You Must Be a Theologian To Be a Mother

More thoughts from John Piper on gospel-centered mothering:

What's the impression the children are picking up as we teach them? Are they getting the impression that the foundation of their acceptance with God is their good behavior, or is the foundation the perfect behavior and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, received by faith alone? Are they learning to win God’s favor by a righteousness they perform, or by a perfect righteousness performed on their behalf by Jesus Christ?

...Let's draw in the issue of sanctification (the obedience which God requires of believers) and ask the question like this: Are the children learning from us that the practical, personal obedience that God requires of believers is the way to become a justified person, or the way a justified person becomes? When you tell a child to do something, and insist on obedience--which you should--are you leading the child to think that his good behavior is the root that grows into justification, or the fruit that flows from justification by faith alone?

Are we helping the children see saving faith both as the way we have Christ’s righteousness as the basis of our acceptance with God, and as the way we have Christ’s power to become like him in daily life? Are we keeping both those things together but in the right order: faith in Christ as the link first to his perfection and pardon, and second as to his purifying power – the one for justification (his perfection and pardon), and the other for sanctification (his purifying power)?

This is a high calling, moms. You must be a theologian to be a mother. You must make some very clear distinctions. You must know how a person is saved. You must know the difference between sanctification and justification, and faith alone and the enabling power of God to obey.

How I pray Elijah will learn from the beginning what I did not learn until my early twenties...that he cannot earn God's acceptance and approval after he is saved any more than he could earn it while he was still dead in sin!

Listen to the full sermon here.

Gospel-Centered Mothering

Ever hear a sermon so good that you listen to it twice? Or more? I heard just such a sermon a couple of weeks ago. So this week I want to pass along quotes from a John Piper sermon on gospel-centered mothering. Mamas, you NEED to hear this sermon. I have listened to it at least three times already. It is so powerful. I am going to quote from it liberally over the next few days, because I can't just pick one quote, and because if I put them all in one post you won't read it.

But it's so much better to listen. I read the edited transcript, and it's edited a lot--the sermon is tons more powerful. Reading Piper is good, but hearing Piper is wonderful. He has this gentle, firm, fatherly passion and conviction that don't come across in the same way in print. Download it for free here, and then listen in the car, or while you're doing dishes, or while you're nursing. Put it on your iPod for when you take a walk. Just listen to it!

Here's the first quote that struck me:

To make it more pointed, mothers – and all those charged with training up the younger ones in the family and the church – are we teaching the Old Testament and the New Testament to make our children wise unto salvation through faith in Jesus Christ? Or are we turning the Scriptures into a little collection of morality plays? Do the stories of the Bible point again and again to the need for a Savior, or do they point to the children's need to get their act together morally? Are the children getting the impression under our teaching that Christianity is mainly a list of do’s and don’ts, or mainly a story about how God justifies the ungodly--by grace alone, through faith alone, on the basis of the blood and righteousness of Christ alone, to the glory of God alone?

This quote reminds me of what I love about The Jesus Storybook Bible. As Al Mohler recently said in recommending this book (he shares both my children's Bible endorsements :), "I am concerned that many Bible story books treat the stories as nothing more than disconnected morality tales. Children need to be told about the "big story" of the Bible -- of God's purpose to save His people from their sins through the atonement of Christ. They need to learn to understand the individual stories of the Bible within the big picture and to know that these stories are not disconnected, but part of a pattern of promise and fulfillment."

Oh, how this is my passion as a mother! I don't want my children to learn morality tales. I want them to see all over Scripture the promise of a Savior and the fulfillment of that promise. How I pray that the Old Testament and the New Testament will make Elijah "wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus" (2 Timothy 3:14-15).

Who Can Resist This Face?

Surfin' Saturday: Coupon Codes

The thing that most aggravates me about online shopping is getting to the checkout page and seeing a place to enter a coupon code--and not having one. It's like that little box taunts me: "Lookie here, you could be saving money, if only you knew the secret code...neener, neener, neener!"

I've often spent a few minutes frantically googling for a code, to no avail. I thought NaughtyCodes.com looked promising when I first discovered it a couple of years ago, but it's not often been helpful. Generally my search yields only expired codes, and I end up resigned to paying full price.

Not anymore!

RetailMeNot.com is built on the same principles as BugMeNot.com--another useful site I take advantage of occasionally.* When you're completing a purchase and come across one of those tantalizing "enter coupon code" boxes, simply head over to RetailMeNot.com and do a quick search. The site provides up-to-date coupon codes, along with details about the discount and a success rate (after you try the code, you indicate whether it worked for you or not, thus boosting or lowering the code's rating). You can then copy the code you want and paste it into that box.

But wait, there's more! That one simple search for your store will also turn up a sidebar comparing discounts at similar stores, as well as an option for you to enter your email address and be notified of new coupons for the same store.

You can also search differently--if you do your coupon scouting before you are already in the process of purchasing, you can find your preferred shopping website at RetailMeNot.com first, and then click a link that will take you straight to the website with the code activated. Or, you can search by product category and look to see which store has the best coupon code.

Unlike my last two Surfin' Saturdays, I can really vouch for this one. On Tuesday night I was ordering prints from Snapfish and saw that little coupon code box. Aha--an opportunity to test out RetailMeNot! I headed over to the site and whaddaya know? Twenty-five percent off my order with just a few clicks. Niiiice.

So now, you can do your online Christmas shopping and taunt those coupon code boxes right back. And with the money you save, you'll have enough left over to buy a Christmas present for me. ;)

*BugMeNot, for those of you unfamiliar, offers bogus login usernames/passwords you can use on sites that want you to register to read an article--like the NY Times online. Rather than taking the time to create an account with your personal information, and thus get yourself signed up for more spam, you can hop over to BugMeNot.com and find a generic username/password to obtain access. Nifty!

Response #7: Visit Them

(The following is part of a series of "responses to the persecuted church" based on a sermon by Eric Schumacher at An Infant in a Cradle. As a preface to his sermon, Schumacher noted: "It is important that we hear these stories. However, hearing them is not enough. We are called to respond. So, I want to ask this question...: How do we respond to the persecuted church?" I'm breaking down his "ten responses to the persecuted church," listing his suggestions and adding my thoughts.)

To say this series has been on hiatus would be putting it nicely. The truth is, it's been hopelessly sporadic since the very beginning. The fact that I started it in conjunction with the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church last year, and IDOP 2007 just passed, gives you some idea.

My persecuted church blogging has disappeared altogether since Elijah was born. I've been too absorbed in my own life to give much thought to persecuted Christians. I was embarrassed to realize last week that somehow I completely forgot about IDOP this year--either I never got materials from Voice of the Martyrs, somehow, or I got them long enough ago for them to get buried and forgotten; at any rate, I shamefully missed an opportunity to help my church remember and encourage the persecuted. (I'm hoping to organize something after the first of the year.)

Meanwhile, my brothers and sisters around the world are having babies, too, under much more dire conditions. They're facing trials that make my struggles look easy-peasy--and continuing to follow God faithfully in the midst of it all. So I'm resuming my series, attempting to remind myself not to be so self-absorbed, but to "Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body" (Hebrews 13:3).

7. Visit them.

I always love getting an email or a phone call or a piece of real mail from a faraway friend. What a blessing to know she's thinking of me and to reconnect in some small way! But an even greater blessing is to see her face to face--to hug her, to sit down over coffee and see her facial expressions as she tells me a story, to spend time just being together. And doesn't it mean much more to know someone traveled a long distance to see you--to know they spent time and money and effort because spending time with you was important to them?

I imagine a personal visit from a brother or sister in Christ would bring much the same encouragement to a persecuted Christian. But how could we do this? Doesn't it seem unrealistic, or at the very least unusual?

Yes--that's why I'm going to defer to Eric Schumacher to tell us about this one :)

In 1 Thessalonians 3:1-3, Paul writes, “we sent Timothy, our brother and God's coworker in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith, that no one be moved by these afflictions.” Apparently, letters were not enough. Paul saw it as necessary that suffering Christians receive face-to-face encouragement. So, he sent Timothy to them. That is just one of many occasions where this happens (cf Acts 14:21-22; 2 Corinthians 7:5-7; Philippians 2:19; Colossians 4:7-9; 1 Thessalonians 3:9-10; 2 Timothy 1:4).

I have heard of churches sending members around the world to simply visit persecuted Christians to encourage them. I used to think this was wasteful—we should use our money on unreached people, not on visiting those who have the Scripture and know Christ! I don’t think it is wasteful anymore. I think it is biblical. We ought to be involved in sending people to encourage the persecuted church.

A helpful exhortation from Scripture. Face-to-face encouragement does go even further than a letter. So, can you pack your bags tomorrow and head to China to visit a group of persecuted believers? Not likely. But you can pray about opportunities--and you can at least be involved in doing the sending. Voice of the Martyrs has staff members whose job it is to visit persecuted Christians. Their visits provide information on what the persecuted church needs, and seeing persecuted believers firsthand helps to get their stories out. But it also serves to encourage the persecuted. So by donating to VOM, you can support this vital ministry of encouraging the persecuted church by visiting them.



Previously in this series:
Response #1: Do Not Be Surprised
Response #2: Remember Them
Response #3: Research Them
Response #4: Pray for Them
Response #5: Have Generous Compassion on Them
Response #6: Encourage Them

Thankful Thursday, Take 55

Thanking God this week for...

• my precious son
• the growth spurt he had this month
• his laughter and (I swear) mischievous grins
• pumpkin spice latte
• clean drinking water
• the beautiful colors of autumn
• unexpected money in the mail today
• chiropractors
• coconut
• a husband willing to try any new recipe I come up with for dinner
• the incredible variety of animals God created
• blog posts that make me laugh out loud
• adopting me as His daughter
• promising me an eternal inheritance
• being faithful to keep all His promises

Death and Beauty

Our patio is covered in yellow leaves; as I drove out in the country this afternoon, I marveled at the brilliant reds and oranges. I think it's no accident that nature is at its most beautiful when it's dying.

If there's anything I'm learning during this season of new motherhood--or anything I NEED to learn--it's death. Each day as I care for Elijah, I must die--to laziness, to self-centeredness, to comfort and ease and a hundred things. And it's in death to self that I am most beautiful, because it's here that I look most like my Savior--the One who died that I might live.

"And Jesus answered them, 'The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.'" (John 12:23-25)

*Flickr photo by luzzzelmann

Photography and Pride

It's not the best picture of Elijah I've ever taken, but this photo marks a photography milestone for me: it's the first one I've taken successfully in my camera's manual mode, selecting the aperture and shutter speed myself. At this point in my amateur photography adventure, I know just enough to be dangerous. I have a long, long way to go.

My camera--a Nikon D50--takes great pictures when everything's fully automatic, just point and shoot. But it has the potential to take fabulous pictures if you fuss with the settings more. The problem is, it also has the potential to take terrible pictures because you're fussing with the settings more. I learned that the hard way on Sunday, when we tried to take some family photos. A friend of ours was shooting for us, but he knew nothing about the camera, so I had pre-adjusted the settings and was tweaking periodically. Unfortunately, since I wasn't behind the camera, I couldn't see the effects of my tweaking, and to my dismay, about half of the photos turned out too blurry to use because the camera adjusted the shutter speed to be too slow. Obviously I'm not the budding expert I'd like to think I am--or would like you to think I am ;)

Like many things in life, I guess it gets worse before it gets better. Though it was incredibly disappointing to see what would have been fantastic pictures ruined because of blur (one of them was wonderful--I would totally blow it up and frame it if it weren't so fuzzy), it sent me back to my manual. There is so much information in that thick book to absorb and apply, and I guess screwing something up will help me remember to do it correctly next time.

I realized that there are some spiritual parallels to be gleaned here. Mark Lauterbach often writes of the folly in being disappointed with yourself. In one post about the thought processes behind pride, he writes:

God is without flaw so I hate anything that shows I have flaws, since I am God. I tend to be a perfectionist. I can't stand for little things to be wrong because they reflect poorly on me. I have a hard time putting my mistakes behind me. This is subtle. I do not desire godliness, I desire freedom from the daily necessity of the cross. I do not want to drink grace as a jet engine drinks fuel. I want to get a one shot for life experience. So, my critique of myself shows up in disappointment and despair – because I become weary of being a sinner. I am self-preoccupied. Disappointment is different than conviction of sin. One is I am disappointed with myself, the other is I have offended my God.

He's right, of course. My photography reflects my life in general. I want to have it all figured out, right now (in part to impress others). But screwing up sends me back to the Book (at least I hope it does) and going back to the Book is good for me. It humbles this proud heart; it reminds me that I am daily dependent on His grace.

What $25 Buys You in Kenya

• a boy's suit
• four shirts
• one pair of shoes
• two pairs of socks
• a pair of trousers
• two chickens
• one kg of sugar
• a packet of tea leaves
• 250 g cooking fat
• seven sweets

I know this because Steve and I received a precious letter the other day from Bahati, the six-year-old Kenyan boy we sponsor through Compassion International. We signed up to sponsor him on Compassion Sunday this past spring, and we noticed that he had just turned six--so along with our first payment, we sent a birthday gift. We've received two or three letters from Bahati already, and the latest one was a thank you for our gift. He told us all the things he bought for himself and his family--listed above.

It blew me away. Kind of puts things in perspective, huh?

If a birthday gift goes that far, think what a $32/month sponsorship accomplishes! I know many of you are already involved with this wonderful ministry, but if you're not, may I encourage you to head over to their website now and check it out? Children are the most vulnerable people in the world—and God is passionate about them. What can you do today for the least of these?

Sunday Cuteness

Surfin' Saturday: Sell Your Old Books

After I graduated from college, I spent several hours listing old, unwanted books on Amazon.com and Half.com--the places I'd bought most of my used books. I did sell some of them, but between the time it took to list them, the hassles of shipping, the low prices to make sure they sold, the fees and the postage costs, it probably wasn't all that worthwhile. Steve and I have had a box of unwanted books sitting in our office ever since we got married and merged our libraries--it got moved untouched from the apartment to the house. I keep meaning to list them online, but I just never seem to get around to it.

Enter Cash4Books. You simply enter the ISBN(s) from your book(s) and check to see if they're buying the book. They pay the shipping with a free pre-paid mailing label that you print from your computer. Then they pay for your books! No hidden fees or anything.

They do have a list of books they are generally not purchasing; if you're looking to get rid of paperback fiction, for example, you're out of luck. But it's simple enough that it's worth checking out! If you decide to sell your books, could you be so kind as to click through the link here on my website? They also have an affiliate referral program :)

I haven't tried selling any books yet, but it looks and sounds a whole lot more convenient than selling via the Amazon Marketplace or Half.com (much as I do love those sites for book-buying). I'm definitely planning to get out that box of books and see if we can get some cash for them...just as soon as I get around to it :)

Ultimate Gratitude

In the wake of Thankful Thursday, I'm especially thankful for a helpful reminder I read this week in a thoughtful article by my blogger-friend Danielle called "Soul-Deep Contentment." She says:

"These gifts alone make me wealthier than many people throughout the world. How could I not be content with such blessings?

...I've learned good gifts alone don't bring contentment. Well, maybe for a while, but not for a lifetime. Not even gifts from God. They alone don't satisfy. Plus, gifts can be taken away. What then? Although it's right for me to be thankful for all the gifts God has given me in good health, a loving family, food, and so on, there is something more that I must be most thankful for. Christ Himself. Nothing satisfies like the ultimate gift of Christ, given through His work of salvation. There is nothing else I should be more grateful for, and nothing else that can bring about soul-deep contentment, no matter what the circumstances of life may hurl at me."

This is why I try to end every Thankful Thursday post with some unchanging blessings that go deeper than food or weather. At the end of the day, whether I have yummy food, or perfect temperatures, or a thousand other simple pleasures...even if my wedding ring hadn't turned up...I have countless other blessings that can never be misplaced or taken away. I have redemption; I have an eternal inheritance; I have a Savior and Friend who will never leave or forsake me. Ultimately, that's why I'm grateful!

Thankful Thursday, Take 54

Thanking God this week for...

• finding my wedding ring just now, after it turned up missing this morning
• heat
• a new thermostat that actually works
• fuzzy sweaters
• consignment stores for kids' clothes
• Fuji apples
• The Message of the New Testament: Promises Kept
• Steve's hugs
• the way Elijah grins at me
• the $1 Spot at Target (great place to find some goodies for our shoeboxes!)
• gift cards
• cool whip
• the kindness of strangers
• John Piper sermons available for free online
• His mercies new every morning
• making a way for me to draw near to Him, by the death of His Son

Shoebox Shopping

Have you filled up your shoeboxes yet?

Near the top of my to-do list in the next few days is to go shopping for Operation Christmas Child! This is one of my favorite ministries. Packing a shoebox full of gifts for a child in need is a simple and meaningful way to get into the spirit of Christmas (how is it time to be thinking about Christmas already, anyway?!).

If you're unfamiliar with this ministry, check out this video and short explanation at the Samaritan's Purse website. Have your box(es) ready to go? Search for a drop-off site near you. National Collection Week is next week, so you better get busy!

Bird's Eye View

You've maybe seen on my sidebar that I've been reading Mark Dever's book The Message of the New Testament: Promises Kept for quite a while now. After studying Philemon this morning, I decided that today's post needed to be a plug for this excellent book.

Most people, when they think of expositional preaching (if they know what it is), think of going bit by bit through just a few verses of Scripture at a time. (Expositional preaching, for those of you unfamiliar, is "a sermon which takes the point of the text as the point of the sermon"--for more explanation, check out the link above.) But Mark Dever, pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church, demonstrated in a sermon series a few years ago that expositional sermons can be effectively preached on much larger sections of text. He took his congregation through the entire Bible, preaching one overview sermon on each book. And thanks to the folks at Crossway, these sermons were turned into a two-volume Bible commentary of sorts.

As Thomas Schreiner explains in an endorsement, "Many Bible readers are familiar with individual trees while failing to see the forest. They are in great danger of misinterpreting the parts of the Bible they read because they do not see the entire structure... Mark Dever fills a gaping need with his sermons on each of the individual books."

I am finding this bird's-eye-view incredibly helpful and engaging. It's really giving me a better understanding of the major themes and their significance. This morning, after reading the chapter on Philemon, I feel as though I understand this tiny, often-overlooked letter much more clearly than I ever did before. Dever identifies the theme of Philemon as "Forgiveness" and explains how "Paul pulls out all the stops" in trying to bring reconciliation between Philemon and his slave, Onesimus. He asks, "Does the length to which Paul goes remind you of anyone in particular? Paul is following the example of his master [Jesus Christ], who went to far greater lengths to make peace."

He then points out:

"Philemon will feel offended if he has understood everything about Christianity except the gospel. In other words, if he understands that right and wrong are absolute, that actions have consequences, and that Christiasn must live exemplary lives, then yes, Philemon will understandably feel offended. But if God's Holy Spirit has ever convicted Philemon of his own sin, then he will not take umbrage."

Finally, Dever says:

"Nothing is nearer the heart of the Christian faith than the recognition of our own need to forgive because of our own need for forgiveness in Christ. in this little letter, we see three miniature pictures of what true Christian faith will look like in us. We will be peacemakers, like Paul...We will forgives others, as Philemon should...We will know our need for forgiveness, as Onesimus did."

Wow! Suddenly Philemon isn't a little chapter buried in between the "more valuable/relevant" Titus and Hebrews. It teaches me about the significance of forgiveness in my own Christian life; it equips me to counsel others when they struggle to forgive.

I highly recommend this book as a wonderful companion to your time in the Word. It's also lot more user-friendly than many Bible commentaries and even includes application questions to help you think through each book. I can't wait to get the Old Testament volume!