Job 35:10

Any man can sing in the day. When the cup is full, man draws inspiration from it. When wealth rolls in abundance around him, any man can praise the God who gives a plenteous harvest or sends home a loaded argosy. It is easy enough for an Aeolian harp to whisper music when the winds blow--the difficulty is for music to swell forth when no wind is stirring. It is easy to sing when we can read the notes by daylight; but he is skilful who sings when there is not a ray of light to read by--who sings from his heart. No man can make a song in the night of himself; he may attempt it, but he will find that a song in the night must be divinely inspired. Let all things go well, I can weave songs, fashioning them wherever I go out of the flowers that grow upon my path; but put me in a desert, where no green thing grows, and wherewith shall I frame a hymn of praise to God? How shall a mortal man make a crown for the Lord where no jewels are? Let but this voice be clear, and this body full of health, and I can sing God's praise: silence my tongue, lay me upon the bed of languishing, and how shall I then chant God's high praises, unless He Himself give me the song? No, it is not in man's power to sing when all is adverse, unless an altar-coal shall touch his lip. It was a divine song, which Habakkuk sang, when in the night he said, "Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation." Then, since our Maker gives songs in the night, let us wait upon Him for the music. O Thou chief musician, let us not remain songless because affliction is upon us, but tune Thou our lips to the melody of thanksgiving. —Morning and Evening

I read this yesterday morning, and was very convicted and challenged. Later that day I was talking to someone about what I had read, and how that we need to be able to praise the Lord in the good and bad, ( this person has been thinking a lot about this as well). On top of that, when the preacher stood up after one of the hymns he asked a question: Have you been happy all the day. He then went on to say that being happy all the day is not hahaha.... happy, but finding joy in every instance. After what I had already talked about with my friend and read that morning, I had to smile. The Lord knows how to get a point across.

James 1:2 Count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations..

1Corinthians 3:1

Are you mourning, believer, because you are so weak in the divine life: because your faith is so little, your love so feeble? Cheer up, for you have cause for gratitude. Remember that in some things you are equal to the greatest and most full-grown Christian. You are as much bought with blood as he is. You are as much an adopted child of God as any other believer. An infant is as truly a child of its parents as is the full-grown man. You are as completely justified, for your justification is not a thing of degrees: your little faith has made you clean every whit. You have as much right to the precious things of the covenant as the most advanced believers, for your right to covenant mercies lies not in your growth, but in the covenant itself; and your faith in Jesus is not the measure, but the token of your inheritance in Him. You are as rich as the richest, if not in enjoyment, yet in real possession. The smallest star that gleams is set in heaven; the faintest ray of light has affinity with the great orb of day. In the family register of glory the small and the great are written with the same pen. You are as dear to your Father's heart as the greatest in the family. Jesus is very tender over you. You are like the smoking flax; a rougher spirit would say, "put out that smoking flax, it fills the room with an offensive odour!" but the smoking flax He will not quench. You are like a bruised reed; and any less tender hand than that of the Chief Musician would tread upon you or throw you away, but He will never break the bruised reed. Instead of being downcast by reason of what you are, you should triumph in Christ. Am I but little in Israel? Yet in Christ I am made to sit in heavenly places. Am I poor in faith? Still in Jesus I am heir of all things. Though "less than nothing I can boast, and vanity confess." yet, if the root of the matter be in me I will rejoice in the Lord, and glory in the God of my salvation


I was at a meeting last night and a young man stood up and spoke on the parable of the talents to the 3 servants. He brought out the fact that none of the servants were better than the other when the Master gave the talents to them. He did not expect the servant with 2 talents to give back 10, or the servant with 5 to give back 20. He wanted each of them to do what he could with what he had. The young man that was preaching brought up a good point, we should not be discouraged by what we can not do, but we should strive to do our best with what the Father has given us, so when He comes back we can stand before Him with a gift to offer. When I read this it made me think about what the young man had said, especially the first part & the very end.

Universal Thump.

Title: The Universal Thump
Author: Elisabeth Elliot

It's so refreshing to find some encouragement to work and to be cheerful and take orders, instead of what is more common today, an outright dislike, even hatred, of work and an unwillingness to take orders from anybody. We've really had just about enough of that, don't you think? So here's an antidote in the musings of a sailor in Herman Melville's great classic, MOBY DICK:

"What of it if some old hunk of a sea-captain orders me to get a broom and sweep down the decks? What does that indignity amount to, weigh, I mean, in the scales of the New Testament? Do you think the archangel Gabriel thinks anything the less of me because I promptly and respectfully obey that old hunk in that particular instance? Who ain't a slave? Tell me that. Well, then, however the old sea-captains may order me about, I have the satisfaction of knowing that it is all right; that everybody else is one way or other served in much the same way--either in a physical or metaphysical point of view, that is; and so the universal thump is passed round, and all hands should rub each other's shoulder-blades, and be content." Most of us are not exactly under the orders of "some old hunk of a sea-captain," but we are meant to be willing and cheerful servants of anybody who happens to need us. Have I a true servant-heart? I should have. I will not be anything like my Lord Jesus if I haven't, for He came not to be served but to serve. He set for us a radiant example of how practically He meant it. He washed feet. Knowing His own origin and destiny, He did it with grace and He did it with love. And what is our origin? Our destiny? We, too, "come from God and are going back to God." Is there any job, then, that is really "beneath us?" Any "thump" that we really mind? "You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love" (Galatians 5:13, NIV). Last summer a certain fifteen-year-old worked at a ranch, where his job included not only dishwashing but cleaning out the garbage truck. They weren't jobs he'd have opted for (he'd far rather have exercised horses or even mucked out stables), so I gave him "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving" (Colossians 3:23-24, NIV). He wrote me a sweet letter, said God was helping him. Twenty-One Things to Remember
1. Faith is the ability to not panic.
2. If you worry, you didn’t pray. If you pray, don’t worry.
3. As a child of God, prayer is kind of like calling home every day.
4. Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.
5. When we get tangled up in our problems, be still. God wants us to bestill so He can untangle the knot.
6. Do the math. Count your blessings.
7. God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts.
8. Dear God: I have a problem. It’s me.
9. Silence is often misinterpreted, but never misquoted.
10. Laugh every day; it’s like inner jogging. :)
11. The most important things in your home are the people. (Lord help me remember this one...)
12. Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional.
13. There is no key to happiness. The door is always open. Come on in.
14. A grudge is a heavy thing to carry.
15. He who dies with the most toys is still dead.
16. We do not remember days, but moments. Life moves too fast, so enjoy your precious moments.
17. Nothing is real to you until you experience it, otherwise its just hearsay.
18. It’s all right to sit on your pity pot every now and again. Just be sure to flush when you are done.
19. Surviving and living your life successfully require courage. The goals and dreams you’re seeking require courage and risk taking. Learn from the turtle, it only makes progress when it sticks out its neck.
20. Be more concerned with your character than your reputation. Your character is what you really are, while you reputation is merely what others think you are.
21. No matter the storm, when you are with God, there’s always a rainbow waiting.

Ouch, these are very convicting. I am always impressed with Elizabeth Elliot's writings and thoughts. She has a way of convicting with out being harsh, but she is firm. This list is wonderful, there is so much here that will keep me busy for a very long time.

Barn Dance

These last 2 weeks I have spent making a old fashion dress. I am very pleased by how it turned out, but I also am glad that I am not planning on doing that again. I loath sewing... I can sew, and I do an okay job, but I become very tense and irritated when sewing. :) Oh well! Anyway, the dress turned out nicely, it is cream and blue, with large sleeves and lace framing in the middle area and collar. It looks renaissance. I love it!

On Saturday (the day of the dance), 30 minutes before we were supposed to be at the dance, I finished the hem of the dress. LOL, I know, I should have had it done long before that, but I didn't. :) My mother and sister made one as well and they all turned out beautiful. My Mother's is burgundy and black, which look fabulous on her. My sister's is a dark green with a lighter green to accent it. She also looked perfectly darling. When we got to the house were the dance was being held, I did a few girls hair and we all headed out. It was a large group, and they were all milling about visiting one another and saying their hellos. We all ate and examined each others dresses. I was very impressed, all the girls did a gorgeous job. A few of the men had outfits as well and they were fun. There were confederate, and union soldiers, gentleman's and cowboy outfits.

The Barn Dance was held outside, most of the dances are done in groups of 6 - 8 couples, facing each other in long lines, or in a square shape. Once the caller (the man that tells you what to do next) calls the beginning of the dance, the young men pick a young lady to dance with (if they haven't already done that), and you get in you lines or squares. It is fun to get to talk to your partner before, after and during the dance, also those dancing in your group. In most barn dances you end up dancing with everyone in your group of the opposite gender, so it is nice if you know the people in your group, even if it is only their names. :) The rules for the young men and women in this group are great. The young men have to come ask for the dance. They take you out to the floor, either offering you their arm, or hand, dance with you. Then most offered to get you something to drink after you were done. They were all so gentlemanly, and they made the evening quite nice. The men could only ask a young lady to dance twice, so we all got to enjoy a lot of different dancers and personalities. The dancing was wonderful, pure bliss. The weather was a little bit cold and if we stood still too long, it got rather chilly. Once we started dancing though we warmed up. I was able to dance with a few people that I had never danced with before and that was enjoyable and educational. Some of the more experienced dancers could tell you how to do things a bit more smoothly, or just how to enjoy it more. :) It was terrific! My father and I danced one dance and it was special to get to dance with him. He ended up calling the dance, even though this was only the second dance he had been to, and I might add He did it very well... My little brother also danced with me and did an excellent job. He got into the dance after a few minutes and could to an extent keep up. He was darling. For those of you that do not realize how cute this was let me expound a little. My little brother is only 7 years old, and usually will not do anything like this. So I was very pleased that he asked me and then danced with a few others as well.

I was able to witness something I do not think many in my age group have the privilege to see. This night of barn dancing was a family evening, so there were children of all ages dancing with the adults. I saw "little men ask their mother's, sister's and other ladies to dance, then these little men become little men, taking your hand in theirs, escorting you here and there, offering you a drink and being the very essence of a gentlemen. I saw men slow down a dance for littler ones, or go ask the little girls to dance. Quite often we would be dancing in a group and there would be a little girl in the group with us. It was amazing to watch the young men instruct the little one as to where to go next and smile at the little mishaps that are bound to happen. It was precious to see one of the fathers take a little lady in pink frills, crinoline, and bows on to the floor, spin her around and watch her giggle in delight. Absolutely beautiful! I saw young men that did not have a partner take little ones to the side and show them the time of their lives. :) I saw Charity. One thing that my Mother and I just loved, was when one of the Fathers took the little one mentioned above in the pink frills out on the floor (to the side), and when the caller said swing your partner, he would lift her up and spin her around till she laughed her little girls laugh. It was so sweet.

It was an excellent evening. I have to admit that getting to be waited on, and feel beautiful, is marvelous. :) The dressed are so full and you feel as if you are floating when you are spinning in them. We finished a little after midnight and our family fell into our beds. :) Surprisingly I am not sore from the dancing. I am more sore from Sunday's activities, a group of us played Volley ball and I my cheekbone connected with the volley ball once, leaving me feeling a little bit dizzy every once in a while. Oh well, it was fun. I served a bunch of points the last game and even got the winning point.

It is hard to believe it is all over now and that we will not be getting to go to another dance for about 6 months. (Sigh) It will be fun to do it all again. :)

Here are a few links to explain barn dances.

http://www.fiddlingaround.co.uk/quicksilver/bardancefaq

http://www.dcdancenet.com/moredancing/contraecd.html

http://www.englishcountrydancing.org/

http://members.aol.com/ParadiseMO/english.html

A bit of poetry & thought

Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words. -Robert Frost, poet (1874-1963)

I am listening to Middlemarch right now, and when I saw this poem it made me think of a part I had just finished listening to. Dorthea & Ladislaw are speaking together and poems are brought up. She does not think she would every be very good at writing them, or understanding them. Ladislaw tells her what a poem is, and says some of the same things the poem above says, he also tells Dorthea that she is a poem in herself. Hmmmmm.

Anyway....:) I think I know why I am so horrible at writing poems. I have too much trouble finding words for my thoughts. :)

The Gift of Work

The principal cause of boredom is the hatred of work. People are trained from childhood to hate it. Parents often feel guilty about making children do anything but the merest gestures toward work. Perhaps the children are required to make their beds and, in a feeble and half-hearted fashion, tidy up their rooms once a month or so. But take full responsibility to clear the table, load the dishwasher, scrub the pots, wipe the counters? How many have the courage to ask this of a ten-year-old? It would be too much to ask of many ten-year-olds because parents have seriously asked nothing of them when they were two or three. Children quickly pick up the parents' negative attitudes toward work and think of it as something most sedulously to be avoided.
Our Lord and Savior worked. There is little doubt that He served in the carpenter shop under the instruction of His earthly father Joseph, putting in long hours, learning skill, care, responsibility, and above all, the glory of work as a gift to glorify His heavenly Father. He did always those things that please the Father. Later He chose almost all His disciples from those who labored with their hands. Even the apostle Paul, a man of brilliant intellect, made tents.
Booker T. Washington, an African-American who grew up in the South when members of his race were expected to do the hardest and dirtiest jobs, learned his greatest lesson from the example of a Christian woman. A New Englander, the founder of the Hampton Institute, she herself washed the windows the day before school started, so it would be nice for those children who had been born slaves.
Is work a necessary evil, even a curse? A Christian who spent many years in Soviet work camps, learning to know work at its most brutal, its most degrading and dehumanizing, testified that he took pride in it, did the best he could, worked to the limit of his strength each day. Why? Because he saw it as a gift from God, coming to him from the hand of God, the very will of God for him. He remembered that Jesus did not make benches and roofbeams and plow handles by means of miracles, but by means of saw, axe, and adze.
Wouldn't it make an astounding difference, not only in the quality of the work we do (in office, schoolroom, factory, kitchen, or backyard), but also in our satisfaction, even our joy, if we recognized God's gracious gift in every single task, from making a bed or bathing a baby to drawing a blueprint or selling a computer? If our children saw us doing "heartily as unto the Lord" all the work we do, they would learn true happiness. Instead of feeling that they must be allowed to do what they like, they would learn to like what they do.
St. Ignatius Loyola prayed, "Teach us, Good Lord, to labor and to ask for no reward save that of knowing that we do Thy will." As I learn to pray that prayer, I find that there are many more rewards that come along as fringe benefits. As we make an offering of our work, we find the truth of a principle Jesus taught: Fulfillment is not a goal to achieve, but always the by-product of sacrifice.

By: Elizabeth Elliot

I had a friend a few years ago, do a speech about the children of this society and how that they are not being taught how to work. They are lazy and grumpy about the littlest bit of work they have to do. She did a fabulous job on her speech, and her experience made it even more believable. She has a lot of siblings. Anyway, she made some great points that this article made me think about. Such as, if we do not teach children to find joy in their tasks now, and how to do the tasks efficiently even if they do not like them. We are harming the next generation in many aspects. Those children will grow up and when they do, they will not have a good work ethic, they will not have joy in their daily lives. They will be miserable, and they will not be the example God has called us to be. I think Mrs. Elliot does a great job expressing some concerns, and commands of the Lord. She is giving us a charge.

Poem from Streams in the desert

He was better to me than all my hopes;
He was better than all my fears;
He made a bridge of my broken works,
And a rainbow of all my tears.
The stormy waves that marked my ocean path,
Did carry my Lord on their crest;
When I dwell on the days of my wilderness march
I can lean on His love for the rest.

He emptied my hands of my treasured store,
And His covenant love revealed,
There was not a wound in my aching heart,
The balm of His breath has not healed.
Oh, tender and true was His discipline sore,
In wisdom, that taught and tried,
Till the soul that He sought was trusting in Him,
And nothing on earth beside.

He guided my paths that I could not see,
By the ways that I have not known;
The crooked was straight, and the rough was plain
As I followed the Lord alone.
I praise Him still for the pleasant palms,
And the desert streams by the way,
For the glowing pillar of flame by night,
And sheltering cloud by day.

Never a time on the dreariest days,
But some promises of love endears;
I read from the past, that my future will be
Far better than all my fears

Like the golden jar, of the wilderness bread,
Stored up with blossoming rod,
All safe in the ark, with the law of the Lord,
Is the covenant care of my God.

I was touched by the part underlined above. I so often do not understand His ways, or what is going on, but He does. He will teach me what ever I need to learn, (mostly trust.:), if I will learn what He is so patiently trying to teach me.

A weekend with the Family

I just got home from a long weekend away with my family. We had a blast. The night before we left, I spent the evening with my Mom and a group of friends. We went to a symphony, and then to eat. The music was beautiful! We set on the highest balcony there and watched the young lady performing, as her fingers went over the piano with great speed and accuracy. She played Beethoven's 5th Concerto. There were parts that made me want to laugh and others that made me want to cry. I have to admit though I didn't actually want to cry until the second half started and it was a piece my Tchaikovsky. There were some beautiful parts, but there were some very depressed sounding parts as well. I had forgotten how depressed some of Tchaikovsky music was. Not anymore...:) I now remember and should for a little while anyway.

We ate at Cracker Barrel, which was terrific. We all talked and laughed at each others stories. It was nice getting to catch up with a few of the people that I don't often get to talk to. The food was of course, good.

My family all went on Sunday to a resort were some of stayed for a few days. I was not planning on staying, but I thought it would be fun, so I called my boss asked for the time off and received it. :)...... We had a good time, we took some of the younger ones to play putt putt golf, and go cart riding. We ate out, swam in the pool, walked down to the lake and just relaxed. I had some time to bond with the younger children in our family and enjoy their sense of humor. Oh, so much fun!!! I was very happy that I was able to stay for the long week end with my family and have that break. Dad and I went out one evening after a full day and saw Flightplan, which wasn't too bad. I enjoyed having the time with him. It has been a few weeks since we have been able to do anything together.

We also got to do something that I think will be rather memorable. We went to a magic show and they asked Aric and Dad to stand up and be part of one of the acts. They had to dress up and sing a song with the performer. It was hilarious, dark wigs on and white outfits. I wish we could have taken pictures, it was funny. What made it even funnier, was the weekend before Austin and I had gotten Mom and Dad on stage in an Improv show. They had to tell about their proposal story and meeting. Dad was on stage 2 weekends in a row and did a great job both times. Aric did a really good job the day that he did it with Dad. He played along and after a few minutes got into the act and did a superb job. We had a fabulous weekend.

Quotes and thoughts of the day.

"He that dwelleth in the secret places of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty!"

"As soon as I woke in the morning I threw myself into the arms of Divine Love as a child does into its father's arms. I rose to serve Him, and to perform my daily labor simply that I might please Him. If I had time for prayer, I fell on my knees in His divine presence, consecrated myself to Him, and begged Him that He would accomplish His holy will perfectly in me and through me, and that He would not permit me to offend Him in the least thing all through the day. I occupied myself with Him and His praise as long as my duties permitted. Very often, I had not leisure to say even so much as the Lord's Prayer during the day; but that did not trouble me. I thought it as much my duty to work for Him as to pray to Him, for He Himself had taught me, that all that I should do for love of Him would be a true prayer. I loved Him and rejoiced in Him. If my occupations required all my attention, I had nevertheless my heart turned towards Him; and, as soon as they were fininshed, I ran to Him again, as to my dearest Friend. When evening came, and every one went to rest, I found mine only in the Divine Love, and fell asleep, still loving and adoring Hiim." - Armelle Nicolas

Wow! What a lovely thought. I know that I often find myself focusing on other things, when my focus needs to be on Him and my love towards Him. My mother sent this to this morning and it blessed me greatly.


Insanity in individuals is something rare - but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -Friedrich Nietzsche, philosopher (1844-1900)

:) LOL Hmmmmm.

Quote for this week.

The greatest compliment that was ever paid me was when one asked me what I thought, and attended to my answer. -Henry David Thoreau, naturalist and author (1817-1862)

Have you ever had someone ask you a question, and when you answered, you knew they were not listening? This has always been one of my pet-peeves, I can't stand when people pretend to care about your thoughts & answers.
It makes you feel like the person cares about you when they actually listen to what you have to say. It takes little effort.


"If there ever comes a day when we can't be together keep me in your heart, I'll stay there forever" Winnie-the -Pooh

This is cute and I think it is sweet. Winnie the Pooh a source of wisdom and wit. ;)


“ Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. ” (Ephesians 4:29)

Something we always need to be reminded of. The things that come out of our mouth can hurt or lift up. We should guard our speech... We should strive to build others up.

What’er My God Ordains Is Right text: Samuel Rodigast
(1675)( a favorite text of Bach's , for his church music)

1. Whate’er my God ordains is right;
His Holy will abideth;
I will be still whate’er He doth,
And follow where He guideth.
He is my God,
Though dark my road,
He holds me that I shall not fall;
Wherefore to Him I leave it all.

2. Whate’er my God ordains is right,
He never will deceive me;
He leads me by the proper path,
I know He will not leave me.
I take, content,
what He hath sent;
His hand can turn my griefs away
And patiently I wait His day.

3. Whate’er my God ordains is right,
Though now this cup in drinking
May bitter seem to my faint heart,
I take it all unshrinking.
My God is true,
each morn anew
Sweet comfort yet shall fill my heart,
And pain and sorrow shall depart.

4. Whate’er my God ordains is right,
Here shall my stand be taken;
Though sorrow, need, or death be mine,
Yet I am not forsaken.
My Father’s care is round me there;
He holds me that I shall not fall,
And so to Him I leave it all.