A Proverb for Bloggers

Proverbs 10:19

"In the multitude of words, sin is not lacking, But he who restrains his lips is wise."

I started thinking about this rich little proverb today. I am, by nature, a person who hardly ever lacks a multitude of words. Believe me, I'm much better at letting the other guy get a word in edgewise than I used to be. But still, if I don't consciously restrain myself, I will fill up all the air in a room with my own words. So, naturally, this blunt little proverb is one that I need to remember. Pretty much all the time. (And for any of you who happen to be in my Sunday School class, I should probably have read this proverb to myself 10 times last week. Sheesh. Sorry about that.)

But it has relevence for all of you, my fellow bloggers, as well. You see, as delightful and amazing as this whole blogging thing is, it is also rife with potential pitfalls. It is far too easy to get online and spout off about something or someone without fully appreciating the consequences our little catharsis might have.

Perhaps you are disgrutled with a friend or family member and it motivates you to blog. Naturally, you change the names and personal details so that your subject can't identify herself in your post. Or so you think...

Or, you hear a cautionary tale about a friend of a friend and you think it would make a great post. You can't imagine that this friend of a friend might ever stumble upon your blog, say, two years later, and find their story advertised to the entire world. Never mind that your friend probably didn't authorize you to spill the beans to begin with.

Maybe you write a funny story about your spouse. It sure does crack up all of your friends! But your spouse isn't nearly as amused, and 3 of your friends have already read it by the time you delete the post. There is no taking it back.

And perhaps the worst offense of all is blogging about a matter that is best dealt with quietly, and only between the two people involved. Why share the details of your dispute with cyberspace?

We would all be wise, my blogging friends, to use great caution when we participate in this amazing blogging technology. Because, where there is a multitude of words, sin is present. And more than likely, were there is a multitude of blog posts, sin is hanging around someplace close by.

I share this caution as one who has been bitten by blogging indiscretion. I've had to go back and delete some old posts myself.

Gluttons

I realize that the name of this post is somewhat ironic, considering that I am writing this the day after Thanksgiving. And I'll be the first to confess that I made a glutton of myself yesterday at Thanksgiving dinner--and enjoyed it a great deal!

But I am not thinking of gluttony as it relates to food for the purposes of this post. I am thinking in a much broader sense about our consumer culture and our insatiable quest for more, more, more. There is just no end to it: more clothes, bigger houses, fancier cars, better food, exciting vacations, upscale name brands, electronic gadgets, stylish haircuts, youthful skin, whiter teeth...

The list is endless. And every time I turn around, my lust for more is being fueled by the monolithic and pervasive god of marketing. Before I even have the chance to figure out that I am backward, unattractive and uncouth, the sly marketer has whispered it in my ear, all the while patting me on the back and offering to solve my woes for a small price. Or sometimes, for a very large price. But make no mistake. His solution is temporary. And he knows that no matter what the initial dose cost, I am likely to return again and again, seeking to be made cutting-edge, beautiful and elegant all over again.

Like I said, there is just no end to it.

Today, I read a scathing commentary on the greed that is so pervasive in our American culture. And I was cut to the bone by the truth of it. The commentary was part of an email devotional series that I subscribe to. As soon as I finished reading it, I glanced at the rest of the email waiting in my inbox. At least a dozen of them promised great deals and "secret" sales on things that I quite frankly don't need. The juxtaposition of the two got my attention.

Now, don't get me wrong here. Wealth is not evil. Money and things and even luxury are not bad in and of themselves. But they are not necessarily good either. Jesus said it would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. (Mark 10:25) He also said that you cannot serve both God and riches. (Matthew 6:24) You will end up serving one and despising the other.

With the Christmas season and all of its excesses fast approaching, it's a good time to stop and think about who you are serving. Is it really God? Or is it a bunch of glittery junk that is worthless in the end?

Proverbs 30:8

"Remove falsehood and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches--Feed me with the food allotted to me; Lest I be full and deny You and say, "Who is the LORD?" Or lest I be poor and steal, And profane the name of my God."

Bathsheba Lite

OK, so I know that Bathsheba has been a little on the lite side lately, as far as deep and insightful material dealing with Scripture. It is this Ruth Bible Study, y'all. It is taking up all of my good inspiration! Pretty much every deep thought that I have, I have managed to work into the book of Ruth somehow. That is probably why I talked for 55 minutes last session! Seriously, I know that is waaaaay too long to talk. I'm going to try to contain myself a bit more next time (which won't be until January, by the way, in case you are following the study.)

But since I'm being lite-minded around here, I thought you girls might like this recipe. It is actually a recipe that I have come up with all by my lonesome self.

See, I love a good beef stew. It is just about my favorite thing to eat. But after I had each of my babies, I needed to shed some serious pounds. And the diet that always worked for me was a low-carb diet. So, this is my twist on beef stew without the high-carb potatoes.

Beef and Turnip Stew

8 oz sliced fresh mushrooms
4 celery ribs, sliced
4 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 large onion, diced (or 1 bag of frozen diced onions)
1 1/2 lbs stew beef
6 (or so) medium-smallish sized turnips, peeled and diced
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper (or if you want a spicy beef and turnip stew, make this 1 tsp of
pepper. I did this by accident once and it turned out pretty good--but spicy.)
2 cups beef broth
1 bay leaf (optional)

Put all of the ingredients in a big crock pot on low for 6 hours. Remove the bay leaf. Indulge in fabulous beef and turnip stew. Email Hadassah and heap praise upon her for inventing this awesome recipe.

*Serves at least 6, probably 8
*You can also make this with fresh diced rutabaga (a root vegetable for those of you not from around these parts) instead of turnips. Both versions are delicious.
*We are eating this tonight at my house, served with skillet cornbread, 'cause I have given up being on a diet for the time being.

Gettin' With The Program

I've resisted adding the "Blog Roll" to Bathsheba's Children for a while now. I have a couple of reasons that I've been hesitant to do it. None of the reasons have anything to do with any of you, my valued friends and readers. But, I have finally overcome my internal reservations, and am happy to introduce some of you, my readers, and your respective blogs, to the rest of my readers, and their respective blogs.

I've started a list, but I KNOW that I have overlooked many of you. Please don't take it personally, I probably just didn't have your address handy! So if you don't see your blog listed under, "My Readers Who Blog" please leave a comment or shoot me an email, and I will happily add you to the list.

Pretty much the only requirement for being listed is that you stop by for a visit every now and again.

Cats and Sparrows

I've had a change of heart about...cats. I've always been a dog person, and I expect that I will continue to love dogs. But in the past week, a couple of cats have started to grow on me.

I come from a long line of dog people. My grandmother was never without a small dog, which she regarded as half child. Her son, my father, dislikes cats in the extreme. My mother defied him once and brought home a beautiful kitten, fluffy grey with bright green eyes. We named her Jade. But she turned out to be a mean, hissing sort of cat and promptly unleashed a flea infestation in our entire house that took months to control. Needless to say, Jade was never a big hit with any of us. Eventually, we gave her to another, more cat-friendly home. She met with a strange demise one evening when she climbed a tree during a lightening storm. Apparently the tree she sought refuge in was struck by a bolt of lightening. Jade's new owner found her body in the backyard the next morning, stiff and electrocuted.

So anyway, fast forward to sometime last week and I had a sudden need to add a cat or two to our family. I'll spare you the strange reason that we needed a cat, but we did need one, and quickly. As usual, there was an ad in the newspaper for "kittens, free to good home." So I called the kitten's owner and made arrangements to pick out a pair of them.

My husband brought them home later that night. Two puffs of fur with big eyes, big ears and six toes apiece. Yep, you read that right. Both of the kittens have got six toes on their front paws. Sort of like the famous six-toed cats that live in Ernest Hemingway's estate in the Florida Keys. (And sort of like Ann Boleyn, a woman whose life has always intrigued me. She had six fingers.)


Despite, or maybe in addition to, their unusual paws, they are a pretty little pair of kittens. One is a dramatically marked calico, and the other is white with patches of grey stripes. Particularly when I look at the calico, I am reminded that God put together the exact combination of DNA that painted her in such a beautiful pattern. He intricately ordered the creation and formation of that little, insignificant cat. How much more He must be aware of the way He has created and formed each one of us, His precious children. You do know that God has even got a tally of the hairs on your head don't you? And that not even a common sparrow falls to the ground apart from God's sovereignty? Well, both are true. And what a comfort it brings me to know that God is perfectly aware of every perfectly tiny detail.

Matthew 10:31

"Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows."

Not even hissing, flea-infested Jade hit the ground apart from God's will. Even so, I'll be sure to keep these new cats indoors if it looks like lightening might strike.

Ruth Session Three

For those of you who are following the Ruth Bible Study, session three has just been posted. As always, if you are a friend or a regular reader, email me and I will send you the link to the blog that has the Bible Study posted on it.

Retreat

I've just gotten back from an overnight women's church retreat. It was delightful.

It felt sort of like diving into a refreshing spring of sparkling water, in more ways than one. Fellowship with like-minded sisters in Christ is better than a day at the spa to me. (And a day at the spa is pretty good, I'll be the first to admit.)

The music was such a treat, too. I got to belt out all four verses of Amazing Grace at the top of my lungs, and still only hear the combined harmony of worshipping voices without my own caterwauling standing out. I love that. I cried like a baby when two women from Cameroon sang some worship songs in their native African tongue. And I walked around all day today humming "My chains are gone, I've been set free, my God my Saviour has ransomed me."

Actually I cried like a baby about pretty much everything this weekend. A casual observer would be tempted to think that my life is in shambles upon seeing all the salty trails steaming down my cheeks over the past 24 hours. But really, nothing could be further from the truth. My life is fine. I'm not suffering from any major trauma at the moment. I'm not wrestling with past hurts and failures right now either. I've dealt with all of those things before, but I don't happen to be right now. I'm simply overwhelmed by God.

As soon as the speaker read the first Bible verse on Friday night, I got misty. And it only got worse after that. About mid-morning Saturday I even gave up on that trying-not-to-let-the-others-see-my-embarassing-tears business. It was a lost cause anyway. I was dripping. A sprinkler. A leaking faucet.

It wasn't even that the message the speaker delivered was revolutionary. I've heard most of it before, maybe in a slighty different presentation, but still, the same basic prinicples were presented. I just needed to hear it again I suppose.

It's been a while since the gospel made me weep. It felt good.

Such Good News

Did you know that the word "gospel" actually means "good news?" I betcha did.

It is easy to forget, though, that this whole Christianity thing is supposed to be news that is actually good to hear. So much of what we hear focuses on our responsibility to "do better" and "be better." And of course all believers are called to be holy, just as Christ is holy.

But there is the problem, you see. Christ actually was, and is, holy. We...aren't. Sometimes we fool ourselves into thinking that we can be if we just try hard enough. (Hello! Pride and Self-Righteousness! Hello!)

But the simple truth of the matter is that we never will measure up. We won't ever do good enough or be good enough. We simply aren't capable of it. Plus, all of the good that we earnestly attempt to do is totally undone by the smallest guilty action.

Its enough to make a girl depressed and exhausted...all that trying and doing and being and never measuring up despite it all.

THAT my friends, is why the good news is so, well, good. It isn't up to us at all. We don't have to do it. The good news is that Jesus already has done it...all of it...and He did it perfectly. The better news is that He will give us all the credit for the righteousness that He accomplished.

If that isn't the most amazing news you've ever heard, then I'd like to gently suggest that you don't actually understand what the news is.

Psalm 40:9

"I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness in the great assembly"

Holy Holy Holy

While I would guess that most people are captivated by God's love, I would have to say that more and more I am captivated by God's holiness. We hear "God is love" all the time, in church and out of church, from believers and non-believers alike. Even people who only ascribe to some vague sort of spirituality have a sense that whatever-it-is they believe in must be based in love, and feel love and express love.

And of course God IS actually love. We find that exact phrase in the Bible.

1 John 4:8

"He who does not love does not know God, for God is love."

You can find the phrase "God is love" again in 1 John 4:16.

The problem, I think, is that we have so many mixed up, and flat out wrong, ideas about what love actually is. And we carry that confusion into the mix when we try to comprehend that God is love. Not only that, but real, true love seems to be in short supply in our modern culture, and that certainly doesn't help us out when we try to discern what God being love actually means.

I prefer to be overwhelmed by God's holiness. Now that is something special. I find all sorts of cheap imitations of love on television, in books, and in observing how people around me interact with one another. But not a single one of those things profess to be holy. Holiness is reserved for Yahweh. And it gets my attention.

I'm not trying to take away from the fact that God is love, because like I just said, He certainly is. But consider what the angels cry out to God when they are worshiping Him in His presence.

Isaiah 6:3

"And one cried to another and said:
Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
The whole earth is full of His glory!"

And again in Revelation 4:8

"The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying:

Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God Almighty,
Who was and is and is to come!"

The angels don't worship God by crying out that God is love, love, love. Nope. It is God's holiness that is proclaimed before Him in His throne room.

The twist to all of this is that the more I think about God's holiness, the more dumbfounded I am that this holy God could also choose to love me. The bigger God's holiness gets, the more amazing His love gets. I'm not sure that it works the other way around. Perhaps it has for you?

One of my favorite hymns is actually "Holy, Holy, Holy!" by Reginald Heber. You might be familiar with it, its an old standard in most traditional worship services. I've memorized all of the verses because I have a children's CD with that song on it that I listen to in my car. But it is the third verse that stands out to me.

"Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide thee,
though the eye of sinful man thy glory may not see,
only thou art holy; there is none beside thee
perfect in power, in love, and purity."

Something about that just gets me every time. I'm getting misty and stopped up just thinking about it now.

God is holy. And I'm going to find a tissue.

Emily the Chickadee

Two things you should know before you read this post. One, I don't buy very many children's books. My mother tends to gift me with armloads of them and I have stacks of them all over my house. I don't especially enjoy making my life more complicated than it already is, hence I don't purchase very many books to add the the aforementioned stacks. Two, I got this particular children's book for free! A reader sent it to me and asked me if I would write a review of the book for my blog. (Well, she said she was a reader. I have my doubts, but still--free book!)

Anyway, I must say that Emily Waits for Her Family is a sweet little story. It is gentle and easy and paced just right for young children. (I get sort of weary of the flashy, sassy, spunky characters splashed all over many of the books marketed to young children these days.) It is written in rhyme, which is nice for early readers, and for little listening ears.

The book follows the story of a chickadee named Emily who builds a nest, lays some eggs and feeds her chicks all under the careful observation of a young girl. The illustrations are colorful without being flashy and friendly without being childish. The book is printed on very high quality paper. I actually kept thinking that I had turned two pages instead of one because the paper was so substantial.

So anyway, I give the book two thumbs up. There is nothing Christian or Biblical about it. But if you are looking for an innocent children's story that explores nature, this is a good option.

It's Been Hanging Around Lately

Death.

It seems to have been hanging around lately. Or at least I've noticed it more than I usually do. I spent Saturday morning at a funeral. The last time I was in that funeral parlor was for the funeral of a 15 month old boy who died in a tragic accident. That was three years ago this past week. I have also just passed the one year anniversary of my grandmother's death. The date marking the death of a young member of my husband's family looms large around the corner. And several weeks ago, as I sat for a normal, uneventful moment in my living room, surrounded by my little family, the thought hit me, "We are all going to die."

Now, I'm really not trying to be morbid. I am not, by nature, a morbid person. But I am ruthlessly realistic. And the fact is that each of us is absolutely going to die. It might happen today, or many long and fruitful (or tragic) years from now. But it will happen without question.

How easy it is to forget death. How easy it is to live carelessly, as if there are no eternal consequences to the here and now. Even with the tinge of death darkening my normally bright days, it is an easy thing to brush away and worry about later. The rush and bustle of the moment, of busy days filled with living, breathing and active neighbors, seems to whisper a lie over and over again..."this is forever, it will never end, you have tomorrow to look forward to, another chance is always available."

How hard it is to remember death, to remember eternity, to focus on things that really matter. We live on a merry-go-round of distractions, pleasures and entertainments. Few of us see the creeping certainty of death just past the brightly colored bulbs of the dizzy round and round of our days.

But there it is. It is certainly coming, one way or another. Now or later.

The question is, are you prepared?

Revelation 1:17,18

"Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death."

No Sign Will Convince You

I noticed an interesting contrast in Scripture the other day, and it got me to thinking about miracles and such. Consider the different reactions that Jesus inspired, first from demons, and then from His own disciples.

Mark 1:23-25

"Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. And he cried out saying, "Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did you come to destroy us? I know who You are--the Holy one of God!"

But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him.""

That demon knew exactly who Jesus was. He named Jesus as the "Holy one of God." By the way, I found an interesting point about that particular title by reading through some commentary about these verses. Apparently that was the same title that is given to the high priest in Exodus 28:36, to be inscribed on a gold plate and worn by him on his forehead. (What an outfit that must have been!)

But let's not get sidetracked...

Don't overlook that Jesus commands the demon to be quiet. He does the exact same thing a few verses later when He is healing a crowd of sick people and casting out "many demons."

Mark 1:34

"Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him."

Again, the demons knew and identified Jesus on sight. This happens a third time in Mark 5:6, when Jesus encounters a demon possessed man in the land of Gadarenes.

Mark 5:6

"When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. And he cried out with a loud voice and said, "What have I to do with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me."

Now fast forward to Mark chapter 6. Jesus has been with His disciples for some time by now. They have even witnessed the following miracles firsthand: the healing of multitudes of people from all sorts of diseases, casting out of demons, the calming of the wind and waves at the command of Jesus, a girl brought back to life, and the feeding of thousands of people from five loaves of bread and two fish. One would be tempted to think that these disciples would have figured out that Jesus was, well, God, or something like that, by this point.

But almost immediately after Jesus feeds thousands of people with five loaves and two fish, He sends His disciples away from Him in a boat and stays on shore to pray. Sometime in the middle of the night, Jesus decides to join the disciples in the boat. The wind is blowing hard and the disciples are straining at the oars, trying to row against the wind. Jesus walks out on the water to join them.

But the disciples reacted sort of badly to this sight.

Mark 6:49,50

"And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were troubled."

But here is the kicker. Remember that the demons knew exactly who Jesus was immediately upon seeing him. He didn't perform any miracles to prove himself to the demons. They just KNEW who He was without question. But the disciples? Here is how they reacted to seeing Jesus walk on the water:

Mark 6:51,52

"And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled. For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened."

They didn't get it. They didn't understand. They were still in awe and marveling at the power of Jesus, even after He had performed so many miracles right under their noses. You might even say that signs and miracles were insufficient to convince their "hardened hearts."

So let me ask you a question. What kind of miracle are you waiting for? Does Jesus need to show you some kind of sign before you will "know" Him? There is pretty good reason to believe that you still won't believe God, even after He does give you a miracle or a sign, if He chooses to do so.

Consider the story of Lazarus and the rich man found in Luke 16.

Lazarus is a poor, miserable beggar who is ignored by the rich man whose gate he lays at, longing for the crumbs from the rich man's table. Both of them die and go to their respective places. Lazarus, the beggar, goes to "Abraham's bosom." The rich man goes to the "torments in Hades." The rich man begs Abraham to send Lazarus back from the dead to testify to the members of his family who are still alive. But the response that Abraham gives to the rich man is pretty chilling.

Luke 16:29-31

"Abraham said to him, "They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them." And he said, "No, father Abraham, but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent." But he said to him, "If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.""

Did you catch that? Abraham tells the rich man that even if a person were to rise from the dead and warn the family members who were still alive, they would not believe. If they don't believe the prophets and Moses, then even a spirit sent to testify from the grave will be unconvincing.

The truth is that no miracle or sign or even a wonder from heaven will convince a hardened heart. Only God has the power to change a heart. So stop asking for a sign. Ask God to soften your heart instead. Because a hard heart plus a miracle still equals unbelief.

Matthew 16:4

"A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah."