That Which Does Not Change

God's Word

I paused last eve beside the blacksmith's door
And heard the anvil ring, the vesper's chime
And looking in I saw upon the floor
Old hammers, worn with beating years of time
“How many anvils have you had” said I
“To wear and batter all these hammers so?”
“Just one,” he answered, then with twinkling eye;
“The anvil wears the hammers out you know”
And so, I thought, the anvil of God's Word
For ages skeptics blows have beat upon,
But though the noise of falling blows was heard
The anvil is unchanged;the hammers gone
John Clifford 1836-1923

God's Unchanging Word

For feelings come and feelings go,
And feelings are deceiving
My warrant is the word of God
Naught else is worth believing
Though all my hear should feel condemned
For want of some sweet token
There is One greater than my heart
Whose word cannot be broken
I'll trust in God's unchanging word
Till soul and body ever;
For, though all things shall pass away,
His Word shall stand forever.

Martin Luther 1483-1546

Question

This is a question I have been thinking about. I thought I would share it. It is:
What am I doing to make Christ Jesus known to those around me?
It has really been making me think about the things I say to the people in my classes at school and every where else I go. Will the people I see ever know that I love Jesus? They need to. They need Him. I need to tell them.
How about you. What are you doing to make Christ Jesus known to those around you? Will the people around you know that you love Jesus?

100 Acre Wood

Take the 100 Acre Personality Quiz!

Quotes

None of us ever desired anything more ardently than God desires to bring men to a knowledge of Himself
Johnne Tauler

The Bible is alive, it speaks to me; it has feet, it runs after me; it has hands, it lays hold of me
Martin Luther

Trouble and perplexity drive me to prayer and prayer drives away perplexity and trouble.
Philip Melanchthon

Let God have your life. He can do more with it than you can.
Moody

Spiritual growth consists most in the growth of the root, which is out of sight.
Mathew Henry

The Last Sin Eater

“The Last Sin Eater” is an excellent movie that I would suggest every one watch. It is about a group of settlers who believe that the way to get rid of their sins is for one man from among them to “eat” their sins once they die. This means that every time there is a funeral the “sin eater” comes to take the sins of the dead. The “sin eater” is shunned by all the rest of the settlement because he has all of these sins upon him. “The Last Sin Eater” shows a wonderful example of how only Christ can take away sins and He can take the sins of even the most wretched. This would be a great movie to bring your unsaved friends to. The salvation message is spelled out very clearly through out the movie but especially at the end. It is a great story also, very heart warming.

Modesty Survey

There are a group of guys headed by Bret and Alex Harris who have created and filled out a survey about modesty for girls to read and get an idea of what most guys struggle with. I know that for me asking my dad and brother is normally plenty but not all guys see things the same way. Ladies please check out http://www.therebelution.com/modestysurvey/browse I found it not only informational but also encouraging.

I'll add what the authors of the Rebelution have to say about it.

TheRebelution.com just launched the results of their massive Modesty Survey! Over 1,600 Christian guys answered questions on everything from glitter lotion and lip gloss to swimsuits and skirt slits! For you girls, it's everything you've ever wanted to ask guys about modesty, but were afraid to ask! For you guys, it's really interesting to see what other Christian guys think!
Most importantly, the survey is presented as a resource to help Christian girls (and guys), not a list of legalistic rules, and it is accompanied by the Modesty Survey Petition (which tons of guys have signed) which encourage young women to focus on the heart, not the hemline, to honor their parents, etc.
TheRebelution.com presents the results of the survey as a big St. Valentine's Day gift from 1,600 Christian guys to all Christian girls—and I can't think of a better one!
Go check it out: www.therebelution.com/modestysurvey
But also make sure you spread the word to all your friends. We want as many Christian girls as possible to see it on Valentines Day, so you can repost this post on your blog or forward it as an email.
Guys, they are still accepting signatures for the Modesty Survey Petition, so this is an opportunity for you to still share your voice on the topic of modesty!

Modesty

Have you ever gone into a clothing store and found the perfect item? It was exactly the color you wanted in exactly the style you admired, and it had a price you liked (maybe even on a really good sale). Well you grab it then rush over to the the fitting room to try it on. You hurry past the attendants telling them quickly “one item please” and grab a ticket with a #1 printed on it then rush into the fitting room. Then, horror of horrors you find that it is either to low, too short, to tight or in some way too revealing. Oh no, now what do you do? You know you want that item. You may even have a place in mind that you want to wear it to. You are about to buy it any way (even though you know it isn't modest) when your conscience strikes, pouncing like a lion on a gazelle. “No!” it screams in your face. “You can't wear that! That is not appropriate clothing for a daughter of the King!” Now your “Old Adam” answers back “I can wear what I want to! It isn't really that bad! Every one else wears clothes like this...” Now it's back to your conscience “likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty. ” “Arg” the old man complains, “How dare you quote that to me. I know what the Bible says. I don't need you pushing it in my face.” You can tell that your conscience is winning the battle as it makes one last effort to win you over. “What about the men and boys you know will see you in this. Why would you make it harder for them to have pure minds when you know that is what your Heavenly Father wants for them?” “Ugg” you say as you hang the item on the rack outside the fitting room and walk out of the store without any new clothes.

If you are a Christian young lady then this scenario is probably all too familiar to you. (I know it is for me.) Dressing modestly is a battle that most Christian women deal with on a regular basis. Finding clothing that is modest can be hard but when a daughter of the King has the right perspective it will all be worth it to her to protect the purity of her brothers in Christ and obey God's commands.
1Timothy 1:9 Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly...

I would really like it if every one would visit the Rebelution http://www.therebelution.com/blog/ and see the articles posted there and also to see the results to the modesty survey that will be posted there tomorrow. I'll post another link to it when the survey comes out. But for now, please read the articles.

Lambs

Lambs
Lambs come in the spring
First the snow and then the grass
For all the lambs to eat
Lambs come quietly, not with band or brass

There may be one or two
Or maybe even three
They may be born in a barn
Or under a spreading tree

The mother's attention
Is for her young
She hardly even eats
Because she wants to spare them wrong

Lambs can be recognized
by their funny little tails
That wag faster than a dog's
Fast, like a train on rails

The summer months wear on
The lambs love to lay down and sleep
Their wool grows and grows
The lambs turn into sheep

When lambs begin to walk
Their legs are in the way
However not long after this
They begin to skip and play

by Janel Gustafson

Math, Geology, and Paperwork

For the first time in my life I find myself delighting in doing math. In fact I have been doing it as a break from other things when they become too frustrating or exhausting. You see, math used to be one of the most difficult and trying things that I had to do. The numbers seemed to race wildly through my head and then back out again without allowing me a moments time to catch them and pin them down. Now, in addition to mathematics I am currently taking a geology class. Although not difficult it proves very frustrating and, dare I say that forbidden word, BORING. As I write these words I am avoiding labeling ages and event principles to layers of rock. Now, it might be one thing if I actually got to see real rocks, or even pictures of real rocks, but such a thing is not my fate. I am sent to the plight of intently studying sketches of rocks. I find it oddly similar to studying paperwork filled with blanks for me to fill in about every thing about me that university authorities could never actually want to know. Now due to the hospitality (not parted by many words in the English dictionary from “hostility”) of my local university, school planning has become more trying even than math. Planning out tests and paperwork has proved to lead to more dead ends and frustrating ties than even math could and is similar to staring at sketches of rocks. At least with the paper work I get to call the shots and not depend on the view of one enchanted by rocks to know when God chose to put a certain rock in a certain place.

Safe?

You think your safe. You think your secure. And then it happens, the inevitable, the unexplainable, the unthinkable... The toilet plunger breaks! The rubber shreds off of the wooden stick, like flesh being torn to pieces by a wild beast and you are left with the remains, limp as a rag doll, staring you in the face! Such was the fate of one of my brothers the other day, when, in the good deed of caring for the females in his family, who were suffering a from acute case of the stomach flu. You know that tragedy has struck the house when even the faithful toilet plunger droops its sorry head! But not to fear, toilet plungers are quite easy to come by. Today one was purchased from our friend Fred Meyer. It is quite a delightful little thing, very bright and perky. It has a clear plastic handle and a bright blue rubber head. Currently it is quite a glorified little toilet plunger and is used as more of a sward type weapon. Shortly after lunch it was being paraded around the house quite proudly and being flashed before passerbys with bold statements such as “Stop there musketeer, before I plunge you down the toilet where you shall never find yourself in the light of day again!”

Do you feel safe?

Christ, The One Who Loves Us Most

Is This Romance?

When I was just a little girl.
I'd dream of days gone by
Of dashing prince charming,
And castles in the sky.
Of a story told untold times,
Romantic words of love.
A haunting strain sung again,
A dance from above.

Chorus:
Could this be Him?
Would He woo us in?
And save us from our sin.
Did He take a chance?
Is this romance?
When love was born again.

All too soon I let my dream,
Fade and slip away.
It left me with empty arms,
And a heart gone astray.
The sorrow and the sadness seemed,
Too much for me to bear,
Till I heard that haunting strain again,
In the words of a prayer.

My dream of everlasting love
Came true one fair day
When a brave pure, honest, heart, carried me away.
To and enchanted fairy tale
And a castle in the sky.
Where forever begins today and love will never die.

By Monte Swan, 1997

Just Like God Made Them

Your Eyes Should Be Brown

Your eyes reflect: Depth and wisdom What's hidden behind your eyes: A tender heart

What Color Should Your Eyes Be?