2011 at 2:28 pm | by Carolyn Mahaney
A few weeks ago, John Piper preached a powerful sermon on the suffering of children with disabilities: “Why Was This Child Born Blind?”:
The issue may be autism or Down syndrome or FASD or spina bifida or blindness or any number of rare and unpronounceable conditions—each has its own peculiar sorrows, its own peculiar way of turning decades into what you never dreamed or planned they would be. Married life isn’t what you thought it would be. Everything is irrevocably changed, and life will never be the same again. And you were not asked.
What would I do as a pastor if I had to face these things—these children, these parents—with a Bible that said nothing about it? What if all I could do is think up ideas on my own about suffering and disability? What if all I had was human opinions? I thank God that this is not our condition. The Bible is permeated with suffering and sorrow. This is one of the things that make it so believable. It is filled with things that God has said and done to shed light on these sufferings and sorrows.
You can listen to the entire sermon online or read the transcript.
The Desiring God blog followed this with sermon with several amazing testimonies of grace. First, John Piper’s three-part interview with John Knight, followed by the story of Greg and Kim Lucas and their son:
Please take time to watch, listen, read, and worship.
2011 at 9:21 pm | by Janelle Bradshaw
Filed under
Biblical Womanhood 52home
6:16 p.m.
52home
2011 at 8:34 pm | by Nicole Whitacre
Filed under
Biblical Womanhood
“When you say there is no difference between men and women, you hurt, more than anyone, women,” laments Kevin DeYoung in his recent message at the NEXT Conference, “Who Am I? Humanity in the Eyes of the World and the Christian.”
Kevin spent fifteen minutes of his hour-long talk contrasting God’s view of gender with the cultural view that there is no difference between men and women, and the accompanying dangers of such faulty thinking. “I hope you see how patently unbiblical this is” he said. “God made them, in the beginning, male and female. And we see already in Genesis, before The Fall, that there were distinct yet complementary roles for men and women.”
The entire message is packed full of biblical insight, clear cultural analysis, and humor. We highly recommend you listen and learn.
(And for all of you moms with young kids, don’t despair for want of an hour. Break it into seven ten-minute segments and you’ll be finished by the end of the week!)
2011 at 10:41 pm | by Janelle Bradshaw
Filed under
Biblical Womanhood 52home
11:30 p.m. Happy Weekend!
52home
2011 at 9:31 pm | by Nicole Whitacre
Filed under
Fun Stuff Friday Funnies
Steve and I have been great friends with Gary and his wife Dawn for several years now. Recently, they watched their four young grandkids for a week which inspired Gary to compose the following top ten list:
You Know You’ve Been Watching Your Grandkids a Long Time When…
1. The soap dispenser has more water in it than soap.
2. When you go into the pantry in the morning, the cereal boxes are all opened and there are crumbs on the floor.
3. Your house looks like the Caterpillar Room in Toy Story 3
4. You begin to believe that their mom really does allow them to watch Star Wars every day.
5. You’ve broken up more fights than the United Nations.
6. You don’t panic when your grandson announces that he just finished off the chocolate milk from the Red Robin glass that has been sitting in a hot car for over 24 hours.
7. Nobody can find the TV remote, the DVD remote, or half the Wii remotes.
8. You wonder why you ask who did it, because you know everone’s answer will obviously be, “Not me”.
9. They have more loop-holes in your instructions than a legal firm could find.
10. When someone asks them, “Who is looking forward to seeing Mommy and Daddy tomorrow?”, your hand is the first one in the air.
Happy Father’s Day to all of the fathers and grandfathers—especially to CJ, Brian, Steve and Mike!
the girltalkers
2011 at 10:41 pm | by Janelle Bradshaw
Filed under
Biblical Womanhood 52home
1:26 p.m.
52home
2011 at 8:02 pm | by Nicole Whitacre
Filed under
Motherhood
Rachel Jankovic—a wife and mother of five little ones—has a must-read post for mothers at the Desiring God blog today:
If you are a Christian woman who loves the Lord, the gospel is important to you. It is easy to become discouraged, thinking that the work you are doing does not matter much. If you were really doing something for Christ you would be out there, somewhere else, doing it. Even if you have a great perspective on your role in the kingdom, it is easy to lose sight of it in the mismatched socks, in the morning sickness, in the dirty dishes. It is easy to confuse intrigue with value, and begin viewing yourself as the least valuable part of the Church.
There are a number of ways in which mothers need to study their own roles, and begin to see them, not as boring and inconsequential, but as home, the headwaters of missions.
My fellow moms, we need to read and re-read articles like this every week to help us keep the gospel in view. Read the whole thing here.
2011 at 9:38 pm | by Janelle Bradshaw
Filed under
Biblical Womanhood 52home
6:41 p.m.
52home
2011 at 11:13 pm | by Carolyn Mahaney
Filed under
Biblical Womanhood
Recently, at the end of a conference session where CJ and I fielded questions, a woman approached me with a query of her own: “So what do you do on the side?” she inquired.
“On the side?” I echoed, not fully comprehending her question.
“What do you do for personal fulfillment?” she sought to clarify. “You see I’m happy my husband has his ministry because that provides him with personal fulfillment. But I pursue my own hobbies because they provide personal fulfillment for me. So,” she repeated again, “What do you do?”
I was unprepared for her question. And I’m sure my answer was insufficient. (How often I have an eloquent answer after the conversation is over!) If I had it to do over again, I’d tell her about Dorothy.
Dorothy was a woman who knew the secret of true “personal fulfillment.” A single mom whose husband left her with a son to raise, Dorothy didn’t spend time worrying about herself. Instead, she was always serving and caring for others. I knew her because she was my Sunday School teacher. And Dorothy was one of the most joyful women I knew.
At my bridal shower everyone wrote down a piece of advice on a slip of paper. I only remember one, and it was Dorothy’s. Her secret to a fulfilled life? “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 10:39).
Our culture is constantly telling us to find our life; that we’re the center of our world, and as such, we need to take care of “me” first.
But when I’m the center of my world, my world becomes very small—because I’m the only person in it. When I try to find fulfillment in anything besides loving Christ and serving Him, I will only end up more frustrated and completely unfulfilled.
Now, don’t misunderstand. I think we as women should express our creativity, and even more importantly get sufficient rest. But the purpose of creativity should be to glorify God with our gifts, not to find “personal fulfillment,” and the goal of rest should be to strengthen us for service.
If we want “personal fulfillment” as women, we must not follow our culture’s prescription. Rather, we must lose our life for Christ’s sake. Then, amazingly, we’ll find that our world expands. We’ll know the thrill of seeing the fruit of our sacrificial service in the lives of those around us. So for true “personal fulfillment,” let’s follow Dorothy’s example as she followed Christ.
—from the archives
2011 at 2:29 pm | by Janelle Bradshaw
Filed under
Biblical Womanhood 52home
For the stairwell- do ya get it?
52home
2011 at 10:16 pm | by Janelle Bradshaw
Filed under
Biblical Womanhood 52home
8:02 a.m. Next to the coffee pot.
52home
2011 at 12:50 pm | by Carolyn Mahaney
Filed under
Biblical Womanhood Modesty
The Right Clothes
by Elisabeth Elliot in A Lamp Unto My Feet
Only certain costumes suit Christians. To be otherwise dressed is inappropriate.
“Put on the garments that suit God’s chosen people, his own, his beloved: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience” (Col 3:12 NEB).
“Put on the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Rom 13:14 RSV)
“You have all put on Christ as a garment.” (Gal 3:27 NEB)
“You must put on the new nature of God’s creating.” (Eph 4:24 NEB)
“You have discarded the old nature with its deeds and have put on the new nature.” (Col 3:10 NEB)
“Put on love.” (Col 3:14 RSV)
The clothes we wear are what people see. Only God can look on the heart. The outward signs are important. They reveal something of what is inside. If charity is there, it will become visible outwardly, but if you have no charitable feelings, you can still obey the command. Put it on as simply and consciously as you put on a coat. You choose it; you pick it up; you put it on. This is what you want to wear.
Do you want to dress like a Christian? Put on Christ. The act of honest obedience—the fruit of love for Christ—is your part. Making you Christlike through and through is his part.
(HT: Lucy)
2011 at 10:12 pm | by Janelle Bradshaw
Filed under
Biblical Womanhood 52home
11:40 a.m. Complete
52home
2011 at 9:11 pm | by Nicole Whitacre
Filed under
Fun Stuff Friday Favorites
A new gift for college-bound students:
Thriving at College: Make Great Friends, Keep Your Faith, and Get Ready for the Real World!
by Alex Chediak
A few more suggestions from last year:
My favorite gift to give grads is a laundry basket filled with a towel set a thing of laundry soap and a big jar filled with quarters along with the book, Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung. —Jessica
A college emergency kit: Sewing supplies, first aid kit, shoe goo, phone card, etc. —Rebecca
I just graduated college and this year my parents got me a kitchen aid mixer, which I am absolutely thrilled about! It is kind of a large gift but for any bride or grad who loves to bake/cook, then this is the perfect gift. —Paige
Knowing God by J.I. Packer is my favorite grad gift to give because it was in college that I slowly studied this book, digesting it a little at a time and it was the first time I ever understood the place of my faith in my life. It’s still my favorite book. —Kerry
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