Light in Our Current Darkness

As we're living through hard right now, God's word has become that much more the light which guides Mr. R and me.

I'm really hungry...but not for food. I'm hungry for the Bread of Life! Here are some of the verses that are comforting me as we walk this road:

"Light is sown like see for the righteous and gladness for the upright in heart."
Psalm 97:11

We can trust the Lord to light the way through the darkness of our current situation.

"Make me know Your ways, O Lord;
Teach me Your paths.
Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation:
For You I wait all the day."
Psalm 25:4,5

We can trust the Lord to lead us. He will teach us how to walk the unfamiliar path He has ordained for Christina and our family as a result of her injury.

"Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name."
Psalm 29:1b-2a

We can trust the Lord with every nuance of this trial because His greatness is unfathomable. He is everything we are not. He is faithful and trustworthy. He is Light. He is Life. He is our everything all the time...but especially now.

I'll finish with one last favorite verse. We're expecting the surgeon to round on Christina any moment so I'll shut down my computer and return to her room. (Her daddy has been sitting with her.)

Here's that favorite:

"Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me with not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life."
John 8:12

May God bless you and keep you and light your way, dear ones!
Denise

Taking Stock of What's Really Important

I treasure this picture because it captures two enormous changes to our family this year. Zhenya's engagement ring speaks to her upcoming wedding in September. And, if you've been following our blog, you know that the little hand belongs to our fourth grandchild. On top of those changes, Sarah, Kirsten and Matt all have new jobs. With all that's going on in our extra large family, it's easy to get caught up in the whirl of activities. As a result, the following quote really hit home. The words are written by C.T. Studd, a missionary to China, India and Africa in the late 1800s and early 1900s. In a letter written as a young man while serving in China he wrote:

"Pingyang. February 7, 1886 The Lord is so good and always gives me a large dose of spiritual champagne every morning which braces one up for the day and night. Of late, I have had such glorious times. I generally wake at about 3:30 a.m. and feel quite wide awake, so have a good read, etc., and then have an hour's sleep or so before finally getting up. I find what I read then is stamped indelibly on my mind all though the day. and it is the sweetest of quiet times, not a foot astir, nor a sound to be heard, saving that of God. If I miss this time I feel like Samson shorn of his hair and so all of his strength. I see more and more how much I have to learn of the Lord. I want to be a workman approved, not just with a 'pass' degree, as it were. Oh, how I wish I has devoted my early life, my whole life to God and His Word. How much I have lost by those years of self-pleasing and running after this world's honors and pleasures." Norman Grubb, C.T. Studd: Cricketer & Pioneer, pgs.54-55

I don't know about you, dear reader, but I don't want to move through the crazy busy that is my life like Samson with his hair cut off. I need the strength and wisdom and peace that I can only find by seeking the Lord each day, every day, early in the day. I'm heading to bed right now so that I can rise early and get some of that spiritual champagne!

May God bless and keep you,
Denise

The Bible: Rubber Meets the Road

Mrs. Beaver:

I just started reading Joe Thorn's Note to Self: The Discipline of Preaching to Yourself. Before even reaching the author's words, I've been challenged and convicted by the introduction.

What's your reaction to these strong assertions?

"Good intentions, New Year's resolutions, promises, plans, personal discipline, and rigorous regimens designed to control and direct human choices only go so far. They rarely, if ever, effect a lasting and fruitful change in the soul. It is only when our thoughts are challenged and conformed to the principles of God's Word and our hearts are energized to make choices consistent with God's revealed will that a human being is transformed...

"Merely affirming that the Bible is inspired accomplishes very little. Asserting its authority isn't much better. The inspiration and authority of the Scriptures are of value to us only so far as we change our beliefs to conform to its principles and alter our behavior to coincide with its imperatives. The Bible is meant to govern our lives, to fashion our choices, to challenge our cherished traditions, and ultimately to make us look more like Jesus.

"The question for each of us, then, is whether the Bible actually functions in this way. Do we submit to its dictates? Do we put our confidence in its promises? Do we stop living a certain way in response to its counsel? Do we embrace particular truths on its authority? Do we set aside traditional practices that conflict with its instruction?

"In other words, for the Bible to be of value to us it must actually function to shape how we think, feel, and act, as well as what we believe, value, and teach...

"Through the power of the Holy Spirit, God has invested the biblical text with the capacity to change human lives...

"Let [God's Word] be the anchor for your soul. Let it be the rock on which you stand. Let it be the compass to guide your choices and renew your heart through trials and tragic times. Let it govern your choices and renew your joy and ground your hope. Build your life on its moral principles. Embrace its ethical and moral norms. Believe what it says about the nature of God. Believe what it says about the nature of mankind...

"The word of God, whether it is preached and heard or read and memorized, is more than simply true. It is effectual. The Word of God does more than merely announce: it accomplishes! It doesn't just impart information; it creates life! someone once said, and rightly so, that God speaking is God acting. God's word is always carried along by God's Spirit and empowered to produce what it proclaims...

Therefore, let us, "Crave the Word of God. Be desperate for it! Seek it. Yearn for it. Long for it. Desire it. Tolerate nothing in your life that might diminish your hunger for God's Word. And apply it with vigor and spiritual energy!"
Sam Storms, Senior Pastor, Bridgeway Church, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

A Time to Weep and a Time to Laugh

Mrs. Beaver:

We woke to the news that Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a much-talked about piece of legislation that prohibits Americans from adopting Russian children. After jumping through countless hoops and visiting our kiddos in September, we were oh-so very close to a court date. Yet our avenue for adding the "Fab Four" to our family is now roadblocked. As the realization sunk in this morning, our hearts hurt.

As we grieved our way through the first half of the day, we kept our eye on the clock. We needed to be at the airport at 2 p.m. As we announced in the post called "A Surprise", our daughter Lissie is being courted by Eric Moores. Eric and his sister, Kali, a dear friend of Lissie's were on their way for a visit.

We arrived at the airport a tad early and their flight was a full hour late.

As I paced the itsy-bitsy airport, a set of Bible verses kept occurring to me. What wound its way through my head and made its way into my heart was the famous passage from Ecclesiastes 3: "There is a time for everything...a time to weep and a time to laugh." (verses 1,4)

Usually when I read that passage I think of the opposites mentioned in the long list as happening at different times, perhaps one following the other. But right now, God has laid on our plate both a reason for sorrow and a reason for joy. Perhaps another metaphor works even better. The grief and the happiness are like two sides of a coin. I choose to see this dichotomy as a great kindness from a good God.

While we pray-pray-pray-pray that God will provide a way around or over or under the roadblock to adopting our kiddos, we can be focusing on life and laughter and love and living in a way that glorifies God despite our circumstances. Grief and gladness can co-exist.

So as God lifted my spirits, I was able to enjoy how beautiful my daughter looked as she waited for her guy. This was to be the first time they'd seen each other since they started courting seven weeks ago. When the courtship began, Lissie was living in Central Asia.

 

The two have been counting the days for this "together time" for weeks, but Lissie told me despite her excitement she was also a bit nervous.

 

 

Finally, the plane landed and the whole family lined up to support Lissie and cheer on the duo. We've all known Eric for nearly three years and he is a favorite with the whole tribe.

 

 

At last, Lissie caught sight of a tall, dark...well, you get the picture.

 

 

Eric was hurrying toward Lissie at a record-setting pace!

 

 

Eric and Lissie's hug took place too fast for me to catch with my camera. That brevity was purposeful on their part and it had been decided upon through ongoing discussions long before they reached each other's arms. Still in the initial stage of their courtship, they've chosen to wait on physical shows of affection until they have a better sense of whether God's will is for them to spend their lives together with nothing parting them but death.

 

So for now, Eric's embrace is for his sister. We're so glad both of them will be spending two weeks with us. They feel just like family and having them around increases the amount of laughter that rings through our home. Right now we could use some extra laughter, while we pray-pray-pray-pray that eventually our sorrow will be turned to joy and our mourning to dancing as we celebrate the addition of four kiddos to our number.

 

 

God is good all the time. All the time God is good.

Could It be Any Clearer?

Mrs. Beaver:

I don't normally post first thing on the Sabbath. However, as I've come around again to the book of John in my reading of God's Word, something struck me powerfully. It's just a phrase. But what if the words became the story of my life?

Jesus and His diciples have gone to a wedding. You know the story. The wine has run out and Mary, in a very motherly way, insists that her son do something to help. The two of them go back and forth for a short time.

Then in John 2:5 Jesus' mother says to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it."

That's it. Seven words. Just seven words. But what if I lived these seven words? Of course, there's the big things...like go adopt those four siblings in Russia. In other words, be My hands and feet to the vulnerable. (James 1:27, etc., etc., etc...)

But there's also what I'm going to call the whispers of His word. He commands us to deny self...forgive...be gentle...be kind...look out for the interests of others...love our enemies...be the Good Samaritan, not the religious person who crosses to the other side of the road. I could go on and on, couldn't I?

"Whatever He says to you, do it." Oh my, I'm overwhelmed by the implication of these seven words. We're told more than once that Mary pondered what she saw of her dear son's unusual life. Now I need to ponder. Oh, may her words sink deep this Sabbath. Then, Lord, through the power of your grace, may I live Mary's admonition.

You may wonder why I've placed a photo of my granddaughter at the top of this post. What do Brielle and Mary's words have to do with each other? My circle of influence is primarily my husband, my children and over time will also be my grandchildren. I need to take Mary's word's seriously as I interact with them so that they SEE Christ in me. They in turn will interact with so many others. Kind of like a stone being thrown in a pond.

Who are the primary people in your circle of influence? Mary says to you regarding them--and anyone else with whom you come in contact, "Whatever my son tells you, do it."

Love Lessons

Mrs. Beaver:

We're approaching the 11th anniversary of our adoption of Russian siblings Jaynie, Cassandra and Mark. Each year as we reach mid summer, memories of the time surrounding the addition of the three of them crowd out other thoughts. Not only do recollections resurface, but this time of year inevitably brings reflection. This year our rumination has revolved around what we have learned about loving others.

Interestingly, God has used His more-recent placement of Daria and Alexander in our family as a grace-filled teaching tool for both of us. Daria and Alexander were older than any of the children we'd preciously added through adoption. When we adopted them in late 2010, Daria was nearly 16, and Alexander was going on 12. We knew enough about both adoption and parenting teens to understand that if we lost their hearts initially, we'd most likely never win them back. Unlike the children we'd parented from infancy, they had no long history with us to look back on to remember that we could be trusted. So, we were gentler, more patient, more long-suffering, more understanding, more forgiving, and better listeners. The result? Daria and Alexander have willingly poured their hearts into our hands, demonstrating confidence in our trustworthiness.

As a parent of kiddos in their early twenties, my pride wishes that I didn't have to admit its taken us this long to "get" a clearer picture of how we're to be imitators of God (Ephesians 5:1,2) as we parent. But that very pride has been a problem all along. It's pride that drives the thought, "I deserve better." And any focus on "me" or "my rights" gets in the way of sacrificial love. Period.

So, in a nutshell, here's a glimpse of where the Lord is taking us:

• No stingy grace!
• No miserly forgiveness!
• No *scrimpy love!

Our affection must be unselfish, ungrudging, unfaltering. After all, love never fails. Our kindhearted, giving God has sacrificially lavished grace, forgiveness and love on us. We must do no less! (I Cor. 13:8; Psalm 86:5; John 3:16; Eph. 1:3-8)

With brokenness over how we've parented in the past, the two of us are fervently studying our Bibles and working to write His word on our hearts as we cry out for the Spirit to change us. Not only do we want to do a better job of parenting all our current children, the Lord still has one more set of siblings for us to love on. The Lord has been perfectly patient with these two sinners. He is so good!

***********************************************

*Scrimpy: (Yes--this really is a word!) It means scanty, meager; barely adequate.

The Comfort of the Word "My"

Mrs. Beaver:

I found a wonderful book recently through Grace and Truth Books (a favorite web book seller!) called Voices from the Past with short-but-powerful daily readings from a variety of Puritan authors.

Today's reading blessed me deeply as I face major surgery at the Mayo Clinic next week. I'm clinging to God tightly and the words below encouraged me. Perhaps they will comfort or challenge you.

"God is the happiness of man because of His suitableness to the soul...Tasting this manna tramples on the onions of Egypt. God is true happiness of the soul because He is an eternal good. As the sun never sets, so the soul that rests in God has an eternal Sabbath...This all-sufficient, suitable, and eternal God is the saint's peculiar portion, and therefore causes infinite satisfaction. God is my portion forever...The pronoun 'my' is worth so much to the soul. Luther said much religion lies in the pronouns. All our consolation indeed consists in this pronoun. He is my God. All the joys of the believer are hung upon this one string. Break this and all is lost. I have sometimes thought how David rolls this word as a lump of sugar under his tongue: 'I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold' (Psalm 18:1-2). George Swinnock, Works, IV:7-12

Clinging to my perfect, precious Saviour,
Denise

Mrs. Beaver:

Six Helpful Words

Mrs. Beaver:

For the past few weeks, Mr. Beaver has been using our evening Bible time to teach us how to get more out of our individual daily reading. He's adapted material from a book by Howard Hendricks called Living by the Book, which he first read about a decade ago. He'd tell you the book significantly altered his relationship with the Lord by increasing his ability to understand and apply God's word to his life.

On Friday he taught the kids that when reading a passage something as simple as asking six questions can significantly improve your grasp. To help the kids remember the questions, he had them write the six words on their hands. They are:

• Who? (Who is involved in the passage?)
• What? (What's happening in the narrative?)
• When? (When is the narrative happening? Time of day, year? Historical timing?)
• Where? (Location of narrative?)
• Why? (Why do you think God included this passage in the Bible?)
• Wherefore? (How might this apply to my life?)

Give it a try! I think you'll be amazed how these simple questions can enrich your time in the word!

Unusual Football Commercial

Mrs. Beaver:

Just saw this commercial on the playoff game between the Denver Broncos and the NewEndgland Patriots. I didn't just "like it", I LOVED it.

Dinner for Three

Mrs. Beaver:

Last night Mr. Beaver and I took 16-year-old Daria to the nicest restaurant in town. It was just the three of us. Doing anything in a group that small is unusual in a family our size! Daria even got to shop for and don a brand new dress for the special occasion.

Why all the fuss?

Daria is the sixth of our teens to go through an important rite of passage in our family. We call it the Purity Promise Dinner. Our goal last night was to encourage Daria to commit to physical, emotional and spiritual purity in pursuit of Christ-like holiness while she waits to marry the right man at the right time according to God's plan for her life. We asked her to commit to sexual abstinence until marriage because we want God's very best for her and for her husband-to-be.

Mr. Beaver and I draw these convictions from the Bible. So after ordering our food last night, Mr. Beaver went over a number of scriptures with Daria showing her God's good plan for her life. He took her to Bible verses where the Lord articulates His insistence that His people save physical intimacy for the marriage bed. Daria's dad showed her that God wants more than mere physical purity. He wants purity of the mind and heart as well. The Lord wants young people to save all of themselves for their marriage partners.

Once Daria's dad had explained our plea for her to pursue purity, he asked her if she was willing to wait. Her response was an enthusiastic, "Yes!" She went on to tell us that while living in the orphanage in Russia and attending a community school, she'd had the opportunity to witness the devastation that not waiting can cause. She'd seen the brokenness that giving your heart and your body too soon can produce. She told us she wants something more like the love-filled magic she's seen between her sister, Anna, and her brother-in-law, Aaron.

We warned Daria that the promise she was making would be hard to keep. She'd be battling the world's ways and her own hormones. Daria's not naive, however. Living in an orphanage until she was nearly 16 opened her eyes to the very realities from which we've tried to shelter our other children. She knows life's hard edge, but now she also knows Christ. She wants to fight the good fight with His help. We promised we'd stand shoulder to shoulder with her, always ready to listen to her struggles. We promised we'd always be willing to pray with her. We promised we'd be available to counsel her and guide her. We promised her never-ending support and love.

Once Daria made her pledge to wait for the right man at the right time, as her dad likes to put it, he pulled out the visible reminder of her promise to walk the path of purity. He placed a ring on her left hand which will remain there until a man who has Mr. Beaver's approval replaces the band with an engagement ring.

Daria's hand and that of her daddy

Until Daria's forever man comes along, her dad will protect her and provide for her. He'll train her in the ways of God, and he'll intercede on her behalf in prayer before the Creator and Sustainer of the universe. Then someday he'll stand at a wedding alter and pass those responsiblities to a young man who is prepared to be responsible for Daria for life.

 To God be the glory!

Whatever the Level of Our Struggle...

No More Minimizing Pain
by Dr. Ed Welch

"But my suffering isn't as severe as hers."

It sounds courageous and compassionate. If you believe it, you avoid playing the victim card, and the victim card is as unattractive as it is unhelpful. So who would have thought that these good intentions could go so bad.

There is No Suffering Gauge
The truth is this. There is no suffering gauge in Scripture, as if being burned at the stake scores a 100, Stage IV cancer is an 85, a broken friendship is a 50 and uncomfortable shoes are a 5. If there was such a system, a person whose suffering topped out at 80 would have to defer to the one who measures 81. The one with the less severe suffering would have to suffer in silence. He or she would have no right to seek the comfort of others or of God. To do so would be hogging time that could be better used by more qualified sufferers.

There is No Compassion Meter
And here is something worse. A suffering gauge would inevitably be accompanied by a compassion meter. We would show more compassion to the one with the greater suffering and dole out a fraction of compassion to the one with the less suffering. God too would have full-on compassion for a score of 100, but He couldn't be bothered by the uncomfortable shoes.

Too many of us believe that such a system exists.

God, however, never compares our suffering to someone else's. Never. He doesn't even compare it to His own suffering. There is no, "Let's see, you just got divorced. Hmm. Do you want to know real pain? I suffered and died for your sins." Instead, his personal familiarity with human pain assures us of His compassion--not of His comparisons.

Call Out to God--Always
The psalms constantly invite us to call out to the Lord, which is another way of saying that our God constantly invites us to call out to Him. We might not identify with the psalmists who are being pursued by blood-thirsty enemies, but we can always find a psalm that speaks on our behalf. Consider Psalm 130. It is one of my favorites because the Psalmist doesn't specifiy the nature of his trouble. Instead, he is wonderfully vague. The only entry requirement for this Psalm is that you have to hurt.

The danger with establishing a pecking order within suffering is that you feel authorized to call out to the Lord when things are really bad, but you remain isolated and silent if your pain is below the national average. This, of course, can never be. If there is anything we know about ourselves and Scripture we know this: we were made to speak both the joys and sorrows of our heart to the Lord. He delights in hearing our joys and shouldering our sorrows. The most human thing we can do is call out to Him. Any system that restrains the cry of the heart is suspect at best. More than likely it has diabolic fingerprints on it.

So expose this wretched system. Jettison it now. Get mad that you were duped into believing that your God doesn't care about the details of your life. You can still say, "My suffering is nothing like what she is experiencing, which makes it that much more amazing that God hears me and cares."

Dr. Welch is with CCEF--the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation
This article is reprinted from a brouchure announcing CCEF's national conference.

Help and Hope

Mrs. Beaver...for my beloved Mr. Beaver:

Mrs. Beaver:

O send out Your Light and Your truth;
   let them lead me;
Let them lead me to Your holy hill
   And to Your dwelling places.
Then I will go to the alter of God,
   To God my exceeding joy.
                                            (Psalm 43:3,4)

Only God will satisfy as my never-failing, always faithful, forever-with-me exceeding joy.

Others will fail me.
   God is my exceeding joy.
Others will disappoint me.
   God is my exceeding joy.
Others with hurt me.
   God is my exceeding joy.
Others will lie to me.
   God is my exceeding joy.
Others will betray me.
   God is my exceeding joy.
Others will steal from me.
   God is my exceeding joy.
Others will reject me.
   God is my exceeding joy.

O, God, deepen my fear of You. I long to know You better and love You more. Send out Your light and Your truth; let them lead me to You. Let Your light and Your truth lead me to a clear grasp of who You are. Then when I'm buffeted and hammered by life's challenges, I will be able to cling to You, and You alone, as my exceeding joy.

Help Needed?

(Photo by Lissie)

Dedicated to our friends, Dave and Suzie. We're praying for you.

Life-Changing? Really?!?

Mrs. Beaver:

It's so easy to call something "life changing." No doubt, the two words get over used. Yet every once in a while, the cliche is really deserved.

For years I have wanted to read 10 chapters of the Bible each day. I've been stuck on the number 10 because one of my heroes, George Mueller, averaged reading 10 chapters each day during his lifetime, which spanned most of the 1800s. And George Mueller just had to be a BUSY man. Not only did he invest himself in the care of nearly 10,000 orphans, he was also a full-time pastor and traveled extensively as a missionary well into his 80s.

Despite my desire to imitate my hero in his Bible-reading habits, I have tried and failed repeatedly. When I've attempted to read large chunks of God's word, I have inevitably struggled with sleepiness or loss of concentration. (Yikes! That's embarrassing to admit!) It's been deeply frustrating to me that I haven't given the Book I love more than any other the attention I believe it is due.

So when I overheard my friend, Tess, mention that she'd been reading 10 chapters each day my interest was peaked. I horned my way into the conversation and peppered Tess with questions. She filled me in on Professor Grant Horner's Bible-Reading Plan, and I started the very next day.

Rather than trying to explain Professor Horner's system, I ENCOURAGE (read beg, plead, beseech)you to check out the link above. (I haven't checked out every post on this blog, and, therefore, can't endorse it. However, the blogger does a great job of explaining Professor Horner's system in the linked post.)

As I said, every once in a while the term "life changing" is warranted.This is one of those rare times. I'm now reading 10 chapters almost every day (some days I only get five or seven chapters read, but this is still far more than I was reading). If a mother of 12 can make time to do it, well... you know where I'm going with this one...!!!

Most importantly, I now have a hunger for the word of God that is stronger than it has ever been. I love reading my Bible more than ever before. I feel a passion for God's word like never before. In fact, I struggle to put the Book down! In the past, I have sometimes struggled to even pick it up.

In an interview, Professor Horner once remarked that if you try his plan for a month he believes you'll discover you've been starving yourself. That's just what happened with me.

Friends, please try this plan. It's easy. It's engaging. It's life changing. Be blessed! I certainly have been.

And, remember, if you believe you don't have time to read 10 chapters each day...a mother of twelve (11 of whom remain at home) wrote this post.

Praise in Pink

Our Great God

Mrs. Beaver:

Today I cropped three of the photos of roses I took on our end-of-the-school-year picnic this week.

What the camera captured that the naked eye couldn't see stunned me. Such variety. Such delicacy. Such intricacy. Such a wondrous Creator!

"For He spoke...

...and it was done.

He commanded...

...and it stood fast."

(Psalm 33:9)

Look Back, and Remember...

He has cared for you in the past.

In fact, He has dealt bountifully with you.

He will care for you now. 

He will care for you whatever the future holds.

He is faithful.

He is love.

Look back, and remember... Look forward, and trust.