Another comment on anxiety (ch 8)

Respectable Sins, Jerry Bridges

Chapter 8 - Anxiety and Frustration

After posting about this chapter on Friday - a good friend raised an important issue regarding anxiety:

What about the person who suffers from severe and debilitating anxiety? Anxiety is a medical condition. It is very unhelpful to suggest that it is a sin.

I see exactly what this person means, and I am ashamed to admit that this issue did not cross my mind as I read the chapter and subsequently wrote the post. For someone who struggles with severe anxiety, which is also often closely linked with depression, adding more guilt by labelling their situation as sinful is unhelpful at best and ungodly at worst. If I offended anyone by my comments on this chapter, I sincerely apologise - I do not want to add to the burdens you already feel.

Having re-read the chapter again, my suspicion is that Bridges is not suggesting this either - but I do think that it would have been helpful to distinguish between general anxiety (that many people feel at various times) and anxiety disorders. I feel certain he is talking about general anxiety. However, I agree with my friend - it would have been helpful for that to have been clearer.

An article downloaded from the Beyond Blue website includes some of the following information on anxiety:

What is an anxiety disorder?
We all feel anxious from time to time however, for some people, these anxious feelings are overwhelming and cannot be brought under control easily. An anxiety disorder is more than just feeling stressed – it’s a serious condition that makes it hard for the person to cope from day to day.

How common are anxiety disorders?
Anxiety disorders are very common. One in four people will experience an anxiety disorder at some stage in their lives.

Types of anxiety disorders
There is a range of anxiety disorders. The six most common disorders are:
1. Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) which involves the person feeling anxious and worried on most days over six months or more.
2. Specific Phobia
3. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
4. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
5. Panic Disorder
6. Social Phobia.

Anxiety disorders are common, but the sooner you get help, the sooner you can learn to control these conditions, so they don’t control you.

Summarised from Anxiety Disorders Information card, downloadable from this link.

If you are someone who is struggling with a level of anxiety that affects your daily life, there are a number of places to go to start to get help:

• Beyond Blue Website - anxiety link
• Reach Out website - aimed at 14-25 year olds
• ABC Health and Wellbeing Website - Anxiety Disorders Fact File

All of these sites have some guidelines to help diagnose anxiety disorders - but you should also see a doctor.


I really welcome comments that point out areas that I have missed or been unhelpful. Thanks.

Book ideas request

I pass on a request to you, the reader, from another reader of this blog.

Amy has asked me to recommend books for her written in an Australian context, keeping in mind the following:

• she is new to Australia, from China (I hope I'm right there Amy!)
• English is not her first language
• she has recently been reading a few Alexander McCall Smith books (from the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency and 44 Scotland Street series) and has enjoyed them
  
• she would like something that while fiction, still gives her some insight into Australian culture and/or history

Over to you readers - any suggestions??

One to one ministry, and ministry apprenticeships

I have just got around to reading The Briefing for this month, amazingly I actually read it in the month it was published!

The focus this month is on 'one-to-one ministry' - meeting with one other person regularly to read the bible and pray.

If you don't normally get the Briefing, this one is worth buying.

Have a think about whether you meet with anyone to read the bible together, and if not, ask yourself "why not?". Surely you and someone else could benefit from it? Why not take that scary step and ask someone to read the bible with you - it could be a friend, an older mentor, a new Christian or a younger mentoree (is that a word?!).

Isobel Lin, in her article "Women, awkwardness and one to one", lists three benefits of reading the bible with someone:

1. Reading the Bible together can protect us from becoming self-absorbed (we don't spend the whole time talking about ourselves)
2. Reading the Bible together can protect us for favouritism (we can meet with people we don't know very well)
3. Reading the Bible together can give us the priceless treasure of a friendship that has been enriched by God's word

And don't think by the title of that article, one to one ministry is only for women, most of the rest of the issue talks about men meeting together.


There is also a very helpful article by Col Marshall for those considering full-time ministry and the importance of doing a ministry apprenticeship before having theological training. Some of his reasons include:

• apprentices learn to integrate Word, life and ministry practice
• apprentices are tested in character
• apprentices are well-prepared for theological study (a point Husband & I would definitely agree with, have not done a apprenticeship and having gone straight to college. The people who had done a MAP/MTS program were more aware of the issues of ministry as they studied and the questions they needed to answer for ministry)
• apprentices learn ministry in the real world
• and a few more...

Worth getting your hands on if you thinking through such things...


I can email a copy of the eBriefing to any one who is interested (which is allowable under the copyright requirements). Leave a comment with your details (I will not publish it!) and I'll send it to you.

Children's Book - How Big is a Pig?

How Big is a Pig?, Clare Beaton

We discovered this toddler book on recommendation from a friend, and then spotting it at the library. It is a book of opposites, but what is brilliant about it are the illustrations - hopefully you can see in enough detail in the picture - they are felt pictures, all sewn together.



It's such a lovely way of illustrating, A (2 years) loves it - she loves seeing the different pictures and she even tries to answer the questions:

Some cows are thin; some cows are fat.
But how big is a pig? Can you tell me that?...

Some geese are dirty; some geese are clean.
But how big is a pig? How many have you seen?

This is one of those baby/toddler books that is worth getting!

Respectable Sins - Anxiety & Frustration (Ch 8)

Respectable Sins, Jerry Bridges

Chapter 8 - Anxiety and Frustration

In this chapter Bridges addresses both anxiety and frustration.

Bridges states that anxiety is sin for two reasons:

1. It is a distrust of God. "If I give way to anxiety, I am, in effect, believing that God does not care for me and that He will not take care of me in the particular circumstance that triggers my anxiety of the moment" (p64)

2. It is a lack of acceptance of God's providence in our lives, "we tend to focus on the immediate causes of our anxiety rather than remembering that those immediate causes are under the sovereign control of God." (p64)

He says that we should pray about the situations that cause us anxiety:

it is appropriate to pray for relief and for deliverance from whatever circumstance is triggering our anxiety, but we should always do so with an attitude of acceptance of whatever God's providential will may be and a confidence that, whatever the outcome, God's will is better than our plans or desires (p67)

Bridges briefly looks at worry as well, categorising "worry with more long-term difficult or painful circumstances for which there appear to be no resolution" (p67). His method is still the same though, trust in God and his providential care.

His treatment of frustration is similarly brief, "frustration usually involves being upset or even angry and whatever or whoever is blocking our plans" (p69).

I must say I found this chapter a little too simplistic. Most of the examples in it (eg. planes running late and computers not printing) were a little trite and they downplayed the serious worries, anxieties and frustrations that some people face (although he did refer to one serious type of worry - the long-term care of disabled children).

He finished the chapter with this:

Both anxiety and frustration are sins. They are not to be taken lightly or brushed off as common reactions we have to difficult events in a fallen world. Can you picture Jesus ever being anxious or frustrated? And whatever in our lives is not like Jesus is sin. (p70)

As I read this, I thought - yes, I think they are situations where we see Jesus anxious or frustrated. Surely in the garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus prayed 'for this cup to be taken from me', there is anxiety about what he know he is about to face. He does rely on God's will ('yet not my will, but yours') - however, he was certainly intensely troubled about what he was about to face. (interestingly Bridges did refer to this and Jesus' being anxious on p67, so in some ways has contradicted himself anyway). And there are times when Jesus seems frustrated at people's lack of faith or understanding (Luke 9:41 "O unbelieving and perverse generation,"Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you and put up with you?").

I guess in the end what matters is our response to things, and mostly our responses of anxiety and frustration are because we are not in control of everything and we would really prefer to be so. Even if I found the chapter a little simplistic, I don't think Bridges is giving a simplistic solution. He is right in saying that in all areas of our lives, we must turn to God in prayer and through his word and be willing to let him work according to his will.

And for those of us for whom anxiety is a prominent feature of our personality (and it certainly can be mine), I think it is helpful to ask ourselves why we are anxious: Is it because we want to be in control? Do we not really trust God and his will? Why not? We don't want to be too simple in a statement of "Let go and let God", however for many of us who struggle with anxiety, we probably need to go further towards that sentiment than we have been previously willing to do so.

Some bible verses to remember:

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7) *

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. (Phil 4:6) *

So do not worry, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we drink?' or `What shall we wear?' 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:31-34)

Some things to think about:
1. What causes anxiety and/or frustration for you?
2. Will you pray to God about these things and allow him to work them out according to his will?
3. Can you trust him enough to do so? What prevents you from trusting God?



On Monday: Chapter 9 - Discontentment.


Later note: Please look here to see some further notes regarding anxiety made after this post.


* these will be the two I will try to learn from this chapter

Recipe Meme

Nicole has tagged me on a recipe meme. Oh, the pressure...

Here are the rules:
- Choose one ingredient from her recipe and post a recipe using this ingredient on my blog, linking back to the previous blogs that have posted a recipe.
- Then tag four new people, and we will see how it grows.
- To keep it exciting please post within a week of receiving the tag.

I have selected the chicken from Nicole's recipe, and share with you my chicken casserole recipe, cooked in a slow cooker. I love this meal because it feeds us twice: on the first night as a normal casserole with rice; and on the second night as a pie. I have included both recipes below. (It could be done on the stovetop or in the oven too)

Chicken Casserole
~1.5kgs chicken thighs, cut into pieces
1 onion, chopped
1 packet (250g) short cut bacon, chopped
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup wine (I use rose; white or red is fine, could just use more stock too if preferred)
1 tsp minced garlic
Italian herbs
salt and pepper
4-6 carrots, sliced
~8 mushrooms, sliced
frozen peas
30-40g butter
2 tbsp flour

• fry onion and bacon in olive oil, put in slow cooker
• fry chicken to brown, add to slow cooker
• add stock, wine, herbs, garlic, carrots and mushrooms
• cook on high for 4 hours
• 1 hour before finished, add peas
• 1/2 to 1 hour before finished, mix butter with flour and hot juices, make a paste, then add to casserole (this thickens up the sauce and adds a bit of creaminess)
• serve with rice

Chicken Casserole Pie
1½ sheets frozen short crust pastry, defrosted
2 sheets frozen puff pastry, defrosted
chicken casserole

• blind bake shortcrust pastry in greased pie tin (10-15 mins on 200°C with pastry weights)
• microwave casserole to heat through
• place in pastry shell
• put over 1 sheet of pastry, spray with canola and repeat with other sheet. Fold over pastry at the edges, spray all with canola
• Bake at 200-220°C fan forced for ~40 mins - enough for pastry to brown


I am struggling to figure out who to tag, seeing a number of people I would ask have private blogs...

I will tag Jenny, Sally, Gillian & Tamie. But I will not be offended if you don't continue the meme! Will be a test too, to see if you actually read my blog!

And could anyone enlighten me as to where 'meme' came from???


Photo from stock.xchg

Shopping for Time - Part 1

Shopping for time: How to do it all and not be overwhelmed, by Carolyn Mahaney, Nicole Whitacre, Kristin Chesemore and Janelle Bradshaw

Part 1 of 2

This very helpful little book is written by Carolyn Mahaney and her daughters, also known as the girltalk bloggers. It is <100 pages, very easy to read, and sets up some good principles for how we prioritise things as women. There is a tendency in it to talk in relation to marriage, but it is equally relevant to women of all ages and stages. I found myself reading it realising that it would have been good to think about these things when I was younger, before life got so busy, so that I was more pro-active in those years.

There are 5 key ideas in it, the first two of which I will cover in this post:

1. Rise early. They call this the 5am club. The idea is that you get up early, so that you have time to spend in God's word at the beginning of the day.

When I first read this chapter I really fought against the idea. After all, my youngest is already up at 5:30am and that seems early enough to me. However the more I have thought about it, I have realised that on the days that I am up early on duty (rather than the one who gets to sleep in) these are the days that I am more organised and prepared, both for the morning rush and for the entire day. I have realised that once all my children sleep or stay in their rooms till a normal hour (which I feel is 7am), I am someone who would like to get up early in the morning and get started on things for the day (although I may settle for 6am, rathan than 5!). I don't think personally that I can read the bible or pray effectively early in the morning, but I can certainly get other things done, so I can clear time to spend with God later in the day.

I did have one major hesitation with this suggestion however. I think it is actually a higher priority to have time for my husband in the evenings. If I choose to get up so early that I am exhausted in the evenings, I am actually doing my marriage a disservice.

They were very careful to say there they are not making a law here, and you have to figure out what works for you personally:

The 5am Club is founded on principle rather than practice. The question isn't, "How early do you get up in the morning?" but, "Does your daily schedule reflect your priorities: seeking God at the outset of the day, romancing your husband, and serving your family?' The purpose of getting up early is to make the most important priorities most important (p36)

2. Sit still - sit at Jesus feet, seek him through his word and prayer. The model here is Mary rather than Martha (Luke 10:38-42), and having a willingness to listen to Jesus' teaching, rather than trying to do everything ourselves.

Because of his death of the cross for our sins, we have the privilege to sit at the feet of the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace and to listen to him (Isa 9:6). What marvelous access!

As if it weren't enough to simple bask in his presence, it is here than we receive grace to make the best use of our time. When we seek God through his Word and prayer, we glean wisdom for walking carefully. We obtain guidance for daily decisions. We find peace in the midst of life's whirlwind. We are infused with strength to complete our tasks. (p41-2)

They give helpful tips about how to get started reading God's word more regularly and some resources that one could use. I know I have found the M'Cheyne Bible Reading Plan invaluable for me this year. I have kept to it since I started in May (it's previously unheard of for me to keep to the one same system for 5 months!)

The next 3 tips were extremely helpful and challenging for me, and as they may require a bit more thought, I will post about them next week in Part 2.

Trusting God

Our bible study groups started on Habakkuk this morning. We were studying Hab 1:1-11, looking at the questions Habakkuk asks of God: "why are you not acting to right the injustice of the world?"

How long, O LORD, must I call for help,
but you do not listen?
Or cry out to you, "Violence!"
but you do not save?
3 Why do you make me look at injustice?
Why do you tolerate wrong?
Destruction and violence are before me;
there is strife, and conflict abounds. (Hab 1:2-3)

Then God responds: I am going to act, but in a way you would never have dreamed of - in judgement and in the sending of the Babylonians to invade you:

Look at the nations and watch--
and be utterly amazed.
For I am going to do something in your days
that you would not believe,
even if you were told.
6 I am raising up the Babylonians,
that ruthless and impetuous people,
who sweep across the whole earth
to seize dwelling places not their own. (Hab 1:5-6)

It raises the question of how God acts in the world, using ways we never would have thought of. The speaker, James, asked all of us this insightful question:

Why do we think we can only trust God when we have all the answers?

God acts in surprising ways and ways we would never act, but He is God and He is almighty, all-knowing and all-powerful.

He ended by quoting from a hymn of William Cowper, Light shining out of Darkness - I have included all the words below:

God moves in a mysterious way,
His wonders to perform;
He plants his footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never-failing skill,
He treasures up his bright designs,
And works his sov'reign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take,
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust him for his grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fasts,
Unfolding ev'ry hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flow'r.

Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan his work in vain;
God is his own interpreter,
And he will make it plain.
(sourced from here)

I found it an encouraging reminder of the character of our God in whom we trust.

Respectable Sins - Ungodliness (Ch 7)

Respectable Sins, Jerry Bridges

Chapter 7 - Ungodliness

Now Bridges turns to the first of 14 chapters dealing with so called respectable sins. The first he chooses to tackle is ungodliness.

I first turned to this chapter thinking, what exactly does he mean by ungodliness? Well, he is very clear:

Ungodliness may be defined as living one's everyday life with little or no thought of God, or of God's will, or of God's glory, or of one's dependence on God. (p54)

He stresses that there is a difference between wickedness and ungodliness - you can be a perfectly pleasant person, but still be ungodly.

Now the sad fact is that many of us who are believers tend to live our daily lives with little or no thought of God. We may even read our Bibles and pray for a few minutes at the beginning of each day, but then we go out into the day's activities and basically live as though God doesn't exist. We seldom think of our dependence on God or our responsibility to Him. We might go for hours with no thought of God at all. In that sense we are hardly different from our nice, decent, but unbelieving neighbor. God is not at all in his thoughts and is seldom in ours. (p54)

Bridges then examines what it means to do all to the glory of God:

1. I desire that everything I do be pleasing to God. "I want God to be pleased with the way I go about the ordinary activities of my day" (p57)

2. I desire than all my activities of an ordinary day will honour God before other people. In Matthew 5:16 Jesus says, "In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

Bridges identifies another mark of ungodliness as having only a meagre desire to have a personal relationship with God:

A person man be moral and upright, or even busy in Christian service, yet have little or no desire to develop an intimate relationship with God...For the godly person, God is the center and focal point of his or her life...However, such a God-centredness can only be developed in the context of an ever growing intimate relationship with God. (p58)

So, then asks Bridges - what do we do?

Our goal in the pursuit of godliness should be to grow more in our conscious awareness that every moment of our lives is lived in the presence of God; that we are responsible to Him and dependent on Him. This goal would include a growing desire to please Him and glorify Him in the most ordinary activities of life. (p60)

I found this chapter a very helpful starting point in thinking about specific sins. Ungodliness overarches all sin - for if we were living our lives fully aware of God's presence, how many other sins would we take more care to control? It is our desire to ignore God and pretend he is not there, that enables us to continue to sin in abandon.

Some of the bible verses that he referred to that I found helpful are:

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. (1 Cor 10:31)*

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men (Col 3:23)*

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10 And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God (Col 1:9-10)

O God, you are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water. (Psalm 63:1)

Some things to think about:
1. Did Bridges' definition of ungodliness resonate with you?
2. How do you think you are going at keeping God at the centre all of the time?
3. Are you encouraged to spend more time strengthening your personal relationship with God? What do you need to change to enable that to happen?



On Friday: Ch 8 - Anxiety and frustration


* these will be the two I will try to learn from this chapter

All bible references here and throughout this blog are NIV.

Children's Authors - Alison Lester

This week's author is prolific author and illustrator Alison Lester - yet another talented Australian.

She has a great series based around 7 children. We have enjoyed When Frank Was Four, Celeste Sails to Spain, Ernie Dances to the Didgeridoo & Tessa Snaps Snakes.

These ones have appealed between ages 2-6. Children like to see what happens to each child and how they are different.

When Frank Was Four goes through each age and what each child did:

When Frank was four, he ate three packets of fruity fish.
Nicky cut off her plait.
Tessa dressed up the cat.
Ernie started to wear glasses.
Clive took off his training wheels.
And Rosie's pony arrived on Christmas morning.
But Celeste danced in her first ballet and received a standing ovation.

Others of the series talk about what each child likes, or what their adventures were, or where they have been - it's just lovely.


Lester also has written and illustrated Are we there yet? which is the story of their family trip of around Australia. This one is better for older kids (4+) as it requires some attention to read it through, but it is a treat.

It says on the inside flap of this book that it took a decade to reach publication - you can understand why considering all the illustrations - but it was worth it!




Another one which we have just found at the library is Imagine. Children are pretending to be in different parts of the world, and then there is a detailed scene showing all the animals that would be there. There is a key at the back to help you find them all correctly - for kids that are interested in animals this would be a winner. Younger children (2-4) will like looking at the pictures, but older children will be keen to try to find and name all the animals correctly. And if the illustrations for Are we there yet? took a long time, I cannot imagine how long these took!



She obviously has a real sense of the imagination that children have, as many of her books emphasise that. I'm Green and I'm Grumpy! is all about a game of dress-ups and what everyone wants to pretend to be. The illustrations show so well the ways that kids can make anything around the house into a toy or dress-up. The ending is lovely too!





However, in my opinion, I have saved the best for last - Magic Beach. Again, based around imagination, she talks times at the beach and then the ways kids can turn it into an imaginary adventure:

At our beach,
at our magic beach,
we play in the sand for hours,
digging and building,
with buckets and spade,
invincible castles and towers.
(illustration is a normal beach scene)

The king and the queen are trapped in the moat
a dragon is spitting out flames.
Princess Belinda is charging the beast
to rescue little Prince James.
(illustration is the imaginary scene)

This is a truly wonderful book, the poetry flows beautifully and the illustrations are fantastic. This book was our first introduction to Alison Lester, and now we get whatever we can find of hers whenever we are at the library.



All images copyright ©Alison Lester 2008 and sourced from her website.

Respectable Sins - ch 6

Respectable Sins, Jerry Bridges

Chapter 6 - Directions for Dealing with Sins

Having read through chapters 1 - 5, looking at how sin is so prevalent and serious in our lives and that Jesus' death has won our forgiveness, Bridges now takes us through a suggested method for dealing with our sins. I will outline his steps in some detail:

1. We should always address our sin in the context of the gospel. We must remember that "our sins are forgiven and we are accepted as righteous by God because of both the sinless life and sin-bearing death of our Lord Jesus Christ" (p48)

I wonder, does this truth resonate with you? Do you truly desire to change because of what God has already done in Christ through you? Or are you more tempted to rely only on God's grace, taking his forgiveness a little for granted and being less inclined to change? This reminds me of Romans 6:

What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning, so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?...
In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal bodies so that you obey its evil desires...For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. (Rom 6:1-2, 11-12, 14)

2. We must learn to rely on the enabling power of the Holy Spirit. We must cultivate an attitude of continual dependence on the Holy Spirit.

3. Recognise our responsibility to pursue all practical steps for dealing with our sins. This must be balanced with relying on the Holy Spirit.

Are you more likely to reply on the Spirit or on your own power?

4. Identify specific areas of sin. Be open and be honest. As we read the chapters over coming weeks, some are sure to resonate with you more than others. Be prepared to face them.

5. Memorise and apply appropriate scriptures. As Psalm 119:11 says: "I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you".

I have always liked the idea of memorising verses, but have never been very good at it. Perhaps I can try a little harder through this book!

6. Cultivate the practice of prayer. We must be willing to pray both in a planned way about our sins and struggles, but also spontaneously when we are in a situation that triggers sin.

I was a little surprised here that he does not use the language of confession. He talks about acknowledging our sins in prayer, which in giving the benefit of the doubt may be what he means. But I wonder if a list of bible verses to encourage one to confess sin, followed by those which show God's forgiveness would also be appropriate. Some that spring to mind would be Psalm 51:1-5:

1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are proved right when you speak
and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

and Romans 3:10-18

10 As it is written:
"There is no one righteous, not even one;
11 there is no one who understands,
no one who seeks God.
12 All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one."
13 "Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit."
"The poison of vipers is on their lips."
14 "Their mouths are full of cursing and
bitterness."
15 "Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 ruin and misery mark their ways,
17 and the way of peace they do not know."
18 "There is no fear of God before their
eyes."

Of course, it is appropriate after such confession of sin, to rejoice in the forgiveness of God. But surely it is still appropriate to confess.

7. Involve one or a few other believers in our struggles. A relationship that has mutual vulnerability and accountability to one another with openness and prayer, can be of great help in combating sin.

There is real value in cultivating a relationship where this type of honesty can occur. They are hard to do, but well worth it.


Things to think about:
1. Do you agree with these steps?
2. Which of these steps would you be tempted to skip? Why?


On Monday, Chapter 7 - Ungodliness

Jane Saunders CD

On the recommendations made in both Nicole's and Jean's reviews, I made an impromptu purchase at Koorong recently - the Jane Saunders In His Hands CD.  And like them, I love it.

The music is elegant, the words are clear and the message in them is both inspiring and encouraging. The kids really like it too, especially Little Lamb which talks about a little girl's conversion (hers?):

Little lamb she hears a song
She's seven and she sings along
The words just keep on spinning
through her mind
Later on that very day
In a precious deep and simple way
She calls to Jesus come into my life.

Chorus:
Throw the gates of heaven open
Sing you angels sing
Little lamb was lost, but now
she's coming in
She's coming in to Jesus...

My 6  & 4 year olds have already learnt all the words to this song and to most of the others too, and they have also asked questions about the words and what they mean - what a great opportunity!

Some of the songs (including Little Lamb) are written by Colin Buchanan, and you can almost imagine his voice singing them too, they are a very similar style (to his adult music!).

Another song I really like is "All my tears", which has sort of a calypso feel (I am shocking at categorising music, so this could be wrong!). I suspect it is a traditional song which she has redone, the lyrics  (by Julie Miller) I love, as well as the tune...

When I go don't cry for me
In my father's arms I'll be
The wounds this world left on my soul
Will all be healed and I'll be whole

Sun and moon will be replaced
With the light of Jesus' face
And I will not be afraid
For my Saviour knows my name

Chorus
It don't matter where you bury me
I'll be home and I'll be free
It don't matter where I lay
All my tears be washed away.

Have a look at her website and her myspace page and listen to the sample tracks - perhaps you also will be tempted to make an impromptu purchase!

Respectable Sins - ch 1-5

Respectable Sins, Jerry Bridges - ch 1-5

Welcome to this new series!

These first 5 chapters of the book helpfully introduce the idea of 'respectable' sins - those we tend to worry less about as Christians because we ignore or tolerate them. Of course the whole point is that sin is sin, and we must be prepared to have the word of God move in us in every area of our lives.

Chapter 1: Ordinary Saints. Bridges looks at how Christians, all Christians, can be described as saints, meaning that we are set apart by God.

In the biblical sense of the term, sainthood is not a status of achievement and character but a state of being — an entirely new condition of life brought about by the Spirit of God. Paul describes it as “[turning] from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God” (Acts 26:18) and again as having been “delivered . . . from the domain of darkness and transferred . . . to the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Colossians 1:13)... (p14)

He then goes on to speak about how even though we are set apart by God, we still struggle in the flesh with sin:

The Bible has a word for conduct unbecoming a saint. It is sin. And just as “conduct unbecoming an officer” covers a wide range of misconduct, so the word sin covers a wide range of misbehavior. It covers everything from gossip to adultery, from impatience to murder. Obviously, there are degrees of seriousness of sin. But in the final analysis, sin is sin. It is conduct unbecoming a saint. (p16)

In Chapter 2: The Disappearance of Sin, Bridges talks about how the idea of sin is almost completely absent from society and in most churches. Not only that, but even in evangelical churches, where the idea of sin remains,

it has, in many instances, been deflected to those outside our circles who commit flagrant sins... It's easy for us to condemn those obvious sins while virtually ignoring our own sins of gossip, pride, envy, bitterness, and lust, or even our lack of those gracious qualities that Paul calls the fruit of the Spirit (p19)...

The result, then, is that for many morally upright believers, the awareness of personal sin has effectively disappeared from their consciences. But it has not disappeared from the sight of God. (p 22)

This is quite a challenge. To see how quickly we can judge outsiders for their actions, but rarely turn the examination around to include ourselves.


In Chapter 3: The Malignancy of Sin, Bridges addresses how serious sin really is.

It does not matter whether our sin is scandalous or respectable, all our sin is sinful, only sinful and altogether sinful. Whether it is large or small in our eyes, it is heinous in the sight of God. God forgives our sin because of the shed blood of Christ, but He does not tolerate it. Instead, every sin that we commit, even the subtle sin that we don't even think about, was laid upon Christ as He bore the curse of God in our place. And herein lies chiefly the malignancy of sin. Christ suffered because of our sins. (p30)

In Chapter 4: The Remedy for Sin, Bridges now brings the gospel to bear on sin. In everything - facing sin, admitting to sin and being willing to address sin - we must always have the gospel as the focus.

• we must remember the gospel is for sinners, and we are still sinners - we still need the gospel
• the gospel also frees me to face my sin, for I have the assurance that my sin is forgiven
• the gospel motivates and energizes me to deal with my sin, we must 'put it to death'
• the assurance we receive in the gospel 1) assures me that God is for me, not against me and 2) gives me a great gratitude for what he had done and is doing for me through Christ. This gratitude helps us to desire to deal with sin. (from pp 34-6).
  

He recommends the practice of 'preaching the gospel to yourself every day', and gives a list of bible verses which one could use to encourage themselves with the promise of God's forgiveness for the repentant sinner.

I like this chapter - he encourages us to be honest and face our sins, but all in the light of the grace of God, by which we have been forgiven.


In Chapter 5: The Power of the Holy Spirit, Bridges now turns to the way the Holy Spirit can free us from the power of sin. He coins the term 'dependent responsibility':

that is, we are responsible before God, to obey His Word, to put to death the sins in our lives, both the so-called acceptable sins and the obviously not acceptable ones. At the same time, we do not have the ability within ourselves to carry out this responsibility. We are in fact totally dependent upon the enabling power of the Holy Spirit. In this sense, we are both responsible and dependent. (p41).

Bridges speaks of a number of ways in which the Holy Spirit may work in us:

• to bring us conviction of sin, opening our eyes to see areas of sin in our lives
• to enable us and empower us to deal with our sin
• He even works without our conscious involvement - even on our darkest days, we can know that the Spirit is still working within us.
• by bringing into our lives circumstance that are designed to cause us to grow spiritually: "if we are prone to sinful anger, there will be circumstances that trigger our anger" (pp 42-44)

He finishes the chapter with these encouraging words:

Remember, Christ has already paid the penalty for our sins and won for us the forgiveness of them. And then He has sent His Holy Spirit to live within us to enable us to deal with them. (p45).

I like how Bridges has done these chapters, he has pointed out that we are still sinful and that sin still reigns on this earth, and he has pointed out how serious it is. However, he has not left us without hope - the reminder that Jesus Christ died to pay the penalty for our sins, and that the Spirit dwells within us.


Things to think about:
1. Do you agree that society has generally forgotten about or ignored the existence of sin?
2. Do you struggle to believe that sin is really so bad?
3. Which 'large' sins do you quickly find in others?
4. What 'respectable' sins do you ignore in yourself?
5. What bible verses could you choose to remind yourself of the gospel & that the Spirit dwells within you?


This post turned out to be quite long, so I will do chapter 6 separately on Friday!

Children's Authors - Allan (& Janet) Ahlberg

Allan & Janet Ahlberg, a married author-illustrator team, produced some beautiful books together in the 1970s & 80s, which continue to be popular with children and parents today.

The two we know and love are Peepo and Each Peach Pear Plum.

Peepo, a book for babies, plays on the idea of I Spy, with each page showing a baby at different points throughout the day and what he sees:

Here's a little baby
One, two, three,
Stands in his cot
What does he see? PEEPO! (turn the page)

He sees his father sleeping
In the big brass bed
And his mother too
With a hairnet on her head.
He see the shadows moving
On the bedroom wall
And the sun at the window
And his teddy
and his ball.

It is just delightful, the rhythm of the words fit perfectly and the illustrations are beautiful and full of detail. They are set in post-war Britain (in fact, Allan has stated that he is the Peepo baby - it is based on his childhood)*. As time goes on, some of the features of the illustrations are harder to relate to (eg - "his father in the doorway, with a bucketful of coal"), but babies and toddlers will never know. We only discovered this book with our second when she was a baby and I bought it when we had Miss 2 - we read it all the time, and she says "Peepo" in all the right places! I think this is my favourite baby book.

Even more closely linked to I Spy is Each Peach Pear Plum. Here they have taken all of the nursery rhyme characters and put them together in one book, and from page to page you have to find the next character:

Each Peach Pear Plum
I spy Tom Thumb. (over page)

Tom Thumb in the cupboard
I spy Mother Hubbard

Again the illustrations are beautiful and you can have fun finding the person hiding in each picture.

Great books.




* From the Penguin books website

Craft time

We were inspired by the Play School craft this morning and so we copied it - paper plate animals. They fit all my key criteria for craft - no glue, no paint and quick! We made pigs: A family of hens or ducks depending on your mood... A sheep and a toddler version of a cat... A horse
It was easy, fun and the kids loved them.

Kids CDs

We have recently discovered the two Justine Clarke children's CDs. If you are like me (with young children and lots of time in the car), you tire quickly of endless Wiggles, Colin Buchanan and Play School CDs. I like them all, but can only hear them so often, so it's nice to have some variety.

These two CDs are good ones to add in to the collection. They are fun songs, easy to sing-along to and have some very catchy tunes.

A lot of these songs are also being sung on Play School at the moment, so the kids get excited when they hear them there too.

Don't you notice the massive difference though between the subject matter of Christian kids CDs vs secular ones?

For example, Colin Buchanan has some really complex theological ideas in his songs, but they are presented in a way that is easy to learn and understand. On the other hand, secular kids CDs have pretty much a set range of subjects - colours, numbers, rainbows, animals, food and the weather! It's nice to have both - but I can definitely only handle so much, and then 'Mummy's music' gets some more airtime!

Respectable Sins

I think it's time for a new book series!

So, I am going to spend some time looking at Respectable Sins, by Jerry Bridges:

Have Christians become so preoccupied with the major sins of our society that we have lost sight of our need to deal with our own more subtle sins? Jerry Bridges returns to his trademark theme of holiness and addresses a dozen clusters of specific “acceptable” sins that we tend to tolerate in ourselves - such as jealousy, anger, pride, unthankfulness, and judgmentalism. (from the back cover)

I have only just started it myself, but it promises to be a journey requiring some serious self-examination, repentance and change.

If you would like to join me, get your hands on a copy and we'll read through it together.

Next week I'll look at chapters 1-6 as a unit, as they address sin and how we view it, before he gets to specific sins. Don't be put off with the idea of 6 chapters, it's a quick read!

Chapter 1 can be downloaded here.

Children's Authors - Lynley Dodd

Can you tell from the books I review that our family really like the rhyming ones!

Lynley Dodd, a prolific author and illustrator from New Zealand has delighted our kids with her clever rhymes and funny animals.

One of her more famous series are about little dog, Hairy Maclary and the mischief he gets up to. Our favourite has probably been Hairy Maclary and Zachary Quack, so much so that Miss 3 could recite whole parts of it:

It was drowsily warm,
with dozens of bees
lazily buzzing through flowers and trees.
Hairy Maclary decided to choose
a space in the shade
for his afternoon
snooze.
He dozily dreamed
as he lay on his back
when...
pittery pattery,
skittery scattery
ZIP
round the corner
came
Zachary Quack.

She has a lovely way of repeating the same phrases through a book, so children through repetition learn the words and when to say them.

She has other dog characters too - we quite like Schnitzel von Krumm.

Dodd also has a few cat series, one of which is Slinky Malinki:

Slinky Malinki
was blacker than black,
a stalking and lurking
adventurous cat.
He had bright yellow eyes,
a warbling wail
and a kink at the end
of his very long tail.

And in Open the Door - Slinky Malinki and Stickybeak Syd (a budgie?), explore a house by opening doors, leaving mayhem behind them.

There is even a Christmas book with Slinky Malinki: Christmas Crackers - showing how he attacks the Christmas tree. It's fun reading at Christmas time.

Another thing I love about these books is that Dodd does not hesitate to use big words, and she uses a wide range of adjectives to describe things, so the amount of new vocabulary in a book can be huge, but it is introduced through such clever rhyme and clear illustrations that children quickly pick up the meaning.


Besides all of these excellent books about recognisable animals, she also has range of books about pretend animals. There is a real likeness to Dr Seuss with the use of imaginary animals and made-up language.

In The Nickle Nackle Tree, a counting book from 1-14, the tree is full of wild and wonderful birds:

In the Manglemunching Forest there's a Nickle Nackle tree,
Growing Nickle Nackle berries that are red as red can be.
I went to look last Monday; I was too surprised for words
- On every twisty branch there was a jumbly jam of birds.

One Ballyhoo bird, kicking up a din,

Two squawking Scritchet birds with legs so twiggy thin...

A quick search of the web suggests that Dodd has at least 30 books published, and they are easy to get in libraries (in Australia at least).

If you haven't come across them yet with your kids, get some - you are in for a treat!

Reading, not writing

Things have been a little silent here of late.

The main reason is because I am reading lots of books, rather than writing about them!

I'll be back soon with their reviews...




Photo from stock.xchng

My seventh monsoon

Book Review: My Seventh Monsoon, Naomi Reed

This very powerful book, written by Sydney woman Naomi Reed charts her and her husband's decision to serve God as physiotherapist cross-cultural workers in Nepal over 15 years. She picks up around 1991, where they were first challenged to consider working overseas and follows their decision to go to Nepal as a young married couple, return to Sydney and then go again to Nepal some years later, this time with three young boys. It charts the decisions they made and the realities of life which presented some interesting and difficult times. To quote her from the back of the book:

The seventh monsoon...was the hardest of them all. I sat of the back porch of our Himalayan home and stared as the rain streamed down all around me. I had never felt so hemmed in - by the constant rain, by the effects of the civil war and by the demands of home-school. As I sat there and listened to the pounding on our tin roof, I wondered whether I would make it through. I wondered whether I would cope with another 120 days of rain. And in doing so, I began to long for another season...

She structures the book around 'seasons' - noting how all people face different seasons in their lives, including those of hope, adjustment, expectancy, longing, grief, distraction and thanks; and how God works through all of these seasons. He is there through the hard times and the seemingly easy times - sometimes as comfort, sometimes challenging us to new and hard things, sometimes caring for us in the difficulties and grief that life brings, and sometimes spurring us on in the faith.

I found this to be an incredibly encouraging and challenging read. Naomi has an ability to be able to look back and see God's hand working over time, and as she takes you on that journey with her, you also can see the amazing work of God in all things. It is a journey that covers some wonderful excitements and highs, but also some dreadful griefs and I found myself in tears at some points. She has been extraordinarily open in this book, which is a real gift to the reader.

Obviously, considering the content, it is a book strongly supporting mission. One of the real strengths though was that it never had a feel of superiority - the "we went on the mission field and you didn't" subtext. She acknowledges the challenges for those 'back here', and the reality that things such as parenting are challenging wherever you do them, albeit perhaps for different reasons. This was the reason I found it challenging - she didn't cause feelings of guilt, but rather a challenge to myself to reconsider our own choices and goals.

I won't go into more detail because I think you should read it for yourself!

At home and not happy - pt 2

A few weeks ago, I had a post about an article in Adelaide's Child, written by a woman who struggles being at home, and was quite honest about it. I didn't emphasise it in my post, but she was quite negative about her husband and the help she receives from him. Jenny has noted a reply in this month's Child magazine, by a man who noted that his wife's similar attitude ended being a catalyst for the end of their marriage.

If I went away on a business trip, it was labeled a 'junket' or 'holiday... House tasks were done by her before I'd even noticed they needed to be done, then I was resented for not doing them. The tension increased steadily, and I started drinking regularly to escape. I was told most days about my lack of contribution, about how easy my life was in comparison to hers, about my ever-growing list of inadequacies. One day, after three years, I couldn't take it anymore ... so I walked out... Our marriage ended on that day, despite subsequent attempts to renegotiate behaviours...

So my advice to those unhappy stay-at-home parents - male or female - is to mentally reframe your situation in a more positive light, and stop thinking it's all about you...It is temporary and will pass, and you'll get your life back. You wanted kids, and this all goes with the territory - don't damage or destroy your relationship because of a temporary situation. And don't forget your partner...

It's a letter that's as open and honest as the original article was, with some helpful counters to it.

As Jenny says, it is certainly a challenge to those of us who are tempted to complain, to realise that our husbands are not the enemy. And (by the way) neither are the kids!

Fifty reasons why Jesus came to die

Book review: Fifty reasons why Jesus came to die, John Piper

I discovered this book around Easter time, when a fellow blogger suggested reading itin the lead up to Easter. I decided to give it a go. I started the week before Easter, and read one 'reason' after each time I read my bible. It took a bit more than 50 days, but not too much more!

It was great. If you are like me you may struggle to articulate 10 reasons why Jesus died, let alone 50! However each one made me see afresh another part of Jesus' death, why it was essential and why I can be so thankful for his sacrifice.

Each reason is only 2 pages long - one open spread (you can see a sample, and download the whole book for free from here). So it could be tempting to read the whole book quite quickly, as the whole book is pretty short. However, I really benefitted from reading only one reason per day. It helped me to focus on that one reason alone and think about it a little more. Another thing which I personally found very helpful was to 'rewrite' the reason in my own words in one sentence. It helped me to clarify my own thoughts on each one.

I found the whole book very helpful, but here are a few highlights:

1. Reasons 9 & 10 - summarised by me as '9 - so that we can be forgiven' and '10 - so that we can be justified'. Now these are two truths I know and trust in. But reading them one day after the other pointed out that:
- being forgiven means that something needs to be forgiven - we are guilty
- being justified declares that someone is just - declared innocent

As Piper put it

Being forgiven implies that I am guilty and my crime is not counted. Being justified implies that I have been tried and found innocent (p38)

I appreciated the two being contrasted so clearly, to me it just highlighted again what Jesus did on the cross, we are both forgiven and justified. Not one or the other, but both. Without going into a theological treatise - perhaps one or the other would have been enough - but Jesus accomplished both.

2. Reason 22 - To bring us to God. Piper explains how the gospel means good news, then asks,

But what is the ultimate good in the good news? It all ends in one thing: God himself. All the words of the gospel lead to him, or they are not gospel. For example, salvation is not good news if it only saves from hell and not for God. Forgiveness is not good news if it only gives relief from guilt and doesn’t open the way to God. Justification is not good news if it only makes us legally acceptable to God but doesn’t bring fellowship with God. Redemption is not good news if it only liberates us from bondage but doesn’t bring us to God. Adoption is not good news if it only puts us in the Father’s family but not in his arms. (p22)

This really struck me - it all has to lead to God, or it goes nowhere.

3. Reason 27 - to become a sympathetic and helpful priest. Piper makes a helpful point here about temptation and how Jesus understands it:

Christ was tempted like every human is tempted. True, he never sinned. But wise people have pointed out that this means his temptations were stronger than ours, not weaker. If a person gives in to temptation, it never reaches its fullest and longest assault. We capitulate while the pressure is still building. But Jesus never did. So he endured the full pressure to the end and never caved. He knows what it is to be tempted with fullest force. (p72)

Jesus does understand our struggles and our temptations, as Hebrews 4:15-16 makes clear:

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

4. Reason 39 - To free us from bondage to the fear of death. This chapter had some powerful comments about Satan:

The one lethal weapon he has is the power to deceive us. His chief lie is that self-exaltation is more to be desired than Christ-exaltation, and sin preferable to righteousness. If that weapon could be taken out of his hand, he would no longer have the power of eternal death.

That is what Christ came to do - take that weapon out of Satan's hand. To do this, Christ took our sins on himself and suffered for them. When that happened, they could be used no more by the devil to destroy us. Taunt us? Yes. Mock us? Yes. But damn us? No. Christ bore the curse in our place. Try as he will, Satan cannot destroy us. The wrath of God is removed. His mercy is our shield. And Satan cannot succeed against us. (p96-7)

5. Reason 49 - So that he would be crowned with glory and honour. Piper lifts our eyes to see that Jesus died for his glory, not for ours:

Our happiest moments have not been self-saturated moments, but self-forgetful moments. There have been times when we stood beside the Grand Canyon, or at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro, or viewed a stunning sunset over the Sahara, and for a fleeting moment felt the joy of sheer wonder. This is what we were made for. Paradise will not be a hall of mirrors. It will be a display of majesty. And it won’t be ours. (p117)

The only thing that felt odd to me in this book was the introduction, titled "Christ and the Concentration Camps", where he addresses some issues related to the holocaust and Jesus' death. It seemed like a strange way to introduce a book. I suspect Piper is dealing with some issue here for a reason, but I don't really know what the issue is, so it felt a little out of place. I wondered if it would have been better as an appendix.


This book is well worth reading, and reading well.