My First Attempt at Spanish Humor

In English: "You're overweight."

"I want a second opinion!"

"You're ugly, too!"

Humbled and Inspired

Hiya!

It's been a while, hasn't it?  Sorry.

This past month, I've been to two funerals.  One was for a three day-old baby, and one was for my fourty-nine year old aunt.  Both deaths were unexpected and shocking.  Both have changed me. 

Now, my deepest heart is still the same as always--I believe in the One Who is in control of all things, and so I cannot be shaken. However, I have been effected in two ways: I have been humbled, and I have been inspired.

I have been humbled.  Augustine said that everyone must either "be humble, or be humbled," and I admit the second is the one that describes me recently.  I saw through these events how truly "out of control" of the important things I am, and that I need God.  One night last week, I lay awake late, and cried out to God how much I needed Him merely to exist.  I realized more clearly than ever before how much I am held together by my Shepherd.  As soon as I admitted that, I felt such peace--even in the middle of pain.  I pray that I will stay humble, so I won't need to be humbled again.  I like this dependency, and I like realizing how dependent I am.

I have been inspired.  I truly believe this goes hand-in-hand with humility.  Having let go of my desire to be amazing or impressive in and of my own strength, I'm ready to use my gifts for God.  I'm ready to charge into whatever He puts in front of me, knowing that His strength will support me.  The deck is stacked in my favor when I do things His way.  I'm really excited about this, and will be sharing what God leads me to do on here.  I think it'll involve some domesticity.

Best foot forward!

Rachel

In Review: More Than Rubies

More Than Rubies is the long-awaited album, RELEASED YESTERDAY, from Christa Wells and Nicole Witt--two of Christian music's sweetest singer-songwriters.  Both singers are blessed with abundant talent, though their voices and styles are far from similar.  Christa Wells' sweetly melancholy voice mingles with Nicole Witt's stronger, brighter tones for a pleasant mix.  The piano is most often courtesy of Wells, while Witt provides the violin intros to several of the songs.

This album has several new songs on it, along with favorite, previously-released songs such as "Pray."  Matt Redmond's hit worship song, "10,000 Reasons" is covered by the lovely duo in a more subdued fashion.  Expect a beautiful, soul-stirring mix of worship melodies reminiscent of Celtic Psalms and slower, sweeter pieces, which have been in my mind and on my tongue every since Christa sent me the album. 

However, the words do not always balance with the weight of the melodies.  While many of the songs did convict, strengthen, and bless me, several held little theological value, though their tunes were lovely to the extreme. 

Check out this lovely album,
and then spin past the artists' websites and let them know what you think!

www.nicolewitt.com

www.christawellsmusic.com

On Femininity and Education...

It is time to wake this blog up from its current state of hibernation, and I am aware that the topic for this post is slightly controversial.  All the better!  I have been involved in many conversations lately with acquaintances, friends, and family members who have questioned my interest in, and intention to apply to, New Saint Andrews College (NSA) in Moscow, Idaho.  The college's website describes the school best: "a self-governing non-profit institution for classical Christian post-secondary education, committed to the pursuit of truth, beauty, and goodness in the light of the Holy Scriptures, under Christ’s sovereign authority, and to the advancement of Christ’s kingdom and Trinitarian culture. The College’s mission is to provide a rigorous classical Christian higher education from a distinctively Trinitarian perspective to equip the next generation for faithful cultural leadership in all vocations." 

In many of my conversations, I have been asked why I want to go to a college like this.  What good is an education in the liberal arts?  "Yes, it all sounds very nice, but what can you do with that?"

In other conversations, I have been asked why I want to pursue a college-level education at all.  Of what practical use is education (at this level) for my goals?  Again, "yes, it all sounds very nice, but what can you do with that?"

To continue, I must outline my goals:  I want to be a wife and mother.  I believe that God calls the majority of women to this occupation (Titus 2:5).

Martin Luther would tell you that there are two sides of a horse off which to fall.  Easy, indeed, to over correct and flip head-first off one side while everyone else is careening off the other.  Both sides are equally steep, and the ground is equally hard on both sides. 

However, I think the two camps that have questioned my plans (we'll call them the pro-career camp and the anti-career camp, both referring solely to women) have something in common, and while they are both leaning to one side or the other, they are being pulled downward by the same force.  They both underestimate the power of words.

So, let's look at the power of words.  Throughout history, throughout literature, and throughout Scripture, it is the man who has the ability to speak with persuasiveness and wisdom who owns the keys to the gates (and hearts).  It is the man who speaks with control, force, and discernment during political struggles who affects the course of history.  Beowulf was received by a foreign king because he spoke with adroitness and cunning.  Atticus Finch wins the hearts and minds of all who read To Kill a Mockingbird by presenting truth, plain and honest, in a winsome fashion.  It was Solomon who was blessed with wisdom from God, was praised for his answers in the court, and who (inspired by God) wrote about appropriately answering a fool (Proverbs 26:4-5).  This world was fashioned by words. Eve fell for a cunning argument (made up of words).  God punished the arrogance of man by confusing their words.  The Jews and Greeks stumbled not (entirely) over Christ's actions, but His words.  We are warned that we will be judged for our words.  We are told that our words have the power to build up or tear down our neighbor.  The ones who change the world will be the men with the greatest wisdom and command over words.

Let's all take a moment to look at the direct object in that last sentence: men.

My friends in the pro-career camp will choke right here.  Men?  Yes.    I sincerely believe that it is the duty of men to represent, fight for, and pursue justice.  It is the duty of women to help them, push them on, support them if they slip, and to educate future men to fight with the same fervor and impact.  I do not believe that God calls women to join the fight.  As I said, my goal is to be a wife and mother, and not get a career.  By saying that woman ought to enter the workforce, and that educating one's children is second-fiddle, I would reveal a lack of respect for education, and thereby, for words.

 My friends in both camps may still be scratching their heads at this point and wondering what this has to do with my college choice.  I want to pursue the knowledge of words, their use, their impact upon society, and their usefulness, so that  I can teach their use properly, and so that I can use them properly in my own relationships.  This knowledge is best found in the books and ideas that have changed the thought patterns of the world, seen through the lens of truth presented in Scripture.  This is what I will do at NSA. 

To my friends in the anti-career camp: I suggest to you that by surrendering higher education to those who educate the children of the world you give up one of the greatest weapons in your arsenal.  Some in the culture, oddly enough, recognize the power of words.  Our politicians survive by twisting and hurling words.  By teaching your children to use words with persuasiveness and discernment, you introduce a relevant power into the world, one with which the world will have an interesting time contending.  As Bringham Young (President of LDS Church...sorry) said,  “You educate a man; you educate a man. You educate a woman; you educate a generation.” 

If I have failed in persuading you, take that as proof that I really do need this education. 

God bless you!

My Great-Great-Birth-Grandfather

Coming Soon...

Hello!

This blog is morphing into something new... And the old name has GOT to go.

             It was great,

but now this blog has a different focus, and a new name is in order.

                      Hang tight!

A Christian Heritage: an interview with G.I. Williamson

          Last week, I emailed retired pastor G.I. Williamson for the second time in my life.  The first time was to thank him for writing his study of the Westminster Confession of Faith, which the Lord used mightily in my life.  This time it was to ask him some questions.  He graciously replied, and here is my interview with Mr. Williamson, Reformed Presbyterian pastor for over 50 years, author, and one of my heroes:

What was your church like, growing up?

"My parents and grand-parents were originally members of the old United Presbyterian Church of North America (UPCNA). This was a strong church at one time. But it was rapidly declining in its commitment to its Reformation Confessional standards. So I was never even made ware of the existence of the Westminster Shorter Catechism.  I never even knew that my Mother had once memorized it until I discovered that during my last visit with her when she was 95 years old.

What led you to read the Westminster Confession?

"While I was studying for the ministry at the Pittsburgh-Xenia Theological Seminary, I was allowed to serve as a student pastor of the UPCNA church in New Bedford, PA.  It was while serving in that capacity that I first discovered the Westminster Standards.  One Saturday, when some of the members were cleaning the church, the treasurer came to tell me that they had found some old books in a dusty closet and were about to throw them away.  If I wanted any of those books, I was free to take them.  So I went to have a look, and one that caught my eye was an edition of the 1858 Subordinate Standards of the United Presbyterian Church of North America.  That was the first time that I had ever laid eyes on the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms. From that moment on, my life was radically changed.  I began to study the Confession and Catechisms, paying close attention to the proof texts printed out below the text of these documents to support their statements.  Next to the Bible itself, no other book even comes close to the importance of this one in my life as a Christian and a pastor."

 

What led you to write a study on the Confession?

"When I began my labor as a home missionary of the OPC in Fall River, Massachusetts, in 1955, I determined that my people (however few or many there might be under my ministry) were not going to be deprived (as I had been) of their confessional and catechetical heritage.  So I began writing lessons on the Westminster Confession that were handed out weekly to be studied and discussed at the midweek prayer meeting.  As I wrote those lessons, I never had any notion that I was writing a book!  Dr. William Young, who was then teaching philosophy at the University of Rhode Island, often came to worship with us on Sunday evenings.  When he saw a few of those lessons, he began to urge me to send them in to Mr. Charles Craig of the Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company to see if he would publish them.  He said he was pretty sure he would, because I quoted Westminster Seminary Professors Van Til and Murray! And to my amazement, he was right."

 

Your greatest contribution to the world, in your opinion, is...?

"I find this to be a difficult question.  I can't think of anything that I would consider a 'great' contribution to the world, much less the "greatest."  So let me just say I believe God's truth is unchanging, something 'once for all delivered to the saints' (Jude 3).  And because this is true I believe the Westminster Standards (as well as the Heidelberg Catechism) are one of "the greatest contributions to the world" that the true church has ever made. I only see my work as an attempt to help people see this."

Is there anything you regret in your life as a Christian leader?

"I regret that I did not remain longer in one place.  It is now my opinion that this pattern of ministers moving on every few years is not as fruitful as longer pastorates.  There are, of course, exceptions.  But to young ministers I would say, 'the grass over there is not really greener.'"

Do you have hope for the next generation?

"I certainly do.  I've been a pastor for more than sixty years, and I find the young people today to be more willing to think, to examine ,and to investigate than those I encountered in previous decades.  I think this is partly because the bad fruits of liberalism/modernism are no longer hidden under the surface of what J. Gresham Machen called 'the moral momentum' inherited from our ancestors.  That was still very strong when I was a young person.  Not any more."

 What advice would you give the next generation of Christians?

"'Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered' (Prov. 28:26). That is why the Apostle Paul said we must 'not be conformed to this world, but. . .transformed by the renewal of [our] mind[s]' (Rom. 12:2). To get wisdom we must have a desire to get hold of 'the truth.'   We can only get that from God himself, through His word. But one of the greatest instruments to help us in this quest is found in the historic Reformed Confessions.   This is not to even suggest for a moment that they are infallible teachers.   They are not, and they say that very thing themselves, but they are a wonderful means of helping us to find our way in the Scriptures."

What do you see as the future for the next generation?

"God is sifting his people.  There has already been a big loss in numbers as once great Presbyterian and Reformed Churches leave their own heritage.  But the result will be a more vibrant remnant.  If you are part of this remnant you ought to be overwhelmed with gratitude to God for your preservation.  You ought to be filled with a holy joy that others will see in every aspect of your existence.  We are not what is left of a lost cause. Perilous times will come (1 Tim. 4:1, and 2 Tim. 3:1).  We have a future.  And, as Mary Adams — a retired missionary used to say to me — 'the best is yet to be.'"




Thanks, Mom, for telling me to read the Confession, and for proof-reading this post.

Thank you, Mr. Williamson, for all your emails!