It is well

“As for myself, I am every way well, all glory to God. I was before at a plea with Christ (but it was brought by me, and unlawful), because His whole providence was not yet yea and nay to my yea and nay, and because I believed Christ’s outward look better than His faithful promise. Yet He hath in patience waited on, while I be come to myself, and hath not taken advantage of my weak apprehensions of His goodness. Great and holy is His name! He looketh to what I desire to be, and not to what I am.”

                                                                                                                                            The Letters of Samuel Rutherford

 

Brown Mercy

The girls had such a good time yesterday making gift bags that they weren’t quite watching Mercy like they should have. In the interest of modesty we decided not to post a picture of Mercy in her ********* so you’ll just have to take my word for it. She painted her whole stomach & thighs before moving onto her feet.

“Mercy, why did you paint yourself?” “So I could be the color of Si-si”

Oky-dok. Maybe if Siah could talk he would have told me last week that the reason he climbed all the way into the flour bucket was “so he could be the color of Mer-mer”

What will we do with two of them? As Les says, Mercy was a terrible twosome all by herself!

 

Awake. Hold me Jesus.

Been awake for a few hours now. Praying, thinking, remembering. “Carrying you to Jesus”. Sometimes there just aren’t words. We want words, we use alot of words at the Riley house, but sometimes there just aren’t words and that’s a good thing.

So many are struggling now. We must pray. We must.

“Satan is not cast out but by fasting and prayer, I entreat you to remember our estate to our Lord, and entreat all good Christians whom ye know, but especially your pastor, to do the same. It becomes us still to knock, and to lie at the Lords door, until we die knocking. If He will not open, it is more than He said in His word. But He is faithful. I look not to win away to my home without wounds and blood. Welcome, welcome cross of Christ, if Christ be with it.”

                                                                                                                             Samuel Rutherford- letter # 8 (Wrestling with God)

This week I beheld someone fearfully and wonderfully made. And he was beautiful.

 

Continuing the theme

Because my husband does not put radical, controversial things on his blog. (Probably because he’s so moderate)  Actually, this should not be radical but I’m making a prediction that the comment box over at C.T. will be busy.

This is in response to “The Case for Early Marriage”

An Ocean of Sorrow

BTW- this should, in no way , be taken for an endorsement of said magazine.

 

Hello, my name is Christy and I am a hypocrite.

Sigh….Facebook

“I own that”

 

For Meagan

Cause I love you girl & you’re a GREAT mommy!

Who’s Meagan? Meagan is a sweet friend with three little darlings underfoot. She stopped by yesterday & it always blesses me to watch her care for her children. It’s been a long time but I can still remember when I had all “helpless” and no “helpers”. I just wanted to encourage her & say what a beautiful woman she is.

 

Boys will be boys

Why, O why does my daughter read things on the web that irritate her so? She was ranting about…er, meekly & quietly discussing an article she read on Boundless- actually it was the comments that got her so passionate. It was about stay at home wives but I’ll let her tell about it on her blog.

So anyway. I was trying to encourage her when her brothers entered the room.

It went something like this:
Mom: Trey, do you want your wife to work before you have children?
Trey: Oh yeah! I want her to work like a dog!
Mom: I mean outside the home.
Trey: Yeah, I want the yard kept up too.
It went downhill from there. Something about milking cows & fixing fences…..
It’s probably good that I can’t remember any of Jacob’s running commentary.

Sic ‘em ladies! ;o)

 

Calvin on a full quiver

Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. as arrows in the hands of a mighty warrior; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.      Psalm 127: 3,4,5

“The fruitfulness even of the lower animals is expressly ascribed to God alone; and if he would have it to be accounted to his benifit that cows, and sheep, and mares conceive, how inexcusable will be the impiety of men,if when he adorns them with the honorable title of fathers, they account this favor as nothing”

“Unless men regard their children as the gift of God, they are careless and reluctant in providing for their support, just as on the other hand this knowledge contributes in a very eminent degree to encourage them in bringing up their offspring. Further, he who thus reflects  upon the goodness of God in giving him children, will readily and with a settled mind look for the continuance of God’s grace; and although he may have but a small inheritance to leave them, he will not be unduly careful on that account.”

John Calvin on Psalm 127

“Children are God’s gifts, a heritage, and a reward; and are to be accounted blessings, and not burdens: he who sends mouths, will send meat, if we trust him.”                  Matthew Henry

These quotes came from Voddie Baucham’s book What He Must Be…if he wants to marry my daughter, chapter 7- he must be committed to children. I have been giving it another look & still highly recommend it.

My first impressions of What He Must Be.

 

Say Yes. What are you waiting for?

Humm…Pretty good article on early marriage from The Washington Post. Interesting considering the conversations that have been going on at church & home  lately.

Marriage actually works best as a formative institution, not an institution you enter once you think you’re fully formed. We learn marriage, just as we learn language, and to the teachable, some lessons just come easier earlier in life.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/24/AR2009042402122.html

 

News from a distant land

Friends, Pontotocans, Foreigners, It has been kinda lonely since we dropped the group off at the airport at about eight Thursday night. For most of the time that we have been home the power has been off, so this is the first chance i have had since- whenever I wrote my last email. But yesterday we went to Yosies for lunch. It was the first time for Rebeker and I in an Ethiopian home. It was a good place to start, because we cannot offend Yosie by doing something wrong. Of course Mr.A could not anyway, because, people here say, he is Ethiopian. I think I want to be Ethiopian too. The people here are the most courteous people that I have ever met (despite the way they drive). And the culture (did you ka-no that some places in the world have those?) is like, way cool. I am learning a few things about it. I have been asking Mr. A about things that I see Ethiopians do, some of the things came in handy when we went into an Ethiopian home. After we left Yosies at about four, we dropped Mr. A off at a friends house, and Yosie drove R. and I back to Joes. We read a little, then did Greek language studies with Joe for about an hour. Then it was getting dark, so since the power was out we lit the candles, and Joe got out his guitar and sang oldies till Mr. A got back. then we all sat around and waited for the power to come back on until 10:15 at which point we gave up and went to bed. this morning I got up, and got on the computer.

Celebrating a simple life,

Trey