A Thankful Moment

Lord, I thank you for

The laughter of first graders.

The comradery of church family.

The warmth of sunshine.

The sound of spring peepers chirping in the pond.

The joy of a family meal.

The delight of chocolate eggs.

And for the life-giving death and resurrection of Your son, Jesus.
The mystery of Your incomprehensible love.

Enjoying the sight of spring,

       Frannie

A Free Adversment: Marriage Prep

“For most of our people, God is marginal and a hundred good

things usurp His place. To think that their marriages could be

lived for His glory by teaching on the dynamics of relationships,

when the glory of God is so peripheral, is like expecting the human
eye to glorify the stars when we don’t stare at the night sky
and have never bought a telescope. 

So knowing God and cherishing God and valuing the glory

of God above all things, including your spouse, is the key to living
marriage to the glory of God. It’s true in marriage, as in every
other relationship: God is most glorified in us when we are
most satisfied in Him. 

Here is a key that unlocks a thousand doors. Superior satisfaction in God above all earthly things, including your spouse

and your health and your own life (Psalm 63:3, esv, “your steadfast
love is better than life”) is the source of great long-suffering
without which husbands cannot love like Christ, and wives cannot
follow like the bride of Christ, the church. Ephesians 5:22–
25 makes plain that husbands take their cues of leadership and
love from Christ, and wives take their cues of submission and
love from the devotion of the church for whom He died. And
both of those complementary acts of love—to lead, and to submit—
are unsustainable for the glory of God without a superior
satisfaction in all that God is for us in Christ.”

--John Piper 

...

 Please check out John Piper’s free ebook, Preparing for Marriage.

 Because He is absolutely worthy,
   Frannie


  
 

Afraid of Being Unknown

 

I think we write because we’re afraid no one will hear us otherwise.

At least I am.

We’re afraid, deep down inside, that we might go unnoticed, unheard, unseen. The thought of never being known, truly-- in all our mess and glory—is as paralyzing as swimming with great whites.

Tonight I stepped outside to let the dogs out. It amazed me to see, through the shifting clouds and falling snow, a full moon. It was only a small, quiet observation but something inside me yearned to tell someone; to bring them in on my private sight.

But there was no one; only four sleeping bodies slumbering under comforters.

My heart, our hearts, reach out for someone, anyone (ahem, Facebook, Pinterest, Tumblr, Blogger . . .) who will hear us. I cry when I feel no one understands. I can grow bitter when I feel all alone.

But, in reality, that’s faithlessness.

Because there is One who knows our every thought. He is keenly aware of our joys and delights and He knows our silent sobs. Jesus Christ knows you, and, would you believe it, He knows me too.

Marriage is beautiful because it's the tale of two people knowing one another. As a couple progresses from friends to husband and wife, they choose to delight in the thoughts and ideas and ways of each other.

 God calls us to know Him in the same manner. To delight ourselves in Himself and to find His ways light. To choose Him and learn to know Him. 

So, I guess the truth of this is that I don't have to be afraid anymore. Not with a Lord like that.

 

“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Hebrews 11:6

. . .

P.S. For clarification, I love blogging and I have no plans on (cough, cough) ever stopping. It’s only that believe I need to find Christ my all-in-all and turn to Him with my heart. Not every other kid on the block.

Because God is reality.

J

 

 

 

The Goal for Him

 

Via

Time-warp Wife

Writing Inspiration

Literary Birthday - 20 March

Happy Birthday, Lois Lowry, born 20 March 1937

Lois Lowry: Seven Quotes On Writing

1.      Reading is the best way to learn to write well. Read as much as you can. Think about what you read: how the author made it interesting, or funny, or suspenseful. And write as much as you can, too.

2.      It doesn’t matter where you live. The important thing is what you absorb from your surroundings. To be a keen observer….to see and ponder and weigh….to hear the cadence of speech and notice the shrugs and gestures and the way the eyebrows lift or the lip curls…to perceive human relationships and how they work (or don’t)….all of that is what makes a writer. You could live in the same small town for 50 years and have all of that available.

3.      Keep a journal. Get together with friends who enjoy writing, and read things aloud to each other and talk about them.

4.      I write books because I have always been fascinated by stories and language, and because I love thinking about what makes people tick. Writing a story is simply an exploration of the nature of behaviour: why people do what they do, how it affects others, how we change and grow, and what decisions we make along the way.

5.      I was lucky that I grew up in a family that valued books. I went to the library all the time starting at about age 5 or 6. My mom read to me. I read to myself.

6.      My personal opinion is that you should not worry about ‘being published’. You should enjoy writing, and writing more and more, so that you become better at it. I always sort of cringe when I hear, ‘I want to be a published writer’ from a kid. I’d rather hear, ‘I love to write’.

7.      I sit at my desk every day. I do the New York Times crossword puzzle. I watch the park through my window. My CD player plays music, usually classical (at this moment, it’s a violin concerto). I sip coffee. I type words into my computer. I retype them, rearrange them, and delete them, and retype them again and again. The phone rings. The dog woofs to go out. I get up and refill my coffee cup. Then I look at the words I’ve written and I rearrange them again. Eventually, somehow, a story is put together. There isn’t anything magical. It’s a lot of hard work, a lot of fun, and a lot of waiting for the words.

Lowry is an American children’s writer. She began her career as a photographer and a freelance journalist during the early 1970s. Her first children’s book, A Summer to Die, was published in 1977 when she was 40. She has written more than 30 books for children and published an autobiography. Number the Stars and The Giver both won the Newbery Medal.

by Amanda Patterson for Writers Write

March

Hello, March.

My, you’ve been the quite surprise.

 

Full of summer in your sunshine and winter in your shadows.

 

 

The soil broke open on warm days and soft, white flakes float down on cold ones.

 

 I praise the Maker of all the seasons. I rejoice in His variety and majesty. 

 

Huddled warmly inside as the snowflakes fall,

Frannie

All these sweet photos were found at this link. Enjoy!

To Be Loved

“To be loved but not known is comforting, but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God. It is what we need more than anything. It liberates us from pretense, humbles us out of our self-righteousness, and fortifies us for any difficulty life can throw at us.”

– Timothy Keller

In Which I See Princesses

Sorry for disappearing into thin air; as if by magic, I've found myself somewhere quite enchanting and lovely.

Your’s truly,

Frannie

Daily Truth

“A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows you to grow.”

-         William Shakespeare