mountains and such

what’s been going on?: your guess is as good as mine. It’s been a rather uneventful week. Just normal life. In other words, boring. But that’s okay. If there were no boring times, excitement would lose it’s flavour.

reading: I’ve been going through the material for our study. Looking at notes, Passages of scripture; memorizing verses, and of course, trying to apply what I’ve learned from the previous weeks. Thus far, this study has been a blessing. We got a collection of old Charles Dickens books, along with some other classic works (Treasure Island, The Vicar of Wakefield, ect.), so we’ve all been digging into those. I finally started on The Pickwick Papers; those are pretty fun. Also, I am going through Knowing God by J. I. Packer, Old Paths by J. C. Ryle, and The Book of Lost Tales by J.R. R Tolkien.

how’s Josiah?: Well, at the very precise and exact moment, he’s napping. Wow. He’s a little sick at the moment, I’m afraid. Hopefully he’ll be up and ‘running’ in a day or two.

On par with my last post, I can’t help but be overwhelmed at the great grace God has shown in giving Josiah to us. Even though we’ve had him for quite a while now, he still serves as a living memorial of just how good our Father in heaven is. I continue to pray that God would bless Josiah more in the hours, days, weeks, months, years, and decades to come, an that He would eventually bring Josiah to Himself.

Josiah has gotten to where he grins like, all the time he’s not sleeping (or crying). He is so cute when he does that. Also, he’s begun to communicate with us. While our knowledge of his language is rudimentary, we are able to communicate our feeling to each of fluently as if we all spoke the baby dialect.

Also along those lines, I saw a picture of the Easterlings new boy in Ethiopia, and he is jaw-dropping handsome. He’s got those fine eyes that Ethiopians have, as well as a bright and intelligent face. I’m really glad for the Easterlings and their near family. I love y’all, and I’ll be praying.

a favourite song: Here’s a little song I wrote, You might want to sing it note for note… just kidding. Really, I didn’t write this. It was written by Mac Powell, of Third Day:

I thought that I was all alone,

Broken and afraid,

But you were there with,

Yes you were there with me,

Well and I didn’t even know,

That I had lost my way,

But you were there with me,

Yes you were there with me,

‘til you opened up my eyes I never knew,

That I couldn’t ever make it without you,

(chorus)

Even though the journey’s long,

And I know the road is hard,

Well the One who’s gone before me,

He will help me carry on.

And after all that I’ve been through,

Now I realize the truth,

That I must go through the Valley,

To stand upon the Mountain of God.

And as I travel on the road,

That you have led me down,

You are here with me,

Yes you are here with me,

And I have need for nothing’ more,Oh, now that I have found,

That you are here with me,

Yes you are here with me,

I confess from time to time I lose my way,

But you are always there to bring me back again,

(chorus)

Sometimes I think of the ways I’ve come from,

And the things I’ve left behind.

But what I’ve had, what I’ve possessed,

Nothing can quite compare,

With what’s in front of me,

With what’s in front of me!

(chorus)

 

anything but boring

h-i: how is the world out there? I am so bored. Board. Bored. I’m so bored. I am super low on inspiration. I know what to write, I just don’t know how to write it. I’m boar-ed.

I guess my boredom is my fault. I could find something exciting to do. Oh well. It is a comfort to know that even though I feel down personally, Christ is there.

I’ve really been learning a lot in the young peoples study of late. In that, and in all the books and scriptures I’m reading, the Lord seems to be continually leading to one central theme: Grace. Grace. Just think about the word. What would Christianity be without grace? Grace, which is greater even than mercy; indeed, the latter is an offspring of the former.

Without grace, our lives would not change. We could-we ought- have changed lives as a response to mercy. But we are humans; without grace, we would still be living in sin. You’re probably familiar with the misused cliché: grace: God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. Cliché or not, this is true. Consider how big God is. Then think: God’s riches, poured out on us, poor, wretched sinners, at the expense of Christ. Grace. Nothing else but the blood of Christ could have purchased these riches for us. By definition, grace is God granting something to us that we do not deserve.

It is by grace that God gives us Mercy. Mercy is God not giving us what we deserve. And what is it we deserve? Death, the wages of sin. Because of our sin nature, we were condemned from the day we were born. To pay our wages, Christ had to die on the cross. The price for our sins has been paid; all the riches, or fullness, of God is available. We need no money; Christ has paid all.

God has given us grace to draw near to Him. That God would redeem us is a theme that would last for eternity; that he would take us into his service would be a song that would not end. But that he would actually adopt us, so that we can draw near to Him as a child draws near to a father, is a thing that shocks men and angels more than the other two. That we should be able to draw near to God, in pray, in love, in all forms of communion, is “more wonders than are in the whole of heaven.”(as C.S. Lewis put it). We cannot even grab hold of this, except by faith. The way that these riches were purchased for us, is more brilliant in conception, more beautiful in design, than the universe and all therein.

Everything that has been going on around me has been pointing to grace. Looking at the bigness of God, and His law; looking at the gospel, and reading about the life of Jesus; amidst all the whirling confusion around me, it’s peace to know that God is there. That I can always come to Him, before the throne of grace, and just let His grace grab hold of me. All these things I am learning about, they all seem so unrelated. But somehow, they all end up pointing towards the vast and marvellous grace of our Father in Heaven.

I said at the beginning that I was bored and without inspiration. That has changed. The subject of grace is one that is inspiring in and of itself. Let us praise our Father, for the work of grace that he has done, and is doing, in our lives.

Rutherford today: I know, we may say, that Christ is kindest in his love when we are weakest; and that if Christ had not been to the fore, in our sad days, the waters had gone over our soul.

Now, I know you are wishing I would put some other sort of post up. Relax. My next post will be an update on what’s been going on, I’ll talk some about Josiah, try to put up some pics., that sort of stuff.

 

of love and the like

something like/love: in our flirt filled society, the word like is used, like, way to much to refer to attraction on the part of a person towards another person, of the opposite gender. Another way to put it is to say that they have a ‘crush’ on that person. (How the two phrases could possibly relate is beyond me). That’s not a good thing. But to tell you the truth, there are many whom I say I ‘like’, only under a different definition. When I say I like someone, it could mean that I admire them as a person, or that I regard them in a positive way, but more likely it means: I enjoy or have a preference towards their personality or company. There are certain people that I just get pleasure out of being around.

Now it must follow that there are some people that I dislike. Well, yeah, there are. “AHA! So you admit that you allow yourself to dislike certain people.” to tell you the truth, I think to like one person or thing and dislike another is not inherently wrong. I think it’s just part of being human. I am convinced that Jesus did not ‘like’ the Pharisees.

However, that having been said, we should never allow our preferences to affect the way we react towards those people. Dislike for people should never be fed; but on the contrary, we should try to tame our dislike, to where, no matter what, we allow no amount of contempt or distain to well within us, and we do try to show the people that we are not overly fond of them. (Not to say that freedom from such things is humanly possible). Also, for the Christian, being around people we dislike can be an incredible sanctification tool. To discipline ourselves, to where we can put down dislike, and allow love to shine, is a difficult, but awarding exercise. Our Lord bore all things well with the Pharisees, while we get rowed up just reading about all the reasons he had for anger with them.*

Now love, on the other hand, is entirely different. Every Christian must love (see 1 John 4:7-21). Before I knew Christ, I didn’t know what love was. To me, love was based on what someone did for me. It was not until I met Christ that I not only saw what love was, but I learned to give it. There are so many people, that when I see them, I think, “Now there’s a person I absolutely cannot stand.” but it seems to follow, on second glance, “but I love them.” the difference between love and like is that like is based on preference. To love is to feel so intensely for someone that you don’t care about how good or bad they are, or how fun or annoying they are; you just love them. At least, that is true love, love without condition, such as Christ has for us.

Then again, it could be said that there are many different kinds of love; but I won’t get into that. I guess what brought this on was me thinking about all the people in my life, who I somehow love more than I like. It really can only be attributed to Christ; I feel an intense desire for their souls, but it is really Christ in me. where did that go?: I was reading over some of my old blog posts, and I couldn’t help thinking, “Man, being fifteen has really put me past my prime, especially as far as spelling and grammar go.” I enjoy blogging now more than ever, but recently, my post have gotten, well, lame. My older post were longer, better written, and they were free of all the atrocious spelling errors I find myself making now. Or, I correct myself, maybe I just felt freer with what I wrote. Maybe typing on HAL has kinda effected my brain in some bizarre way. Whatever it is, I’ll try to get back on track in the days and weeks to come.

*that having been said, I do not mean that we are to tolerate wrong like we should tolerate the things that are just annoying. Our Lord made accusations against the Pharisees throughout the Bible, but that was because he they were wicked, not because their ways just got on his nerves.

 

7:14, and lessons from the drivers manual

the root of the problem: recently, we got a letter from a friend in Michigan. On the envelope, there was a sticker on which was inscribed: “As long as thirty-five hundred babies are being killed daily by abortion, God will not bless our nation.” Quite a message. It really slaps those who are reading it in the face. Multiply that number by 365 and you will come up with a shocking figure.However, I disagreed with it on one point*: the fact that thirty-five hundred babies are being killed daily is not the illness that our nation has; it is a symptom. The problem is not that the church is not doing enough to fight abortion; but that’s warmer. The problem is that the Church is dead to Christ.

The message of II Chronicles 7:14 has been all but lost on today’s Church. Not to say that the Church is not praying; but as Mr Roberts has so well put it: “[the church] seeks God’s hand instead of His face.” We are not falling down before Christ as we should; we are not turning from our wicked ways; We are not acknowledging Christ as Lord.

We have turned away from Christ. Do not think that this is a fantasy, totally foreign to Christianity and the Bible. What did the nation of Israel look like when its people turned from God, or even took on a false form of worship? They were given into the hands of their enemies. Chaos and sin abounded. What of us? What of Spiritual Israel? Where have we gone? We have tried to remove the God of the Scriptures, and replace him with a god of our own imagination: a god who loves the world; a god of Sundays and Wednesday nights; a god of tongue and not of life. A god who doesn’t love his people enough to tell them what they can, and can’t do.

With the elections coming up, talk show hosts are saying that only the people will decide the fate of the nation. Wrong. God will decide the fate of our nation. And he will not bless a sinful people. As long as the Church keeps its back turned to God, the evil state of our country will only worsen.

But, there is hope: “If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and forgive their sins, and I will heal their land.” God is not a promise breaker. But he is not a liar, either: let us always remember the first part of this verse, and respond accordingly.

the 10 things I’ve learned from the Driver’s Manual:

1: Drive defensively. In other words, every other driver is out to kill you.

2: always pull over for an oncoming emergency vehicle. You don’t to get rear-ended.

3: Never drink and drive. In other words, it’s commanding you to drive, and ordering you to remain dehydrated.

4: Report all accidents, if at all practical.

5: always where seat belts if you are in the front seat. If you have captain chairs, and you don’t want to where a seatbelt, slide your chair farther back than the other one.

 6:Green light: it would be good for the environment for you to go now; Yellow light: only a coward wouldn’t slow down; Red light: if you do not stop, we will kill you.

7: in a public school zone, slow down. In a homeschool zone, wave.

8: some dogs don’t count as pedestrians.

9: never drive without: a license; a tag; insurance; and a certificate of inspection, unless you do a really good Santa Anna impression.

10: remember: You Driver’s Manual is serious. Never treat it as a joking matter.

*not to say that our friends from Michigan would ever have meant it this way .

once again, I am having bizzarre problems posting. Please forgive the choppy look of the above text.

all to Thee

Why is it Lord, so hard to live,

Just one day, one hour, all to Thee?

When throughout Thy holy life, Thy work,

Was all to saving worms like me?

 

Why is it Lord, when on my knees,

So hard to lift my voice to Thee?

When my Lord, in Gethsemane,

Bore the world for rogues like me?

 

Why is it Lord, my tongue is still,

When e’er I want to spread Thy fame?

When from the days when he was young,

Christ was resolved to speak Thy name?

 

Yet Christ lived not for his own sake,

Nor always pray for his own soul,

No, grace he gave, through his life,

That our life to Thee may then be whole.

 

How is it Lord, (oh mercy vast),

That you should grant such grace to me?

That all I say or do in life,

Might bring great glory, all to Thee!

and: For my next blog project I will probably an update of my ancient about page.

 

of a study (and other random bablings)

monday night: we’ve begun a Monday night study at Church for the converted young men. We commenced this week. I must say, I was rather disappointed with the size of the group, consisting of only seven young men and three adults; but the size, I believe, was just what it should have been. The small size was rather in relation to the studies topic: evangelism. Our Church has probably an even number of converted to non-converted young men. We should strive to be an example to those around us; after all, with Christ on our side, we way outnumber them.

God has shown incredible mercy to our Church. Several of the young men there, my self included, wouldn’t have been in such a group at this time last year. Probably half of the men there wouldn’t two to three years ago. We have been shown Mercy, beyond what we deserve.

The group has three main purposes: Christians helping each other; verse memorization; and prayer. To be honest, a friend and I had already been toying with the idea of having a young men’s payer meeting, in response to Mr. Roberts’ sermons, when the group was announced. I believe the latter is the more preferable.

I not allowed to go into to much detail on the group, only to say that it was a rare blessing. I thought, since it was my Birthday, I would stay up late that night considering those things which had been spoken on. But alas! My folly. Though I did have some sweet, albeit short, pray times, the greater part of the night was spent in frivolity and merry-making (drinking Mountain Dews and Starbucks and fighting virtual Exo-Force robots). But my quiet time the next morning, (by God’s grace the things from the study were fresh in my mind), was the sweetest I remember in a long time. I can already see God’s working in this study: I pray he will work all the more.

somewhere to lean: we are in a pit. The economy is terrible. High cost of fuel and food have triggered a chain reaction that makes almost everything unaffordable. I won’t tell you my theories about oil lords and the government and all that; it would only spark unnecessary controversy. To tell you the truth, I think I am turning into a Royalist. Well, I don’t know. But of course there has been no perfect governments since Adam’s time. Nor will there be, till we can accept that the constitution of the whole earth is: “The earth is the Lord’s; and the fullness therein….”

But that’s beside the point. But as I was saying about the economy, I believe that before most who are reading this have died, we will be in an irreparable mess. I am listening to ‘My Deliverer’ (written by Rich Mullins, performed by Rick Elias) while I am writing this, and I just want to ask: when and if there is a crash, will you have a place to turn? When\if the comforts that you are so used to are yanked away, will you have someone to look to? For the Christian there can be but one answer: Christ. He will supply all that we need and more. Non-Christian, you may not have had your comforts taken, but have you rest? Look to Christ. Whether rich or poor, blessed or cursed, comfortable or deprived, he can and will supply our every need.

 

on WALL-E

presto: the most hilarious Pixar short I have ever seen.

WARNING: The following post has the possibilty of some mild plot spoilers in it.

pixar’s latest and [2^nd] greatest: lets face it: most romances (especially animated ones) involving humans are goofy. The characters look at each say a few nice things maybe, accidentally bump into each other a couple times and, poof! They’re in love. In WALL-E, the main character falls in love with the heroine, EVE (Eevaa in WALL-E language), because of a look, but since they’re robots, their relationship is based on service to one another rather than just physical interaction. As always, I will try and write a review that tells my opinion of the movie, without telling the movie. I will try to leave you guessing on as many points as possible.

After you’ve seen enough Pixar movies, like Toy Story, The Incredibles, Cars, you begin to expect a certain quality of story, as well as breathtaking animation, altogether foreign to other animated films. Brad Bird’s Ratatouille (2007) didn’t match up. Sure it had a good story: it would have been a great movie had any other company done it. But as a Pixar movie, it was fun but, well boring. When I saw the teaser for WALL-E I thought, “Man, they’re scraping the bottom of the barrel for stories.” how were they going to get something good out of that? When I saw the full trailer, I thought, “It looks good, but the main characters don’t even talk.”

Well, on Friday, June 27^th, I was proved wrong. I was absolutely amazed at how they were able to create endearing characters out of robots. They were able to create WALL-E’s entire personality visually. His emotions, all his fun little oddities, were presented in a way that even a young kid would understand, and was enhanced on the older. I would definitely say that this is the best stuff Pixar has presented ever, other than, of course, The Incredibles.From a moral standpoint, this movie excelled. Not only did it only have one crude gag in it, but it was full of nice and subtle messages about looking out for one another, humanity, anti-big business, and pro-farming. Like I pointed out in the beginning, the love in this movie was based more on actions than on, well, romance. WALL-E and EVE are constantly rescuing each other. At a rather climactic moment, EVE is able to see just how much WALL-E cared for her. After she had shut down on earth, he took care of her, taking her along when he went to work, shielding her during the frequent sandstorms, and holding umbrellas over her when it rained. In turn, EVE reassembles WALL-E after he had allowed himself to be almost crushed in order to save the humans.

Beyond the personal, both WALL-E and EVE dedicate themselves to helping the humans back to earth, even though, well, the humans just don’t deserve it. They have grown incredibly obese after seven hundred years in space, to where all they do is constantly sit in recliners before TV\computer type devices, while their every need is supplied by robots. There only seem to be a few people who are willing to help: the Captain of the humans’ , who ever since EVE presented him with the plant, the key to returning to earth, has become obsessed with the idea of planting and farming; and two other unlikely humans. But, I can’t tell you about that.

And for those of you who are worried, the romantic subplot is humour driven, and only takes up about twenty-five percent of the film. Yes, there is fun. I would say that WALL-E is at least as funny as Cars. humour resounds throughout. And yes, it has a lot of comic action. Laser bolts fly, explosions galore; and yes, though some of you may not believe me, the storyline is incredibly engaging. All things considered, WALL-E is a awesomely fun movie, with something to offer for everyone. But more than that, it is a good movie, from all standpoints, and is perfect for viewing as a family or as an individual.

rutherford quote: It is not a smooth and easy way, neither will your weather be fair and pleasant; but whosoever saw the invisible God and the fair city, makes no reckoning of losses or crosses. In ye must be, cost you what it will; stand not for a price, and for all that ye have, to win the castle; the rights of it are won to you, and it is disponed to you, in your Lord Jesus’ Testament; and see what a fair legacy your dying friend, Christ hath left you: and there wanteth nothing but possession.

By the way, in case you were wondering, yes, my blog will go back to normal soon.

 

to my dad

happy birthday: today, June 29th, is the forty-first birthday of my dad. He has been a father, husband, and spiritual leader for almost twenty-two years now.
From the time I was born, I have looked up to my father as the most influential individual in my life. If I could have been as good a son to him as he a dad to me, I would set a new world record. My dad has had to bear tremendous burdens, but through them all he has still managed to be, ‘dad’. He has had to provide for our family: oftentimes he has worked two or three jobs at a time. As far as I remember, we have never gone hungry. We have always had a roof over our head, water in our faucets, electricity in our sockets; He has been a political leader: he has been the state chairman for the constitution party for more years than I can count. He ran for Commissioner of Agriculture in 2007. He was an active member of the Pro-Life movement for many years, and still gives them support now; And last but not least, he has been a spiritual leader in our family for twenty years. My Dad has had an enormous impact on my spiritual life, particularly towards my conversion. He has helped and guided his kids for every year of each of their lives. God has blessed our dad; he has blessed our family through our family.
We live in a culture where dads are degraded and undervalued. And they in turn degraded themselves. In this generation of deadbeats, bums, drunks; or even nice guys, who put on a form of Christianity but care nothing for their families, pretending to be dads, a good dad is like a light in the darkness.
‘Sure,’ we say, ‘dads nowadays stink. I mean, even the nicest guys lose their tempers, or get upset, or lose control easily. And worse, they have to make things so much harder for us kids.’ I think we, the next generation, need to appreciate dads, and the sacrifices they make, a good deal more. A good dad supports and leads his family, while putting up with grumbling children, (particularly teens) , who care for no one but themselves, and believe they are entitled to all things under the sun. Our dads live under enormous pressure, and we need to do a better job of seeing that.
We all need to do a much better job of praying daily for dads that the Lord would give them wisdom and strength for the trials they face each day, for as our culture demonstrates, they can’t do it without Him. That they would keep their eyes on Christ, through every hard time, and that they would be given wisdom to lead their families in a way that glorifies our great Heavenly Father. An lastly, we ought to pray for the young men out there who are destined to be a father. Our dads our moving in a rapid downward spiral, with each successive generation worse then the first. We need to pray that God would remove his anger from us, and that the upcoming generation of Fathers would shine forth his blessings.
Leslie Riley. Husband. Father of twelve. Former “foster father” of an additional three. Friend of multitudes. Spiritual leader. Political speaker. Candidate for Commissioner of Agriculture. Political party leader. Writer of books, and of articles on subjects ranging from movies and politics, the Church and Eschatology, and the Work of Christ. Blogger. Supporter of family. Farmer. Gardener. And all the other attributes, greatest of all being: Child of God. To be sure, Leslie Riley will leave behind a shining legacy, foreign to many of his forefathers, that his children, grandchildren, and great great great grandchildren will remember for years to come.
And those words, which God spoke concerning one who would prepare the way fro Christ, the last time he would speak to his people for almost half a century, bear the same significance in our own time: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. Malachi 4:6

another late birthday

late, as usual: well, this is Hannah’s birthday post. I meant to put it up yesterday, but I didn’t get around to it. And then I meant to put it up earlier this afternoon, but after WALL-E and staying and town for eight hours straight, there were, you know, complications.

happy birthday, Hannah!: yesterday, June the 26^th, was the thirteenth birthday of my dear sister Hannah. Think: the pleasure of being my sister for a full thirteen years! Wow. It’s mind boggling.

But seriously, Hannah has been a genuine blessing to our family throughout her life; I cannot imagine a greater. We have had our share of quarrels over the years. There have been hard moments alongside the most blissful, and disquiet in the greatest tranquillity. But I believe that it was completely out of mercy that Hannah was brought into our family.

My dear Hannah, it has been a joy to watch you mature and grow over the past thirteen years. You went from a loving and silly little girl to… a loving and silly teenager. Over the next months and years, I pray that God would bless with all manner of Spiritual blessings, and that in his own good time Christ would bring you to himself. I wish I could do more, but as so often happens, I am typing this rather late and my mental faculties are out of joint.

a song: I came across this in our dear little hymnal [DLH]. I thought I would take one of the verses to grace my sidebar with, but I just decided to go ahead and post the whole thing. 94:

My God, I thank Thee, who hast made,

The earth so bright,

So full of splendour and of joy,

Beauty and light;

So many glorious things are here,

Noble and right.

I thank Thee, too, that Thou hast made,

Joy to abound,

So many gentle thoughts and deeds

Circle us round,

That in the darkest spot of earth,

Some love is found.

I thank Thee more that all our joy

Is touched with pain,

That shadows fall on brightest hours,

That thorns remain;

So that earth’s bliss may be our guide,

And not our chain.

For Thou, who knowest, Lord how soon,

Our weak heart clings,

Hast given us joy, tender and true,

Yet all with wings,

So that we see, gleaming on high,

Diviner things.

I thank Thee, Lord, that Thou hast kept

The best in store:

We have enough, but not to much

To long for more-

A yearning for a deeper peace

Not known before.

I thank Thee, Lord, that here our souls,

Though amply blest,

Can never find, although they seek,

A perfect rest,

Nor ever shall, until they lean

On Jesus’ breast.

by Adelaide Ann Procter.

they’ve done it again!!: if you read my blog, you probably know that Pixar is by far my favourite animation company. Expect to see me raving about their latest film, WALL-E, very soon. “Best Pixar since The Incredibles.” (The JF Film Edge).

 

adress to the unconverted young

looking at death: I’m not sure what the mortality rate for young people is. But as far as I know, you may not live another day. I ask you, from my heart, where do you think you’re going? I know many of you are admittedly non-converted. Nor would I push a sinners prayer upon you before God’s plan for comes to fruition. Yes, I believe God has a plan for you! I have no idea what it may be. But I believe with all my heart that there is a prayer for you, and I pray that it is that you would come to Jesus at a young age. I pray you will find peace. Yes, I know you have not peace. You may feel a false contentment with the world, but deep down in side, you r soul will not find rest. Not outside of Christ.

You are in the most important time of your life. It is now that shapes what kind of adults you’ll be. I prayer that these years would not be wasted. My friends, I must say that I love you. Words will not describe how much I feel for your souls. Especially those who I know. When I think of, while I’m all alone in the evenings, I cannot help but be overwhelmed with a burning desire for your souls. But no, the desire is not mine. I am Convinced it is all the work of Christ. I now urge you, turn to Christ! Only in him is peace.

I have apologies also. It is easier tenfold to say these things on a blog as in person. But I ought to make the effort. I ought to let love drive me on. I pray that I may be given more chances to be with you, especially in a low distraction environment. You are continually in my prayers.

“Come unto you, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:38-39

rutherford’s weekly turn: I find crosses Christ’s carved work that he marketh out for us, an that with crosses he figureth and portrayeth us to his own image, cutting away pieces of our ill and corruption. Lord cut, Lord carve, Lord wound, Lord do anything that may perfect the Father’s image in us, and make us meet for glory.

a look at the future: I will probably post some thoughts on the movies Beyond the Gates and Hotel Rwanda. I will continue the exposition of course. Coming very soon, I will put up a birthday post on Hannah, three days later my Dad, an done day later, yours truly. I will probably end up writing a review of Third Day’s Revelation project when I get it. I will of course jot down any thoughts I have in between. I will also be posting my thoughts on the first two instalments of the infamous Inheritance Trilogy (Eragon & Eldest). what else?… that may be it. I might want to do a petition for Malachi to put his site back up. J