My better half has finally succumbed. With a cry of "If you can't beat 'em, then join 'em" she has begun her own blog! You can visit her new online home at:

http://andreesphotoblog.blogspot.com/

I am hoping she will still write here from time to time. If you are a fan of her writing, please drop me an e-mail so I can show it to her in an effort to get her to return! In the meantime, she is going to be focusing on her photography hobby on her blog. Most of the family pictures I have published lately have been taken on my camera, which is far inferior to her's. So I'm expecting to be shamed . . . and possibly to shamelessly steal some of her photos!

Hi! It's Mrs.W here again! The stage of life I am in currently involves spending a lot of time caring for my lovely 7 month old baby, George. He is now clapping his hands, rolling over, and sitting up. He also has his first tooth! He is such a cute little boy, and we all love him to bits. But he is also very vulnerable. He needs to be watched and cared for all the time, for he has no idea at all how to look after himself and keep himself safe. In Jesus' time I believe many children would die before reaching adulthood. Jesus made himself that vulnerable for us.


He Chose This Way

There are so very many things
That I will never know
But most of all I wonder why
You chose to stoop so low.

A birth amongst the cows and hay
Your earthly life began
Your babyhood and toddler days
Were all part of the plan.

You walked and talked and laughed and cried
And played as children do
But as you grew you never sinned
Because you were God, too.

Why did you choose to be a child
When you're the King of all
You suffered pain and took my shame
While I cared not at all?

You broke the power of sin and death
And freed me from the law
You rose again to give me life
And joy forever more.

What can I say but 'thank you, Lord'
What can I do but praise?
And by your grace to seek your face
And love you all my days.

— Andrée Warnock

This is the last day of Mrs. W. as Adrian is back tonight. I recently read the book, Shopping For Time (by Carolyn Mahaney, Nicole Whitacre, Kristin Chesemore, and Janelle Bradshaw). They are also the authors of girltalk, a blog for Christian women. It is written by a mother and her grown-up daughters about "How to do it all and not be overwhelmed." As a mother of five young children, you can imagine I thought this was worth a read!

The book is very easy to read and fairly short. It is centered around five tips to help get your life in order, and is directed at women of all ages and stages of life. The five tips are as follows:

1. Rise early. Having implemented this tip in varying degrees since having read the book, I can certainly vouch for its effectiveness. It is possible to get up and spend time with God without any interruptions, and having done this, to plan the day and get some jobs done early.
   
   
2. Sit still. This is about spending time at Jesus' feet, and how vital this is, before beginning the activities of the day.
   
   
3. Sit and plan. I have implemented this and have bought a diary instead of relying on my calendar. So after sitting at Jesus' feet, then I can sit with my diary and plan how to most effectively use the time available.
   
   
4. Consider people. This tip was about the importance of evaluating who you are spending time with, and in what proportions. It talks about who you can be influenced by, who you are influencing, and the benefits of planning and thinking about this carefully and deliberately.
   
   
5. Plan to depend. We should not be seeking to complete our 'to do list' more than glorifying our Saviour, and he is the one on whom we depend for help. I am still learning, but this book has provided me with a lot to think about and practical encouragement.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book; it is highly practical and firmly grounded in biblical truth. It is an easy read, with personal stories and humor, but packed full of things to think about, pray about, and apply in our own lives. It is available from Crossway Books.

Hi! Mrs. W. here again. When I read this passage this morning, I was reminded of flowers, like in this picture. They are so fragile, so vulnerable, and so utterly dependent upon God for their fleeting lives. Today being the day we remember many who lost their lives in the atrocious terrorist attacks, I am only too aware of how fleeting life can be, and how vulnerable we all actually are. I can imagine the flower saying, "My soul clings to the dust; give me life according to your word!" My prayer is that I might become more like the psalmist who echoes this utter dependence that we have on God. And praise God that we do not depend on him in vain!

Psalm 119:25-32

25 My soul clings to the dust;

give me life according to your word!

26 When I told of my ways, you

answered me;

teach me your statutes!

27 Make me understand the way of your precepts,

and I will meditate on your wondrous works.

28 My soul melts away for sorrow;

strengthen me according to your word!

29 Put false ways far from me

and graciously teach me your law!

30 I have chosen the way of faithfulness;

I have set your rules before me.

31 I cling to your testimonies, O Lord;

let me not be put to shame!

32. I will run in the way of your commandments

when you enlarge my heart!

Adrian is away on business for a couple of days, and he has asked me to stand in, so apologies in advance if this is not up to the usual high standard!

We had an engineer round to our house today to investigate why our Internet connection has been so erratic. In this day and age many of us have become dependent on technology of this sort to help us organize our lives. We may have all our phone numbers, addresses, photos, accounts, records, recipes, correspondence, assignments, and other documents stored on this wondrous piece of technology. We can come to depend on computers, Internet, etc. in a big way. Yet, we realize, of course, that from time-to-time equipment and services of this kind can break down. And we all know how frustrating that can be!

While the engineer was round this morning, I got to thinking about how we tend to put our trust in fallible technology, and how much more we can put our trust in God. He never fails, he always listens to us, he does not break down (is everlasting), we can always come to him with confidence. The communication lines are always open. He does not forget his promises to us, but fulfills them all. He keeps his covenant (or contract) with us. We do not need to switch to another provider, for he is the ultimate provider!

Mrs. W.

SIN, PUNISHMENT, and MERCY

Andree here! I have been reading the Old Testament lately, and it started a train of thought which I'd like to share. What caught my attention was not only the number of times God struck people dead, but the reasons given for these occurrences. There are so many occurrences, but I am specifically going to refer to a small portion in the book of Numbers, which I am currently reading.

• The Lord struck down many with a plague – because they had been grumbling and 'craving' for meat. (Numbers 11:33)



• Miriam was struck with leprosy – because she and Aaron had spoken in criticism against Moses because of the Cushite woman he had married, and had also expressed pride, saying, 'Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?' (Numbers 12)
  


• The spies sent into Canaan (apart from Joshua and Caleb) were struck down by a plague – this was for bringing back a bad report about the land of Canaan, bringing fear to the Israelites. (Numbers 14:37)



• The Israelites defeated by the Amalakites and the Cananites – because of disobedience to Moses by going into battle when God was not with them. (Numbers 14)



• Korah and 250 followers were swallowed up by the earth, together with their households and possessions – for rebellion and despising the Lord. (Numbers 16)



• 14,700 people killed by plague – for grumbling and complaining. (Numbers 16).

And that's only from five chapters! What struck me was God's absolute abhorrence of sin, any kind of sin. We may at times excuse ourselves from grumbling, negativity, a complaint here and there - especially if we are undergoing difficult circumstances. We may even go so far as to think of God as being rather too punitive towards the Israelites, who, after all, were undergoing considerable hardship by our standards.

When reading the New Testament, and in looking at our own Christian experience, there at first seems to be a bit of a contrast. God is full of love, forgiveness, and graciousness. We don't think of God as striking down people dead at every turn. But what we do know is that God still hates sin just as much as He ever did. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)

In the context of all of this, the impact of Jesus dying on the cross and taking the punishment for each of His children is staggering. If this glimpse of God's wrath on the Israelites is abhorrent to us, how much more appalling must the suffering have been for Jesus who bore sufficient punishment for the sins of everyone who has ever lived.

Two facts about God have impacted me and challenged me through this little 'study.' I think these facts are well worth meditating on . . .

1. God hates sin more than anyone.
2. God is more merciful than anyone.

Hi, Andree here again! Being in a household of six, with lots of work to do, I recently found myself in the throes of self-pity. All I ever seem to be doing, I thought, is cleaning up, cooking, tidying, rushing about, laundry, etc etc. In short, I was feeling a bit like a slave. So imagine how I felt when I read the following . . .

'"You want to be great?" Jesus is saying. "Well, here's what has to happen. What's required is that you become a servant to others; it means nothing less than becoming a slave of everyone."' (Humility, True Greatness, C.J. Mahaney).

This quote was made in connection with a request by James and John to Jesus that they be allowed to sit on either side of Him in glory. (Mark 10:35-45)

Does this mean, then, that I need to literally become a slave to my family while they (particularly the children) sit and do nothing? 'Surely not!' I thought. Then I remembered. We are told to 'train a child up in the way that he should go . . .' (Proverbs 22:6). This must mean to train them in humility and servanthood, too! So in reality I should not end up having to do 'everything!' When everyone is serving, there is less work for one person to do.

I thank God for this fresh encouragement, both to apply this to myself and to model it to my children. I pray that with God's help I will be better able to serve my family with servanthood and humility, and teach my children to do likewise. And for those of us who feel that we just cannot stretch to 'slavery', cultivating this quality also comes with a huge bonus:

'God gives grace to the humble!' (James 4:6)

Hi! This is the other half of Adrian (otherwise known as his wife, Andree).

Adrian has spent years trying to encourage me to make contributions to his blog, and I have spent years feeling too busy to be able to do any blogging! But a recent turn of events has meant that I finally have time to put down my thoughts and musings!!

Adrian, together with our pastor, Tope, recently had the privilege of visiting Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg. They said that they had a great time and were so touched by the friendship and kindness extended to them. But little did the people in Washington know that I, too, have been blessed by their kindness.

While there, Adrian was given a fantastic CD - Valley of Vision. As I was just listening to it, I was going through the lyrics that came with the CD. Music is such a powerful way of conveying God's truth. No wonder the angels are constantly singing in heaven!

Earlier today, I read a quote in C.J. Mahaney's book on humility, and it came to mind as I listened to these songs. Martyn Lloyd-Jones asked:

"Have you realised that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself?"

I realised that there is a sharp contrast between the words of these songs (inspired by the classic book of Puritan prayers) and those of many songs written today. Many songs - especially contemporary pop songs - consist of the writer listening to his or her own thoughts. The lyrics on this album are totally 'talking to yourself' (or preaching to yourself!)

Here are some favourite quotes from the lyrics of three different songs:

You were broken that I might be healed
You were cast off that I might draw near
You were thirsty that I might come drink
Cried out in anguish that I might sing.

In You alone my strength is found
In You alone my hope abounds
In You alone my strength is found
My life is bound up in You.

Oh, the precious blood
That flowed from Mercy's side
Washed away my sin
When Christ my saviour died
Oh, the precious blood
Of Christ the crucified,
It speaks for me before Your throne
Where I stand justified.

I highly recommend this album. It is not sentimental, it is totally God-centred, and is focused on the very heart of Christianity. It is filled with the glory of God, the sacrifice of Jesus, and our dependence on Him. Inspired music to me seems to have a way of softening the heart and enabling it to more readily receive the truth of what is heard and sung. May there be more songs written like these!

Pigwotflies has inspired me to post on my husband's blog! Adrian and I also recently met Mrs Blogotional and her husband in London and I was very impressed that Mrs Blogotional showed such a keen interest in the blogging scene! I felt spurred on to get more 'in the know' about Adrian's antics in the blogosphere and get to know the lingo etc. I also thought I would like to post occasionally if I can think of something interesting to say. Mrs Blogotional posts some fantastic artwork with scripture verses every Thursday, which I have been looking at. They are really inspiring. As for me, I have been busy clearing out the loft and packing up the house. We are hopefully moving house in 5 or 6 weeks time. Buying houses in UK is so complicated, anything could go wrong up until the last minute. Thankfully, we know it is all in God's hands and He knows best, even though we still have no guarantee that it will all work out as we hope. Our four children have been very good about letting mum pack and they realise that when we go on holiday in two weeks time they will have a lot more fun then. The goal is to have the whole house packed before we go on hols for two weeks so that when we return home we will be ready to move. I 'think' I will manage it. I have had very kind offers of help, plus I have packed all my craft stuff away so I won't be distracted! I discovered that Mrs Blogotional loves crafts too so that was really exciting. I don't know how I will manage for 6 weeks without doing crafts. On our last holiday in Devon I got so desperate I bought some beads etc and made jewellery while sitting on the beach!

Andree

I had a fantastic day out with my wonderful husband Adrian. Thank you for ten of the best years of my life. Here it is, the first post ever on your blog!!!
Love from your wife Andree