If we could see beyond today
As God can see;
If all the clouds should roll away,
The shadows flee;
O'er present griefs we would not fret.
Each sorrow we would soon forget,
For many joys are waiting yet
For you and me.
If we could know beyond today
As God doth know,
Why dearest treasures pass away
And tears must flow;
And why the darkness leads to light,
Why dreary paths will soon grow bright;
Some day life's wrongs will be made right,
Faith tells us so.
"If we could see, if we could know,"
We often say,
But God in love a veil doth throw
Across our way;
We cannot see what lies before,
And so we cling to Him the more,
He leads us till this life is o'er
Trust and obey.
Monday, January 4, 2010
"Streams in the Desert" by Mrs. Charles E. Cowman
My verse of the year:
Romans 13:14
Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
Or
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.
Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
Or
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Bible reading, anyone?
Check out these plans for reading through the Bible this year:
http://www.navpress.com/dj/content.aspx?id=138
http://www.navpress.com/dj/content.aspx?id=138
Good Encouragement from my friend, George McGovern
Some Final Reflections on Christmas
Christmas. The fancy name is Incarnation – the “in-fleshment” of God. Scriptures document that the baby in Mary’s womb was the result of God intervening. Matthew records it this way, “she (Mary) was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit”. Joseph didn’t have “relations” with Mary, and yet she was pregnant. This qualifies as a miracle - “an interference with nature by supernatural power”. A master wordsmith, Max Lucado, puts it this way, “He who was larger than the universe became an embryo…he who sustains the world with a word chose to be dependent upon the nourishment of a young girl. God as a fetus. The creator of life being created.”
The classic image of Christmas is the manger scene where Joseph and Mary surround the baby who is “asleep on the hay”. The Bible gives details of this event and the events leading up to it. Interestingly, we have little information about Jesus as a young boy or as a teenager. Have you ever tried to imagine scenes from these stages of our Lord’s life? Lucado helps us here, “Angels watched as Mary changed God’s diaper. The universe watched with wonder as The Almighty learned to walk. Children played in the street with him…Jesus may have had pimples. He may have been tone-deaf. It could be that his knees were bony. One thing’s for sure: He was, while completely divine, completely human…He felt weak. He grew weary. He was susceptible to wooing women. He got colds, burped, and had body odor. His feelings got hurt, his feet got tired, and his head ached.”
I’ve often wished that accounts from the early years of our Lord’s life were included in “the gospels” (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). The insights and lessons would be priceless. We could use them strategically in parenting our kids.
Place yourself in Mary’s shoes. Not only are you still marveling about the source of your pregnancy, but you’re catching moments as Jesus grows up that take your breath away and cause you to reflect deeply on the nature of your son. Lucado captures the possible experiences that Mary had and puts them in the form of questions that some of her friends might have asked her in hindsight.
- Mary, did you ever see him with a distant look on his face as if he were listening to
someone you couldn’t hear?
- Mary, did he do well in school?
- Mary, what was it like watching him pray?
- Mary, when he saw a rainbow, did he ever mention a flood?
- Mary, when he saw a lamb being led to the slaughter, did he act differently?
Fascinating questions—the answers to which we’ll never know this side of eternity. And yet they cause us to admit the tension between Jesus’ human and divine natures—two natures in one person, a mystery. A mystery, and yet we must not settle on favoring Jesus’ divinity at the expense of his humanity. To focus on the humanness of Jesus seems to reduce him down to our level, which leaves us feeling like we’re doing him a dis-service. Lucado helps us again here, “To think of Jesus in such a light is—well, it seems almost irreverent, doesn’t it? It’s not something we like to do; it’s uncomfortable. It’s much easier to keep the humanity out of the incarnation. Pretend he never snored or blew his nose or hit his thumb with a hammer. He’s easier to stomach that way. There is something about keeping him divine that keeps him distant, packaged, predictable. But don’t do it. Let him be as human as he intended to be. Let him into the mire and muck of our world. For only if we let him in can he pull us out.”
That last line resonates with me. “For only if we let him in can he pull us out.” If I do not consider the idea that Jesus was tempted with sexual sin, or with pride, or even with doubt, how can I call on him for help when these issues knock on my heart? The fact that our Lord, while here on earth, was genuinely tempted “in all ways” and resisted those temptations gives me hope that He can accurately and sufficiently strengthen me to stand against these struggles.
In addition, connecting with the Son of God on an emotional level becomes more plausible and inviting when I recall that He experienced the full range of human emotion. Jesus cried. Jesus felt rejection. Jesus became angry. There were moments when he felt lonely. He had moments of ecstasy and exhilaration. He laughed. He took delight in or disdained the actions of others. He hated hypocrisy in all its forms. He was surprised and at times confused. At other times hopeful. He felt compassion for those who got the short end of the stick. He loved what was right and hated what was wrong. There is no emotion that I can possibly experience that he has not experienced.
When I recall that, I feel free to talk with him about any of my issues or circumstances. I can bring my life’s moments and emotions to someone who has experienced the whole spectrum of life’s moments and emotions and thus feel his comforting touches on my heart. He “pulls me out” because I acknowledge and draw on the fact that he has been “in” and, thus, can pull me out. I’ve experienced this when my brother died of cancer, when my mom was suffering with Alzheimer’s’, when I felt confused about my life’s direction, when some friends questioned my allegiances, and when God provided for our financial needs.
The Incarnation, God with us, the Word become flesh. Fascinating words and concepts. But emanating from these concepts is the reality that my life is being led by a Savior who knows and understands and who feels our pains and our joys. May we all be inspired to worship this Savior with greater fervor as we walk with Him through 2010.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Friday, December 11, 2009
Christmas Letter 2009
December 12, 2009
Dear Friends and Family,
We are so thankful for all that God did in 2009. He provided opportunities for us to travel to Germany and the East Coast, provided a place for our church to meet, provided abundant grace for all the tasks and blessings in our life, and most of all, provided peace with Himself through Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection.
Carl - Carl continues to pastor Grace Church. He is busy finding workers and making decisions for the new campus that our church owns, studying, preaching, keeping up with our busy family, and meeting with people. He finished installing all new windows in our house (yay!) and occasionally gets to go surfing or dirt biking. He is thankful for the Lord’s constant provisions and faithful presence.
Kerstin - We have taken a different path in our homeschool journey as we joined a new program and are doing more classical education. It has been a challenging but great experience to choose all our own curriculum. Little glimpses: yesterday the girls performed a play about the discovery of Uranus, recited 15 weeks of memory work in all the core subjects, and today I read to them in German as they ate a snack and colored a picture of a grasshopper and caterpillar. I really enjoyed taking the kids to Germany to see family and make new friends, and to NJ and NC as well. I continue to paint and am getting interest in prints of my paintings, which is fun. There have been really stretching moments for me this year that caused me to grow in wonder how deep God’s love for me is and how unworthy I am. What a Savior!
Johanna (12) - Hanna just celebrated her 12th birthday and gave us all gifts. She has grown so much in maturity as she serves and thinks of others more highly than herself. Hanna continues to pursue ballet, violin, and piano. She and Maggie taught 3 little girls (one was Lily) ballet this summer. At the end of the summer, they choreographed and performed a ballet show with the little ones. Hanna usually has her schoolwork done by 9 a.m. and really has a knack for Latin. She looks for ways to encourage and help. We often see a message from Hanna on our white board in the kitchen: “I love my family!” Hanna really loved going to Camp Iroquoina (the camp in PA that I went to growing up) because it caused her to grow in her faith. She would like to have a farm some day--definitely some horses and chickens. “I don’t mind hard work,” she says. I especially appreciate when Hanna tells me, “I have a cleaning bug today!”
Magdeline (10) - Maggie has such a gentle spirit, although she is also full of energy. She loves the little ones and thinks of fun things that they can do. She also gets them ready for the day or nap. The only problem is that when she demonstrates how high she can climb in our huge tree Trey tries to be like her! Maggie absolutely adores babies. If there is a baby anywhere nearby, she longs to hold it. Hanna and Maggie are always pretending that they have many babies. They have plans for Maggie to have an orphanage someday on Hanna’s farm. The more babies, the better. Maggie also plays the flute, piano, and rides a dirt bike with Carl. She says things that make us laugh like, “I have fingers in my head that I count” (doing math in her head), “stored in my brain” (remembering things), “my tooth is on one dangle” (loose tooth), or “at least I don’t have leprosy or cholera” (when she was sick). Maggie dreams of being an ice skater--she has started some lessons and may get to perform in a competition. She loved Camp Iroquoina, saying, “The Bible has been all cloudy until now--it is like it is cleared. I didn’t know for sure that I was going to Heaven but now I do. This is more important to me than ice skates, or ice skating, or getting a Nintendo DS!”
Lilyana (5 1/2) - Lily is doing well physically--the only scare was when she passed out again in reaction to pain (it has happened about 4 times so far). She started kindergarten this year, but mainly soaks in life from wherever she is. Lily is sensitive and intuitive. When we pass a bird on the side of the road, she muses, “I wonder if it’s the same one I saw a minute ago.” Lily prays for people faithfully after she hears that they need prayer. Both Lily and Trey are scared of going to jail, so Lily prayed that she wouldn’t go to jail and that “Paul [the apostle] would get out of jail so he can preach more” (we’ve been reading Philippians). When we read about Paul’s thorn in his flesh, she called it “his prickle under his skin.” Lily heard Carl preaching when she was in the nursery and commented, “He REALLY knows what he’s talking about!” She loved coloring with Grandma and telling her, “Good job, Grandma!” Trey calls her “Lilyana Wilfred Fletcher!” She makes gifts for her siblings from her stuff because “I have so much, and they can be happy.” Lily wants to bring me breakfast in bed every day and comforted Maggie after Maggie had been teased by a boy, saying “Boys are rough!”
Carl III a.k.a. “Trey” (3 1/2) Our little guy is full of life and joy. His favorite outfit at the moment consists of his pjs, a bow tie, and his shades. He LOVES ties (unlike his Papa) and does not like his hair messed with, except sometimes by his sisters. He makes my day with his comments. “I love you, Mama. You soooo cute. You the best thing that I like. I love my sistas and my Mama and my Papa.” Trey is doted on by his 3 sisters, but he is all boy--racing around on his balance bike or scooter. He does not like food unless it has a considerable sugar content. When complimented, Trey replies, “Why thank you!” He loved coloring with Grandpa this summer, and talks longingly of camping, birthdays, and Christmas (he cried at Thanksgiving when there were no presents). Trey plans to be a ice hockey player (like Tim McAdam), race car driver, or motorcycle rider when he grows up. Trey has a wonderful, infectious chuckle. He loves to be chased down and tickled--a living, breathing toy for our family to play with!
We wish you a very Merry Christmas, and God’s peace in 2010.
Because of Christ,
The Fletchers
We love to keep in touch. We love visits too!
Dear Friends and Family,
We are so thankful for all that God did in 2009. He provided opportunities for us to travel to Germany and the East Coast, provided a place for our church to meet, provided abundant grace for all the tasks and blessings in our life, and most of all, provided peace with Himself through Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection.
Carl - Carl continues to pastor Grace Church. He is busy finding workers and making decisions for the new campus that our church owns, studying, preaching, keeping up with our busy family, and meeting with people. He finished installing all new windows in our house (yay!) and occasionally gets to go surfing or dirt biking. He is thankful for the Lord’s constant provisions and faithful presence.
Kerstin - We have taken a different path in our homeschool journey as we joined a new program and are doing more classical education. It has been a challenging but great experience to choose all our own curriculum. Little glimpses: yesterday the girls performed a play about the discovery of Uranus, recited 15 weeks of memory work in all the core subjects, and today I read to them in German as they ate a snack and colored a picture of a grasshopper and caterpillar. I really enjoyed taking the kids to Germany to see family and make new friends, and to NJ and NC as well. I continue to paint and am getting interest in prints of my paintings, which is fun. There have been really stretching moments for me this year that caused me to grow in wonder how deep God’s love for me is and how unworthy I am. What a Savior!
Johanna (12) - Hanna just celebrated her 12th birthday and gave us all gifts. She has grown so much in maturity as she serves and thinks of others more highly than herself. Hanna continues to pursue ballet, violin, and piano. She and Maggie taught 3 little girls (one was Lily) ballet this summer. At the end of the summer, they choreographed and performed a ballet show with the little ones. Hanna usually has her schoolwork done by 9 a.m. and really has a knack for Latin. She looks for ways to encourage and help. We often see a message from Hanna on our white board in the kitchen: “I love my family!” Hanna really loved going to Camp Iroquoina (the camp in PA that I went to growing up) because it caused her to grow in her faith. She would like to have a farm some day--definitely some horses and chickens. “I don’t mind hard work,” she says. I especially appreciate when Hanna tells me, “I have a cleaning bug today!”
Magdeline (10) - Maggie has such a gentle spirit, although she is also full of energy. She loves the little ones and thinks of fun things that they can do. She also gets them ready for the day or nap. The only problem is that when she demonstrates how high she can climb in our huge tree Trey tries to be like her! Maggie absolutely adores babies. If there is a baby anywhere nearby, she longs to hold it. Hanna and Maggie are always pretending that they have many babies. They have plans for Maggie to have an orphanage someday on Hanna’s farm. The more babies, the better. Maggie also plays the flute, piano, and rides a dirt bike with Carl. She says things that make us laugh like, “I have fingers in my head that I count” (doing math in her head), “stored in my brain” (remembering things), “my tooth is on one dangle” (loose tooth), or “at least I don’t have leprosy or cholera” (when she was sick). Maggie dreams of being an ice skater--she has started some lessons and may get to perform in a competition. She loved Camp Iroquoina, saying, “The Bible has been all cloudy until now--it is like it is cleared. I didn’t know for sure that I was going to Heaven but now I do. This is more important to me than ice skates, or ice skating, or getting a Nintendo DS!”
Lilyana (5 1/2) - Lily is doing well physically--the only scare was when she passed out again in reaction to pain (it has happened about 4 times so far). She started kindergarten this year, but mainly soaks in life from wherever she is. Lily is sensitive and intuitive. When we pass a bird on the side of the road, she muses, “I wonder if it’s the same one I saw a minute ago.” Lily prays for people faithfully after she hears that they need prayer. Both Lily and Trey are scared of going to jail, so Lily prayed that she wouldn’t go to jail and that “Paul [the apostle] would get out of jail so he can preach more” (we’ve been reading Philippians). When we read about Paul’s thorn in his flesh, she called it “his prickle under his skin.” Lily heard Carl preaching when she was in the nursery and commented, “He REALLY knows what he’s talking about!” She loved coloring with Grandma and telling her, “Good job, Grandma!” Trey calls her “Lilyana Wilfred Fletcher!” She makes gifts for her siblings from her stuff because “I have so much, and they can be happy.” Lily wants to bring me breakfast in bed every day and comforted Maggie after Maggie had been teased by a boy, saying “Boys are rough!”
Carl III a.k.a. “Trey” (3 1/2) Our little guy is full of life and joy. His favorite outfit at the moment consists of his pjs, a bow tie, and his shades. He LOVES ties (unlike his Papa) and does not like his hair messed with, except sometimes by his sisters. He makes my day with his comments. “I love you, Mama. You soooo cute. You the best thing that I like. I love my sistas and my Mama and my Papa.” Trey is doted on by his 3 sisters, but he is all boy--racing around on his balance bike or scooter. He does not like food unless it has a considerable sugar content. When complimented, Trey replies, “Why thank you!” He loved coloring with Grandpa this summer, and talks longingly of camping, birthdays, and Christmas (he cried at Thanksgiving when there were no presents). Trey plans to be a ice hockey player (like Tim McAdam), race car driver, or motorcycle rider when he grows up. Trey has a wonderful, infectious chuckle. He loves to be chased down and tickled--a living, breathing toy for our family to play with!
We wish you a very Merry Christmas, and God’s peace in 2010.
Because of Christ,
The Fletchers
We love to keep in touch. We love visits too!
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