tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77934434191787095522024-03-12T20:07:25.552-05:00Handmaidens of HeavenThe Lenz Sistershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10852031701968865402noreply@blogger.comBlogger69125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793443419178709552.post-28937405708723602592014-08-16T19:10:00.000-05:002014-08-19T08:42:59.438-05:00Courtship Didn't Work For Me, A Straw Man Has Been Thoroughly Hung and Other Sundries
“Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05480036572322582762noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793443419178709552.post-11362785272579751262014-05-02T16:17:00.000-05:002014-05-13T16:31:03.750-05:00My Father's World
I asked for this…this little squeeze of my foot in the velvet dark, through the cobwebs of my sleeping senses, Daddy’s whispered birthday greeting to the head of the bed…”Happy birthday! ...are you coming?” The dark swallows him as if he were never there, but my eyes wince at the faint glow from the opened door. Great Grandma's bed frame creaks to join the subdued tones of my Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05480036572322582762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793443419178709552.post-47189082569510155572014-04-06T20:05:00.000-05:002014-04-06T20:06:47.105-05:00Farewell to WinterTwo days ago an 8 inch blanket of snow hugged the ground and clung to every twig. Now the evening air soars to 52 degrees and drives away the last rags of winter's splendor. A tide all crimson and peach and slate and sapphire glows and fades away from the sinking sun. The birds are singing their welcome song thrillingly, wildly, ardently and whistling to the velvet night in the key ofAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05480036572322582762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793443419178709552.post-79510229310986819832014-03-08T09:00:00.000-06:002014-08-19T09:04:57.931-05:00Our Father...Who art in Washington
His name is indeed hallowed by many...whether with the little community's youth orchestra performance of Copland's "Lincoln Portrait" or in the temple where they enshrine him in Washington, his name is almost universally numbered among the prophets of history.
Lincoln taught us about fathers, and through it, Steven Spielburg has established new traditions around fatherhood.
Here is the fatherAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05480036572322582762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793443419178709552.post-60410773485112020172014-02-22T00:38:00.000-06:002014-02-22T13:10:24.124-06:00The Joy-Cup
We are commanded in scripture to fear God…to know that God works all things after the counsel of His own will...giving us love and desire for what He loves and joy in whatever He sends...or does not send; and then preparing a table of abundance in the wilderness where there was nothing.
All the "if's" and “why’s” in the lives of men are guaranteed and certain in their final results in the mindAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05480036572322582762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793443419178709552.post-71748059655180825742013-08-09T10:44:00.000-05:002013-08-09T21:54:36.886-05:00The Fear of God in a Peach
Sunshine warming the floor and steam coming off the canner in billows, hair frizzed in the humid heat until it made to fly right out the window, sticky-sweet hands and the rich ripe perfume of peaches. All of it so very sundry.
There is a danger in words...this strange power to almost thoughtlessly make poetic what is plain or trivialize what is transcendent. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05480036572322582762noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793443419178709552.post-57596455349982923732013-07-16T13:54:00.001-05:002013-07-16T14:02:42.694-05:00A Different Sort of Glorious<!--[if gte mso 9]>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11987377338006085690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793443419178709552.post-15618850341018285702013-07-04T19:37:00.001-05:002013-07-04T19:37:47.082-05:00Independence Day
For the last week, we have commemorated the 150th anniversary of that great tragedy the battle of Gettysburg and for me history has rarely been more alive. Today is Independence Day ... a day of thanksgiving ... though many have forgotten exactly what it is we are to be thankful for. We visited the Pennsylvania State Capitol building in Harrisburg this afternoon. The legislature is not in Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05480036572322582762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793443419178709552.post-68434884004146690542013-06-25T10:46:00.000-05:002013-06-25T10:46:31.874-05:00The Peony
Kissed of the sun and damp with dew
Gauzy robes and lustrous hue
I met her...
Her blushing laughing gauzy face
Toward heaven’s dawn drew mine apace
Breathed glory
Glory glory a happy fragrant song.
And they danced, the exuberant throng,
In worship,
With Her sisters bent in the breeze together.
So gracious yet fleeting; while we forever
Blessed bend
In reverence and Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05480036572322582762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793443419178709552.post-78885918200282906642013-05-30T20:42:00.000-05:002013-05-30T20:42:55.448-05:00Spring - God Visits the EarthThe lowering mottled gray of the sky broke at sunset last night and glory
spilled over the sullen landscape while the evening breeze, laden with the
scent of a late spring thunderstorm, swept the tree-tops with his sultry
breath. The sky rained in purply gold and every drop was a living jewel,
every sundry puddle a limpid mirror that cast back the flame of the western
sun and every stretch Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05480036572322582762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793443419178709552.post-68006505077764881522013-05-28T11:34:00.000-05:002013-05-28T11:35:03.149-05:00The Renovation Diary is on Hold...
Confederate gray wool and twill, delicate white sheers, buttery unbleached muslin, rich dark mauve linen and deep olive cotton scraps litter the floor.
"...there is no more left over in snippets than will serve to make tippets for mice"
as Miss Potter's poor Tailor of Gloucester would say.
Zuave Jackets pulled from the pattern of a riding coat...
skirts turnedAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05480036572322582762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793443419178709552.post-34427719444500247422013-05-22T12:32:00.002-05:002013-05-22T14:19:58.533-05:00A Burma Expedition, Missionaries, and Elephants...
Our house is full of talk and planning for an exciting new opportunity our brothers have to work for Christ’s kingdom! We are all up to our ears in books about Burma and Buddhism and elephants and the transformation of culture through the gospel. The following is a letter Charlie and Ben are sharing with friends and family about their mission:
Charlie and I (Benjamin) trust Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05480036572322582762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793443419178709552.post-43027037493454189182013-03-15T13:05:00.000-05:002013-05-17T18:47:08.716-05:00Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth vegetation..." In Minnesota, we may have depths of slushy snow covering the ground as
far as the eye can see, but we are already delighting and marveling at God's faithfulness, new every morning and new every year! The images of broccoli and cabbage below were taken this morning and there are still more germinating as I write.
Isaiah 61:11 uses the germination of a seed and the vegetation of Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11987377338006085690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793443419178709552.post-69771713193205223972013-03-10T20:00:00.000-05:002013-03-12T14:35:00.368-05:00Be Still - The Sabbath of FellowshipThere is a kind of communication in fellowship that holds a special power...it is silence.
Silence is always full of something...it is another language without words. The pause of contentment in conversation at the end of a good meal, the weighty silence of sorrow in pain and grief, the companionable stillness while surveying with awe some glorious view in creation or the quietness Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05480036572322582762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793443419178709552.post-49229437519967486342013-03-09T16:46:00.001-06:002013-03-09T16:46:15.952-06:00The Tuesday Kitchen
The Tuesday kitchen has been woefully neglected on the blog, but nobody is famishing here at home in the meantime...for the most part. :) This Tuesday we added some guests to the gathering around the table and to the hearty dinner we prepared together I added this finale of homemade chocolate pudding with another fantastic recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe!
The more the merrier!
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05480036572322582762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793443419178709552.post-86878960692271042032013-02-02T15:13:00.003-06:002013-02-02T15:14:54.695-06:00Coming soon to The Renovation Diary
A Tired and Out-dated Dress with Room to Style
A Colorless Skirt Made of Lovely Linen
A Shapeless Jacket with Smashing Color
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05480036572322582762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793443419178709552.post-91569066822340502642013-01-30T11:21:00.000-06:002013-01-30T11:21:10.427-06:00The Tuesday KitchenWhat do you do when you forgot to think about dinner until after noon? This tuesday I pulled a couple of pounds of venison stew meat out of the freezer after lunch, "quick-thawed" them in cool water for a couple of hours and made a stew that was ready to eat by 6:30. Garlic, onions, oregano, thyme, turmeric and salt and pepper dressed it up and potatoes and carrots in hearty amounts Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05480036572322582762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793443419178709552.post-21088756102857900442013-01-28T14:06:00.000-06:002013-01-29T11:24:02.323-06:00From the Renovation Diary
During a recent trip to the thrift store this skirt caught my eye. It was at least five sizes too large and an unfortunately blasé shade of tan, but nearly brand new and, according to the label, 100% cotton (minus the decoration). For less than ten dollars I decided it was worthy to be the first patient on which to try my hand at custom-dyeing.
As soon as I removed theAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05480036572322582762noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793443419178709552.post-78200521139044501052012-12-28T14:54:00.000-06:002012-12-28T15:06:56.929-06:00Concerning Hobbits...If brilliant, skillful yet un-regenerate film-makers with some remarkable aesthetic taste, using a superb cast and crew, take a classic work of fantasy literature composed by a masterful storyteller with a compelling plot, endearing and vivid characters, strong (albeit distorted) themes of generational faithfulness, home nostalgia, dominion, personal courage, self sacrifice, good versusAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05480036572322582762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793443419178709552.post-55923025853999684892012-12-08T15:07:00.001-06:002012-12-08T15:09:16.797-06:00Variations on What Theme?
Is Musical Taste Perception or Principle...or Both?
Musical talk these days is heated. Likely it always has been so; but now the debate takes on the flavor of a society which is fiercely committed to humanism. Even among Christians, the banter can become surprisingly pragmatic and presuppositionally trite and many are nearly rudderless when it comes to the Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05480036572322582762noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793443419178709552.post-60871517804898460762012-11-30T09:01:00.001-06:002012-11-30T09:01:31.148-06:00Peanut Soup...On Thanksgiving this year, we started what we expect will become a favorite tradition: peanut soup! Peanut Soup is as much a classic southern American food as pasties are British and we think it tastes a thousand times better. :o)
Some say George Washington and Thomas Jefferson ate it daily, and others insist it nourished the Confederate army till Sherman discovered it and won the war. In any Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11987377338006085690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793443419178709552.post-88601198325229875582012-11-04T11:45:00.003-06:002012-11-04T11:45:49.628-06:00A Few Thoughts on Voting:
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11987377338006085690noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793443419178709552.post-81339988555439140672012-10-17T09:27:00.001-05:002012-10-17T09:30:51.931-05:00"Through a glass, darkly..."
For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
1Corinthians 13:12
The verse has troubled me for some time. Or rather, I should say, its common use in contrast to its true import has troubled me.
Culturally, among Christians, it is quoted often with the ennui of a common truism and dressed up with Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05480036572322582762noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793443419178709552.post-18178639267716979122012-10-15T18:44:00.000-05:002012-10-15T18:44:30.818-05:00A return to the delights of food...
Some of you may not know, our brother Benjamin is ministering as an intern for Vision Forum Ministries in San Antonio, TX for 6 months. Here he is pictured with the two other interns on their first day.
While we are delighted at this opportunity for Benjamin to serve alongside godly men for a ministry that has blessed us in so many ways, we sorely miss him.
One specific downside Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11987377338006085690noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7793443419178709552.post-65562140057506532512012-10-03T13:05:00.001-05:002012-10-05T10:34:50.975-05:00Romans 1:20
"For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen,
being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and
Godhead; so that they are without excuse..."
Have you ever balanced on the brink of a lake and gasped
when the wind at your back to swept your breath from you out over the dancing foam
and then tossed it back in your face filled with the Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05480036572322582762noreply@blogger.com0