girltalk Blog
The following interview with Nancy Guthrie from Desiring God Live is both comforting and compelling—in particular the first half where she shares her testimony of God’s grace in the midst of the grief of losing two children. Here is a brief introduction to Nancy from the DG blog and the video is below. We’d encourage you to watch or listen:
In today’s modern world, few parents have to face the bitter task of burying a child that they love. But David and Nancy Guthrie have faced the grave twice now, burying two children who lived only six months.
When Nancy gave birth to a daughter, Hope, in 1998, club feet, extreme lethargy, an inability to suck, and a number of other small problems hinted at something more significant. On her second day of life, Hope was diagnosed with Zellweger Syndrome, a rare metabolic disorder that is characterized by the reduction or absence of peroxisomes (cell structures that rid the body of toxic substances) in the cells of the liver, kidneys, and brain. There is no treatment and no cure for Zellweger Syndrome and most children with the syndrome live less than six months.
For Nancy, her husband David, and their son, Matt, the diagnosis was devastating and disappointing. Hope’s brief life—a life of only 199 days— made a significant impact on them and those around them, causing them to dig deep into their faith to make sense of such suffering.
2:55 p.m.
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When it comes to books, there are really two categories: the Bible, and everything else. While the great works of men certainly reflect our Lord’s creativity, the Bible contains the very Words of God. That’s why the psalmist appropriately gushes, “More to be desired are they than gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb” (Psalm 19:10).
And that’s why Horatius Bonar warns: “See that your relish for the Bible be above every other enjoyment, and the moment you begin to feel greater relish for any other book, lay it down till you have sought deliverance from such a snare, and obtained from the Holy Spirit an intenser relish, a keener appetite for the Word of God (Jer 15:16).”
Yesterday we received a sweet email about a woman with a keen appetite for the Word of God. Jayne writes that, “My Dad’s favorite memory of his mother is of her kneading bread on the kitchen counter with her Bible open, dusted by the flour. She had 11 children and made all the family bread from scratch each day. Money was in very short supply but her love of the Word was plentiful. Working within her limitations of strength, time & duty, she found a way to fill her days with reading the Word.”
Similarly, Donald Whitney points to the example of another woman whose “longings for the things of God reached as high as ever” even when “her time and energy had new and severe limits.”
So if you find your relish for God’s Word has diminished, then pray as the Psalmist did: “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law” (Psalm 119:18). Then dust off your Bible and read.
—from the archives
It’s what’s for lunch.
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It’s what’s for lunch.
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“I could never myself believe in God, if it were not for the cross. The only God I believe in is the One Nietzsche ridiculed as ‘God on the cross.’ In the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who was immune to it? I have entered many Buddhist temples in different Asian countries and stood respectfully before the statue of the Buddha, his legs crossed, arms folded, eyes closed, the ghost of a smile playing round his mouth, a remote look on his face, detached from the agonies of the world. But each time after a while I have had to turn away. And in imagination I have turned instead to that lonely, twisted, tortured figure on the cross, nails through hands and feet, back lacerated, limbs wrenched, brow bleeding from thorn-pricks, mouth dry and intolerably thirsty, plunged in Godforsaken darkness. That is the God for me! He laid aside his immunity to pain. He entered our world of flesh and blood, tears and death. He suffered for us. Our sufferings become more manageable in the light of his. There is still a question mark against human suffering, but over it we boldly stamp another mark, the cross that symbolizes divine suffering. ‘The cross of Christ ... is God’s only self-justification in such a world” as ours….’ ‘The other gods were strong; but thou wast weak; they rode, but thou didst stumble to a throne; But to our wounds only God’s wounds can speak, And not a god has wounds, but thou alone.’” ~John Stott, The Cross of Christ, p. 326-327
It’s what’s for lunch.
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--from the archives
Dawn’s kids aren’t in The 5 O’Clock Club anymore:
Thanks so much again for answering my mail about the 5 O’Clock Club. Things have been going better. Thanks so much for the phone under the pillow idea. I have also worked on not stepping on the top step of our stairs and that helps a lot too. I have been able to get up and not wake the children this last week.
We’re so glad to hear God is helping your kids to sleep and you to wake up.
But, says Dawn, “I have one remaining problem—how to stay awake during prayer. (I have tried praying aloud—well, in a whisper—but somehow I still fall asleep.) But you have encouraged me to think creatively so I am sure I will find the answer.”
We’ve been there too, and here are a few things we’ve tried—
- Pray while you exercise. Mom used to prop her prayer list up on the treadmill console and pray while she exercised.
- Pray in the shower. From an idea Mom gave me, I printed my prayer list, put it in a sheet protector and taped it to the wall of my shower. I had some of my best prayer times there—although our water bill probably went up!
- Pray on a walk. When Tori was a baby, I would sometimes walk around the block with her in the stroller. This idea doesn’t work with toddlers though.
- Pray as you pace. This might not work with light sleepers in the house, but Janelle gets up and walks around if she feels sleepy during prayer.
- Pray after you wake up. Sometimes it helps me to pray after an activity that really wakes me up—taking a shower, emptying the dishwasher, etc. My husband goes running before his quiet time.
- Pray after coffee (or caffeinated beverage of choice). The 5 O’Clock club runs on coffee.
- Pray before you pray. Ask God for grace to stay awake and pray!
Hope those simple ideas get you started. We’re confident God is eager to help all of us grow in prayer.
It’s what’s for lunch.
52home
The Long View and Heart Tenderizing Words (for moms) by Nancy Wilson
Know a Victim of Sexual Assault? What to Say and Not to Say by Justin and Lindsey Halcomb
Ten Things to Remember after a Summer Mission Trip by Jeff Brewer (HT: Justin Taylor)
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