Thankfulness Thursday: Health (and trials!)

Do you find it hard sometimes to be thankful? I do. Many times I find myself focusing on needs, wants, and struggles more than on the immense bounty of blessings that God gives me daily.

I’ve been reading a lot by and about G.K. Chesterton recently. Standing above the many good qualities exemplified in his life and writing is his exuberant joy and grateful spirit. He believed that the Christian should be the happiest person in the world, because he had the most to be thankful for.

Looking at my life, I am shamed to find that often I am a poor example of the happy Christian.

So I asked God to help me see more clearly His goodness in everyday life…. and He sent me a weeklong illness! That unpleasant experience brought an unexpected result: a renewed appreciation for that often unnoticed blessing of good health.

Because of that sickness, I am still praising God for health three weeks after the fact. Trials are a good anchor for memory. And because of that, I thank Him.

Thanks to Lydia for coming up with "Thursdays of Thankfulness", as well as being part of the motivation to actually get this posted on my blog!

The Colour White

"...the chief assertion of religious morality is that white is a colour. Virtue is not the absence of vices or the avoidance of moral dangers; virtue is a vivid and separate thing, like pain or a particular smell. Mercy does not mean not being cruel or sparing people revenge or punishment; it means a plain and positive thing like the sun.... God paints in many colours; but He never paints so gorgeously..., as when He paints in white."

--G.K. Chesterton, "A Piece of Chalk" in Tremendous Trifles

"The Boy Who Wouldn't Hoe Corn"

Tell you a little story and it won't take long,
'Bout a lazy farmer who wouldn't hoe his corn.
The reason why I never could tell,
That young man was always well.

He planted his corn in the month of June.
By July it was up to his eyes.
Come September, came a big frost.
And all the young man's corn was lost.

His courtship had just begun.
Said: "Young man, have you hoed some corn?"
"Well I tried and I tried, and I tried in vain.
"But I don't believe I raised one grain."

He went down town to his neighbour's door.
Where he had often been before.
Sayin': "Pretty little miss, will you marry me?"
"Little miss what do you say?"

"Why do you come for me to wed?
"You, can't even make your own corn grain.
"Single I am, and will remain.
"A lazy man, I won't maintain."

He turned his back and walked away.
Saying: "Little miss, you'll rue the day.
"You'll rue the day that you were born.
"For givin' me the devil 'cos I wouldn't hoe corn."

Lyrics as performed by Alison Krauss and Union Station.

Thanks to my daddy’s generosity on my birthday, I can listen to this album whenever I like!

Ever since I heard this song last year, it has been one of my favorites. It’s a simple story that effectively demonstrates the evils of slothfulness and the necessity of prudent planning for the future.

The farmer boy’s excuses sound familiar, don’t they? He tried and he tried, but circumstances were against him. He had a run of “bad luck.” Well, I don’t know much about farming, but I don’t think it’s standard practice to wait til June to plant a crop! Here in Kansas, the wheat is planted in the fall/winter and it’s the harvesting that’s done in June. No wonder he lost his crop: there wasn’t time for it to mature!

There might have been hope for the man if he’d taken his lesson seriously. But instead, he again got in a hurry and with a cocky and self-assured attitude headed over to propose marriage to the “girl next-door”. The errand was doomed from the start. I’m reminded of the Biblical injunction to “Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thine house.” (Proverbs 24:27)

Here’s my favorite line: “Single I am and will remain: a lazy man I won’t maintain.”
How’s that for plain speaking?

I admire the courage of that young woman. She wisely recognized in the young man’s laziness the seeds of a deeper problem. Prudently, she saw bigger dangers ahead and took steps to avoid them. (Proverbs 22:3)

The final verse of the song is a sad revelation of the true character of the man who at one time must have held some attraction for the farm girl. He lacked the foundational qualities necessary to any successful relationship: selfless charity and humility. Unwilling to admit his error, he instead lashed out in bitterness towards the one whose advice he should have cherished.

Funny how many things one little song can teach, if you think about it!

I could go off on a dozen different tangents of thought inspired by this song, but the folks at the Highlands Study Center have already done it. If you want to read some interesting and convicting articles all related to the subject of work, go here.

My favorite article, exhorting young women in godliness, is here.
(Note that the title should be “Ladies in Waiting”… not “House of Mourning”. Who knows how that happened!)

Does anyone else have a favorite song that tells a thought provoking story? I'd love to hear about it!

Thankfulness Thursday: Snow!

Taking my cue from Lydia, I thought I'd share a few pictures of what I'm thankful for this week:

Snow!

(me)

It didn't seem much like winter around here until recently...I guess God wanted to wait and make it a surprise. It has been so nice to bundle into soft, cozy warm clothes and head out for a fast sled ride in the field behind our house.

(my brother Matt and sister Tine)

"...He saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth; ... by the breath of God frost is given: ..."
Job 37:6a, 10a

(An interesting formation of geese)

After my dad and brothers shoveled the snow away from our driveway, we were left with large piles of snow: perfect for making tunnels!

(I took this pic of brothers Tim and Matt from inside our snow cave.)

Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? Job 38:22a

88888888
The Picture that isn't here:

I'm a fan of the Calvin and Hobbs comic strip. If you've read any of the books, you know that the creator, Bill Watterson, had some very creative ideas for snowmen! So I decided to make a troop of miniature snowmen to guard our snow fort. I finished eight yesterday afternoon....but by morning they'd melted... before I could take a picture. :-(

Here's a portion of a poem that I found in a magazine once. It's a beautiful description of a winter afternoon:

"The whole sky was blue
And the thick flakes floating at a pause
Were but frost knots on an airy gauze,
WIth the sun shining through."

--Robert Frost

I don't know if there's more. Has anyone read it before? I'd love to know what it's from!

A quick post: What do you want to read this year?

I wanted to post more often. But when I start writing something, I end up going through at least two or three drafts before I'm half-way satisfied. I have several things in the works as I type this....and they're not looking ready yet! I said I wasn't a perfectionist...should I rethink that?!

So. Time for some reader participation. What books do you want to read this year?

Here's what I'm thinking of trying:

The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

Pebble in a Pool by Elizabeth Yates (bio of Dorothy Canfield Fisher)

Getting Serious About Getting Married by Debbie Maken

Shakespeare play

Till we have faces by C.S. Lewis

Eternity in our hearts by R.C. Sproul Jr.

The School of Obedience by Andrew Murray

Poetry (Robert Frost, Elizabeth Barrett Browning)

Discipline: The Glad Surrender by Elisabeth Elliot

Expanding the View

I’ve been rethinking my goals for this blog. I’ve enjoyed these past seven months of writing almost exclusively on the subject of literature, however, books are not always the first thing on my mind.

While being a bibliophile is a defining characteristic of my life, it is not the only or primary one. First and foremost, I am a Christian girl committed to learning more about God, growing in a deeper relationship with Him, and conforming every area of my life to His will.

I want to be able to share what I learn along this path and be an encouragement to others as I do so. I hope by becoming more personal and varied in my approach to more effectively reach this goal.

I find it an almost humorous evidence of a mind fond of clear-cut boundaries that before changing direction I must make a formal statement of my intentions! Yet there it is.

For those of you who enjoy book reviews, etc-- don’t worry! I doubt I’ll ever run dry on subject matter there. I like this quote by Elizabeth Goudge:

“…When people once begin to read they go on. They begin because they think they ought to and they go on because they must…. They find it widens life. We’re all greedy for life, you know, and our short span of existence can’t give us all that we hunger for, the time is short and our capacity not large enough. But in books we experience life vicariously.”

It’s true! I must be very greedy. ;-)

The focus here at the Biblio-File is not shrinking, but broadening.

Resolutions?

There has been a lot of discussion recently in Blogland about the making of New Year’s resolutions.

Some enthusiastically champion the practice, lauding the benefit of added focus to their year. Others shun it like the plague, citing the depressed feelings that set in when the resolutions are not kept.

I’m not a resolution maker. The traditional list of New Year’s resolutions has always seemed to me to be a frivolous substitution for true commitment. I don’t want to look back at the end of my life and see a trail of broken promises. I want to be faithful in the things that truly matter, things like building my relationship with God and with people.

This isn’t to say that I don’t have goals and dreams. I do, as the many lists filed in my notebooks will testify. But I want to keep things in perspective. Most of those things are nice, but not top priority. And my brain doesn’t like clutter; I’m not a very good multi-tasker!

Several days ago, I began to think over the past year. It was a hard year, probably the hardest yet of my short life. There were many times when I became so mentally bogged down in troubles that it was hard to do anything else but anguish. Yet whenever things looked blackest, God was faithful to remind me that He was the One in control. I remembered how many times I worried about what people thought instead of what Christ thought. Then I remembered the peace that came when I finally gave things up to God. And almost before I realized it, I’d renewed an old “resolution”: in the words of the hymn-writer, “I am resolved to follow the Saviour.”

Life as a Christian isn’t always easy. But there’s Someone we can go to for answers.
Life as a Christian isn’t always pleasant. But we look forward to Joy.
Life as a Christian isn’t the way we would have planned it. It’s infinitely better!

“I am resolved no longer to linger,
Charmed by the world’s delight;
Things that are higher,
Things that are nobler,
These have allured my sight.

I am resolved to go to the Saviour,
Leaving my sin and strife.
He is the true One;
He is the just One;
He hath the words of life.

I am resolved to follow the Saviour,
Faithful and true each day,
Heed what He sayeth,
Do what He willeth;
He is the living Way.

I am resolved to enter the Kingdom,
Leaving the paths of sin.
Friends may oppose me,
Foes may beset me;
Still will I enter in.

I will hasten to Him,
Hasten so glad and free.
Jesus, Greatest, Highest,
I will come to Thee.”

Palmer Hartsough, 1844 - 1932