top 10 - or is that 20? - Little Golden Books

I grew up with Little Golden Books. I had a pile of golden-edged books dog-eared with love, and a wonderful collection of them called "Storyland" which fell apart through over-use. Now my son Andrew (2) adores them.

Here's what you've all been waiting for: the results of the in all honesty Little Golden Books quiz, and my top 10 Little Golden Books of all time!

I've added a few more to make it a top 20. Well, I couldn't leave any out, could I?

1. I Can Fly by Ruth Krauss. A child's imagination comes to life as she hoots like an owl, swims like a fish, and gubbles like a mubble in a pubble (as you do).

2. The Little Red Caboose by Marian Potter. Always overlooked, the little red caboose saves the train, and learns it's just as good to be a caboose as a coal truck or even an engine.
3. The Colour Kittens by Margaret Wise Brown. The story of two colour-loving kittens, their search for green, and how they create every colour in the world.
4. The Taxi That Hurried by Lucy Sprague Mitchell. My mum read this as a child. A hurrying, scurrying book - "We're terribly late and the train won't wait" - with pictures of how things used to be.
5. The Friendly Book by Margaret Wise Brown. I love the way the rhymes in this book switch between fun - "Fat dogs / Doggy dogs" - and magical - "A dog that is barking over the hill / A dog that is dreaming very still".

6. Scuffy the Tugboat by Gertrude Crampton. In which an adventurous toy tugboat wants to swim in a river ("I was meant for bigger things!") but discovers that the bathtub is the best place after all.

7. Just for Fun by Patricia Scarry. I discovered this on my mother-in-law's shelves. It reminds kids of all the things they can do with paper bags, boxes, chairs and other household things - "When pots and pans are handy, a big parade is dandy."

8. Little Peewee by JP Miller. A tiny circus dog grows and grows and grows until he has to leave the circus because he's a normal sized dog, until he grows and grows and grows until he's a giant circus dog with a place in the circus after all.

9. Tootle by Gertrude Crampton. Who wouldn't love this story of a free-spirited engine who disobeys the most important rule - "You Must Not Leave the Rails No Matter What" - to race with horses and smell the daisies?

10. The Sailor Dog by Margaret Wise Brown. Cars, trains and submarines won't do for this dog: he was born for the sea. "And here he is where he wants to be, a sailor sailing the deep green sea."

11. The Poky Little Puppy by Janette Sebring Lowrey. A poky little puppy learns that puppies really shouldn't dig under fences and go for walks in the wide, wide world.

12. The Golden Sleepy Book by Margaret Wise Brown. A collection of sleepy stories and poems like "The whispering rabbit", about the yawning bunny who swallows a bee, and "The dreaming bunny", where Bunny No Good dreams the day away in a cabbage.

13. The Monster at the End of this Book by Jon Stone. A LOT of fun, the pictures tell the tale as Grover plunges through wooden barriers, brick walls and other obstacles to discover the monster at the end of the book. Do you dare to turn the next page?

14. The Saggy Baggy Elephant by Kathryn Jackson. A little elephant wanders through the jungle calling himself "Sooki" because he has no idea what he is, and escapes tigers, lions and teasing parrots to discover he's part of a great, big, wonderful family of elephants.
15. Ukelele and her New Doll by Clara Louise Grant. This was in my collection, but I've only just discovered how beautiful it is thanks to Nicole G. The story of an island girl who's given a new china doll by a sailor, but who loves her old wooden doll best.

16. Mister Dog: The Dog Who Belonged to Himself by Margaret Wise Brown. Crispin's Crispian, so called because "he belongs to himself", discovers a boy who also belongs to himself, and they decide to belong to each other.

17. Animal Friends by Jane Werner. A kitten, rabbit, dog, bird, squirrel and chick discover that they weren't made to live together - but they find some homes just right for them.

18. The Marvellous Merry-Go-Round by Jane Werner. A boy grows up to create a marvellous merry-go-round with real animals on it, painted to look like wooden ones. Who knows the animals are really alive? Only the children who ride on them.
19. The Train to Timbuctoo by Margaret Wise Brown. A rollicking tale about a big engine with a big whistle that goes whooooooooooooooooooooooooo and a little engine with a little whistle that goes wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee and how they make their way clackety clack - clickety click from Kalamazoo to Timbuctoo.
20. Seven Little Postmen by Margaret Wise Brown. A boy posts a letter promising a visit to his grandma and it makes its way via aeroplanes and trains and mail vans and post offices too small to be called post offices to his lonely Grandma's house.
I could keep going, but that's enough nostalgia for one day!

Which Little Golden Books were your favourites?

online meanderings: the temptations of blogging and facebook

How much happier you would be if you only knew that these people cared nothing about you! How much larger your life would be if your self could become smaller in it; if you could really look at other men with common curiosity and pleasure; if you could see them walking as they are in their sunny selfishness and their virile indifference! You would begin to be interested in them because they were not interested in you. You would break out of this tiny and tawdry theater in which your own little plot is always being played, and you would find yourself under a freer sky, in a street full of splendid strangers. (G.K Chesterton, Orthodoxy, p.12)

I've been trying to find that quote ever since Nicole posted it, because it's such a wonderful antidote to bloggerly self-absorption. When I started blogging, I had no idea that it would tempt me to think so much about what people think of me.

It's good to know I'm not alone as I struggle with temptation. I've been encouraged and challenged by other bloggers over and over again as they reflect on the temptations blogging brings into their lives: self-absorption, people-pleasing, and careless words. All this in addition to being distracted from face-to-face relationships, as I talked about last week!

So why do we do it? - to encourage others, to share our thoughts about God's truth, to enjoy God's good gifts of reading and reflecting and writing - good reasons all. But I need to continually remember that I write, as I do everything, for an audience of one.

on Facebook, blogging and self-absorption

Shannon put my struggle into words in No, really I'm fine:

But there is undeniable part of blogging that feeds a part of us (me) that is, perhaps, not the most sensible part: the part that craves to "measure" ourselves, the part that is naturally drawn to a false sense of urgency, the part that needs to be heard even when there's not really anything to say.

In One of the dangers of blogging Tim Chester warns

We receive our 'seductive applause' almost immediately through hits, comments, Technocrati ratings and so on. If you desire the approval of your peers, or would-be peers, then you say the right things, commend the right books, knock the wrong people and so on. Within a constituency it can all become dangerously self-reinforcing. We commend one another for echoing back the same thoughts. All the time, we feel we are part of the cognoscenti, the cabal of people who know what is right. But 'on the last day we stand or fall on the approval of one Person, one Master, the Lord Jesus.’

Josh Harris' observations in My one and only week on Facebook could apply equally to blogging:

[Facebook encourages] me to think about me even more than I already do--which is admittedly already quite a bit. ... If that egocentrism is a little flame, than Facebook for me is a gasoline IV feeding the fire.

You'll find the same warning in Justin Buzzard's list of 9 ways not to use and 6 ways to use Facebook in Redeeming Social Life Online:

Don’t allow Facebook and online life in general to make you a more distracted person. ... Don’t allow Facebook [blogging] to tempt you away from your calling and work. ... Don’t let Facebook [blogging] cause you to think about yourself more than you already do.

on blogging and a sense of obligation

Crystal Paine gives some great guidelines for blogging in Keeping computer time in balance, although I'm nowhere near growing out of the "sense of obligation" she describes here! Maybe you could pray for me to change in the way she has:

I don't feel obligated by blogging or emails. ... I used to feel a sense of obligation to answer every email, respond to every comment, and faithfully blog something each and every week day.

In my post an end to blogging? you'll find some links to other posts by godly bloggers reconsidering their commitment to blogging.

on love, comments and blogging

Wendy Alsup reminds us of the importance of being careful about how we write online in Speaking the truth in love: "I read too many Christian blogs this weekend. It was quite depressing. First of all, I am a glutton for sensationalism. I admit it."

Lionel Windsor gives some helpful guidelines for blogging and commenting in On love and blogging: "So here are some suggestions for what constitutes a godly comment ... Apply it to anything you do on the internet—blogging, posting, commenting, etc. Be sons of God. Be godly."

That sums it up pretty well!

the fear of the LORD (4b) fear on this side of the cross

It's easy to think we no longer have to fear God now Jesus has died for us.

Doesn't God say, "You did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship"? (Rom 8:15) When Jesus died, he set us free from our deserved punishment and made us God's precious children (Rom 8:1-17).

Doesn't God say, "Perfect love drives out fear"? (1 Jn 4:18) God has poured out his love for us in Jesus, so we no longer need to be scared of his judgement (1 Jn 4:15-18).

These passages are talking about the slavish, cringing fear which Christians never have to feel again. When Jesus died, he freed us from terror of God's judgement.

But Christians are still encouraged to fear God.

• Jesus tells us to confess him boldly before others: "do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. ... Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell." (Lk 12:4-7 cf Matt 10:26-30)
• the early Christians lived "in the fear of the Lord" (Acts 9:31)
• we're called to "purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence [fear] for God" (2 Cor 6:14-7:1)
• because we will have to give an account before the judgement seat of Christ, we "fear the Lord" by courageously sharing the gospel (2 Cor 5:10-11)
• Paul says, "work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose" (Phil 2:12-13)
• Christians are called to submit to one another, slaves to masters, and wives to husbands, out of "reverence [fear] for Christ" (Eph 5:18-21, 1 Pet 3:1-2, Col 3:22-24)
• because we know God will impartially judge what we do, and because we were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, we live our lives "in reverent fear" (1 Peter 1:17)
• because we know the terrible judgement which awaits those who reject Christ, we don't turn our backs on him (Heb 10:26-31, 12:18-29)
• even in eternity, absolutely safe from judgement, we will "fear God" and give him praise (Rev 14:7, 15:4, 19:5)

We don't need to fear God's eternal judgement if we trust in Jesus. But we still face God's fatherly discipline when we persist in sin (Prov 3:11-12, Heb 12:7-11). One day we'll stand before the judgement seat of Christ and give an account of our lives to him (Rom 12:9-11, 1 Cor 5:10, 1 Pet 1:17). On that day our ministry will be judged to be worthy or wanting (1 Cor 3:10-15).

To take sin lightly - to say, even deep in our hearts, "I'll do it because I know God will forgive me" - is to live as if these things were not true. It's to live without the fear of God.

The fear Christians feel towards God is not "servile fear", the fear of a slave for a harsh master. It's "filial fear", the fear of a child for a beloved father. Like a child who knows that her father loves her, who feels safe in his arms and runs to him when she's hurt; but who also knows that her father will discipline her if she disobeys, who respects him and doesn't dare to disregard his authority.

Do you remember the trembling, joyful fear of the Israelites as they stood on the other side of the Red Sea and watched the water curl and crash over the heads of Pharaoh's army? Do you remember how they put their trust in God with awed amazement at his terrible judgement and glorious salvation?

Here we stand, on the other side of the cross. We have seen God's just and jealous anger poured out on his only Son. We have seen God's heart break with the terrible cost of his love for us. We have seen judgement and salvation come together in one inconceivable, incredible moment.

How could we not trust and obey this God with everything that's in us? How could we not fling ourselves into his arms and nestle there, safe from his anger, safe in his love? How could we not serve him with trembling, joyful fear?

Well, it seems that what was meant to be a little series has turned into a very long one! I've learned a lot, and I hope you have too. Most of all, I hope you've been encouraged to grow in the fear of God. One more post - on what the fear of the LORD has come to mean to me - and I'll wrap it up!

images are from stock.xchng

On Christ, and what he has done

On Christ, and what he has done, my soul hangs for time and eternity. And if your soul also hangs there, it will be saved as surely as mine shall be. And if you are lost trusting in Christ, I will be lost with you and will go to hell with you. I must do so, for I have nothing else to rely upon but the fact that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, lived, died, was buried, rose again, went to heaven, and still lives and pleads for sinners at the right hand of God.

Charles Spurgeon HT Of First Importance

image from stock.xchng

Sunday School - the law and sacrifices (6) priests

The questions came thick and fast this week. "How were the priests chosen?" "Where's the tabernacle now?" "What did you learn when I was away?!"

We've watched the tabernacle being built and we've seen God's glory rest on it. We've learned how sin and uncleanness keep us from God's holy tent. We've seen how we're forgiven and cleansed through sacrifices. But this is all pretty pointless without priests.

You can't just walk straight into God's presence, or you'll die! You need a go-between to approach God on your behalf. You need a priest, someone to go near God and offer sacrifices for you.

To mediate between God and humans, priests had to be human like us, but they also had to be holy like God. No-one could be a priest if he wasn't from the priestly family. No-one could be a priest unless he had no physical defects. No-one could serve as a priest if he'd come into contact with anything unclean. (Lev 21-22)

The priests were protected from the messy parts of the sacrifices. They protected the tabernacle from the touch of unclean hands. They represented God to the Israelites. They represented the Israelites to God. They came between people and God.

Out of all the world, God set apart 1 nation for himself: the Israelites. Out of the 12 tribes of Israel, God set apart 1 tribe to look after the holy things: the Levites. Out of this tribe, God set apart 1 family as priests: Aaron and his descendants. Out of this family, God set apart one man, and his oldest son after him, to serve him as high priest: Moses' brother Aaron.

Here's how Aaron was consecrated as the high priest and his 4 sons as priests (Lev 8-9). You'll notice that most of the steps have to do with being cleansed from sin and uncleanness and set apart as holy for God's service:

• washing with water
• dressing in clothes designed to give "honour and dignity" (Exod 28:2) - he was dressed like a king!
• anointing with oil - to set him apart for leadership
• sin offering, burnt offering, fellowship offering - Aaron laid hands on the head of each animal to put his sin on them
• blood on the right ear, right thumb and right big toe - to cleanse him from sin and uncleanness top to toe
• sprinkling with oil and blood - to set him apart for God's service and cleanse him from sin and uncleanness
• wave offering of meat from the fellowship offering and unleavened bread from the grain offering
• cooking and eating meat and bread from the offerings - to show he shared in the benefits of the offerings
• 7 days waiting at the entrance to the tabernacle with daily sacrifices - he couldn't walk straight in to God!

On the 8th day, Aaron took up his high priestly ministry, offered sacrifices for the first time, and blessed the people. Fire came from the presence of the LORD and burned up the offerings on the altar. The people shouted for joy and fell facedown. What a day that must have been!

As I told the children the story of Aaron's consecration I "dressed" a drawing of a high priest, "anointed" him with oil, and "sprinkled" him with oil and blood. Here's our high priest wearing undergarments to cover his private parts to show respect (Ex 28:42-43);

a fine white linen tunic to show purity and holiness (Ex 28:39-41, 39:27-29);a blue robe with pomegranates on the hem in royal colours (blue, red, purple) alternating with bells - these rang as the high priest entered the Most Holy Place on the Day of Atonement so he would not die (Ex 28:31-35, 39:22-26);a richly woven ephod and sash in royal colours and golden thread (Ex 28:6-14, 39:2-6);a breastpiece in royal colours with 12 jewels engraved with the names of the 12 tribes of Israel, hung from gold chains from 2 onyx stones each engraved with 6 of the 12 tribes on the ephod's shoulder pieces - the high priest carried the names of Israel over his heart as he went into the Holy Place on their behalf, and carried inside the breastpiece the Urim and Thummim, used to make decisions for the people of God (Ex 28:6-13, 39:8-21);a white turban with a gold plate engraved "Holy to the LORD" (Ex 8:36-38, 29:30-31).The high priest was dressed like a king! But then his beautiful robes were sprinkled with oil and blood:The children were horrified to see me putting oil (sewing machine oil) and blood (red paint) on our beautiful picture. I wonder if the Israelite craftsmen felt the same, seeing all that fine white linen, gold-embroidered cloth and precious jewels splashed with blood? What a vivid picture of the cost of sin!

Here's our finished high priest:
I'm sure I haven't discovered everything the priests did, but here's what I've found out so far. I had no idea they were so busy!

• they offered sacrifices (Lev 1-7)
• they taught the law (Lev 10:11, 2 Kgs 17:28, 2 Chr 15:3, Ezra 7:11-12, Jer 18:18, Ezek 7:26)
• they blessed the people - which means they prayed for them (2 Chr 30:27, Lev 9:22-23, Nu 6:22-27)
• they made decisions for the people using the Urim and Thummim in the high priest’s breastpiece (Ex 28:30, Nu 27:21, 1 Sam 14:41, 28:2, Ez 2:63)
• in the Holy Place they burned incense every morning and evening on the incense altar, lit the lamps on the lampstand every evening, and laid fresh bread on the table every Sabbath (Ex 30:1-10, 37:25-29; 27:20-1, 37:17-24; 25:23-30, 36:10-16, 1 Chron 9:32)
• they decided who and what was clean and unclean (Lev 10:10, 14:3-4, Ezek 22:26)
• they judged difficult cases in the law courts (Deut 17:8-9)
• they addressed the army before battle (Deut 20:2-4)
• they officiated over feasts, fasts and festivals, including the Day of Atonement, the only day the high priest entered the Most Holy Place - more about that next week!

All of which brings us to Jesus, our Great High Priest, the one perfect, eternal high priest. We don't need any others! He is the perfect go-between, fully man and fully God, free from sin and uncleanness so he never has to pay for his own sin. He offered the one perfect sacrifice for all time when he died on the cross. He teaches us God's ways, cleanses us from sin, and prays and pleads for us before the throne of God.

Our tabernacle model came into its own this week, as I explained where the priests were and weren't allowed to go, and showed the children the bronze basin for washing, and the incense altar, lampstand and table the priests tended in the Holy Place. Here they are:



Here's our page for the week (white for purity and holiness):


Next time, we'll be talking about the Day of Atonement.

If you'd like to see or use my Sunday School lessons, either these or my lessons on the fruit of the Spirit or Romans, please contact me.

Thomas' imponderables

The section of Thomas' brain devoted to theological musings has been working overtime recently. He keeps coming up with the most incredible questions:

If God made the world, why are there yucky things in it?

Why does God make me want to do bad things, Mummy?

Why did God make us alive?

Mummy, I'd rather be on earth than in heaven. Because in heaven you can't move, and you have to laugh all the time.

Will there be parties in heaven? Will there be just one party going on FOREVER?

If I can't see God, how do I know if I'm running away from him? When I'm running away from him, I'm actually running towards him!

"The last shall be first and the first shall be last." Does that mean in heaven, when we're running races, we have to run really slowly?

Little Golden Books quiz clues

I can see that not many of you had a misspent youth reading Little Golden Books like me! I'll have to give you some clues for last week's quiz about my 10 favourite Little Golden Books. I'll give you titles for the ones you guessed, and pictures and clues to help you guess the rest. See if you can work them out.

1. Gubble gubble gubble
I'm a mubble in a pubble

Clue: a little girl imagines. That's her, flying like a bird!

2. First came the big black engine, puffing and chuffing. Then came the box cars, then the oil cars, then the coal cars, then the flat cars.

Bec's right - this is The Little Red Caboose.

3. Green as cats' eyes
Green as grass
By streams of water
Green as glass.

Meredith guessed this correctly as The Colour Kittens

4. "We're terribly late and the train won't wait." ...
"We're a speedy pair. We can get you there."

Clue: that's the main character in yellow on the right.

5. The wind that blows away the thistle
Light as the little birds whistle and sing
And the little boy whistling in the spring

Clue: " I like stars. Bright stars. Quiet stars. Lighting up at night stars."

6. "I was meant for bigger things."

This was guessed correctly as Scuffy the Tugboat - "This is the life for me!".

7. If I write a letter
and mail it
to someone I love,
someone I love
may write a letter to me.

Clue: what can you do with things around the house? You'll be doing well to get this one - I discovered it in my mother-in-law's house, but I'd never seen it before.

8. Then he opened the box and out came the teeniest-weeniest teeny teeny teeny weeny weeny weeny little dog in all the world.

Clue: a story about a circus. If you get this, well done, it's an obscure one!

9. His wheels began to say over and over again, "Do you like butter? Do you?"

Clue: "Stay On The Rails No Matter What!"

10. And here he is where he wants to be -
A sailor sailing the deep green Sea.

Clue: the story of a sea-going dog.

Put your guesses in the comments. And if you still can't get them, Mum will have to join the guessing game after all!! Answers soon.

online meanderings: the temptations of technology

An awful lot of words have been written online about how to reduce the number of words written online!

These words have convicted, challenged and encouraged me not to let blogging and technology take over my life.

on technology and relationships

Challies' A great servant an evil master is just a little too close to home. Does this scenario sound familiar to you?

Technology sticks its foot in the door of so many areas of my life. When I sit down to read to my children we may be interrupted by a phone call. As we head outdoors to play, I may do a quick check of my email and spend fifteen minutes typing out a reply that could easily wait until the next day; and then, while I play with the children, I am distracted, mulling over what I might have or should have said.

Trevor Cairney in Writing, communication, technology and relationships warns,

Don’t replace personal conversations with your friends, family and neighbours with SMS messages, Facebook, emails and Blog posts. Yes, they can work well when you’re on the other side of the country or the world but there is no substitute for personal communication.

Trevor shares his personal list of ways to limit the impact of technology on relationships in The Soul in Cyberspace. He quotes Groothius on "absent presence" - what an uncomfortably challenging idea! Tell me you haven't done it:

"People practice an 'absent presence' constantly as they talk on cell phones while checking out at the supermarket or at Starbucks, as they send text messages during classes instead of attending to teachers and students, as they play video games instead of getting to know their spouses and children." Ouch!

Do technology and church mix? See Josh Harris' Should we use Twitter during church? and John Piper's More on not using Twitter during worship services.

on entertainment addiction

I was searching through some old posts for this post when I rediscovered a lovely poem by Dorothy L.Sayers and a great quote from Martyn Lloyd-Jones on the effect of constant entertainment on spirituality.

Mark Driscoll muses on our addiction to noise in Silence:

As I drifted off to sleep, it dawned on me that I had not had one minute of silence during my entire day. It was possible, I realized, that I could live the rest of my life without ever again experiencing silence.

In that moment, God deeply convicted me that I was addicted to the false trinity of our day, the gods known as Noise, Hurry, and Crowds.

John Piper answers the question How do you break free from an addiction to entertainment?

on MP3 sermons and the real thing

You might remember my Sola Panel post to MP3 or not to MP3?

Dan Phillips in Porn and paper pastors writes about the danger of giving your heart to theologians you will never meet and comparing them to your real pastor.

These paper pastors maintain the perfect distance. If you don't want to hear something, they don't press it — or you can instantly shut them up, snap! They never ask you to do something uncomfortable and follow up on you. They never persistently probe an area of sin, in you, in person, eyeball to eyeball... nor will they. Church discipline will not be a threat with them. Ever.

Because they don't know you from Adam.

I've got some more links on the temptations of blogging, but I think I'll save those for next week, when I'd also like to share how I (try to) control my computer use. In the meantime, I've got some reflecting and repenting to do!

Mia Freedman on the temptations of technology

This week, I'll be chatting about technology idolatry. It's a constant temptation for me to neglect relationships while I sit at the computer, writing a blog post, reading and responding to emails, or working on a Bible study or seminar.

I laughed as I read this piece by Mia Freedman, one of my favourite columnists, because I recognised myself in it only too well:

Technology ate my holiday. ...

I know I'm not the first to notice how laptops, mobiles and BlackBerries have blurred the line between work and every other aspect of life. ... During my not holiday, I spent several hours working every day. ... Just snatches of time. Three minutes here, 10 minutes there. A phone call. Some social texts. A few emails. Some blogging. ...

I consider myself an accomplished multitasker but trying to work and play simultaneously is a mental shift that's often uncomfortably jarring for me and my loved ones, especially when we're trying to holiday. You see, whenever I'm on my phone or laptop, I lose the ability to hear and all peripheral vision. You can ask me a question repeatedly and I will not hear it or see you because I am in The Technology Tunnel.

This is why I don't have a BlackBerry. During the five minutes I worked on television, I had one. ... "It frees you from your computer!" exhorted Black Berry devotees. ... What they neglected to mention, however, was that a BlackBerry chains your desk to you. ...

Initially, I imposed strict rules governing the use of my BlackBerry. ... I had to limit the number of times I checked it at home.

Like any addict, flimsy mental rules were not enough to keep me clean; I needed razor wire and an electric fence. Since neither came with my BlackBerry, it wasn't long before I was checking my emails IN THE SHOWER. And yes, this is possible if you hold your arms out far enough in front of your body. Needless to say, I was delighted to return my BlackBerry ...

Technology aside, my expectations for holidays are already low due to the face I'm a parent, which means doing your relaxing in relay form. This is interspersed with terse exchanges about whose turn it is for a break. ...

Now I just need to find a holiday destination with no mobile reception or broadband.*

Now, I don't take a laptop or use my mobile phone on holidays (heaven forbid!), I only learned how to SMS a year ago, and I've never had any interest in Twitter or a BlackBerry, although I do love my iPod. But I'm all too familiar with the way technology cuts into rest and relationships.

Like Mia, I don't hear or see anything when I'm working, and I'll sit down for "5 minutes" and find myself still at the computer half an hour later, sometimes to the soundtrack of squabbling children. So this is a constant battle for me!

How do you try to be self-disciplined in your use of technology? I'd welcome any suggestions!

* Mia Freedman's column in The Sunday Age M magazine, May 3, 2009.

image is from stock.xchng

the fear of the LORD (4a) fear on this side of the cross

Is "the fear of the LORD" appropriate on this side of the cross? Isn't it something just for Old Testament believers? Hasn't Jesus freed us from fear? (Heb 2:14-15, Rom 8:15, 1 Jn 4:18)

Last time I talked about two kinds of fear:

• the terror of God's unrepentant enemies
• the trusting fear of those who take refuge in God

You'll find both in the New Testament. Today I want to talk about the first, the terror of God's enemies on this side of the cross and how it affects us as Christians; and next time about the second, the trusting fear of those who hope in Jesus.

Do you think Mount Sinai was scary? Remember how the Israelites trembled with fear when they heard God speaking out of fire and deep darkness as the mountain shook underfoot? Well, there's a much scarier mountain than that one!

You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded: "If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned." The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, "I am trembling with fear."

But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. ...

See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens." ...

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire". (Heb 12:18-29, emphases mine)

I've always thought this was a pretty picture of the heavenly mountain with all the angels singing. I've only recently noticed that it's a fearful picture of the coming judgement which will not shake just one mountain but the entire universe.

This is a terrible warning to Jewish believers who wanted to return to the law of Moses. If the Israelites didn't escape when they disobeyed God's law, how will we escape if we reject Jesus, God's only Son?

"Those who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot? ... It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." (Heb 10:26-31)

You have to remember it's Christians - or at least people who seem to be Christians! - who the writer of Hebrews is warning here. The fear of God's judgement is one of the things which keeps us from turning our backs on Jesus.

The New Testament gives a terrible picture of the judgement of Jesus, who treads the wine press of God's fury until blood rises high as a horse's bridle. If God's enemies hid from his anger among the rocks (Isa 2:10) they now call to the rocks,"Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!" (Rev 6:16; Rev 6, 14:14-20, 19:11-21).

There is a place of refuge from this terror: Jesus, Judge and Saviour, whose death on the cross frees us "from the fear of death". Safe in him from terror of God's judgement, we still serve God "with reverence and awe", never daring to stop trusting in Jesus (if that were possible!), never forgetting that our "God is a consuming fire" (Heb 2:14-15 cf Heb 12:29).

On this side of the cross, God's greater salvation brings greater blessing and greater punishment. Let's heed the warning, and flee from Jesus' anger to his mercy, ever fearing but never afraid.

first image is from stock.xchng, second image is from Olim Art