Happy Valentine's Day

What day should be more celebrated than a day that honors LOVE !!
Of course every day should be a Love Day ... but I love a day set aside to remind us all how important it is to express how we feel to those who are important in our life !!
And in my life that includes YOU !!!!

Here are a few of my favorite Victorian Valentines ...... They are for YOU !!!






It is recorded that the beloved apostle John, toward the end of his life had only one sermon.

"Beloved , if God so loved us, we ought to love one another !" I John 4:11

God Sees.. Is that not Enough?

My girlfriend sent me the following article this evening .. it is one of those e-mail round-abouts but I think it has a great message.
Just in case you haven't received it yet in your mailbox I thought I would post it here for you to read! While the author of this piece was a mother encouraging mothers .. the message can apply to anyone. We all wonder at times if our life is worthwhile , it we are contributing anything that will last.
1Co 10:31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Be encouraged to know that everything you do as unto Him is part of the mosaic of God's purposes and is important to Him who is the master builder!!

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I'm Invisible .
It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?'
Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone,or cooking,or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all.
I'm invisible. The invisible Mom.
Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more:Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?
Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being.
I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?'
I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is theDisney Channel?'
I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'I

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again.
She's going, she's going, she's gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in.
I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well.
It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean.
My unwashed hair was pulled up in a hair clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it.
I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this. '
It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe.
I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour – the book.
And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:
1. No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names.
2.These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished.
3.They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.
4.The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam.
He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.'
And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'
I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place.

It was almost as if I heard God whisperingto me, 'I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day,even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over.
You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction .
But it is not a disease that is erasing my life.
It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness.
It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride.
I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on.

The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime, because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.
When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself.
I just want him to want to come home.
And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'You're gonna love it there.'

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right.
And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

Not Worthy?

I was very sorry we didn’t catch the beginning of “The Curious Tribe” (on the Discovery Civilization Channel) last night , but we saw enough of it to fall in love with the delightful tribe members who went with their chief to visit England. They had never stepped outside the life they lived in the jungles of Papua New Guinea as members of the Insect Tribe. Their culture was still in ancient civilization mode, not far removed from Cannibalism !
I don’t know how they had learned English but they spoke it very well with a delightful mix of metaphors directly translated from their own language.
What was soo endearing in them was how they related to total culture shock in England—and how they tried to understand it within the context of their own world.

Their travel guide and host Donal MacIntyre convinced them to risk the long ride up a huge ferris-type wheel to the top to over look the city . At first they all refused saying it was much tooo high and they were afraid. But then Donal appealed to the bravery of their Chief and once he agreed to do his best , the others were obligated to follow their Chief’s lead.
They were quite amazed at the view from the top how all the house touched like a huge tree !!
They expressed interest in where the Spirit House was and when Donal pointed it out to them … the chief was rather puzzled. He said hesitantly, “But your Spirit House is smaller than that building over there , or that one. In our village no one builds a house bigger than the Spirit House.”
Donal MacKintyre was left trying to explain that yes, in his culture too .. in the past.. the Spirit House had been the most important building.
Later, when their wish to go inside the Spirit House was granted … they looked about in amazement… admiring the the old cathedral proclaiming it to be beautiful ! The one woman among the chief and three other tribesmen, said “This was made when the god formed the earth .. no man could build this”. The others all agreed !
And in their eagerness to relate it somehow to what they knew they kept saying it was like one of their trees whose branches created a canopy over them . In childlike delight they ran their hands over the statures proclaiming how they looked ‘alive’.

Donal took them inside a huge super store and they wandered around in awe but didn’t seem to be too impressed with the ‘pig’ Donal showed them that was packaged in the meat aisle. He tried to impress them that he didn't have to go hunting .. this is where he 'hunted'. They insisted they had lots of wild pig… they didn’t need the boxed up stuff.
But they found a jacket made of a material that they really liked. The chief rubbed it in his hands saying it was good material and warm, exclaiming that they could not get that in their village.
It was impossible to entice them to ‘greed’ – even the woman when a necklace was hung around her neck , she smilingly took it off and put it back on the shelf. Their mind set was too strong --- if they didn’t NEED it , why would they want it ?

One clip really endeared them to me . Walking in a park they came upon their first ‘wild life’, a squirrel ! With childlike delight they watched the squirrel and asked. “Can I catch it ? I want to catch the animal !! “ and with a huge smile one of them declared “ I like it sooo much !!” and then explained what he would like to do with it ! “I put it on my head.. for the dance … when we have the dance in the village I will put it the feathers of the animal on my head -- I want to catch it !”
Their hunter instincts kicked in and they tried to sneak up on the squirrel but of course the squirrel just ran up a tree and looked down on them . They had been given digital cameras and it was so cute to see them sneaking up on the squirrel their cameras held up and then laughing with delight to see the picture on the camera screen.
They were more animated and delighted with the squirrel than anything else they saw in the big city !

The other thing they requested to see was the Chief’s house. They were taken to Buckingham palace and they stood for a long time staring at it . Then they asked to go inside to meet the chief. Donal tried to explain to them that he had asked if the Chief would see them but she was very busy with other things and did not have time. The Chief could not understand such blatant rudeness and tried to explain in childlike simplicity of heart that he himself was a chief and he wanted to see this chief… he could not understand that a chief would actually refuse to see another chief! He explained that he would be going back to his village and he would get old and die and would never again come to this place. Why could he not see the Chief, it was the only chance he would ever have.
He listened to Donal’s embarrassed explanation but he wasn’t pleased and said so …”I am not happy !”

It was so interesting to watch their childlike reaction to a world as totally foreign to theirs as the advances of civilization could make it … and yet in the end I wondered who was the more primitive of the two.

I saw in them the simplicity that we in our culture only glimpse at in small children and I saw what Jesus meant when He said “Except ye become as little children ye shall not inherit the Kingdom of God. “

I saw what God wants us to be like in His kingdom… filled with childlike simplicity – in awe of what we see but accepting with absolute trusting faith what we see.
Taking delight in the wonders of His ways but not being spoiled by them......
Never losing the joy of the simple things …..
To know the difference between need and want...
To be brave enough to follow our Chief any where He leads....
Recognizing that though He is a great God we can come with the ‘mindless humilty’ of a child… coming into His presence with the confidence that since we are His child of course He will receive us !

What will remain a pain in my heart is that the Queen did not consider them worthy of her audience. I doubt anyone ever came more worthily !!
And though I was angered by the realization that an earthly monarch might consider someone beneath her attention….I was so gratified to think that The King and God of all monarchs does not consider the very least among us to be unworthy of His granting their request for an audience with him !

It made me want to go to their tribe and tell them about the great Chief in the Sky who would love to receive them in to His Kingdom, into His Spirit House .
I pray that God send someone to these dear people with the gospel -- they didn’t find it in civilized England!

The Testimony

Even though I think I know my bible pretty well…. I am still delighted so often by some new insight …or gem that I had somehow previously missed !
I came across one yesterday and when I put it all together, I wanted to share my thoughts here in this post.
*****

"And when He had made an end of speaking with him (Moses) on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony... .." (Ex.31:18) "Now the tablets were the work of God..." (Ex.32:15)


I can't even imagine what that experience must have been like for Moses , but we do have Moses’ own descriptive words , “And so terrifying was the sight …I was exceedingly afraid and trembling!” (Heb. 12:21)

The people who stood watching from a distance were also afraid…

“And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.” (Ex.19:16)


(Sometimes we think we would love to have God speak to us in an audible voice… but aren’t you glad He speaks in a still small voice ? in a whisper? So we are not terrified?)


Moses was instructed to take the tablets of the Testimony, on which were inscribed the words of God, and put them into the ark which stood in the tabernacle.
The tablets of the Testimony were so important that the tabernacle and the things in the tabernacle were spoken of in reference to the Testimony.
- The Tabernacle of the Testimony…..( Num 10:11, Rev.15:5)
- the tent of the Testimony (Num.9:15)
- the ark of the Testimony (Ex. 16:34)
- the veil of the Testimony (Lev.24:3)
- the mercy seat upon the Testimony (Lev.16:13)
- Even the jar of manna, Moses was instructed to place in front of The Testimony. (Ex.16:34)

(Jesus is the Manna , He Himself stood before God’s Word – He spoke only the words that He heard from His Father.)


It is not hard to understand that the Word of God is always central and forever…. “The Law of the Lord is perfect …. The Testimony of the Lord is sure…” (Ps.19:7)


But there is more…God, being ‘the God who speaks’ desires that His Voice be heard among His people. Though His Word was perfect, the stone tablets declaring it were not. They were waiting, until the time for God's perfect plan to be revealed.

He made His Word flesh and sent it to dwell among us in bodily form…. As a man … JESUS !

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory ..” (John 1:14)
The Word, the Testimony, came to us - in Jesus.
".. The Word of God and The Testimony of Jesus Christ".. (Rev.1:9)
"... for The Testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." (Rev.19:10)

Moses’ physical tabernacle was patterned after the one that is in heaven, and in this heavenly tabernacle there is The Testimony! (Rev. 15:5)


From heaven , from the Father, came Jesus…..


“ He who comes from above is above all….and what He has seen and heard that He testifies …..and he who has received His Testimony has certified that God is true…..” (John 3:31-33) “..The Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ” (Rev. 1:2 )
Jesus , having heard all that God Spoke – is The Testimony (the Word) of God. He is The One who testifies of the Father.
Instead of a stone Testimony kept hidden in the ark of the Covenant … God sent a Living Testimony that we could touch and feel.

Yesterday, I noticed something that I have never noticed before.

In the introductions of Psalm 60 and 80 there is a Hebrew word… ShushanEduth .. that literally is translated, The Lily of the Testimony… the name of a song.

In the word - translated as Lily - there is also the meaning of Trumpet – always symbolic of God’s Voice… or Word.

I wonder… did they know of whom they sang? The Lily most lovely, The Lily of the Valley ? It reminds me of a beautiful song we sing .. “He’s the Lily of the Valley, the bright and Morning Star, He’s the fairest of ten thousands to my soul!”
The Most Beautiful One of the Testimony of God … not the Words of God on stone.. but the Words of God written in Visible Love walking among us.

How poetically beautiful that is, is it not ?

But there is another application here.

In the Song of Solomon where the Lily of the Valleys scripture is.. (Song of Solomon 2:1) the Lily is feminine…. Does that negate Jesus being the Lily? Not at all, it only makes it more beautiful because Jesus’ body is spoken of as feminine in the ‘church’ . We are in Him and He is in us…. We are called to reflect the beauty of His face… We too are lilies ( beauty, trumpets ) of the Testimony, called to testify of God’s Word.

Jesus First, our example… then we in Him by His Spirit … living, breathing, obeying , witnessing to God’s Testimony… His Word, His Truth !

Together with Jesus , we are Lilies of the Testimony of God!

"May our words be pure and true, speaking the same words that Jesus speaks! May we not dishonor Him with The Testimony of our lips."