January in Colorado
Oh, I know I have not written in a while, I have not had the words to write! I am still not sure where they are but my heart is bursting with new things to share!
Colorado weather is quite peculiar we can go from snow and ice to 60 degree whether with rays of warm sunshine dancing upon frozen lakes. (January in Colorado)
I am making a good start of my goal to read 60 books this year! The list so far as follows- Henry and the Great Society, Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret, The Lost Art of True Beauty, Sacred Singleness, & No Comprise- the Life Story of Keith Green. You already know my feelings on Henry and the Great Society, but here is a taste of the other books I read!
Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret! This is the first full biography I have read of Mr. Taylor, a missionary to China in the late 1800’s who began to spread the gospel to those in interior China (a practice that was not done before) and through his heart and calling to inland China started CIM- China Inland Mission (known today as OMF Overseas Missionary Fellowship) One aspect of his mission had the same tones as Henry and the Great Society- No debt! We serve the mighty creator of the universe, if He wills it then it will be done, we do not need to look to man’s solution to carry out our callings but to God alone so that He might receive all the glory! Here are a few of my favorite quotes/ passages:
Pg 153- “It doesn’t matter, really, how great the pressure is,” he used to say; “It only matters where the pressure lies. See that it never comes between you and the Lord- then, the greater the pressure, the more it presses you to His breast”
Pg 163- As I read, I saw it all! “If we believe not, he abideth faithful.” I looked to Jesus and saw (and when I saw, oh, how joy flowed!) that He had said, “I will never leave thee.” “Ah, there is rest!” I thought. “I have striven in vain to rest in Him. I’ll strive no more. For he has not He promised to abide with me- never to leave me, never to fail me?” And dearie, He never will.
Pg 196- If you are ever drinking at the Fountain (he wrote) with what will your life be running over? Jesus, Jesus Jesus! (Makes me think of a song my dad loves- So I am drinking from my Saucer Lord, cause my cup has overflowed!)
Pg 204-205 Then came gradual paralysis of the lower limbs, completely confining him to his couch. Laid aside in the prime of life, he could only lie in that upstairs room, conscious of all there was to be done, of all that was not being attended to- lie there and rejoice in God. Yes, rejoice in God! With desires and hopes as limitless the needs that pressed upon his heart with the prayer he had prayed and the answers God had given, with opportunities opening in China and wave of spiritual blessing reviving the churches at home that he longed to see tuned in missionary channels, and with little hope humanly speaking, that he would ever stand or walk again, the deepest thing was joy in the ll of God as “good and acceptable, and perfect.” Certain it is that from that place of suffering sprang all the larger growth of the China inland mission.
Pg 121 Let us see that we keep God before our eyes, that we walk in His ways and seek to please and glorify Him in everything, great and small. Depend upon it, God’s work, done in God’s way will never lack God’s supplies.
The Lost Art of True Beauty, by Leslie Ludy- What a sweet guide and exhortation to living as a light for Jesus in all areas. To be the sweet feminine godly woman He created me to be. I think one of my favorite passages in the book came from the chapter on excelling at the art of hospitality:
Rainbow Sprinkles! (pg 123) The sprinkles as the malt shop owner insightfully pointed out, are mainly here for the happiness factor. You really can’t taste them, but they brighten up the whole ice-cream experience and make you smile. Since that trip to the malt shop, I’ve been on the lookout for ways to add rainbow sprinkles to other people’s lives. When you come face to face with the overwhelming need out there in the world, it can easily make you feel helpless to do anything significant. However, I’ve found that even small “sprinkles” can make a huge difference in people’s lives. Taking time to reach out to a lonely person, making a child feel special, cooking a meal for a sick person, giving an unexpected gift to a busy person, sending a note to a grieving person- all of these seemingly little gestures can bring incredible joy and comfort (and more importantly, an expression of Christ’s love) to those around you.
Sacred Singleness, by Leslie Ludy- 1 Corinthians 7:34 There is a difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband. Marriage is beautiful, a deeper taste and picture of the relationship between Jesus and His bride, I do have dreams to be married someday, but to paraphrase Leslie’s sister-in-law ‘today I am not.’ Singleness is a gift from God just as marriage is, it is a different season one that can be spent cultivating a deep relationship with Jesus. There are no distractions or other things tying you down, you can freely serve Him anywhere with all of you. In her book Leslie encourages those of us who are single, to cherish this time not bemoan it, to seek your King with your whole heart and serve Him. There is an Amy Carmichael quote that is fitting: It is a safe thing to trust Him to fulfill the desire which He creates.
No Compromise- the Life Story of Keith Green, by Melody Green & David Hazard- There is too much I want to say on this book, that it needs it’s own blog entry! I loved it and feel that God specifically hallmarked it for this season in my life. God is so good!
