by Kimberly | Aug 6, 2013 | Books, Uncategorized, Women & Books Together
We continue our look at Begg and Ferguson’s book Name Above All Names this week by thinking through their chapter on Jesus being the Conquering King. This chapter brings much hope to those who have an interest in politics, or really anybody who longs for a world as God created it to be.
Here are some of the thoughts I took away from this chapter:
1. I love how the authors point out that Jesus is everywhere in the Bible – not just the NT. On page 78 they include a little list of the general ways that Jesus is looked at in the pages of Scripture. The entire Bible is about Jesus. Jesus is eternal and only had an earthly beginning as a man when He was born through a virgin. But, if Jesus is in the entire Bible – we need to look at the whole Bible in light of the Gospel – the good news that Jesus did indeed come for us to make us reconciled to God. That is great news: especially when reading through the Law or the Prophets, or the lament psalms. What glorious hope for “Glorious Ruin“!
2. Thankfully we live on this side of the manger and the cross. Can you imagine being OT God-believers? Those especially living through the prophets and the judges and the silent years who were longing for the Messiah to come? Wondering who He would be and when He would come? May we live continually in the same wonder and amazement: believing that Jesus already did indeed come to show us the Father and will be one day returning to bring us to the Father – so that we might have eternal life – in knowledge of the Son! “All the hopes and fears, all the anticipations, all the dreams, all the OT promises of the One who would come and embody the great prophetic announcements about the Messiah – they are now all somehow coming to fulfillment there in Bethlehem.” (pg 85)
3. Friends – what are you longing for? Is there a job? Position? Relationship? Money? Something that you would want for your life that you think would make you happy? On page 86, the authors say that indeed many were longing for the True King – but all of the kings they were given fell short, because they were human and sinful. But, all of our longings are wrapped up in one person – or as John Piper puts it – God is the gospel. He is our everything! Nothing else will fill every longing. All of our longings will be unmet by earthly goods and relationships. Only One will suffice and surpass.
4. Faith, works, grace? How do we live in light of these words? “Jesus has done everything that we needed to be saved from sin. He has done everything we needed in order for us to be saved from the judgment of death. And He has done everything necessary to set us free from the bondage of the Devil. In a word, He has done everything we need done for us but could never do for ourselves” (pg 89). A little note to myself in the corner below this quote is: do you live in the reality of this? A friend at church on Sunday told my husband in front of me that I am such the Proverbs 31 woman, singing my husband’s praises all the time. I said, I might do that, but you should see my floors. It was comical – but really – are we always striving to do more – or to live in the grace of God? Even this morning, after finishing a summer book study on Loving the Way Jesus Loves – I mentioned to the ladies present that if they were struggling with the thought that they can never live this out – go read Ryken’s Grace Transforming – because it teaches us so much about grace. Grace isn’t cheap – and it sure wasn’t free. It was costly. It costed Jesus’ life and will cost your life as you die and are hidden in Christ.
What were your takeaways? Or if you aren’t able to read the book with us – what thoughts come about after reading this post?
by Kimberly | Jul 31, 2013 | Uncategorized
Here we are smack in the middle of summer – and you may have a vacation coming up. Hear these words of advice in planning so you can have an easier time getting away!
Proper Preparation for this Year’s Family Vacation
If you are on the verge of traveling with your children this summer, don’t let the excitement derail you from properly planning for your trip! Sometimes, we forget the small things and don’t realize we have little ones with us who have special needs while on the road. Although the summer is almost coming to a close, it’s never too late to go on a vacation to spend some great quality time with your family. Careful planning can erase easily avoidable problems while away from home. Here are some quick tips to keep in mind when traveling with your loved ones.
1. Baby Food
Don’t throw away the baby food yet! Just because you are traveling on an airplane doesn’t mean you can’t bring baby food with you. TSA allows parents to bring baby food on the plane so long as the food is still within its original containers. Also, the last thing you want to is to potentially expose your baby to food allergies. They can take anywhere between three to four days to appear. Sticking with what you have been feeding your baby is recommended.
2. Make a Packing List
In the weeks leading up to your vacation, make an extensive list of all of the items you need to bring with you. Procrastination is the worst thing to do right before a vacation, as it will lead to forgotten items and incomplete agendas. The last thing you want to do is have to go out of your way and spend extra money on clothes or other accessories simply because you forgot it at home. If a list is likely to get lost in your purse or underneath a car seat, try downloading an app like Packing Pro, where you can have a list on your mobile device.
3. Find A Family-Oriented Hotel
When you’re traveling with your family this summer, you’ll want to make sure you find a hotel that is family oriented and has amenities that cater to children of all ages. Consulting the hotel management is a good start, but be sure to read reviews from fellow travelers about the true treatment the hotel provides. I used Gogobot to research through a great list of Orlando hotels, and found an affordable, family friendly destination. Some hotels come equipped with cribs, highchairs and other baby necessities. However, some hotels might charge an extra fee for this. Checking beforehand can help you avoid having to spend extra dollars that could have been saved or spent elsewhere.
4. Document your experience
For the parents and older children, make sure you bring your cameras/smartphones and plenty of chargers and extra batteries! These memories should be able to last you a lifetime, so document them. For the younger children, provide them with their own disposable cameras. When you return home, you can have further bonding with your children by scrapbooking the photos you all took.
5. Make Boarding Easy!
Don’t wait until you get to the airport to print your boarding passes. Have them already printed out and ready to hand over to TSA. Prepare your children for security ahead of time by making them wear sandals or slip on shoes. This will make getting through security much quicker and hassle free.
Make sure you do a little extra planning and stay away from easily avoidable problems. And remember, plan on having lots of fun and good times with your family!
Written by: Kendra Thornton at www.thorntonpr.com
Bio:
Kendra Thornton: Travel advocate, TV spokesperson, PR businesswoman, proud wife and mama of 3. I am a long time travel expert who has been packing my bags and traveling the world since I was 3 months old! I’ve found my utmost desire in life is right here in my own home. I have taken my excitement for travel and brought it to you with some of my favorite travel tips and tricks. Enjoy!
Reference 1: If a list is likely to get lost in your purse or underneath a car seat, try downloading an app like Packing Pro, where you can have a list on your mobile device.
by Kimberly | Jul 30, 2013 | Books, Uncategorized, Women & Books Together
Out of all the chapters in this book, by far this is the one that has the most writing in my copy of the book! Jesus as being our Great High Priest is very applicable in my life right now, and it is reassuring to know that He is mine.
1. Trials. How many of us have never encountered a trial in our life? These trials look differently for each person, but just in case you need some ideas: death, financial hardship, loss of job, rejection by friends, being the target of gossip, saying something you’ll regret, burning dinner, infertility, children with struggles whether physically, socially, or mentally, getting along with others, moves… need I continue? What is our reaction to those struggles? Just now I was thinking how hard submission is. Jesus had to submit. He found it difficult (prayer in the Garden), yet He submitted.
2. Encouragement in Hardship. Pages 58-59 of this book should provide a believer, YOU, with great encouragement when facing any hardship – if you choose to look there. I’m not saying you never speak about your trials or your discouragements. The past few months have been difficult for me as I’ve been trying to learn wisdom in what I write, keeping much of it inside me. But, in all things, I need to be encouraged and persuaded to look to Christ. The book of Hebrews is such a little book that needs to be re-read often with new eyes. A former pastor, Andrew Davis of FBC Durham, preached an entire sermon series through every verse of Hebrews. I only caught the last year, but man, such impactful wisdom in that book and hope for the hurting. Also the Reformed Expository Commentary is one that you need to pick up if you are doing a study through this in depth book.
3. Bondage Breaker. Do you know that Jesus is your bondage breaker? He’s my bondage breaker! I no longer have to be enslaved to sin because Jesus freed me from it. He paid my debt and made me free! We can either listen to our sin and continue to be enslaved, or we can look to the One who has freed us! Are you enslaved to: fear of man, overeating, body images, perfectionism – you name it. What are you enslaved to, and how can you look to Jesus and accept the freedom He has already offered you?!
4. Forgiveness of others. Jesus was rejected by men yet still chose to die for the ones His Father gave Him. He was spat upon, beaten, laughed at, ridiculed, lied about, gossiped about, and still He said Father forgive them. As I’ve been thinking about what forgiveness looks like: yes, do you need to forgive? Absolutely. What we have been given we also need to give to others. Since we have been given it, we have no gospel-right to not forgive. But…does the relationship with the person need to look the same? If there is a person who has verbally abused you, yes, you should forgive, but no, you shouldn’t continue to subject yourself to that abuse. If you have loaned money to a person and they’ve not paid you back, forgive them? Yes. But loan more money to them in an unwise manner? Probably not. In all situations, pray for wisdom, ask for biblical counsel, act upon the Word…God will give you wisdom.
by Kimberly | Jul 23, 2013 | Books, Uncategorized
If you are a die-hard Bonhoeffer fan or don’t even know how to say his name, much less spell it – this book is for you.
This series by Stephen Nichols (church historian) and Justin Taylor (Crossway/blog guru) is apt to make all of us less stuck in our chronological snobbery (as I think CS Lewis referred to). The other two “thinkers” in this series is Warfield and Schaeffer. The new one is about the WW2-time period theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
The best-selling work of Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship, is by no means his only work, just his most well-known. The rest of his life and work are highlighted in this book.
One aspect of the book that I enjoy is the historical work that Nichols has put in to it: using the lesser well-known works of Bonhoeffer to justify what Nichols says about the book’s main star. He also uses history to corroborate.
Most importantly, the readers get a true glimpse of the theologian, man, pastor, and martyr. We get a glimpse into his struggles with the theology of the day found in Germany, his love for his homeland, and how he stood up to the anti-God mentality that was so prevalent in the days of Hitler and Nazi Germany.
If you want a readable primer on Bonhoeffer, a good overview of his life, work, and the gospel that filled every thought – you will want to pick up Nichols’ work.
by Kimberly | Jul 15, 2013 | Books, Uncategorized, Women & Books Together, Worship
I hope you have all enjoyed reading this week’s first chapter in Alistair Begg’s and Sinclair Ferguson’s new gem of a book on the person of Christ. It has been a blessing to me and I’ve been learning much from their study and have thrilled at their writing and teaching style.
How these weekly studies will go, for the next 7 weeks, is this: I hope you will come to each Monday having read the chapter for that week, but if you haven’t, feel free to join in anyway. I guarantee you will get more out of this blog each week if you have read the material. I won’t walk through the chapter, but more offer my gleanings and what I’ve learned in light of the author’s writings. In the comment section, you can either comment on what you’ve read in the book, on the blog, or something else you’ve read in pertaining to the subject matter at hand. Everyone will interact with each other.
Here are some of my reflections on Chapter 1:
1. Why study Jesus?
“They (the names of Jesus) express the incomparable character of Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord. Reflecting on them better prepares us to respond to the exhortations of Scripture, to focus our gaze upon Him, and to meditate on how great He is.” (pg 15)
The study of Jesus greatly enhances our worship. True worship, if you remember John 4, has to be through Jesus. If you look at the hall of faith in Hebrews 11, they were worshiping the Yawheh God through the future faith in the coming and reign of Jesus. My husband has been reading a Dennis Johnson book in preparation for his DMin class on preaching – the entire book is on how the entire Bible points to Christ. The Old Testament, New Testament, the 400 years of silence in between. Jesus has everything to do with our yesterdays, todays, and forevers. According to Sinclair in another sermon, God is a speaking God – and through the person and work of Jesus is one of the primary ways God chose to speak.
There are many types of religious affiliations in the world, that is an understatement. However, one distinct person separates true Christian, gospel-centered worship from every other religion in the world: Jesus. Others have works, ladders, lists, and good deeds, but as a former pastor of mine said, Christianity doesn’t equal DO, it equals DONE. Does your worship, both daily and on Sunday among other believers, center on the person and work of Jesus? If not, something is most definitely missing.
This is what gets a lot of us women in trouble on a daily basis. We are seeking to do everything we need to do: whether our jobs, schooling, motherhood, being a wife, serving others, being a homemaker, etc. in our own strength. However, knowing Jesus and what He has done for us as believers, and daughters and co-heirs, will enable to us to free our minds from a perfectionist mindset and set our hope and our calling on Him.
2. Scripture is more than knowledge, it is doing.
As my husband and I studied the book of James for most of 2012, I read weekly or daily the verses about doing the Word of God, not just listening, reading or knowing it (James 1). This was so convicting. Often times we ourselves, or others in our presence, will spout Scripture, but often times we fail to do what we know.
As the authors talk about Jesus being the Seed of the Woman, the reason the Seed was needed was because of sin. And the action of sin in the garden was not listening and obeying the Word of God. God has spoken very clearly as to what Adam and Eve were to do and not do – however, they both chose to turn away from the spoken word of God and do their own thing. “The distinctive feature of this tree is what God had said about it.” (p 16).
Sweet friends, how do we fight this battle daily – the battle of our minds? We fight this battle daily with some of the following (and think for yourself what some of yours might be): putting our hope in status, a clean house, happy kids, a husband, a successful career, etc. (other than putting our hope in Jesus); worrying and being fearful (this only tends to get worse in our sinful nature once we have children); fighting our own battles (wanting to be the justifier instead of waiting for God to act on our behalf), etc. We need to memorize and act upon the Scriptures that God has so graciously spoken to us. We only do this by choosing to believe in the Gospel every minute of every day.
3. Conflict Resolution.
I once had the opportunity to hear Ken Sande speak at Southern Seminary. A gracious man, he taught his listeners about means of being a peacemaker. There are some helpful resources on his website, so if you aren’t familiar with his ministry, I would encourage you to “google” him.
We have conflict in our lives (between friends, church members, spouses, children, bosses, family) because of a great conflict that was started in the Garden of Eden. This ultimate conflict will eternally be won by Jesus, but there are daily ramifications of conflict for us in this world. “When Christ appeared, he came to undo what the Serpant had done. By His life and ministry and ultimately through his death and resurrection, he destroyed all the works of the Devil.” (p 20)
Oh, isn’t this a happy thought? When there is conflict in our lives, we can rest assured that we know who will be the Victor. I really don’t know anyone who loves conflict; I certainly don’t. In our marriage, we strive to resolve conflict as soon as possible. But this conflict between the Seed of the Woman and Satan has been going on for centuries. And the outcome is still secure – Jesus wil be victorious.
So dear one, when you find it hard to battle the conflict daily – that battle of sin and of the flesh and of the war that Paul speaks about in Romans 6-7 – please take heart that this is not an eternal battle – but one that Jesus has already won!
4. There will be pain.
Since everyone knows this…I can move on from this point. Wait. As I think about the ladies I know who are doing this book study with us here on the blog – I know their stories (most of them). I know the pain in their lives – pain today, pain yesterday, knowing that pain will certainly come in the future. Lost jobs, lost loved ones, unsaved loved ones, difficult family circumstances, family members with lifelong disabilities or illnesses, betrayal of friends, etc. – pain is so real in our lives.
I found much hope in this statement by the authors: “We must not allow ourselves to be tricked into thinking that if things are going well with us, then we can be sure of God’s love. For life can often seem dark and painful. Things do not always go well for us. Rather, we look to the sacrifice of the cross and the demonstration God gave there of His love. This is the proof I need. This is the truth I need to hear if the lie is to be dispelled” (p 33).
This last month of my life has been a very hurtful one. But, I’ve actually had much comfort that has come from friends speaking the Gospel truth into my life – words of hope and life that have dispelled (somewhat, honestly, at this stage in the game) lies. I’ve had a husband and close friends who point me to what God has said about me in His Word and that has given me much hope.
Ladies – there will be hurt. There will be pain. But, as the authors of this book and the glorious Bible has said, Jesus gets the victory. Pain will one day lose all of its sting. Pain can no longer have the victory if we believe in Jesus. That is a great HOPE! In your hurt – where do you find hope?
What have you gained from the book this week? What was your most applicable takeaway? What thoughts have you read here that have triggered some new thoughts in your understanding of this truth about Jesus?
Join us next week as we reflect on chapter 2!
by Kimberly | Jul 6, 2013 | food, Uncategorized
The taste of summer. Bright fresh citrus in the form of red grapefruits. Pretty pinkish color throughout these delicate, sponge-like cookies. Perfectly shaped into sea shells – which is another favorite of mine in the summer – the beach. These cookies are perfect!
I borrowed a madeleine pan a few weeks ago from a friend at church. Then I realized today that I had accidently not juiced a red grapefruit – then I hopped off the couch and ran to the kitchen to make these. Glad I always have butter and eggs.
As long as you follow the directions and spray the pan – these are really fool-proof cookies and the entire plate will disappear shortly!
4 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
3/4 of a grapefruit – zested
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
Glaze:
powderered sugar
fresh squeezed ruby red grapefruit juice
In a mixer, mix together eggs, sugar, and salt for about 8 minutes on low-medium speed until thickened. Then add the vanilla and zest. Then the flour until well-combined. Finally, add in the melted butter.
Well grease your madeleine pan (I used pam). Use a cookie scoop to get the batter in the molds. Bake at 375 for about 9 minutes, depending on your oven. Let cool slightly, pop out of pan.
Mix glaze until you get your desired consistency. Drizzle over warm cookies. Enjoy!
