Shades of White

Earthshine

The skies were clear this early November morning. I stood inside the door, placing the camera on the window to steady it, and took this photo.

I had not noticed the earthshine until I plugged the camera into my computer and downloaded the photos. Earthshine is the light that passes through the earth's atmosphere from the sun and is reflected onto the moon, allowing us to see a faint glow from that part of the moon that is not lit by the sun.

When I enlarged the photo, the moon was in triplicate, so I ran for my tripod and, ignoring the cold, I stepped out onto the deck. Too late. The sun had risen far enough that I could no longer catch the earthshine. But the photo is clearer.

 

Throughout time people have seen the moon and all of nature as a wonder worthy of worship--a spirit, a god. As a Christian, I see nature as God's art, as His voice visible (God said, "Let there be light..."), as proof of One who is greater than I. His power and understanding and knowledge is a mystery far beyond my fathoming. It gives me reason to worship Him.

 

The earth and all that is in it, the universe and all its wonders not only show the handiwork of God but also sing praises to Him who made them. Shall we not join them?

Earth and all stars!

Large rushing planets!

Sing to the Lord a new song!

                        ~~from Earth and All Stars! by Herbert F. Brokering

 

 

Sunday Morning: Book 'n Breakfast

Several weeks ago,  I decided that all of my children were old enough to read the adult Christian books that I had on my library shelf and that we ought to be discussing them. With one child in college, two busy in outside activities, and my husband trying to juggle full-time work and the farm, the only time I could be sure all of us would be home was Sunday morning. I told my family that I'd get up bright and early to make a nice breakfast if they would get up in time to discuss the week's reading.

We started with A Slow and Certain Light: Thoughts on the Guidance of God by Elisabeth Elliot. (I think this title has been changed to God's Guidance: A Slow and Certain Light.) I divided the book up into readings of something around 20 pages. Although they all wait until Saturday night to read it and the discussions are a little sleepy, I think I've found something that is working well. I'm enjoying my family reading and discussing the thoughts and ideas of deep people.

We just finished The Mystery of Pain by Paul Lindell. I knew Paul when I was a child; he had cancer and did not survive it, but he was the most inspiring of men. I was 13 years old when he was head of the World Mission Prayer League (WMPL) and led a study on 1st Corinthians 13; that was when I felt the scriptures burn within me for the first time, finding faith something that was vibrant and alive. This small book talks about all kinds of suffering--not just physical pain. It caused us to ponder the In Between stage--that time after the Garden and before the New Earth--in which we are now living, a time when pain and suffering is "the norm" and not something unusual or unexpected, a time when our weaknesses show God most visible. This little gem use to be available through WMPL, but I do not find it available on their website now. Several sites sell it used: Amazon and abebooks.com.

This Sunday we will discuss the first two chapters of O. Hallesby's Infant Baptism and Adult Conversion. I borrowed this old book from my pastor a few years ago and loved its discussion on the faith of a child who is raised in a Christian home and the importance of his knowing his imperfections. It gave great insight into the difference between the person raised in faith and one who converts to it when older. When we finish it, I plan to move into Becky Pippert's book, Out of the Saltshaker and Into The World, and we may do a book by Tozer. There are so many wonderful options!

I've been reading ahead of my family during my daily meditations, choosing books that might be interesting, tossing others that don't seem to be a good fit for us. This has been an excellent reason to get myself back into several books that I read years ago.

And breakfast on Sunday morning is a lot better, too: pancakes, waffles, apple panakukan, omletes. Care to join us?

For All the Love

I grew up singing this song (below), and yet I have not found it in my hymnal or any other book I have. I have not been able to find the author. Since the website where I found it does not have it marked as copyrighted, I printed it here for you.  I love the melody and the joy it brings to sing quietly alone or in a church full of worshipers!

For all the love that from our earliest days
Has gladdened life and guarded all our ways,
We bring Thee, Lord, our song of grateful praise,
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

For all the truth from wisdom's lighted page,
Undimmed and pure, that shines from age to age,
God's holy Word, our priceless heritage,
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

For all the Joy that childhood's days have brought,
For healthful lives and purity of thought,
For life's deep meaning to our spirits taught,
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

For all the hope that sheds its glorious ray
Along the dark and unknown future way,
And lights the path to God's eternal day,
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

For all the strength that has been gained through prayer,
To face life's tasks, its eager quests to share,
Till ampler powers fullfil its promise fair,
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

For Christ the Lord our Saviour and our friend,
Upon whose love and truth our souls depend,
Our hope, our strength, our joy that knows no end,
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

                

He Is Risen, Indeed!

On Good Friday, it is tradition to strip the altar before leaving. We exit the church in silence, solemnly remembering the sacrificial death of Our Lord; when we arrive at church on Easter morning, the church is dark and silent. In remembrance of the women who came to the tomb to prepare His body for burial on that early Sunday morning, the women of our church quietly place the altar cloths, the candles, and flowers in the front of the church, and we say...

The Lord is Risen! He is risen, indeed!

Maundy Thursday

 ~~Stooping with towel in hand, He washed the feet of those who were not faithful:

"A new commandment
I give to you:
love one another."

Bread and wine, my body and blood--and in solitude, he prayed.

~~And now, we who are called The Faithful, although no more faithful than they, gather to wash each other's feet.

"Take, eat:
this is my body,
which is broken for you:
this do in remembrance of me."

"This cup
is the new covenant
in My blood;
do this,
as often as you drink it,
in remembrance of Me."

We go to our beds. We sleep, as did His friends.

"Lord Jesus Christ
Son of the Living God
Have mercy on me, a sinner."

Winter's Simplicity

The simplicity of the monastic way of life is bound to stand out in such a complicated world as ours. We are a society geared to sensory overkill. Monks have something to share when it comes to the rediscovery of simple enjoyment--the smell of hot coffee, or freshly mown hay, the sight of soft, early morning sunlight falling on the chapel floor. Monastic life is a sapiential life, a life of growing in wisdom. Its wisdom is nothing high blown or esoteric--it is rooted in the human.
        ~~Sister Donald Corcoran, OSB

Surrender

Doing the will of God is not done by clenching one's teeth and, with all one's strength, fighting inner man, determined to do God's will.

It is, instead, a surrender of self, a laying down of all rights.

We open ourselves up to pain and sorrow, joy and hope.

We enter before his throne in tattered rags, holding on to what we see important, not seeing what dirt it is that we have grown to love.

If we will offer to him our rags--opening our hands and releasing that which is precious, we will find that he intends to replace it with more than we knew existed.
   
            ~~Jean in Wisconsin 2007

Wordless Wednesday

Anima Christi

~~I spent some time in the blog world yesterday and found a blog I bookmarked so that I would be sure to return when I had more time. You can visit it here. Below is a prayer called the Anima Christi that I found there; I will be certain to copy this one into my prayer book.

Soul of Christ, sanctify me
Body of Christ, save me
Blood of Christ, inebriate me
Water from Christ's side, wash me
Passion of Christ, strengthen me
O good Jesus, hear me
Within Thy wounds hide me
Suffer me not to be separated from Thee
From the malignant enemy defend me
At the hour of my death call me
And bid me come to Thee
That with thy saints I may praise Thee
Forever and ever.
Amen.

Today is the Lord's Day...

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

                                         ~~Thomas Ken 

Preparation Day

Remember the sabbath day
to keep it holy.
Six days you shall labor,
and do all your work;
but the seventh day is a sabbath
to the Lord your God;
in it you shall not do any work,
you, or your son, or your daughter,
your manservant, or your maidservant,
or your cattle, or the sojourner
who is within your gates;
for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them,
and rested the seventh day;
therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day
and hallowed it. Genesis 20:8-11 (RSV)

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

    ~~It was not many generations ago that Sunday was strictly observed as a day of rest.

When my grandfather was farming, my mother recalls that even if the hay crop was likely to be ruined by rain on Monday, her dad never worked in the fields on Sunday.

This first day of the week was when people attended church; the remaining hours were passed quietly sitting on front porches, reading the Sunday paper, chatting with neighbors and family, and dozing in the rocking chair.

    ~~When I was growing up, every Saturday was spent cleaning and cooking.

Sometimes I would rise to find my mother making bread; by the time I saw the light coming through my bedroom window, my mom would have already kneaded the bread and set it to rise.

I recall crawling up on the kitchen chair to watch her form the loaves and dinner rolls which we would eat on Sunday. 

We cleaned the house from top to bottom on Saturday, pulling out all the furniture to vacuum underneath.

We gathered all of the shoes, and it was my job, since I was the youngest, to polish them so that they would be shiny for church the following day.

By the time Sunday morning came, we had only to put the dinner into the oven and get the family out of the door for church and Sunday school--no small feat, I'm sure, when my mom had to get four of us, 6 and under, into the car and into the pew by 8:00 A.M.

What we did was not unusual; throughout the community, even the stores and gas stations were usually closed.

It was generally accepted that Sunday was a day set apart.

    ~~I decided long ago that I wanted to set aside Sundays as a day of worship and rest.

After Sunday worship, I put together dinner and then spend the remainder of the day doing as little as possible.

I am learning, however, that in order to make Sunday special, it helps to have had a day of preparation; if I plan the meals, straighten and clean the house, and have the laundry and ironing done, the following day goes much more easily, and I have more time to relax.

    ~~For most people, Sundays are no longer what they use to be, and I am not convinced that the change is to our benefit.

I have never regretted having worked hard on Saturday to make our day of worship more relaxing.

I love it when we set a day aside to worship, relax, walk, spend time with family, and nap. It becomes a day we look forward to each week.

Feasts and Fasts

My daughter made us a pecan pie. Don't I have the sweetest girl alive?

We use the recipe from the Betty Crocker's Cookbook.

I had never had pecan pie prior to meeting my hubby, and it is sweeter than most things I eat; it is my hubby's favorite pie--and it is easy to make.

I like to make desserts for Sunday, and I am making an extra effort to do so as a reminder that Sunday is the day of celebration in the church week; I've never been one to bake many sweets for the family.

Wednesdays, however, in my home, are fast days (and the day of the week we fast varies according to the seasons and schedules). I vary the fast to fit the needs of the day. Some days I do a bread and water fast. Other days, the only thing I have is water with a splash of apple juice--I tend to feel queasy if I only have plain water. Last Wednesday I had a liquid fast--I drank fruit juices and vegetable juice.

I start my fast upon rising on Wednesday morning. I pray, read my Bible, and meditate early in the day. At meal time, I try to get away for a few minutes of prayer in the silence of my room. If I can, I try to plan meals that are easy to make or meals the family can make on their own. Throughout the day, I frequently find myself wandering towards the kitchen and realize I'm looking for something to eat; at these times I bring to mind that my soul is doing the same--wandering, looking for something to satisfy it: God.

I normally break my fast with something light at about 3:00. A piece of toast is what I usually eat. Then I eat supper with the family; I prefer something light--soup or fish. Fasting is a way to become aware of our response to desires unmet. It strengthens us and trains us to turn to God for our daily needs.

I find balance in the feasting and fasting routine. I think that we could better ourselves if we allowed ourselves to fast in other areas of our lives--watching TV, using the internet, running and going and doing, purchasing things. I do not think we generally have difficulty with the feasting aspect of these, although we may often be too busy to truly celebrate life with friends and family.

I sometimes wonder how our nation might be affected and changed if we were to learn the lessons of fasting?

The snow is beginning to melt.

Ice and snow are dripping steadily from the roof. Water is beginning to flow in rivulets.

Yet snow is in our forecast today. And tomorrow.

Today when I light my Lenten candle, I will recall all the the commitments I made on Ash Wednesday. Walking with an awareness of the presence of God is sometimes allusive, although it is always rewarding. Fasting on Wednesdays is an exercise in turning my face toward God and away from self. The rewards are unexpected--more peace, more joy, more contentment.

But now it is time to shut down the computer and start the day--to make myself beautiful for the family with gentleness and cheerfulness (perhaps not my natural personality!), to clean and organize my home to be comfortable and pleasant, to nourish my family with healthy yet attractive meals (which reminds me it is time to grind wheat), and to care for their needs through books and conversation.

I found questions to ponder for Lent (or any time of the year) and posted them on Listening to Silence, should you be interested. I pray your day be one of joy and self-giving!

Search for beauty--

Jean

Today is Monday

Sometimes Penelope, my donkey, reminds me of Eeyore.

We found a dead cow in our pasture today; she was covered with snow. She probably died in the really bad storm two days ago. It is possible that she failed to give birth. We are not sure yet.

My mom has not felt well since her surgery, and I finally convinced her to come and stay in our home. It will be easier to care for her here.

My Lenten candle is burning tonight. It is a quiet reminder of the season we are in--a time of conviction of sin, repentance, and renewal.

Blessings.

Reformation Sunday

My son (on the left) was confirmed on Reformation Sunday. I have been very thankful for our Pastor's patient and humble service in the church--we have received the blessings that come from his 60 years of experience as a missionary in Japan and a pastor. May we be as faithful!