Again, Mother 'Visits'

" I am convinced that I am greedy for too many books and that I already have all the books I can read and re-read with profit to last me the rest of my life.

In fact, I can never digest all the fine study books we already have .

So this a.m. I threw away an enticing invitation to join a book club.

I hope I will content myself with such books as I have and dig into them."

So my mum wrote in her eighty-first year. She was given 11 more years and followed her own advice.

And to the end there were books on shelves by her bed.

For myself, I am trying valiantly to follow her example. There is an on-going effort to reduce the number of books about, to remove from shelves the unneeded, unwanted, the duplicates. But O the pain..a wrenching really. There are the doubts that come concerning 'what if' I should want/need its printed gold in future days? Then when the deed is done, there is the missing as of absent friends.

But head up, shoulders squared, I shall march onward in the task.

Thanks once again, Mama for you words and your example.

Now if I can only keep that finger from the 1-click on the Amazon book page.

Simplify, Simplify, Simplify

So goes the mantra of our lives.
How we desire simplicity in each area of our lives.
How we continually collect, add, complicate.

Perhaps this is why the Psalter reading for today blazed across my sight.

In the center of Psalm 86 it states:

"...You alone are God.
Teach me your way, O Lord;
I will walk in your truth;
Unite my heart to fear Your name.
I will praise you O Lord my God,
with all my Heart,
and I will glorify Your name for evermore."

So here is the simple recipe for ease in our spiritual pilgrimage, which - yes- we also complicate.
Reading this definitely provided a 'selah' moment for me this morning.

Psalm 27.11 compliments this by stating:

"Teach me Your way, O Lord,
and lead me in a plain path...." [KJV]

A plain path is a clear path, a path distinct.

O Dear Reader, may we unclutter our lives, hearts and paths.
May we stop piling up our own notions.
May we allow our faithful God to lead rather than us setting the criteria with our expectations.

May we not forget to praise, to fear, to glorify.
And so walk..not run ahead, but walk as He clears the path before us.

"Lead me Lord,

Lead me in Thy righteousness;

May Thy way plain

before my face.

For it is Thou Lord,

Thou Lord only,

that makes me to dwell in safety."

Samuel S. Welsey, 1810-1876

Miss Austen's Needle

Anyone who knows our family knows that we are three generations of Janeites. It matters not if it is her writings or movies made from those writings, we enjoy them. We talk about them. We debate them. Even the menfolk, if not entering in, at least accept the fact that we women take delight in these. If nothing else, they make happy sport of Mr. Collins.

So it is when something new is discovered there is excitement.

We have all read the prayers Jane left behind and have found them lovely and profound. In fact so much so as to wonder why with all the books and articles written about Jane there is yet to be something on the faith of the woman.

But back to the new discovery. This time it is a sampler stitched by Jane dated 1797. As pictured, it is stitched on linen in greens and deep reds with a touch of yellow gold for accent. The piece is bordered in geometric design in flower pots with vines and stylized flowers evenly distributed. At the bottom of the centerpiece are trees, large flowering ones, and smaller fir shaped. On the center one of these sits a charming long-tailed bird.

All is stitched in the tiniest of even cross stitching.

But it is the words that are of greatest interest. These are phrases taken from the Psalter of the Book of Common Prayer. The spelling is of course of that time with 'f's put for 's's.
Changing these only, it reads as follows:

"Praise the Lord o my Soul and all that is within me

Praise his holy Name as long as I live will I praise

The Lord I will give thanks unto God while I have

My Being sing unto the Lord o ye Kingdoms of the

Earth o sing praise unto the Lord Give the Lord the

Honour doe unto his Name worship the Lord with holy

Worship in the Time of trouble I will call upon the

Lord and he will hear me Turn thy Face from

my Sins and put out all my Misdeeds."

These choices seem to frame a faith balanced and sincere. Because of the random-ness of their selection, it makes me wonder if she chose them herself. They do not fit the usual sampler selections of the time.

Oh yes. She was age 10 when she worked this sampler.

My hope is Dear Reader, that the words of this sampler, worked so long ago by a 'friend' will encourage your heart this day.

[Psalm. 103.1; 104.33; 68.32; 29.2; 86.7]

Caked Over Vision

Sometimes Truths collide in a most unsettling way.
Or so it seemed this morning.

The Psalter reading from Common Prayer included Psalm 39.
Speaking of the measure of my days:

they are but a span,

a hand-breadth,

- 5 1/2 - 9 inches compared to Eternity!

At my age I'm well aware at the shortness of ones life regardless of the number of years piled up. But the psalmist goes on to speak of it all as vapor, i.e. rising morning mists. And of the treasures we cling to and pile up as vanity, vain shadows "heaped up riches and we cannot tell who will gather them."

Is that all, isn't that rebuke enough? No. I am also frail, transitory.

Bernard of Clairvaux then pointed out that "the soul's vision is caked over by our focus" of our earth toys, our treasures, seeing as we will the gifts and not the Giver.

These thoughts combined paint a grim and unattractive picture of my failed vision and my foolish clingings.

Back to the Psalm we go. From my caked over vision, my pile of toys and treasures that unknown others will enjoy, the disappearing vapor that is life, a proper focus is offered.

"And now Lord, what is my hope?

Truly my hope is even in Thee."

After the tears, the prayer and heart's cry, the writer gives this reminder:

"for I am Your passing guest,

a temporary resident,

as all my fathers were."

Nevertheless, over all is hope, hope that clears , uncluttering, uncaking the eyes of the soul.

Lord this day,
give me clear eyes,
Your eyes to see the measure of my life and its focus,

"looking away from all that distracts to Jesus,

the Author and Finisher of [my] faith."

Post Easter Thoughts

In the Northwest, the day was cold and bleak weather-wise. The message of the services was totally other, Praise God.

"It all started in the dark despair of a dead and mangled body, mourned by a few brave souls and hastily planted in a borrowed tomb..women perfumed oils in hand came to that tomb with heavy hearts; they left with hearts on Fire. They came slowly, cautiously; they left running...They came in search of Jesus of Nazareth; they ran from the tomb with news of Christ the Lord...." So, in part, preached Father Ryan of St. James Cathedral, Seattle.

In our own humble fellowship the young teacher of the adult class, brilliantly presented a composite of the scriptural account of our Lord's last days, burial and resurrection as given in the Gospels. Being overcome by the emotion of it all he could not complete his closing prayer. After a time as his tearful pause continued, others collectively said "Amen".

That's the beauty and power of the Easter Message. Gloomy weather outside mattered not.
Hearts provided the true reflection.

********

Following services, the family gathered in part - (we are always sad that there are those far away with other responsibilities) at the cottage home of Daughter # 2. As a family, we are so very blessed. Speaking with the Patriarch on the way home it was concluded that if all members were stirred together and boiled down, there would not be enough cranky distilled to form a single mean-spirited person.

Perfect? Hardly! Diverse? Totally. There is high decibel noise, tides of laughter, all manner of teasing and craziness. But the over arching banner is Love. There is the common love of the Heavenly Father yes, but there is family love also spread on very thickly indeed.

While we are all together there is so much to delight in. Yet, when the festivities wind down and leave taking begins, there is a feeling of loss, of wishing somehow for continuance.

Perhaps that is why Eternity is such a lovely word.

"If 'everlasting' were not written over the joys of Heaven, we would be trembling lest the banquet should have an end, lest the day should have an evening."

That is why the longings, I think. We are still 'missing' while here in the Shadowlands as here we have no continuing city. But by the longings, the missing, we are being prepared for the Glorious Unendings to come.

This mom is so very grateful that in That Day, all her chicks will be gathered with her There!

There can be no greater comfort.

Such a great Hope sustains while on pilgrimage.

All Glory to God!

Blessings This Day

It was given to a fisherman to first preach the scientific explanation of our Lord's Resurrection from the dead.

And it was also given to him to explain the character of that death.

Men had slain Him, but it was by the "determined counsel and fore-knowledge of God...." He was delivered up to die. That death which seemed nothing but a brutal murder, was in truth, a divinely appointed sacrifice.

And He rose again because nothing else was possible seeing Who He was!

"...God raised Him up,

liberating Him from the pangs of death,

seeing that it was not possible

for Him to be controlled by it."

Acts 2.24

The amazing truth of it all is summed up for us by a church historian:

"If Christ is risen -

then nothing else matter.

And if Christ is not risen -

then nothing else matters."

Jeroslov Pelikan

(1923-2006)

May the joy of the Resurrection be yours this day,

Dear Reader.

Gleaned Thoughts

During this season of the church year, this Holy season of our Lord's passion, thoughts form, spin and brew. Then they develop and always ending the same, at the point of awe. Awe .. wonder .. awe from the awfulness of all that was experienced; awe from the immensity of his love.

The Lamb on the Throne to come was the Lamb on the Cross from before the world began .. the Father's plan, the Son's obedience, the need and reason for all to come.

Walking through the meditations of Common Prayer this week, there have been phrases which seemed highlighted. That becomes thrilling especially as there is such familiarity with the "story".

"Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end...."

"Oh merciful God...Have mercy upon all who know thee not as thou art revealed in the Gospel of thy Son. Take from them all ignorance, hardness of heart, and contempt of thy Word; and so fetch them home, blessed Lord, to thy fold, that they may be made one flock under one Shepherd."

"Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way...let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; for he is faithful that promised...."

"...and he bearing his cross went forth...."

"...what I have written I have written."

Finally, the thoughts expressed by Amy Charmichael:

"Home of our hearts, lest we forget

What our redemption meant for Thee,

Let our most reverent thought be set

Upon Thy Calvary.

We, when we suffer, turn and toss

And seek for ease, and seek again;

But Thou, upon Thy bitter Cross,

Wast firmly fixed in pain.

Amazing!

Love immeasurable.

And free.

Just because .. not of my sweetness and worth, there was and is none;

but because He chose,

He willed it in Love.

How can we possibly own such a love?