Adoniram Judson

One of my early New Years resolutions is to read more about Missionaries. My sister is a missionary and I thought it would be good to read about the lives of some older missionaries.
I have started with Adoniram Judson. I have only been reading stuff from the internet, but will try to find a book soon. Anyways. Adoniram Judson was a missionary to Burma in the early to mid 1800's. What an incredible testimony he has to TRULY believing in and grasping the sovereignty of God. He and his first wife, Ann, lost two children on the mission field. After the loss of their second child his wife Ann said this...

"Our hearts were bound up with this child; we felt he was our earthly all, our
only source of innocent recreation in this heathen land. But God saw it
was necessary to remind us of our error and to strip us of our only little
all. O, may it not be vain that He has done it. May we so improve it
that He will stay His hand and say...'it is enough.'"

There is no need to expound on that statement. My words would be inept.
Adoniram Judson was imprisoned for 21 months. His wife Ann was instrumental in pleading for his release. She also died not to long after his release.
Adoniram married again...suffered the loss of more children...experienced the life of children as well...then bore the pain of losing another wife.
He then married again. He married a writer that he had commissioned to write a book about his second wife. They had two children. The first one lived...the second one died at birth, 3 weeks after Judson died.

I look forward to reading much more about the life and ministry not only of Adoniram, but that of his wives as well. Any woman that can write such a statement while living in Burma and losing two children, I think is someone worth reading about.
John Piper stated on this subject that he preaches to produce mothers like that and that he fears there are too few. Am I a mother like that? I don't know. I've never lost a child. But I don't think I have to lose a child to be the kind of wife and mother that is reaching for God's truth and trying to rest in His sovereignty.

Late in Adoniram Judsons life he said this...

"If I had not felt certain that every additional trial was ordered by
infinite love and mercy, I could not have survived my accumulated
suffering."

That certainly begs the question in my life..."Do I recognize the trials in my life as those from an infinitely loving and merciful God?"
If I don't recognize them as such, then where is my hope? John Piper goes on to say in the same sermon about the Judsons, that he wants to build a fence around the sovereignty of God. So which side of the fence do I fall on?
I have two choices...recognize God's sovereignty in every aspect of my life, or don't. I rejoice in God's sovereignty when I have a good day. I am thankful for his provision for that day. I am thankful when unexpected money arrives to pay an over due bill. On those days it's easy to praise God for his sovereignty. But on the days when I can't pay that over due bill am I still trusting in God's sovereignty.
God is not going to sprinkle me with sovereign dust and suddenly I accept what life is throwing me. I have to choose to believe, as His child, that every trial is from His hand of infinite love and mercy. That is a much better option than to just not know why. I don't have to understand, I just need to know God is loving and merciful. Then I need to praise Him in that.

Well, I am going to enjoy learning more about Adoniram Judson and his wives. I look forward to learning what God will teach me through these studies. If any of you want to study with me, come on! And if you have any ideas on who I should study next, let me know.

Christmas Top Ten

10. I got an MP3 player. Yes, I am cool now!
9. Stacy was suprised by the movie "Tombstone" that I got him. Suprsises are always good.
8. I succesfully made a Red Velvet Cake complete with Cream Cheese Frosting. Yumminess!
7. Lana was very cute singing "Away in a Manger" at church Sunday. She has no stage fright.
6. I am a hero because I spent $8 on a pocket knife for Logan. Hopefully I don't spend $800 at ER.
5. My brother brought his girlfriend to Christmas Eve festivities and she's sweet. I like her!
4. I got to at least see a snowflake mixed with sleet on Christmas day. So it was a wintry mix Christmas.
3. Despite the rain the whole way home, the drive was nice and hubby and I chatted contently! Ah, companionship.
2. We ate Ham, Turkey, and Rib Roast. Can't beat meat!
1. Enjoyed nice time with family. Craziness and all! That's what it's all about.

I'll be home for Christmas...

Isn't it funny how we say we're going home when we're going to our parents house?
I've never even lived in that house, and yet I say I'm going home.

Oh well...It feels like home anyway!

We definitely enjoy being there.

The presents are wrapped.

The suitcases are packed.
The car is loaded.

We're about to take naps to prepare for our journey tonight.

There is a slight possibility of snow for Christmas.

We are stopping at Starbucks before we leave tonight.

AH, all is right with the world.

Well except the fact that I'm irritated with my husband.

I'm leaving a lot of laundry to deal with when I get home,

and it will most likely be raining when we leave tonight.

All was almost right with the world.

By tonight I will get over my irritation. I have no choice.
That is what you have to do when you are married. Like it or not.

Sometimes you have to do things for the greater good.

Maybe the Laundry Fairies will come down and take care of my laundry while I am gone.

I deserve at least that right?

And we will pray for safe travels and get out ahead of the rain.

So maybe all is at least tolerable with the world.

Merry Christmas all of my fellow bloggers. It has been a joy journeying with you guys over these past few months. I look forward to being blessed by your blog company even more in 2008!

I pray you all know God's love and grace even when all is not right with the world!

Love to all!!!

Glorious Sleep!

Last night I took Tylenol PM.
I was sound asleep at 10:00pm.
I awoke at (gulp) 9:00am.
I know...Crazy...but I had to make up for some sleepless nights!
I feel much better and ready to do laundry, wash dishes, do my typing job, and whatever else comes my way today.
Thank God for Tylenol PM!
Thank you all for your advice.
Now, I must go wash me some dishes.
You know...there just is no exciting way to say that.

Help me please!!!

I have serious sleep issues. I can't sleep at night, therefore I am cranky during the day.
I have to leave the house at 6:30 a.m. tomorrow for work, and yet it is 11:35 and I am still up. I just got through wrapping Christmas presents and I my brain won't stop.
What is a girl to do?
My friend Stacey suggested today that I get some special tea. I will do that tomorrow.
I may have to do the Tylenol PM route a few nights just too get into a sleep groove.
I don't know.

Have any of ya'll gone through this before?
Let me go ahead and rule things out:
I drink little caffeine. None at night.
I don't nap during the day.
I am very active during the day.
I don't smoke, drink, or do drugs.

OK...I am going to go now and try to sleep. 6:00 is going to come early.
Tomorrow will definetly be a Starbucks kind of morning!
MMM...Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha Frappacino is calling my name...
Now if it could just lull me to sleep!

Insomniatic Ramblings

Notice the time. 1:30 am....What is wrong with me? I have been going and going all day and I can't stop. It's like I've been nesting for days and I'm not even pregnant. Good grief. I will be so worthless in the morning. But thats OK...I've decided that this week of school is going to be all about Christmas! Fun stuff huh!

Today was a good day.
We had great church service this morning.
Came home and did some cleaning.
Made homemade pizzas.
Took Lana to do her Christmas shopping.
Organized pictures on the computer.

Went back to church for Choir musical.
It was very good. Filled with worship and very God centered.
I enjoyed it emmensly.
Then we had our friends Ken and Gwendy and our Pastor and his wife over to eat the homemade pizzas.
We had a super fun time chatting with all of them.
We covered a wide variety of theological and life topics.

I was given 3 Christmas gifts today. And they weren't Gold, Francincense, and Myrhh!
What a very nice treat!
I am thankful for those gifts and for those givers.
I am thankful for new friends and friends that over time start to become more like family.
My friend Gwendy and I made arrangments to swap kids this week allowing us both time to wrap presents. Thats a good thing. She's a good friend :)

I can't beleive that we leave Saturday to go to Mom and Dads for Christmas.
I really want a white Christmas.
I REALLY wish Laura and the fam were coming to suprise us for Christmas.
I am going to make some White Trash this week. Oh my yum!
We are going to a Christmas party Monday night ( which I guess is tonight now).
We are playing dirty Santa. I hope I get the last number. I want to be really mean! Bwaa Ha Ha! (Kim Hill evil laugh)
I am going to bring Johnchies Jello. It is the best thing ever.

It is too hot in my house right now. Bald husband needs to get a night cap so he can absorb heat better. Or I should shave my head. HMMMMM.....

Well..it is 1:43 now. I should go to sleep.
If you are an early blog reader, and you actually read this whole blog, please don't call me...I will hopefully, finally, be asleep!

Swirling Thoughts

Do you ever just feel overwhelmed by your own thoughts?
I have been feeling that way for days.
I feel like I can't get enough of reading other peoples encouraging words.
I have been loving reading what God is doing in other peoples lives.
It is so encouraging to know that when I am about to loose it, somebody out there has got some words that are going to point me right back to the Gospel.
It always comes at the right time too.
God is so good to know what I need.
It is not His plan for me to loose my cool...it is my depravity and lack of self control.

This has been part of my crazy thoughts. Brace your self...it's a weird flow.

I love puzzles. I love games like Tetris and Bejeweled and right now my favorite is Jewel Quest.
I love to see things fit together.
I love seeing these shapes or whatever coming down and I have to make sure they get to the right place. When they all fit together, I win.
When I'm lazy and just watch them fall, I loose.
My relationship with God is so much like that. Life is throwing things at me.
I have the choice to either let them fall or make it all fit together.
When I choose to let them fall I choose to leave God out of it.
If I want to make it all fit together I have to do it with Him.
I am fully aware that this is the weekest analogy in the world of what God does in my life everyday.

Yesterday Logan came at me with wanting to know how to get the full armor of God.
I answered him the best that I could, which is usually not enough for him, so we tabled it until Daddy got home.
Stacy is able to explain things to him so much better than me. It was such an encouraging conversation and it did my heart good to hear my son so eagerly want to soak up what the word of God says about really, equipping ourselves for daily sanctification. I loved hearing my husband instruct our kids about filling ourselves with Gods word...memorizing, reading, studying, worshiping, proclaiming the Gospel to others. All of those things that help us to put on the armor of God, that push us a little more towards Gods righteousness.

In Sunday School our pastor has been teaching us out of Eph.4. That we are called to walk worthy of the calling by which we are called. That we are to walk this walk with lowliness, gentleness, longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endevoring to keep the unity of the Spirit.

The fruits of the spirit instruct us to love, have joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.

We don't pick and choose these things. God didn't say, here Missy...this is part of the puzzle...you pick which part you would like to have. How easy would that be? Anyone could pick one or two attributes to live out. Well maybe for at least a day!
But we are to put it all on. The whole armor...the Whole Fruit...Walk the whole walk.
For me it's all apart of that puzzle. It doesn't just randomly happen. I have to put the pieces in place. God, through the sending of His Son, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit has given me the tools by which to do this. I sometimes am just too lazy to make it work. I would rather watch it all fall apart than just make one little move that will make all the difference.
I get so frustrated with my sinful nature. I get tired of fighting it.

I am thankful for the body of Christ. For the real struggle that you all so freely share. For the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For the Sovereign God that has known from all eternity that I would belong to Him. For the fact that He sacrificed His Son so that He can show mercy on undeserving me.

Wow..this is a long post...I have just had all of these thoughts swirling in my head. It was nice to give them a place to come together. Thanks for listening.