My favorite painting

"Le Gourmet" Pablo Picasso

Today's the big day!

well...one of them!

The wedding shower I'm hosting is today at 1:00. I'm excited and nervous, as usual, I left more things to be done today, than I ought to have. Oh well, I seem to be able to focus more under pressure.
This evening is game night, but that's no sweat! Three families have signed up to come, that's 30 people (including our 6)! We will have chips and brownies and be loud and silly. Sound like fun? A huge favorite of game night is Chronology (the older version) it is always popular with the older kids and adults. Younger kids like UNO and Hiss!

We have our guests for the Jamestown 400 confirmed and we are so excited. We invited these friends from Bristol to come for a visit a couple of years ago. When they called to ask if we had ideas for a place to stay we were like, "Well duh!" I'm excited!

Right after the Howards leave, we will have a day to get ready for company in for Gaelan's graduation on the 20th. He tells me that a party for him will have to wait as he starts on the job right away. He got the precinct that he requested - South, where all the action is! He is very happy about that. I am usually happy for him, but have my moments of trepidation.
I'm going to have to cross stitch Stonewall's quote for him:

"Captain, my religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed. God has fixed the time for my death. I do not concern myself about that, but to be always ready, no matter when it may overtake me." He added, after a pause, looking me full in the face: "That is the way all men should live, and then all would be equally brave"

Been so busy, haven't had time to post...

Sorry!

I have a list of topics to try to post about, but just can't seem to get myself organized enough to carve out the time to write about something of substance.
As usual, the summer is shaping up to be busy.
The kids and I have been getting ready for guests in June (painting and rearranging) and trying to keep school work going.
Church is very busy with goodbyes for people who are moving away and hellos and moving parties for people moving here.
Conrad and I have a parenting class in our home every other Sunday night, and that is going great! I'm teaching one of the ladies in the class to quilt, so after the class, she and I snuck up into Shayna's room to get some material and supplies. I can't wait to see the finished product!
This week is not as full as last week (there was something going on every night of the week!), but the weekend is full and we have lots to do for that.
I'm hosting a wedding shower luncheon on Friday for one of the young ladies at church and then we are hosting family game night here, that evening. Hey!-the house will already be clean, right? So might as well.
On Sunday afternoon one of the families at church is hosting a big picnic to celebrate his promotion in the Air Force.
Then, things get really busy, in the month of June, we have a wedding the first weekend, the HEAV convention the second weekend, Gaelan graduates the academy the following week (I hope to have some kind of party for that, but he tells me that he may already be working!), then the following week is the Jamestown Celebration as well as a conference that we usually go to, but I think we are opting out this year, since we are so busy.

Are you tired yet? And my head is full of next year's school planning...

This is one of those posts that nobody is really interested in...except perhaps family who wonder where in the world I am. It is, I'm afraid, a guilt post.

Did I mention that my sister and Mom are moving up here sometime this summer? I can't wait!

Preparing for the Lord's Day

“Consider the Lord’s Day an honour and delight. Let your heart be elevated in holy joy, and your lips be employed in the high praises of God. This day more resembles heaven, than any other portion of our time; and we should endeavour to imitate the worship of heaven, according to that petition of the Lord’s prayer — “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Never permit the idea to enter your mind, that the Sabbath is a burden. It is a sad case, when professing Christians are weary of this sacred rest, and say, like some of old, “When will the Sabbath be gone, that we may sell corn, and set forth wheat?” As you improve this day, so probably will you be prospered all the week.”
From Archibald Alexander on the Lord's Day.

I have been wanting to add my voice to some of the discussions going on lately about keeping the Lord’s Day. In keeping with the purpose of my blog, I want to talk about the practical aspects that apply to the homemaker. There is much to talk about!
I think that the first thing that must be talked about is premeditation.
It is very important, that if mother is to have a rest on the Lord’s Day as well, that she plan and work for it all the rest of the week.

Karen Mains in her book, “Making Sunday Special” talks about the rythym of the week with Sunday as the pinnacle. On Monday-Wednesday, we look back to Sunday, and Thursday through Saturday we look forward.

I have made a list of things that must get done for the Lord’s Day. Things such as a meal made (we have to eat!) and clothes cleaned. And then a list of things that ought to get done – it is certainly more restful if the living areas are nice and neat, and we love sitting down to a lovely table on this day of days.

Then I decided what needs to get done in the first part of the week, the looking back part.
On Monday we clean up any leftover mess from Sunday, and there’s plenty! The dishes might not have all gotten clean, only rinsed and stacked. The extra chairs are all out and about if we’ve had company. And dirt was probably tracked in from our ungrassy backyard.
On Tuesday, there are shoes to shine or clean, and perhaps suits to have cleaned. There is also lots of laundry to be done, because we probably have only done what was absolutely necessary on Saturday, leaving the day for other things.

Wednesday is a planning day and because it is often a company day in and of itself, I try to make some dishes that I can also use on Sunday or Saturday.

Thursday and Friday, we make sure that we know where our Sunday clothes are and get them ready if need be. We begin any cooking and preperation for special activities.
Saturday is the day that I always say has three days worth of work in it! Now it doesn’t have to be so, but I am an unorganized person…the things that I plan to do don’t always (should I even say usually?) get done. I might plan to start cooking on Wednesday, but whether I do or not is a question.

On Saturday, I have, in the past tried to get all of my work done by around 1:00 in the afternoon. That way, I had some time to prepare my own heart before our Lord’s Day eve dinner. And do you know what? Having a special dinner on Saturday after which the work stops and the enjoyment of Sunday begins forces me to be more diligent in preparing! We haven’t done a Lord’s Day eve dinner in several years, though we are beginning to think of it again.

Now –a –days, Saturday is filled with baking, cleaning and school planning, and the occasional contra-dance or party. My goal is to be done with everything in time to get a good night’s sleep and not have preparations on my mind as I rise on Sunday morning.

Checklist for Planning Each New School Year

I'm beginning to think about the end of the school year, and look forward to the next year. This is actually a dangerous time for me. In our family, we do school all year, so I'm not ready to stop doing what we've been doing all year. BUT, that's old & sometimes even boring, and what we are GOING to be doing sounds exciting and interesting!
Thankfully experience tells me that I do this every year and it is a chance to learn perserverance!

I know that this is the time that a lot of families are finishing up, though, so I wanted to put up my end of the year checklist. I wrote this a couple of years ago so that I would stop reinventing it every year. It takes me a while to catch on!

Procedure for Planning Each School Year:
Out with the old:
1. Gather all of the year's school work. Put in piles by child, in date order. Double check attendance records. (In Virginia, I'm not required to keep an attendance record, I do this for my own benefit. We, as a family do believe that everyday is a school day, but this is a record of my faithfulness to do "seat work".)
2. Choose a representative group of each subject and box up schoolwork. Throw out the remaining papers. (This year, I have done this throughout the year, so it should be easier.)
3. Put lesson plans and books read record in an envelope and put with schoolwork.
4. Evaluate the year - Goals achieved? What worked? What didn't?

In with the new:
1. Make a list of each subject for each child.
2. List materials/ texts for each child. Make a note of needed items.
3. Order curriculum needed, visit homeschool store, homeschool convention.
4. Decide how each subject will be organized. Does it (the text) need to be finished by years end? Can it be done "the next thing" (subjects that you just do until done and then start the next book (such as math).
5. Make up a lesson journal/attendance record. Will some child have his own?
6. Assign folders, spiral notebook or composition ledger to each subject per child. Each year I might do this differently. This year, we only used a 3 ring binder and a spelling folder. My kids are color coded, Green for Gael, Blue for Steven, Red for Isaac, Yellow for Shayna.
7. Look over the first week or two of each subject and plan/gather materials.
8. Order library books for first two weeks. (We are slowly trying to move away from being dependent on the public library system.)
9. Sign up for extra-curriculars - sports, art, music, languages.

A great place for homeschool forms is Donna Young . I have a wonderful "Child's Spiritual Evaluation" form but it is several pages of a Word document. I guess I could put it up as a post in itself... Hmmm. I think I will do that in the future. If you would like a copy, meanwhile, though, email me with your email address and I will send you the file.

Have a great day!

From the Protestant Church of Smyrna

From The Persecution Times comes this horrific reading. Below is altered a bit to allow for reading by the more sensitive reader (that inlcudes me!). Please pray. ~M

I think about this a lot, in fact, there was a time that I was eaten up with the horror of what humans can think to do to each other and what is happening to our brothers and sisters in other countries, the Sudan for instance.

It is important, though for us to be aware and to be praying. In our country, we Christians are so interested in our personal peace and affluence that we don't want to hear or even believe that there are people, children even, living in extreme poverty or being tortured because of the simple fact that they follow Jesus the Messiah.

Do we really think that we too will escape? I pray that were I given the chance to suffer and die for Jesus that I would not shame Him. I pray the same for my children. It is important to raise them on stories of those who are among the mighty army of martyrs. This link is a good one for keeping up on Christian persecutions.For this reason, but mostly so that God's people will pray,

I am posting the following, but recommend it for mature readers:

By Dan Wooding, Founder of ASSIST MinistriesSMYRNA, TURKEY -

Smyrna is an ancient city today known as Izmir in Turkey that was founded at a very early period at a central and strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia.It was the second city to receive a letter from the apostle John in the book of Revelation. Acts 19:10 suggests that the church there was founded during Paul’s third missionary journey. Due to the fact that the port city of Izmir houses the second largest population in Turkey today, the site of ancient Smyrna has been little excavated. Excepting the agora, theater, and sections of the Roman aqueduct, little remains of the ancient city.But there is a protestant church in there that calls itself “The Protestant Church of Smyrna” and it has issued the following letter to the Global Church which was sent to ANS....Dear friends,This past week has been filled with much sorrow. Many of you have heard by now of our devastating loss here in an event that took place in Malatya, a Turkish province 300 miles northeast of Antioch, the city where believers were first called Christians (Acts 11:26).On Wednesday morning, April 18, 2007, 46 year old German missionary and father of three Tilman Geske prepared to go to his office, kissing his wife goodbye taking a moment to hug his son and give him the priceless memory, “Goodbye, son. I love you.”Tilman rented an office space from Zirve Publishing where he was preparing notes for the new Turkish Study Bible. Zirve was also the location of the Malatya Evangelist Church office.
A ministry of the church, Zirve prints and distributes Christian literature to Malatya and nearby cities in Eastern Turkey. In another area of town, 35 year old Pastor Necati Aydin, father of two, said goodbye to his wife, leaving for the office as well. They had a morning Bible Study and prayer meeting that some other believers in town would also be attending. Ugur Yuksel likewise made his way to the Bible study.None of these three men knew that what awaited them at the Bible study was the ultimate testing and application of their faith, which would conclude with their entrance into glory to receive their crown of righteousness from Christ and honor from all the saints awaiting them in the Lord’s presence.On the other side of town, ten young men all under 20 years old put into place final arrangements for their ultimate act of faith, living out their love for Allah and hatred of infidels who they felt undermined Islam.
On Resurrection Sunday, five of these men had been to a by-invitation-only evangelistic service that Pastor Necati and his men had arranged at a hotel conference room in the city. The men were known to the believers as “seekers.” No one knows what happened in the hearts of those men as they listened to the gospel. Were they touched by the Holy Spirit? Were they convicted of sin? Did they hear the gospel in their heart of hearts? Today we only have the beginning of their story.
These young men, one of whom is the son of a mayor in the Province of Malatya, are part of a tarikat, or a group of “faithful believers” in Islam. Tarikat membership is highly respected here; it’s like a fraternity membership. In fact, it is said that no one can get into public office without membership in a tarikat. These young men all lived in the same dorm, all preparing for university entrance exams.The young men got guns, bread knives, ropes and towels ready for their final act of service to Allah. They knew there would be a lot of blood. They arrived in time for the Bible Study, around 10 o’clock.They arrived, and apparently the Bible Study began. Reportedly, after Necati read a chapter from the Bible the assault began.
The boys tied Ugur, Necati, and Tilman’s hands and feet to chairs and as they videoed their work on their cellphones, they tortured our brothers for almost three hours*[Details of the torture–[the DHM omits these, but if you wish to read them click on the link above]Neighbors in workplaces near the print house said later they had heard yelling, but assumed the owners were having a domestic argument so they did not respond.
Meanwhile, another believer Gokhan and his wife had a leisurely morning. He slept in till 10, ate a long breakfast and finally around 12:30 he and his wife arrived at the office. The door was locked from the inside, and his key would not work. He phoned and though it had connection on his end he did not hear the phone ringing inside. He called cell phones of his brothers and finally Ugur answered his phone. “We are not at the office. Go to the hotel meeting. We are there. We will come there,” he said cryptically. As Ugur spoke Gokhan heard in the telephone’s background weeping and a strange snarling sound.
He phoned the police, and the nearest officer arrived in about five minutes. He pounded on the door, “Police, open up!” Initially the officer thought it was a domestic disturbance. At that point they heard another snarl and a gurgling moan. The police understood that sound as human suffering, prepared the clip in his gun and tried over and over again to burst through the door. One of the frightened assailants unlocked the door for the policeman, who entered to find a grisly scene.Tilman and Necati [were dead. Ugur’s was barely alive.]
Three assailants in front of the policeman dropped their weapons.Meanwhile Gokhan heard a sound of yelling in the street. Someone had fallen from their third story office. Running down, he found a man on the ground, whom he later recognized, named Emre Gunaydin. He had massive head trauma and, strangely, was snarling. He had tried to climb down the drainpipe to escape, and losing his balance had plummeted to the ground. It seems that he was the main leader of the attackers. Another assailant was found hiding on a lower balcony.

To untangle the web we need to back up six years. In April 2001, the National Security Council of Turkey (Milli Guvenlik Kurulu) began to consider evangelical Christians as a threat to national security, on equal footing as Al Quaida and PKK terrorism. Statements made in the press by political leaders, columnists and commentators have fueled a hatred against missionaries who they claim bribe young people to change their religion.After that decision in 2001, attacks and threats on churches, pastors and Christians began. Bombings, physical attacks, verbal and written abuse are only some of the ways Christians are being targeted. Most significant is the use of media propaganda.From December 2005, after having a long meeting regarding the Christian threat, the wife of Former Prime Minister Ecevit, historian Ilber Ortayli, Professor Hasan Unsal, Politician Ahmet Tan and writer/propogandist Aytunc Altindal, each in their own profession began a campaign to bring the public’s attention to the looming threat of Christians who sought to “buy their children’s souls”. Hidden cameras in churches have taken church service footage and used it sensationally to promote fear and antagonism toward Christianity.In an official televised response from Ankara, the Interior Minister of Turkey smirked as he spoke of the attacks on our brothers.
Amid public outrage and protests against the event and in favor of freedom of religion and freedom of thought, media and official comments ring with the same message, “We hope you have learned your lesson. We do not want Christians here.”It appears that this was an organized attack initiated by an unknown adult tarikat leader. As in the Hrant Dink murder in January 2007, and a Catholic priest Andrea Santoro in February 2006, minors are being used to commit religious murders because public sympathy for youth is strong and they face lower penalties than an adult convicted of the same crime. Even the parents of these children are in favor of the acts. The mother of the 16 year old boy who killed the Catholic priest Andrea Santoro looked at the cameras as her son was going to prison and said, “He will serve time for Allah.”The young men involved in the killing are currently in custody.
Today news reported that they would be tried as terrorists, so their age would not affect the strict penalty. Assailant Emre Gunaydin is still in intensive care. The investigation centers around him and his contacts and they say will fall apart if he does not recover.The Church in Turkey responded in a way that honored God as hundreds of believers and dozens of pastors flew in as fast as they could to stand by the small church of Malatya and encourage the believers, take care of legal issues, and represent Christians to the media.
When Susanne Tilman expressed her wish to bury her husband in Malatya, the Governor tried to stop it, and when he realized he could not stop it, a rumor was spread that “it is a sin to dig a grave for a Christian.”
In the end, in an undertaking that should be remembered in Christian history forever, the men from the church in Adana (near Tarsus), grabbed shovels and dug a grave for their slain brother in an un-tended hundred year old Armenian graveyard.Ugur was buried by his family in an Alevi Muslim ceremony in his hometown of Elazig, his believing fiancé watching from the shadows as his family and friends refused to accept in death the faith Ugur had so long professed and died for.Necati’s funeral took place in his hometown of Izmir, the city where he came to faith. The darkness does not understand the light.
Though the churches expressed their forgiveness for the event, Christians were not to be trusted. Before they would load the coffin onto the plane from Malatya, it went through two separate xray exams to make sure it was not loaded with explosives. This is not a usual procedure for Muslim coffins.Necati’s funeral was a beautiful event. Like a glimpse of heaven, thousands of Turkish Christians and missionaries came to show their love for Christ, and their honor for this man chosen to die for Christ. Necati’s wife Shemsa told the world, “His death was full of meaning, because he died for Christ and he lived for Christ… Necati was a gift from God. I feel honored that he was in my life, I feel crowned with honor. I want to be worthy of that honor.”Boldly the believers took their stand at Necati’s funeral, facing the risks of being seen publicly and likewise becoming targets. As expected, the anti-terror police attended and videotaped everyone attending the funeral for their future use. The service took place outside at Buca Baptist church, and he was buried in a small Christian graveyard in the outskirts of Izmir.Two assistant Governors of Izmir were there solemnly watching the event from the front row. Dozens of news agencies were there documenting the events with live news and photographs. Who knows the impact the funeral had on those watching?

This is the beginning of their story as well. Pray for them.In an act that hit front pages in the largest newspapers in Turkey, Susanne Tilman in a television interview expressed her forgiveness. She did not want revenge, she told reporters. “Oh God, forgive them for they know not what they do,” she said, wholeheartedly agreeing with the words of Christ on Calvary (Luke 23:34).In a country where blood-for-blood revenge is as normal as breathing, many many reports have come to the attention of the church of how this comment of Susanne Tilman has changed lives. One columnist wrote of her comment, “She said in one sentence what 1000 missionaries in 1000 years could never do.”

The missionaries in Malatya will most likely move out, as their families and children have become publicly identified as targets to the hostile city. The remaining 10 believers are in hiding. What will happen to this church, this light in the darkness? Most likely it will go underground. Pray for wisdom, that Turkish brothers from other cities will go to lead the leaderless church. Should we not be concerned for that great city of Malatya, a city that does not know what it is doing? (Jonah 4:11)When our Pastor Fikret Bocek went with a brother to give a statement to the Security Directorate on Monday they were ushered into the Anti-Terror Department. On the wall was a huge chart covering the whole wall listing all the terrorist cells in Izmir, categorized. In one prominent column were listed all the evangelical churches in Izmir. The darkness does not understand the light.

“These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also.” (Acts 17:6)Please pray for the Church in Turkey. “Don’t pray against persecution, pray for perseverance,” urges Pastor Fikret Bocek.The Church is better having lost our brothers; the fruit in our lives, the renewed faith, the burning desire to spread the gospel to quench more darkness in Malatya …all these are not to be regretted. Pray that we stand strong against external opposition and especially pray that we stand strong against internal struggles with sin, our true debilitating weakness.

This we know. Christ Jesus was there when our brothers were giving their lives for Him. He was there, like He was when Stephen was being stoned in the sight of Saul of Tarsus.Someday the video of the deaths of our brothers may reveal more to us about the strength that we know Christ gave them to endure their last cross, about the peace the Spirit of God endowed them with to suffer for their beloved Savior. But we know He did not leave their side. We know their minds were full of Scripture strengthening them to endure, as darkness tried to subdue the un-subduable Light of the Gospel. We know, in whatever way they were able, with a look or a word, they encouraged one another to stand strong. We know they knew they would soon be with Christ.We don’t know the details. We don’t know the kind of justice that will or will not be served on this earth.
But we pray– and urge you to pray– that someday at least one of those five boys will come to faith because of the testimony in death of Tilman Geske, who gave his life as a missionary to his beloved Turks, and the testimonies in death of Necati Aydin and Ugur Yuksel, the first martyrs for Christ out of the Turkish Church.

Reported by Darlene N. Bocek (24 April 2007)Note from the church: Please pass this on to as many praying Christians as you can, in as many countries as you can. Please always keep the heading as “From the Protestant Church of Smyrna” with this contact information:izmirprotestan@gmail.com http://www.izmirprotestan.org

Happy Birthday, Steven!

Today is Steven’s 19th birthday. I have struggled with what to write…as you all know, I’m no writer and I have difficulty putting what I want to say down on paper. Also, the things that we enjoy about Steven are not so easy to describe…they are attitudes, and gestures…things that show his heart to us, but not easy to put into words. But, I’ll try.

We used to be worried that Steven would be swept away by peer pressure - he loved his friends so much. But we see that his love for his friends has helped him to learn how to urge them on to greater godliness, to “call them on the carpet” if need be. We have seen that Steven is an exhorter, and we are thankful.

We used to be worried about Steven’s diligence to do what he ought…he really struggled with that in his early teen years, but also all through high school. But, Steven has risen to his calling, though and diligently studies “morning, noon, and night”. He is doing very well in college and has grown in his writing abilities. His English teacher has said that he is an “exceptional writer”. I have seen him working on a paper, it has taken great diligence on his part (I bet he would say, “blood, sweat and tears”).

We used to worry that Steven would be in rebellion - he has such strong ideas. It took him some time to learn how to speak them in a way that was respectful of authority. But, Steven treats his father and I with much deference and affection. His strong ideas continue to show his worldview which is one that glorifies God and we are thankful that he is so headstrong in this way!

Steven insisted on driving me and Shayna to a friend’s house a couple of evenings ago. We were invited to watch a movie, and finding out that we would be watching it on their laptop (their household is packed up in boxes ready to move) he offered to bring a television and DVD player and set it up for us. He did this and though they offered to bring us home, he insisted again, that I call him to pick us up. He remembers to get the doors for me, car doors as well as the regular kind and is always solicitous and gentle with me. Steven always remembers to hug and kiss me and I am so grateful for such small gestures! I think that one of the things that I will miss most when he goes off to “leave & cleave” one day is our conversations. Steven understands how important it is to me to “just talk” - I’m a quality time kind of person. He seems to understand that I need to talk things out, often to figure them out. He tells me his opinions, and what’s going on in his life, and he “calls me on the carpet” sometimes too.

Conrad and I are so thankful for the children that God has been pleased to bless us with. Each of them is unique and special…a real joy to us. Steven is not the least of these. Last year, I put the text of Psalm 1, but this year, I just want to put up a few verses:

1 The proverbs of Solomon: A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother. Prov. 10:1

1 A wise son heeds his father's instruction, but a mocker does not listen to rebuke. Prov. 13:1

15 My son, if your heart is wise, then my heart will be glad;
16 my inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right. Prov. 23:15,16

The father of a righteous man has great joy; he who has a wise son delights in him. Prov.23:24

Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart; then I can answer anyone who treats me with contempt. Prov. 27:11

“4For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer. 6If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed. 7Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. 8For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
9This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance 10(and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe.
11Command and teach these things. 12Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. (13Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. 14Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you.)15Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress.
16Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.”
I Timothy 4:4-15

A bragging post...for family and close friends.

Just thought I'd warn you!

A couple of days ago, Gaelan came quietly into the room I was in after having arrived home from work. "I need to go run an errand, do you need anything?" I answered no and that dinner wouldn't be for a while.
Later that evening, I noticed that he was sitting at the table with his college diploma. I recalled that he had gotten notice that it was ready to be picked up and surmised that that was what his errand was. "That looks like your diploma, may I look at it?" He shrugged and slid it over to me. It is very pretty, but the thing I noticed was the gold banner that said, "Magna Cum Laude". "Gaelan!, you didn't tell us that you had graduated at the top of your class!" Another shrug.

As I was telling the story to his father, Gaelan lounging in the library with us, I remarked that like a good homeschooler, Gaelan didn't set much store in what the "educrats"say. He obviously didn't think it was significant that he had earned a "Summa Cum Laude". Gaelan says, apparently disinterested from his chair, "that's Magna, Mom."

Prayers of the Church

This prayer was prayed at church yesterday during worship. I want to meditate on it this week.

Father in heaven, we raise our voices in thanksgiving to You, confessing that we are unable in ourselves to do good or to seek after You. Left to ourselves, we seek only our own peace, our own comfort, our own pleasure. It is Your Holy Spirit who works in us, giving us hearts to love You, changing us, and sanctifying us and our desires so that we may truly seek to glorify You in all that we do. So we pray, dear Father, that You would soften our hearts to hear Your Word, and quiet our wills that we may be guided by Your Spirit. Enable us to see past our own fleshly desires so that, in all we do, Lord, may we seek Your honor and glory.

We pray for the hastening of the day when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that You are the One, True God and that salvation is found in none other than Your Son. Continue to work in Your people to make our efforts effective for the advancement of Your kingdom. Use us as leaven to work in the world around us, transforming lives, throwing down everything that sets itself up in opposition to You, and bringing all things into subjection to Your throne of grace. Give us boldness to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to those around us, and grant that our words would go forth in power to bring the multitudes into Your Church.

Give us also a burning desire to see Your Church built up in faith and good works, washed by the water of Your Word, and cleansed from every spot and wrinkle, that we might be presented to You perfected at the end of time as a Bride for our Bridegroom, Christ Jesus. Give us a sense of urgency to minister within your Church, seeking not only to bless, but also to edify and to exhort one another unto holiness in our lives. Use our worship—the preaching of Your Word, the singing of praise, our prayers and the celebration of the sacraments—to nurture in us an abiding desire to walk worthy of our calling as Christians. Remind us of the privilege that is ours to lift up before You our fellow saints throughout the world, and especially those who worship in the face of persecution and martyrdom. Comfort them with the knowledge that their trials are a fleeting thing compared to the glory that awaits them in the world to come.

Lastly Father, we pray for our needs. We lift up to You all those who suffer from illness, infirmity, and difficult circumstances. We pray first of all for peace and a faithful witness in the midst of trials. We pray that You would be glorified in how we respond to adversity, and that Your strength would be made perfect in our weakness. Remind us that You love us, and that everything You bring into our lives is done out of love for us, Your children. Keep us faithful to You as we seek after healing, as we seek after work, as we look forward to moving and to the birth of new children. And in all this, Lord, grant us what we need. Give us this day our daily bread. In Your mercy, grant us healing, jobs, homes, and safe delivery of children.

Heavenly Father, where there is sin in our lives, root it out and grant us repentance. Where there is complacency, give us zeal for You and Your kingdom. Where there is pride, humble us. Where there is corruption, grant us a desire for purity in thought, word, and deed. Where there is anger and bitterness, grant us a desire for peace. Where there is selfishness, grant us generosity and abundant love. Where there are idols in our lives, give us the desire and the determination to cast them down. And in their place, may we exalt You, our glorious God and King.

We ask all this in confidence, knowing that as we seek Your will for our lives and as we sincerely desire to obey You in all things, we know that You will lead us not into temptation but will deliver us from the Evil One. And so we lift all these prayers up to You and rest in the knowledge that You are our faithful covenant keeping God, praying through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

Trying out Blogger

I'm trying out the blogger account I have. I have stuck with Xanga because it's not very complicated and I don't want to spend more time than I already do blogging...or figuring out blogging.
I would like some of the features I see at blogger though. So, here goes!

Visit my blog at www.xanga.com/margaretinva