of sleep, hormones, illness, betrayal, abuse or death. While the Lord most certainly gives us grace to work through all of these issues, tests, trials and even tragedies, there is nothing in scripture that leads us to believe that the Lord excuses our sin just becuase of what others have done to us, or by terrible circumstances. I pray that the Lord might use what Stacy has written to remind you that the Lord is the Redeemer and He is able to use all things for His glory.

It must be a day of 'unusuals', as I am going to tell you about another blog, rather than give you a link to read it yourself. This past week I read an amazing blog about a young wife/mother dying of cancer. Today I read that she has gone home to be with the Lord, and so I didn't think it was appropriate that I send you all over to read about it. Somehow it seemed intrusive to her grieving family.

So instead, I will tell you briefly of how I was so inspired by the peace and joy that this whole family seemed to radiate as they wrote of this ladies battle with cancer. I imagine she felt very many emotions as death drew nearer, but it seems her goal was to glorify God through this trial and tragedy that she faced.

This left me feeling deeply convicted of how I look at trials and struggles in my own life, none of which have even remotely been life threatening. I am afraid that often my responses are self centred rather than Christ centred, illuminating the fact that my hope and joy are often misplaced in my circumstances, rather than in my awesome Creator and Redeemer. I was greatly encouraged and yet challenged by this family's joy and confidence in their Saviour, as they knew that He was with them regardless of whether God healed this lady or took her to be with Him in heaven.

We know that our days are numbered and that every one of us must face death eventually.

So my questions are these: If you are not a Christian, I would ask you to consider what you will say to God when you meet Him face to face, as He asks you, "Why should I let you into my heaven?" What will you say? I pray that you might come to know Jesus as your Lord and Saviour so that you may be assured of an eternity with Him.

If you are a Christian, then I would ask how are you responding to the trials and tragedies that you face in your life? Are your trials characterised by fear, anxiety, depression, complaining and anger? Or are they characterised by a deep peace and confidence in knowing that your Saviour is with you, even in the face of death?

Yes, we are human and we may give way to many mixed emotions when circumstances are painful and so very hard to bear, but do we ultimately raise our hands to give glory to God, regardless of the pain we may face? I pray that we would all ask the Lord to help us to glorify and praise Him daily, no matter the depth of tragedy we face. There is nothing that He does not see, and nothing that He does not allow us to go through without the grace by which to stand.

Meg's Miscellaneous Monday (or Friday!)

I know it's Friday, but I figured I was either late for last Monday, or early for next Monday! I like to think it is the latter!!!

This week, rather than a theme of 'mentions' to other blog posts, I have a wide variety of topics. My prayer is that they will all challenge and encourage you in your walk with the Lord and how you live that out on a daily basis.

First up is a wonderful post by John Piper at Desiring God entitled "How can eternity influence a mother's daily tasks?". It is a fresh perspective on how our view of parenting should be influenced by the Lord and how He has global purpose, not just a confined view of life within the 4 walls of our home. Here is a quote from his post:

"The women who flourish most and who delight most in that calling—and who are best at it—are not women whose lives are circumscribed by their houses. They are women who are aware of the world. They're aware of God's global purpose. They're aware of the ultimate purposes of God in history. They're aware of things in history and in the far off reaches of the world today that God is doing. And those are part of what they want to build into these children. They want to raise global Christians, world Christians."

Next is a great post called "Costly Hospitality", written by Nicole over at 168 hours. She writes of the amazing sacrifice that Jonathan and Sarah Edwards made when they agreed to open their home up to a terminally ill man, David Brainerd. After they then went onto lose their own daughter as a result of the tuberculosis, probably contracted from Brainerd, they were still able to thank the Lord for the opportunity to care for their dying friend. What an amazing perspective! I was so utterly convicted by this couples commitment to serve the Lord by such a costly display of hospitality, and then to even praise Him inspite of their own loss.

I can sometimes (ok... often!) grumble at the energy it takes to clean my house in order to make it 'presentable' for visitors, which is really just my pride in not wanting them to think this mother of 6 has a messy home! I can also weigh up whether or not I have the time or energy to even invite someone over for coffee, wondering if selfishly it will inconvenience me or my family in some way. How humbling to read of this couple who did not consider it too great a cost to serve the Lord by opening up their home in such a way! I pray the Lord would change my heart in the way I see hospitality and how I can serve the Lord and others.

On a completely different note is a brilliant quote from Charles Spurgeon. He is giving advice to young pastors or those entering into church ministry. You can read his brilliant wisdom here at the Desiring God website.

Lastly, here is an encouraging reminder to keep praying for your loved ones who are yet to know Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour. You can find the whole post titled "This Person Will Never Be Saved" over at The Blazing Centre. It reminded me that nobody is beyond God's reach and that He is powerful enough to save even the most hardened of sinners. He saved me, right? Don't give up praying and remember that the Lord is at work, even through your witness and testimony for His glory.

Here is just a short quote from the piece: "There is no one beyond the reach of God’s fathomless love. Even the most hardened sinner can be broken by the hammer of God’s mercy. Don’t stop praying for the hardened sinners in your life."

Have a great weekend and be encouraged to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ!

No Monday Mentions This Monday

No Monday Mentions, this Monday, as we are preparing to share the gospel with kids in our community...

Please pray for us as we run ,"Survivor Babylon" at our church, Chatswood Baptist.We are running the program this Wednesday, Thursday & Friday, from 9:30 - 12:30. The theme is to trust, pray and obey.

What about you? How are you doing trusting God? Obeying God & praying to our Heavenly Father? We hope that kids will learn from the way Daniel and his friends did more then survive in Babylon.

If you are not sure about this story, you can find it in the Bible. It's in the book of Daniel. The first six chapters tell of some of the things that happened to them while they were in Babylon.

Oh May God be glorified in all that we do in this foreign land, called earth.

For HIS Glory, we pray!

Meg's Miscellaneous Monday Mentions

It's Monday night, and therefore a little late, but I think I still scrape in on a technicality, right?




Well, this week, I have 2 fantastic but oh-so-challenging posts to direct you to. First up is a hard hitting, sledge hammer between the eyes, no holds barred post over at Desiring God. It is a ripper of an article written by Ben Reaoch, pastor of Three Rivers Grace Church in downtown Pittsburgh, PA. The title of his post is "12 Sins We Blame on Others". Yep, I told you it was going to hit you between the eyes! I was so convicted by this post and so shocked at the truths written in just one short piece of writing.




In short, these 12 sins we blame others for, according to Ben Reaoch are: Anger, impatience, lust, anxiety, spiritual apathy, insubordination, a critical spirit, bitterness, gluttony, gossip, self-pity and selfishness.




I don't know about you, but I can unfortunately confess that I have at one time or other, blamed someone else for almost all of these sins in my own heart. Whether it be blaming my anger on another who has hurt me, or justifying my anxiety because I obviously have a lot of stress going on in my life. Just this week, I have had to apologise to my children several times for my great impatience and frustration that I have displayed to them. Excusing my sin by blaming it on their behaviours and my own exhaustion does not cut it with the Lord, but I hate to admit how often I can be guilty of this. I would strongly encourage you all to read this article and be open to the Lord if He is leading you to repent of blaming others for your own choices to sin.


And secondly, this next post has an equally hard message to swallow, one that I found very challenging and convicting again. Boundless Web zine, a Focus on the Family site, has posted a very challenging message called "Inured", regarding the issue of our choice of movies and TV.

Ahhh, I hear the sighs, the rolling of the eyes and the defences raising... but before you write it off (and me) as a conservative, narrow minded Christian who can't appreciate good art and entertainment, I would encourage you to at least read the article and pray about whether you think this is an area in which you may not be completely honouring the Lord in.



The article predominantly deals with the fact that we, as a society and even within the church, have become so desensitized to what we see and hear in movies and on TV that things are rarely as shocking as they should be to us as Christians.



Within the comments section of the article, someone has written this brilliant quote by John Piper regarding his views on his choices of movies:

He said, "My parents almost never went to movies, and I almost never go to movies. The reason is very simple: there are almost no movies that don't ask me to be entertained by attitudes, motives, and actions which Jesus died to eradicate. My heart will not allow me to be entertained by worldliness."

Extreme? Maybe. Or maybe it's that we have become so numb to the sin in our own hearts that we are no longer shocked when we see others acting out that same sin that Jesus died for on the Cross, on the TV screen. I pray that the Lord would lead you in wisdom and Godliness as you seek to lead your families in making wise choices for your entertainment and recreation.

Meg's Miscellaneous Monday Mentions

Doing a quick trip around the blogosphere this week has led me to many and varied interesting, challenging, convicting and thought provoking posts by several authors. What has stood out most to me this week have been the awful amount of stories about newborn or young babies dying.

I have read way too many heart breaking stories this week of parents suffering the loss of their babies. It has led me to weep for people I will most likely never meet this side of eternity. It has also led me to give thanks to the Lord who has so graciously spared our family from such tragedy. Above all, it has caused me to praise God for His amazing grace upon these families lives who have surely brought much glory to their Lord and Saviour by the way in which they have responded to such pain and suffering.

The amazing thing is that each one of these parents, or grandparents, writing about their loss, have openly bared their rawest of wounds as they grieve the loss of their precious children, and yet they have more so declared the goodness of their Almighty Heavenly Father. Amidst their tears and sorrow and agony, they have still lifted up praise to their King, even as He has ushered their babies into His magnificent presence. I have been amazed at such faith and have been forced to wonder whether I would give such an amazing testimony if I were in their shoes. I greatly fear that I would not.

Here are just 3 of the families I have read about recently. I pray that the following posts will move you to pray for these dear brothers and sisters in Christ. I pray that it may cause you to hold your kids, grand kids, nephews or nieces a little longer, a little closer and be thankful that they are still within reach of precious hugs and kisses. I also pray that you would be able to testify to the goodness of Jesus in their lives and yours, for He is truly good in all things.

*John Piper on the death of his granddaughter and the speech he gave at her funeral.

* Dennis Rainey (of FamilyLife) writes a beautiful account of his precious granddaughters' passing.

* The Story of Audrey Caroline is heart-wrenching blog about the love and loss of one family's precious baby girl.

Meg's Miscellaneous Monday Mentions

Well, it's been quite a few weeks since I added anything to the blog... life has been busier than usual around here and Monday's have been a little crazy. As is often the case, I have not always responded well to the extra busyness that encrouches upon me at times!

Yes, the sinner within rears it's ugly head and complaints start to bubble up from my heart and often make it to my mouth... I will start to whine about how tired I am, or how stressed I feel etc etc etc, to the detriment of those around me. I forget the many blessings the Lord has given me, I forget that I am called to serve my family and others joyfully, and I definitely forget to do all things as if doing them unto the Lord!

Here is a great post from Covenant Fellowship Church that is all about the very things I have just mentioned, and how to combat those feelings that can threaten to rob us of our joy in the midst of busy and exhausting schedules. Cindy Campbell is writing from the perspective of a mother, but of course these principles can equally be applied to both men and women, no matter your vocation or stage of life.

I pray you will be encouraged to go about the rest of your week with joy and gratitude instead of joyless grumbling!