A Wise Woman Once Said

Here are some quotes from Elisabeth Eliot, a woman who has walked with God many years. She has been a blessing and an encouragement to generations of Christians. Happy Weekend!


If my life is surrendered to God, all is well. Let me not grab it back, as though it were in peril in His hand but would be safer in mine! 


Our vision is so limited we can hardly imagine a love that does not show itself in protection from suffering.... The love of God did not protect His own Son.... He will not necessarily protect us - not from anything it takes to make us like His Son. A lot of hammering and chiseling and purifying by fire will have to go into the process. 


Experience has taught me that the Shepherd is far more willing to show His sheep the path than the sheep are to follow. He is endlessly merciful, patient, tender, and loving. If we, His stupid and wayward sheep, really want to be led, we will without fail be led. Of that I am sure. 


God is God. Because He is God, He is worthy of my trust and obedience. I will find rest nowhere but in His holy will, a will that is unspeakably beyond my largest notions of what He is up to. 


When ours are interrupted, his are not. His plans are proceeding exactly as scheduled, moving us always (including those minutes or hours or years which seem most useless or wasted or unendurable) "toward the goal of true maturity" (Rom 12:2 JBP). 

Hilarious, But Sadly True

American Egocentrism Cartographically Displayed

(Click on it to make it bigger!)

"Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it." Ezekial 16:49-50
Sound familiar?

Eyes Heavenward

This Sunday we had an RUF Hymn Sing at a family's home in Auburn. It reminded me of how much I love hymns. There is something incomparable about the rich and raw lyrics. I love thinking about how Christians for centuries have been struggling with the same emotions, singing the same words, and praising the same God. The Lord was so gracious to use this time to remind me that the reason I love hymns is because they point straight to HIM! As I sang the truth of the Gospel in so many beautiful ways, I was once again knocked off my feet by it. The God of the universe loved me enough to pour out his wrath against sin on his own son, and impute that son's perfect record to me! Wow! Christ's work on the cross made it possible for us to spend eternity worshipping Yahweh. I felt like I got a little shadow on Sunday of what it will be like to do so. What is so incredible is that in glorifying him, we actually have inexplicable joy! As John Piper always says, God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him. An eternity of bliss awaits those of us who belong to the Lord, because He is the only source of true joy. Everything we experience on earth is but a mist. One of my favorite characteristics of hymns is that more often than not, the last verse points heavenward. Each ends with a focus on where my eyes should be looking more often than they do. Here are some of my favorite heavenward verses, as we wait with glad expectation for what the blood of Christ has already accomplished for us.

At death, beyond the grave, He'll love;

In endless bliss, His own shall prove

The blazing glory of that love

Which never could from them remove.

-The Love of Christ

O I am my Beloved's

And my Beloved is mine!

He brings a poor vile sinner

Into His house of wine

I stand upon His merit - 

I know no other stand

Not e'en where glory dwelleth

In Emmanuel's land

-The Sands of Time are Sinking

Haste thee on from grace to glory,

Armed by faith, and winged by prayer.

Heaven's eternal days before thee,

God's own hand shall guide us there.

Soon shall close thy earthly mission, 

Soon shall pass thy pilgrim days,

Hope shall change to glad fruition,

Faith to sight, and prayer to praise.

-Jesus I My Cross Have Taken

The golden evening

brightens in the west;

Soon, soon to faithful

warriors comes their rest;

Sweet is the calm

of paradise the blessed.

Alleluia, Allelu

-For All the Saints

Day By Day and Every Hour

Several weeks ago I made this canvas for my sweet camp friend Easter Tweester for her birthday. I realize that I haven't really blogged about camp at all. I learned so much this summer, and will probably continue to see the impact of my time at Pine Cove as the months go on. One thing we said repeatedly at camp has really transformed my thinking. There were so many times when I really did NOT want to get out of bed. Or I did not want to walk up the hill to the ropes course, or I did not want to bake in the hot sun, or I did not want to play the same games and do the same Bible studies that I did every week.... You get the picture. As fun as the camp environment is, at times I wanted nothing more than to get back to Auburn. The staff constantly reminded each other of Nehemiah 8:10 - that the JOY of the Lord is our strength. This verse doesn't simply say that we're going to make it through the day, but that the Gospel is enough to provide us with sustaining joy for every second of every day. God was so good to give me not only endurance, but enthusiasm! At the beginning of every week, right before welcoming a new group of campers through the gate, we sang a short song. At the end of the song we repeated the line "The Lord is my strength, the Lord in His power is my strength day by day and every hour." I have found myself coming back to this refrain even these past few weeks as my crazy schedule overwhelms me. My God promises me what I need for each day - and that's all. As the Israelites were dependent on manna each morning, so I have to start each day with the sustenance he has given me in His Word. And as he promises, his mercies are new every morning. May joy in the God of my salvation uphold me every minute of every hour. 

Just What I Needed

This past weekend I went to the thriving metropolis of Pisgah, Alabama, for RUF Fall Conference. It could not have come at a better time. The weekend consisted of great teaching, sweet worship, precious friends, beautiful weather, and no cell phone. What else could I ask for? The Lord so graciously brought  me rest and renewal when I needed it the most. Here are some pictures from the weekend, and some quotes from my notes. Paul Boyd did a great serious on Psalms 23, 103, 51, and 86. I am so thankful for the blessing RUF has been over the past year and a half!

"Trust leads to rest."

 "I preach the Gospel every week because every week my people forget it." -Martin Luther

 "We receive the Gospel like the ground receives the rain." -St. Augustine

 "For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him." Psalm 103:11 

 "I pray because I can't help myself. I pray because I'm helpless. The need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping. Prayer doesn't change God, it changes me." -C.S. Lewis

"Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name." Psalm 86:11

Gadsby #334

Behold, from the desert of sin,
   The world, and the curse of the law, 
A fair one whose garrmets are clean,
   Does with her Beloved withdraw;
Retiring from thence, she appears
   Dejected, and often complains,
Surrouned with sorrows and fears,
   Yet on her Beloved she leans
Thus up from the desert she goes,
   Sustained both in fire and in flood; 
Victorious to vanquish her foes, 
   And all through the Lamb and his blood.
By faith she's enabled to view
   Fair Canaan's delectable plains,
And faint, yet her course shall pursue,
   When on her Beloved she leans.
When darkness envelops her mind,
   By faith she shall hold on her way; 
And, in the sweet promise, shall find
   Her strength shall suffice for the day;
No fiery afflictions shall burn
   Beyond what his wisdom ordains, 
But times of refreshing return, 
   When on her Beloved she leans.
Her woes are permitted of God,
   Her faith and her patience to prove;
The kiss, or a stroke of his rod,
   Is all from immutable love.
By crosses and losses, at last
   From self her affections he weans,
That on him her hopes may stand fast,
   While on her Beloved she leans.
When foiled by the tempter she goes
   And makes the atonement her plea,
There pardon eternally flows,
   And love wipes her sorrows away;
And when with her pardon she's blessed
   Communion with Jesus she gains, 
No longer a sinner distressed, 
   For on her Beloved she leans. 

Food for Thought

"We must do justice, but it's not complete unless we preach Jesus. And we can't preach Jesus faithfully unless we're doing justice."

I feel like the term social justice is thrown around so much. But what does it look like? What does it mean to do justice in the name of Christ? A few summers ago, a group of friends and I wrestled with the idea, and wondered whether or not social justice is on the heart of God. I even read a whole book on the subject. If you're interested, check out Generous Justice by Tim Keller. He is one of my favorites, and he uses so much scripture to prove that, as Christians, we are all called to do justice as we reflect our just creator. This idea sounds great in theory, but it is overwhelming in practicality. What is just, and what isn't? How do you empower people without enabling them? Where do we start? I don't have any answers today, just a lot of questions. May the Lord keep us from being complacent in our ignorance and comfort. 
"If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. And the LORD will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places." -Isaiah 58

Happy Monday!

I'll be the first to admit that this video is a bit odd. But fascinating. I am absolutely OBSESSED with this song. It just radiates fall in my mind. So take a minute out of what will probably be another crazy week, and enjoy!