Randombling

With A Quiet Spirit behind me, I had a vacant lot ahead.

Obviously, "A Quiet Spirit" didn't accurately express the contents of my blog; neither did it express what I wanted my blog to evolve into.

I previously posted on a variety of topics, rather than the one pursuit implied by the title.

However, if I'd posted everything I wanted to post, my blog would have been a totally random collection of ramblings. Random is just the way my brain works.

So, dear Triple W, I'm pleased to unveil a new blog (well, okay, for now it basically consists of the old posts, but that will change!).

Click the banner below to visit my new home on the web:

I'm Moving

Not geographically, of course.
I'm e-relocating from this blog, A Quiet Spirit, to Randombling.

Why? you ask.

I think it's part of my attempt to be real.
Dwelling under the banner A Quiet Spirit implies that each post (or at least most posts) will be about my pursuit of that meek and quiet spirit commanded in scripture. I so long to be adorned with the contentment spoken of in 1 Peter 3:4. But I found that the topic of a "quiet spirit" was the most difficult to write about. That may be surprising since I wrote a whopping grand total of one post about it.
Remember Heroes nearly a year ago, in which I wrote that the qualities I desire most for God's grace to grow in me are the hardest to put into words? At the time I began my blog and named it "A Quiet Spirit," I felt a huge need to try to pin down that "meek and quiet spirit" Peter wrote of. And I promise, I intended to fill my blog with posts outlining exactly what it was. But I've read a little and studied a bit, and I've realized that I have a hero in the area of said quality.
My mother is the best fulfillment I've ever seen of a "meek and quiet spirit," based on scripture and all the commentators I've read.
There's no way I am even going to attempt to put my amazing mother into words.
I also don't need words for it anymore.

Not that I ever actually got many words about 1 Peter 3:4 into my blog.

That's the "why" of the end of this blog.
See next post for the "why" of the beginning of the new one.

Now Reading

Realness

For a long time, I didn't understand what people meant when they said "keep it real" or talked about "being genuine."
That's because I was a fish who didn't know she was wet.
Now that I realize I'm swimming in insincerity, I'm tired of it in a thousand little ways.
I'm tired of making small talk when I'd rather converse about deeper things-- of saying, "How are you today?" when I really want to say, "Tell me your story." I'm tired of avoiding topics that challenge me or bring out uncomfortable emotions. I'm tired of saying trite things like "Oh well, everything will work out," because in this life, it doesn't. I'm tired of not saying cheesy things that I really mean, like "I love you" or "I'm glad you're my friend" or "I hope one day I can be a lot like you." I'm tired of being too embarrassed to answer the doorbell on those mornings when I've just rolled out of bed looking like a frightened chipmunk.
Now I figure, why not?
Not that I want to be inappropriate or rude or annoying. But if I'm avoiding something or hiding something simply because of embarrassment or fear of how it might affect me, then I'm not being real simply because I'm too selfish.
So in a way, I suppose that being real is like so many other traits I wish I could claim; it's rooted in humility.

The Best of Voddie Baucham

"Current statistics show we are losing between 75% and 88% of professing Christian young people by the end of the first year of college."
Dr. Voddie Baucham captured and kept my full attention as he addressed this problem in his message, The Centrality of the Home. His thoroughly Biblical solutions were practical. His presentation was intelligent, but somehow still down-to-earth. That was the first time I'd heard of Dr. Baucham.
Since then, I've read, watched, and listened to Dr. Baucham many times. Every time, I have learned something new from God's Word and had a clear picture of how to apply what I learned.
So far, the most informative, absolutely enjoyable, and Bible-soaked selection I've heard from Dr. Baucham has been a series of messages given at a church in Florida. These sermons are based on scriptures outlining God's plan for the church and the family. In them, Dr. Baucham hits topics such as child discipline, roles of husband and wife, youth groups, house churches... if it's interesting and it's connected to home or church, it's covered. As I listened in the order I've listed, I decided that each message I heard was better than the one before it.
Sometimes the best things in life are free. This is one of those times. MP3's of the five-part series are linked below:

1. Family Life in the Household of God
2. A Church's Guide to Young People
3. A Young Person's Guide to the Church
4. A Family's Guide to the Church
5. A Church's Guide to the Family

As a heads-up, this was a special event at a church; that's why you'll find about thirty minutes of music at the beginning of each MP3. Just fast forward to the preaching.

Or enjoy the beautiful song service; I did!

Thanks to Reforming My Mind MP3's, where I came across this excellent series.

What Will I Do About It?

Blogging along, I’ve found that usually what I want to tell the world has already been said by someone else who can explain it more clearly, express it more concisely, and deliver it with more authority than I. In one post I pondered whether that is the reason many of my entries are quotes, book recommendations, or links to other resources.

Sometimes, however, I need to attempt to articulate something solid.

When Lisa of Longbourn commented on the post "What Will We Do About It?" I knew that a reply was in order. I am likely to complain and "curse the darkness" when reading quotes like the one I posted. For that reason, I sent Mr. Phillips' words out into the world wide web accessorized with an open question, intending to spark thoughtful consideration rather than the pessimism I am so prone to don.

Someone thoughtfully considered!

Lisa says,

"But yes, what can we do?
I want ideas. What do people want from me? What does God want?
I didn't do anything to make my culture this messed up. Out of compassion and frustration I want to change the world, but I don't know how.

With no claim to have all the answers but to seeking the God who does, I offer my thoughts on what I should be doing about our messed-up culture. I'd like to organize those thoughts by breaking down the original quote by Douglas Phillips.

We can say that it’s under our watch, as this generation, that we’re seeing the single greatest devastating impact on family life in the history of Christendom...

First, the unbiblical condition of our culture is not only the fault of those who embrace it. It's "under our watch." Some of this culture's participants have neither seen the Biblical family model in scripture nor observed it exemplified. That's my problem. Matthew 5:13-16 calls me salt and a light that cannot go unseen. I should be speaking God's Word for that culture to hear (Psalm 119:172). I should be living God's Word for that culture to see (Matthew 5:16).
My personal inclination is to become discouraged and angry with what I've termed "the culture." But I'm part of it when I'm complaining. The very way that I live does something about this culture; it either contributes to the devastation or counteracts it.

• ours is the generation that’s redefining marriage

• ours is the generation that has sent the largest number of women out of the home into the workplace, thus transforming the nature of the family
  

• ours is the generation in which men have set aside their duty as defenders and allowed women to go out to the field of battle protecting the home
  

• ours is the generation that has an unprecedented divorce rate

  And the list goes on and on.

There's a place to battle these bullets (pun unintended) publicly, politically, separately. But my primary calling is to live out Biblical womanhood, effectively smiting the entire feminist philosophy behind the ammunition (Eph. 6:12).
Biblical womanhood is simply God's plan for women as defined by Him in the Bible. Feminism is its diametric opposite. I want my life to be exemplary of Biblical womanhood; therefore, I want my life to be in stark opposition to feminism. Here are some examples of how I want my life to oppose feminism.

• Feminism promotes dominance; I want my life to be a statement of submission. (1 Cor. 16:1; Eph. 5:22; Col. 3:18; Heb. 13:17; James 4:7; 1 Pet. 2:13; 1 Pet. 5:5)
• Feminism preaches independence; I want my life to display dependence on God. (Psalm 5:11; 36:7; 37:5; 40:4; Prov. 3:5-6)
• Feminism aims for androgynous egalitarianism; I want my life to be distinctly feminine, a relfection of the fact that God has sovereignly ordained unique and noninterchangeable roles for men and women. (Deut. 22:5; Gen. 3:16-17; 1 Tim. 5:8; Titus 2:1-8; Eph. 5:21-33)
• Feminism is all about individualism; I want my life to be about serving others, particularly the family God has placed me in. (Prov. 31:11-12, 15, 20-21; Phil. 2:2-4; John 13:34; Rom. 12:24; Mark 12:30-31)
• Feminism tauts a proud, brash self-confidence; I want my life to exude a meek and quiet spirit. (Psalm 18:27; 25:9; 147:6; Prov. 11:2; 29:23; James 4:6,10; 1 Pet. 5:6; Matt. 5:5; 1 Pet. 3:4)
• Feminism does, says, and wears what is convenient, complimentary, and comfortable to one's self; I want to do, say, and wear that which honors God and others. (1 Tim. 2:9; 1 Cor. 8:9, 10:23; Col. 4:6; 1 Tim. 4:12; Titus 2:8)
  
• Feminism sees children as an optional burden; I want my life to present them as a blessing. (Gen. 1:28; 9:1; 16:10; 17:2; 28:3; Psalm 127:3)

Because I am by default part of the culture, changing the culture has to start with me.
But the exciting companion to that statement is this one:
Merely living a counter-culturally Biblical, feminine life is an assault on the culture's ungodly ideologies including feminism, humanism, and me-ism. That's a big "merely."

The problem with Christians today is they think that’s normal.
It is not normal.
It is crisis-level.

If a girl lives the "normal" Christian life as described in the Bible, she seems totally abnormal to the world. That's okay. "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." (1 John 4:4)
Unfortunately, if a girl lives the "normal" Christian life as described in the Bible, she's likely the "abnormal" one even among her church family. That's not okay.
But I'm part of that church family just as I'm part of the culture. My job is to live God's normal and encourage others to do the same.
By God's grace, many ladies are striving to live and encourage one another in God's description of womanhood in their churches, among their peers, and even through their blogs. In the context of Biblical femininity, they may be the only salt they know about, and they may feel like the only little light in the world. But their lives are still an offensive against that wicked culture we've been referring to.

My initial question wasn't "What can we do about it?" but rather "What will we do about it?" That's a challenge to myself. I know how I can live my life, by God's grace. It's a matter of whether or not I will.

Lisa, thank you for your remarks! They have prodded me to consider more seriously and search the scriptures more deeply for answers to my own question.

I welcome responses from others willing to share what they will do about family-devastating culture we're salt and light in.

In conclusion, I think that Lisa of Longbourn's best question was, "What does God want?"

I leave the answer to Micah 6:8.

"What does the LORD require of you but
to do justice,
to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?"

"Sand Castles" on YLCF

Young Ladies Christian Fellowship recently published an article that spoke exactly what I needed at the moment. I have actually re-read "Sand Castles" several times.

"...It is so hard sometimes to be satisfied in where God has placed me. To be content. Have you ever been 26 years old and still so very single? Never had a kiss stolen, never held hands with a man in mutual affection. I've never been chosen by a man. I've been waiting a long time..." more

Today a follow-up was posted, sharing comments from readers. I found those heart-felt responses to be as touching as the original.
Yet even as I read words of comfort from other young ladies who wait for their opportunity to serve the Lord as godly wives and mothers, my raging mind brought up the same old doubts and fears. Someone mentioned a sister marrying at nearly forty; I thought, "What's the point of that? I want to spend my life raising lots of children for the Lord! Forty's a little late to be beginning." Others mentioned that marriage is difficult just as singleness is difficult; I thought, "Yeah, well, that's easy to say when you're not in the singleness part anymore. It's easy to say 'be content in waiting' after you've discovered that there was someone out there for you. Not so easy when the possibility exists that you may never have what you're waiting for." And on and on came the waves of faithless arguments from my own worst enemy-- my deceitful, desperately wicked heart.
Praise the Lord for His Holy Spirit bringing to remembrance another onslaught of waves that occurred long ago. My doubts quieted, and my thoughts returned serenely to God's sovereign faithfulness at three words:
"Peace, be still."

A Blessing to Me

recently has been this free hermeneutics class offered by Twin City Fellowship.
I've taken many Bible classes, but never until now have I had training in how to carefully, correctly study the Bible on my own. In this ten-part study, Pastor Ryan Habbena's lessons (in mp3 format) instruct reverently and understandably in Biblical interpretation.
The all-encompassing principle that I've been smitten with through this course is how careful I must be in handling God's precious written Word. No other book is Divinely inspired; yet no other book has been subject to such sloppy interpretation and application by human readers-- including me. It's a predominant notion that when reading the Scripture, one can treat it like any other piece of literature; read it, discuss it, and come to a consensus on what everyone thinks it means. But what I or any other mortal thinks it means is irrelevant. What the Author meant is crucial. The Bible deserves meticulous, humble study led by the Holy Spirit to determine the Author's message and how it should be applied.
My love for God's Word has been renewed and my approach to studying it has been reformed by the online hermeneutics class from Twin City Fellowship's website. I encourage anyone to check it out at http://www.twincityfellowship.com/hermeneutics.php.

Currently Reading...

On Long Spans on Silence

I once promised myself that I would never write one sentence in my journal unless I really had something to say. There is nothing more irksome than reading works formed by an author who wanted to write, but had no passion to drive his pen-- even if the author was oneself. Years ago I vowed that I wouldn't be that author.
I try to follow that principle in blogging as well, but I suppose I sometimes carry it too far.

I often write the least when I have the most to say.

Part of the reason, I'm sure, is a feeling of insuffiency to truly express what I want so desperately to get across. I've told my friends before that I live in frustration of never really feeling as though I've communicated exactly what I desire to, no matter how many ways I've explained the same thing, no matter how many angles from which I've aproached the same point. This applies to conversation as well as to writing.
Whether it is my side of an important discussion, an email to a friend, a paper for a class, an entry on my blog, or even a sermon note, I rarely conclude it believing that my precise sentiments have been expressed in the best way possible. I usually resort to quoting others whose words come closer to the mark than mine.
In this case, I will leave you with those of Anne Bradstreet:

Thou ill-formed offspring of my feeble brain,
Who after birth did'st by my side remain...
I cast thee by as one unfit for light,
The visage was so irksome in my sight,
Yet being mine own, at length affection would
Thy blemishes amend, if so I could.
I washed thy face, but more defects I saw,
And rubbing off a spot, still made a flaw.
I stretcht thy joints to make thee even feet,
Yet still thou run'st more hobbling than is meet.
In better dress to trim thee was my mind,
But nought save home-spun cloth, i' th' house I find.

--from The Author to Her Book

Recently Read and Recommended

Raising Maidens of Virtue
by Stacy McDonald

Meant for mothers to read with their younger "teenage" daughters, this book challenged, convicted, and encouraged me in my pursuit of Christlikeness as a young woman. I recommend it in one word:
Excellent.






Fool's Gold
by John MacArthur

The highest compliment I could give to any author would be to pronounce his writing as Biblically sound, to say that every paragraph is built on carefuly searched sola scriptura. I grant this commendation most freely to Dr. John MacArthur. This is yet another gem.
The topic: Biblical Discernment.

If You Eavesdropped...

...in my home today, you would have heard this conversation.

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

Little Sis: So,what are you going to to now that you're home from college?

Me: I'm not sure. There are a lot of things I want to learn at home.

Little Sis: Like what?

Me: Well, I'd like to learn how to look at a cupboard full of random ingredients and make a great meal like mom does, and I want to be able to grow my own vegetables and herbs in a garden. I want to work on my sewing skills so that I can at least alter any garment to fit just right. I want to invite some of the older ladies in our church over for dinner. I want to help mom in any way I can...

Little Sis: Wait, wait wait. Just stop right there. I see where this is going.

Me: You do?

Little Sis: Yep. You wanna be a "Proverbs 31 woman."

Me: Yeah. Exactly. :)

A Lost Art

I enjoyed this passage from Eight Cousins:

"Well, now, there is one very excellent, necessary, and womanly accomplishment that no girl should be without, for it is a help to rich and poor, and the comfort of families depends upon it. This fine talent is neglected nowadays, and considered old-fashioned, which is a sad mistake, and one that I don't mean to make in bringing up my girl. It should be a part of every girl's education..."

"Oh, what is it?" cried Rose eagerly, charmed to be met in this helpful and cordial way.

"Housekeeping!" answered Dr. Alec.

"Is that an accomplishment?" asked Rose, while her face fell, for she had indulged in all sorts of vague, delightful dreams.

"Yes; it is one of the most beautiful as well as useful of all the arts a woman can learn. Not so romantic, perhaps, as singing, painting, writing, or teaching, even; but one that makes many happy and comfortable, and home the sweetest place in the world. Yes, you may open your big eyes; but it is a fact that I had rather see you a good housekeeper than the greatest belle in the city. It need not interfere with any talent you may possess, but it is a necessary part of your training, and I hope that you will set about it at once."

-- Louisa May Alcott