THE RHYTHM OF THE SOUL

Psalm 46:10 says, "Be still and know that I am God." I have a sense that the stillness God is calling us to here is not merely physical. It goes beyond sitting quietly at a table for more than five minutes, or even kneeling before Him in prayer for an hour or more. The stillness I humbly suggest He is calling us to is a stillness of the soul. A stillness in which there is a profound awareness of His sovereignty and care. How is that achieved? Part of it, for me at least, involves turning off the external, useless noise around me. This week I've been conducting a little experiment. I usually have a small radio on my kitchen windowsill. When I find myself in the kitchen, which is a lot of the time, I'll turn it on to either the local talk radio or NPR. Ever since reading Ken Myers' All God's Children and Blue Suede Shoes, God has been quietly convicting me to examine the ways in which I babysit my brain with media. On page 55 of his book he quotes Pascal who said, "All the unhappiness of men arises from one single fact, that they cannot stay quietly in their own chamber....They have a secret instinct which impels them to seek amusement and occupation abroad, and which arises from the sense of their constant unhappiness." We were meant for something greater and more meaningful. The problem comes when we, and I, settle for the twaddle that comes out of the radio or the TV. I need to ask myself the question, "Am I turning on the _____ (computer, TV, radio, etc.) deliberately or out of habit." I've realized, with Mr. Myers' help, that these electronic devices are not a neutral medium. Yes, I should be aware of the content, but I should also be aware of the mind-numbing, soul-deadening effect of the thing just being on. He quotes Ernest Van den Haag as saying, "All mass media in the end alienate people from personal experience and, though appearing to offset it, intensify their moral isolation from each other, from reality and from themselves. One may turn to the mass media when lonely or bored. But mass media, once they become a habit, impair the capacity for meaningful experience. Though more diffuse and not as gripping, the habit feeds on itself, establishing a vicious circle as addictions do."

Bingo. Light bulb moment here!

This past week without the kitchen radio has been very enlightening. I have found myself numerous times reaching for the thing on the windowsill like it was an involuntary reaction. I needed it because I was bored with the stillness. But God says to be still. He also says to love Him with all our mind. How do you love with your mind? Well, you can use your mind to pray, contemplate, and meditate on His word. What I have been discovering is that when I focus my mind on Him instead of allowing it to be babysat by Rush Limbaugh, then the stillness of my mind filters into my soul. The meaningful things I'm thinking about are controlling the rhythm of my soul. No longer is my soul banging out the frenetic rhythm of John Adams'
Short Ride in a Fast Machine. Now my soul is peacefully following the rhythms of a perfectly ordered Mozart symphony.

Are you listening to the rhythm of your soul? What is it saying?

Does your dog ever do this? Here is a picture of our puppy dutifully licking the dirty dishwasher. It's not that we want him to do this. We just can't keep him away. His favorite thing is licking the cheesy whisk left over from making homemade mac 'n cheese. If you're wondering what that thing is on his ear, it's a wet Cheerio! He started licking when I put the cereal bowls in the top rack and a Cheerio dropped on his head. What annoying/embarrassing habits does your pet have? 

HEAVEN IN A JAR

SIMPLE, QUIET OBEDIENCE

Did you know that George Mueller read the Bible through approximately two hundred times, one hundred of them on his knees? This is staggering to me. In reading his biography to my children I've been struck by his bold faith in the Word of God. He took God at His word and banked everything in his life on His promises.

I have read through the Bible once. It took me more than two years. I don't think George Mueller was any less busy than me. I'm sure he had a lot more responsibilities. I think one of the most important lessons Mueller learned was that the Bible was to be his primary reading material. How many books am I currently reading? I need to get back to basics. So, with the Lord's help, I am endeavoring to read the Bible through again and hopefully, Lord willing, more than that.

In Genesis 6 we are introduced to Noah. Simply reading the account of this story which has been told and retold so many times was eye opening in one respect. Have you ever noticed that Noah is not recorded to have spoken one word until Genesis 9:25! All throughout God's pronouncements of impending judgment and His detailed instructions to Noah about how He would spare him and make a covenant with him, Noah does not say anything (that we know of). He just obeys. It's so simple and yet so powerful.

Lord, may I talk less and obey more. Simply, without reservation. For this is the kind of worship You desire.

DELUDING MYSELF

On one of the early Basement Tapes, RC Sproul JR describes a time when he realized that it wasn't enough to just sign off on the Westminster Confession when the rest of his life was completely worldly. Ann V. has been talking about living a quiet life filled with simple obedience and appreciation of the little things. I've been thinking about these things too. I delude myself into thinking I'm "doing OK" when I write about surrendering myself to the Lord in every way and nod my head at others' posts but then go back to my real life and just go through the motions. I've also been thinking about humility. Andrew Murray wrote a little gem of a book called Humility that I bought for $3.99 at the local Christian store. I also just bought a book called The Valley of Vision which is a compilation of Puritan prayers. Reading just one of these prayers has brought me to my knees in repentance. Here's one titled Self-Deprecation ~

O Lord,
My every sense, member, faculty, affection, is a snare to me,
I can scarce open my eyes but I envy those above me, or despise those below.
I covet honour and riches of the mighty, and am proud and unmerciful to the rags of others;
If I behold beauty it is a bait to lust,
or see deformity, it stirs up loathing and disdain;
How soon do slanders, vain jests, and wanton speeches creep into my heart!
Am I comely? what fuel for pride!
Am I deformed? what an occasion for repining!
Am I gifted? I lust after applause!
Am I unlearned? how I despise what I have not!
Am I in authority? how prone to abuse my trust, make will my law, exclude others' enjoyments, serve my own interests and policy!
Am I inferior? how much I grudge others' pre-eminence!
Am I rich? how exalted I become!
Thou knowest that all these are snares by my corruptions, and that my greatest snare is myself.
I bewail that my apprehensions are dull,
my thoughts mean,
my affections stupid,
my expressions low,
my life unbeseeming;
Yet what canst thou expect of dust but levity, of corruption but defilement?
Keep me ever mindful of my natural state, but let me not forget my heavenly title, or the grace that can deal with every sin.

This leads me to a quote by my favorite author, John Piper, that I think is the best strategy for combating pride ~

"How shall this insidious motive of pleasure in being made much of be broken except through bending all my faculties to delight in the pleasure of making much of God! Christian Hedonism is the final solution. It is deeper than death to self. You have to go down deeper into the grave of the flesh to find the truly freeing stream of miracle water that ravishes you with the taste of God's glory. Only in that speechless, all-satisfying admiration is the end of self." from Future Grace

Amen and amen!!!! Now the trick is doing it. O Lord, please pour out your grace on this undeserving vessel that I may glory in Your beauty and majesty, that the light of Christ may shine through me.

ANOTHER REASON TO HOMESCHOOL

I listen to NPR on a regular basis and this morning I heard a disturbing report about children and mental health. Apparently there is a program that is being offered in some middle schools around the country that evaluates a student's mental health. This is being pitched to parents as a normal thing like taking a physical at the beginning of the school year. What's disturbing is that some students who are normal are being told they are at risk for certain mental illnesses like OCD or "social anxiety". And a small number are being prescribed anti-depressants. In rare cases it seems that parents were not aware of these mental screenings and/or were not asked to give permission. In most cases it seems that the parents did give permission but they just took whatever the school said to be gospel.

What is disturbing is that the state feels they have the right to assess children's mental health. This is the nanny state run amock. When you listen to these clips you'll be amazed to hear a girl describe how she was told she was at risk for OCD because she came home from school every day and did her chores and liked to keep her room neat. How would they have assessed Laura Ingalls I wonder.

The links to these reports are here and here.

There was one sort of bright spot and in this report. One girl was screened and she ended up realizing that she had some problems with suicidal thoughts. She was helped in time. But the scary thing is that she felt she couldn't talk to her parents but she could talk to the school.

IT'S NOT IN MY POWER

AnnV. inspired me a few days ago to think about having a verse for the year. As I thought and prayed about it one theme kept coming up - faithfulness and perseverance. I am notorious for starting things and not finishing them. If you graphed my diligence and stick-to-it-tiveness it would look like these rolling hills . There are several things I'd like to do this year. One is to get more fit. My husband and I bought ourselves a membership to the local YMCA and a piece of exercise equipment. I would also like to be more flyladyish and stick to a homeschool schedule. Don't even remind me of the many books I haven't finished. Maybe that will be a different post where I list my unfinished books and then I can be held accountable in some way for finishing them.

Anyway, over the past few days a couple verses have stuck out to me as I've thought about these different goals and how I probably won't stick to them.

"Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it..." Psalm 127:1a

So often I am deluded into thinking that I'm really in control of certain things like schedules, children's behavior, etc. Thankfully, God reminds me often that I'm not. Setting my mind on this verse and implanting it on my heart this year will remind me that He is the one in control and when I allow Him to be in control the results will also mean more glory to Him and not as many feelings of pride.

"Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts." Zechariah 4:6

This is a further reminder of how I cannot do anything in my own strength. I don't want to. In Ephesians chapter 1 Paul prays that their eyes would be open to know the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. I want to call on that power, not rely on my own puny, sin-stained resources.

How about you? What do you hope to accomplish this year?