Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Entries from my journal...

I was thumbing through my journal this morning and it occurred to me that maybe it would be a good idea to post some of my thoughts here at the kitchen table. I use my journal for writing down all sorts of things -- travel diaries, thoughts that occur to me, studying particular passages of Scripture, and assignments for Bible studies I’m doing. Here are a few random entries...

June 18, 2004 --”The year is speeding by, and already it is June. I delight in having my quiet time on the screened porch, surrounded by greenery, fresh breezes, and birdsong.
“I’ve been reading through the Gospels, and today was in Mark 1. In the account of the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law, it says that when she was healed, she ‘rose and ministered unto’ Peter and his friends. I imagine she served them a meal. How often we suppose ‘Christian service’ to be some grand and glorious work, when most often it is doing the everyday things as unto Him.” I liked this quote:

“A great many persons are always sighing for opportunities to minister to Christ, imagining some fine and splendid service which they would like to render. Meantime they let slip past their hands the very things in which Christ wants them to serve Him. True ministry to Christ is doing first of all and well one’s daily duties.”
-- J.R. Miller, Come Ye Apart

January 9, 2005 -- “Just wanted to quickly record here a beautiful sight we saw on the way to church yesterday morning. Every ice-coated stem of weed or grass sparkled like crystal icicles. And the smooth surfaces of new snow looked exactly as if they had been sprinkled with white glitter. Oh, the amazing beauty of God’s creation, and the ‘treasures of the snow’!”

May 12, 2005 -- “Out for a daily walk, I spotted it on the roadside: a gorgeous violet, with leaves as glossy and healthy and blossoms as deeply purple as any well-tended houseplant. Yet what were its surroundings? Dry, inhospitable gravel. It stood out against a background of stony gravel and sparse weeds, yet it bloomed so extravagantly. Just another illustration of how we’re to bloom where God plants us, how we are to rise above our circumstances, and how we’re to stand out from the world around us.”

February 8, 2006 -- “I’ve been impressed [through the study God’s Wisdom for a Woman’s Life] with the crucial importance of living out my faith before my children. Even though they are grown and gone, with families of their own, and my structured times of teaching them are long over, yet they are observing me and my actions and reactions to the issues of life. I don’t want them to see someone who is shallow or is merely ‘playing church’. I want them to see an example of victorious Christian living and true faith. I liked this quote I found concerning Eunice: ‘Timothy received the gift of life twice from his mother. She gave him birth and then showed him what a life of faith could be.’
“May I be consistently showing my children what a life of faith looks like in daily practice! To do this, I need to stay close to the Lord and live in obedience to His Word.”

5 comments:

  1. Mrs. T,

    THanks for sharing your journal entries! I am especially encouraged by the first one regarding our service to Christ in doing our daily duties to our best ability. So often I think my tasks as a mother are menial and not important. Thanks for the boost!

    Now maybe I should get busy instead of blogging away the morning,
    Alicia

    ReplyDelete
  2. I enjoyed reading these, too, Mom! :) I especially like the one about blooming where you are planted--something I find challenging and not the easiest thing in the world, but necessary to do. Thanks for the encouragement! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Carrie and Alicia --

    You have both encouraged me, too! I am happy that my words -- which seem to me inadequate and stumbling so much of the time -- were a blessing to each of you. I often feel as if I am not doing the "Titus 2" thing not often enough, or well enough, and so it was a great encouragement to me to know that I helped you in some way. Thanks for saying so!

    Maybe sometime soon I can share some more of my journal jottings!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous10:04 PM

    I onced came upon your blog and loved it. But I forgot to bookmarked you and was trying to search for you. Now I have found you, thanks to your daughter Carrie!

    Thanks for the wonderful blogs and from your journal. It's a blessing to read from you.

    Ping serving in India

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks for your comments, Ping! It is encouraging to me to know my blog is a blessing to someone as far away as India. I'll try and post some more of my journal entries soon.

    God bless,
    Mrs.T

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit my kitchen table! I love company here in my kitchen, so be sure to leave a comment so I'll know you've visited! I'll answer your questions and comments here on the blog unless you request otherwise.