song for the discouraged

Give to the winds thy fears

Give to the winds thy fears,
Hope and be undismayed.
God hears thy sighs and counts thy tears,
God shall lift up thy head.

Through waves and clouds and storms,
He gently clears thy way;
Wait thou His time; so shall this night
Soon end in joyous day.

Still heavy is thy heart?
Still sinks thy spirit down?
Cast off the world, let fear depart
Bid every care begone.

What though Thou rulest not;
Yet heaven, and earth, and hell
Proclaim, God sitteth on the throne,
And ruleth all things well.

And whatsoe’er Thou will’st,
Thou dost, O King of kings;
What Thine unerring wisdom chose,
Thy power to being brings.

Leave to His sovereign sway
To choose and to command;
So shalt thou, wondering, own that way,
How wise, how strong this hand.

Far, far above thy thought,
His counsel shall appear,
When fully He the work hath wrought,
That caused thy needless fear.

Thou seest our weakness, Lord;
Our hearts are known to Thee;
O lift Thou up the sinking hand,
Confirm the feeble knee!

Let us in life, in death,
Thy steadfast truth declare,
And publish with our latest breath
Thy love and guardian care.

Words: Paul Gerhardt, 1656. Music: William Walter, 1894. Listen to the tune here.

shopoholism runs rampant

We're buying more clothes than ever before, and prices are falling. Each year, Australian women buy, on average, 56 garments, while the average bloke buys 29. If you're under 30, you'd typically buy double that number, according to the Council of Textile & Fashion Industries of Australia. ...

Even when times are hard, we buy clothes. ...

The human cost is enormous. ... Sweatshop workers in many Asian countries endure long hours, poor working conditions and low wages, sometimes as little as 18 cents an hour.

... Fast fashion leaves a damaging footprint in each step of its increasingly short life - from the pesticides used on the cotton fields, to the carbon emissions and toxic chemicals created during production, to the 1.88 million tonnes of unwanted clothing sent to landfill each year - and that's just in Britain.

... Elsie says, "I just look for cheap stuff because, as soon as you buy one thing that's supposed to be the latest thing, a new thing comes out that you have to go and buy".

Not to mention the moral impact of idolatrous vanity, or the selfishness of spending hundreds of dollars on clothes when billions are starving, or haven't heard the gospel. Oh, dear.

Quote is from M magazine in The Sunday Age.

a 4-year-old talks about death, heaven and some very big numbers

Thomas (4), as you know, is fascinated by heaven, eternity, and big numbers. Here's some questions he's had for me this year:

about the end of the world and multi-coloured sprinkles:

Thomas - Will the world finish in 100s and 1000s of years or so?

about the seasons and eternity:

Thomas - What comes after summer? ... after autumn? ... after winter? ... after spring?
Jean - They go on and on until the end of the world then they stop.
Thomas - But forever never stops, Mummy!

about a seedy, run-down dive of a place lit with anti-drug flourescent lighting:

Thomas - Is that the heaven-home?

about tidying up:

Jean - Thomas, put away your blankie.
Thomas - (contrarily) No, I love my blankie. I'm only going to put it away when I go to heaven.

about a piece of artwork he wanted to throw out and I wanted to keep:

Thomas - (pleadingly) Do I have to keep it until I go to heaven? Do I have to keep it forever?

about death and eternity:

Thomas - When I got too old, I be in heaven and I be there forever. When I die, forever starts.

12 sins we blame on others

If you're anything like me, this one will make you laugh, recognise yourself, and repent, all at once: 12 sins we blame on others.

Sunday School - fruit of the Spirit - our banner

I thought you might like to see the finished results of our Sunday School series on the fruit of the Spirit.

Here is the big felt banner we added a fruit to each week:

Here is Lizzy's small banner. Artistically minded as always, you know it's hers from the decorative embellishments.

And here is Ben's small banner. Accurate as always, he's written out the verse in full, right down to the "But" at the start, and listed the fruit of the Spirit down one side, and the fruit of the tree down the other. Only the numbers are embellished: Ben is a mathematician to the core.
So it's al over! And I breathe a sigh of relief at not having to prepare a Sunday School lesson every Friday morning. But I learnt a lot about love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, and I hope the kids (and you) did too!

Nicole's links

There are far too many great blogs out there for me to read. Which is why I use this fantastic service by Nicole over at 168 hours.

If you want a guide through the bloggy world, check out the "from other blogs" section in the right hand column of Nicole's blog. She keeps track of dozens of blogs, and links to some of the best posts here.

Click on her links regularly, and you'll save heaps of time, and be introduced to some of the best posts in the Christian bloggy world.

And if I link to another blog post? Chances are I found out about it over at Nicole's.

on honesty (2) 7 ways honesty can be helpful

When is honesty helpful? Here's a few ideas:

1. When it undercuts pride and hypocrisy. Some of us don't talk about our sin enough, as a self-protective strategy. We may need to learn to share our struggles with others.
   
   
2. When it is a request for counsel or prayer from a wise, trustworthy Christian. We won't get far in the Christian life without the help of other Christians to encourage and pray for us. "Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective" (Jam. 5:16).
   
   
3. When it comes in the context of teaching and encouraging others, during a talk, small group or one-to-one. For example, if we're discipling someone who struggles with sexual temptation, it can be helpful to share our own temptations (in a non-salacious way) and how God has helped us overcome them.
   
   
4. When it glorifies God's grace. Speaking of our sin and weakness can shine a spotlight onto God's grace and power. "'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses" (2 Cor. 12:9, see ch. 10-12).
   
   
5. When it brings comfort to those who feel alone. Knowing that someone else suffers from depression or anxiety, or finds it hard to pray, can take away the loneliness of suffering and sin. Of course, on its own this is not enough: we need to lead them to the One who comforts and helps.
   
   
6. When it helps others to open up about their struggles so we can teach, encourage and pray for them. Our honesty helps others to be honest, which can be very valuable if it gives us an opportunity to minister to them. But we mustn't manipulate people into being vulnerable. An invitation to honesty should always be in the context of a loving relationship.
   
   
7. When it helps theology become real and winsome. If I tell you that God is sovereign over suffering, it's an interesting - and maybe offensive - idea. If I share how God's sovereignty has comforted me in my own sorrow, it becomes real to you, and you're less likely to reject it without thought. My experience gives God's truth wings into your heart.

Honesty is not an end in itself. It's a stepping stone to encouragement, an invitation to prayer, and a celebration of God's grace.

I've realised that I sometimes get stuck at honesty in my relationships. It's time for the next step.

To talk not only about how difficult I sometimes find my children's behaviour, but also how I try to discipline my kids consistently and fairly. To speak not only of my prayerlessness, but also of how God is teaching me to pray. To share my sorrow and anxiety, but also the way God meets me in my deepest needs.

Honesty is not an end, it's a beginning.

on honesty (1) is honesty all it's cracked up to be?

Is honesty always helpful?

You'll know by now that I value honesty (my blog's title might be a giveaway). Early on, I explained why I think honesty is important. One of my aims for my blog is to be honest about my sins and sorrows, in order to encourage you when you struggle, and to show God's grace in my weakness.

So Simone's comments about honesty and Honoria and Simone's discussion challenged my thinking (thanks, girls!).

Women, particularly, use honesty to sympathise, comfort and feel better about themselves. Most women (and men?) will be familiar with conversations like this one:

I shouted at my son today! Aren't I terrible?
Me too! I said ... !
Oh, you should have seen me the other day!
I feel so much better now that I know you lose your temper too.

After a conversation like that, I feel better because I know others are as bad as I am. And I feel affirmed because you've heard the worst about me and haven't rejected me.

But this is not where the Bible directs us for comfort. We're not comforted because we're no worse than others, or because they accept us. In comparison with God's perfect standards, we are black as black. We're comforted because we're forgiven sinners who are deeply loved by God.

Is honesty a Christian virtue? No, of course not (unless you mean the negative virtue of not lying or stealing). Honesty is a neutral quality. On the one hand, it can be an excuse for gossip, slander, or complaining, or a vehicle for bitter, angry, or careless words. On the other hand, it can be a starting point for encouragement.

When we practise honesty, we need to ask ourselves:

• What is my motivation?
• Is it appropriate?
• Is it loving?
• Is it helpful?

Is honesty helpful? Tomorrow I'd like to share 7 ways honesty helps.

Image is from stock.xchng

Andrew turns 2

Here's some photos of Andrew on his 2nd birthday, which we celebrated last night:
Andrew with Thomas, Ben, Lizzy and a picture of the cake he chose (Andy likes moons, or at least he likes saying the word "moon," which is much the same thing when you're 1);

Andrew licking the beater and giggling while Ben tickles him;

Andrew and his moon cake;

Andrew and his presents, which his brothers and sister bought with their pocket money (the big one's from Mum and Dad);

Andrew and his brothers opening his presents (the orange giraffe, which Andy christened "Rabbit," was lovingly chosen by Ben);

Andrew playing with his new lego animals;

Andrew blowing out his 2 candles.

another hint for developing self-control

Something I wanted to add to my post on practical hints for developing self-control and never did, from Pulpit Magazine:

Practice self-denial. Learn to say no to your feelings. Learn to do what you know to be right even if you don’t feel like doing it. Sometimes it’s even beneficial to deny yourself things that are acceptable to have, like a doughnut in the morning or dessert after dinner. Exercising such self-restraint helps you develop the habit of keeping other things under control. Cultivating discipline in the physical realm will help you become disciplined in your spiritual life.

It's point no. 6 from a list of tips for self-discipline. The other 6 points are worth a look too.