Counselor

In our memory verse for December, Isaiah 9:6 says this:

"For to us a child is born,

 to us a son is given; 

and the government shall be upon his shoulder, 

and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, 

Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

The 1828 Webster's Dictionary lists these definitions for "counselor":

1. Any person who gives advice; but properly one who is authorized by natural relationship, or by birth, office or profession, to advise another in regard to his future conduct and measures. Ahithophel was Davids counselor. His mother was his counselor to do wickedly. 2 Chronicles 22. In Great Britain, the peers of the realm are hereditary counselor of the crown.

2. The members of a counsel; one appointed to advise a king or chief magistrate, in regard to the administration of the government.

3. One who is consulted by a client in a law case; one who gives advice in relation to a question of law; one whose profession is to give advice in law, and manage causes for clients.

Privy Counselor, a member of a privy counsel.

What does it mean to you, Reader, to have Christ the very Son of God as your, not just counselor, but Wonderful Counselor?

Please leave me a comment; I would love to hear what that means to you!

A Narrow Cradle

Martin Luther wrote a poem/hymn about the Advent that I would like to share.  In it are some great thoughts to ponder as you reflect on the mystery of God condescending to man in the form of human flesh.  The King of Glory come in form of a little baby.  The Savior of the World came down to man.  Every religion apart from Christ is a striving to reach God in your own good works, sacrifices, all for naught.  But with Christ, He makes all your striving cease, he reveals your heart of sinfulness then he himself cleanses you from your iniquity.  Praise God for the work of Salvation is his alone!

Merry Christmas!

"Were earth a thousand times as fair,

Be set with gold and jewels rare.

She yet were far too poor to be,

A narrow cradle, Lord, for thee.

Praise God upon his heavenly throne,

Who gave to us his only Son,

For this his hosts on joyful wing,

A blessed New Year of mercy sing.

This is the Christ our God and Lord,

Who in all need shall aid afford,

He will himself our Savior be,

And from our sins will set us free!"

You can listen to this in song for by Sandra McCracken here.

The Pilgrims

I started teaching on the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving today with Dylan.  We went through some lessons regarding them last year, but hey, she's 5 and it's been a whole year since we talked about them,  I was impressed that she remembered anything at all, but she surprisingly remembered quite a bit.  I asked her what she remembered from our readings last year and she said, "I remember they used fish to plant corn." The Native American's taught the Pilgrims to bury fish beneath their crops to provide excellent fertlizer for their corn crops. Then she went on to tell me what she remembered about the Mayflower hardships, "They had to eat bread with worms in it and had dirty water." Beer was the main drink for all, including the children, because the water they had brought became contaminated and unsafe to drink. What food and beer that was left towards the end of the journey became inedible causing much hunger.

May we lay everything on the line and be willing to give it all up to rightly worship and serve the living God.

The Importance of Reading

The written Word of God is a priceless gift given to us from his very hand.  What a selection of choicest fruits we have available.  Just recently Dylan has taken an interest in opening the bible and reading it for herself.  Will you pray with me that God's word will not return void?  He has a mighty hand, and he is able to save to the uttermost.  Dylan has started reading John 1.  What a good place to start!


"So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ."


 Romans 10:17

He is Good

Our little Lennox is now 10 months old.  Ten months ago I was getting ready to give birth.  A little less than twenty months ago, I found out I was pregnant with him. I was scared to get pregnant again- but he will lovingly come along side his children and remind us of his wisdom and his goodness. His ways are higher than our ways and he is a merciful God who remembers our frame. (Psalm 55:9 & 103:14)  Why would God choose to take the lives of 7 of our babies and commission us to raise Dylan and Lennox?  Because he is God and he knows what he is doing when we do not.  

While I am so grateful that he has blessed us with Dylan and Lennox,  I want to be perfectly clear about this: even if he had not granted us a single child, and though I may have 2, 5, or even 10 more miscarriages in my lifetime;  God is infinitely good, incredibly wise, and perfectly sovereign over every single moment in my life.  Nothing is far from his hand.  Tested and proved.

We need to be reminded, a lot!

I finished up my reading of Joshua this morning and was struck by how profound and yet so simple these exhortations were.  We need to be reminded...




Be very careful, therefore, to love the LORD your God. -Joshua 23:11


and...


And now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the good things that the LORD your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed. -Joshua 23:14


We are a forgetful, unfaithful people.  Our God, however, never forgets and is always faithful.


These words reminded me what I needed to be reminded of:


Stay near to him and love him.  My heart is prone to wander. He is faithful and does not forget his promises- and it has been proven time and time again in my life.  He is good! Amen!

Be Intentional

This is the greatest advice I can give myself.  I have found much joy and much contentment in the last few weeks by purposing to be intentional in everything I do.  What are my intentions, you might ask?  To glorify God.  Wow, Sunday School answer, right?  Wrong!  I have a terrible habit of meandering through life half awake, blindly doing menial tasks with no purpose other than the fact that they need to be done.  I am guilty of not taking pride in my roles, and when I do take pride in them, it's the selfish, self-exaltation kind of pride- the kind the God of heaven abhors.  Not the pride a blood-bought redeemed child of God ought to take in serving others and serving her Lord- so that others will glorify my Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16).  So, I have tried very hard lately to not just do what I have to do because it needs to be done, but do it all as unto the Lord. (Colossians 3:17 & 23, 1 Corinthians 10:31)  Scripture doesn't suggest this principle, it commands it!

I have awakened to a joy in doing what I was made to do.  Not just as a human: to glorify God.  But as a wife: to serve my husband, to be his helper, to submit and trust him, as he submits and trusts our Lord; and as a mother: teaching Dylan about the Lord, homeschooling her, caring for Lennox; as an employee: serving my family, my father- who is my employer; as servant of God's Church and even very important as one who keeps a home organized and resourceful. 
When I know these are my God-given roles to fulfill and I am either being a false witness of His grace in me or I am being a purposeful servant of the Lord- it matters greatly!  If I will only begin a task with the mindset, "What I do matters greatly today- it matters to the Lord where my heart is when I complete this task and when I do this I am bearing His name,"- I can find great joy and contentment in even the smallest thing!  Sounds fantastic, doesn't it?

 So, why then, is it so easy to fall back into walking my blind little circles, just milling around completing tasks (or sometimes not even completing them!!)? It's. That. One. Word. Sin. Sin. Sin.  My old nature likes to fight hardily with my new identity.  We will fight this fight until we are with the Lord in glory.  I can not wait for that day!  In the mean time, being mindful, intentional and being self-aware and brutally honest with myself- that I can easily fall into that rut- is the best way for me to fight. I have written about the same thing here. I can't kid myself- and neither can you.  We have to be on guard against the ease of sin, the ease of idleness, and the ease of letting ourselves run on auto-pilot.  I think we can soundly say that if we are meditating on God's Word, meeting with him regularly in prayer, and surrounding ourselves with brothers and sisters that would spur us on to good works (Hebrews 10:24-25), and actually listening and taking care to meet the needs of others- as in our spouses and being careful to seek out ways to serve those in our body and in our community, we can beat this thing with the strength and power of the Spirit that lives in us.  This is the God of the universe- he made me, and he deserves to be the center of everything I do.  I am purposing the make that the truth in my life.  How about you?