George Grant on the Little People

I have been reading George Grant's The Micah Mandate, and I enjoyed his reflections on the impact of the "small things" ordinary people do.

"It has always been plain folks, simple people, who have literally changed the course of history . . . Most of the grand-glorious headline-making events through the ages have been little more than backdrops to the real drama of green grocers, village cobblers, next-door neighbours, and grandfathers. Despite all the hype, hoopla, and hysteria of sensational turns-of-events, the ordinary people who tend their gardens and raise their children and perfect their trades and mind their businesses are the ones who make or break a culture. Just as they always have. Just as they always will.

G. K. Chesterton said: “The most extraordinary thing in the world is an ordinary man and an ordinary woman and their ordinary children. For indeed, the first shall be last and the last shall be first.”

George Grant goes on to write that “the real decision makers are the anonymous plodders who are secretly the heroes of history by virtue of their consistent attention to the details that actually matter – enjoying their wives, loving their children, helping their neighbours, worshiping in Spirit and in truth, seeking righteousness, and applying their unique gifts to the affairs of everyday life.”

I am onto my second reading of this book. I have been reading it since last month. It has so much in it that is good about living a balanced Christian life of justice, mercy, and humility. Grant argues that this is attainable for all of us, as we commit to obeying God in our everyday lives.

George Grant says that the only reason groups promoting evil have made headway in our society is that "the church has not been all that God has called us to be or done all that God has called us to do."

"It is only when the church creates a vacuum by its own inactivity and impiety that the minions of this world have the opportunity to exploit the innocent, the foolish, and the inattentive."

The cure for this is found "when the elect of God yield to their divine mandate in every aspect and every detail of their lives."

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God's Kindness Never Ends

"The mountains shall depart,
And the hills be removed,
But My kindness shall not depart from you,
Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,"
Says the LORD, who has mercy on you.

Isaiah 45:10

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C.S. Lewis on Small Things

Good and evil both increase at compound interest. That is why the little decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance.
C. S. Lewis

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A Happy Christmas Day

Here are the happy Christmas girls . . .


Here is my Daddy. He's an avid gardener, and it was hard for him to tear himself away from the book I bought him on hippyastrums - even to come to lunch.


We had a relaxing afternoon chatting, eating, chatting, and eating more. Esther got lots of exercise though . . . and Daddy joined in some of the time.

It was fun standing in the sun with the cold wind blowing, watching Esther race around laughing. We had a cold change the day before Christmas. Apparently some snow was even falling on the mountain on the 24th.

I made biscuit angels to put on the tree, since it looked somewhat bare. It is fun having decorations that people ask if they can eat :). Esther looked deeply confused and protested when I began stringing them on the tree though.

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Giving Thanks at Christmas

I can finally post some pictures of my Christmas party on 11 December. 20-30 people came along and we had a good time. We had two trees, the little one Esther is standing next to and the big one Aunty Val (my step grandmother) and I are in front of. I love to decorate, and it was fun to have a fresh pine tree.













Some friends I had not seen for a while came - including Julie and Genevieve. Julie (the one in the skirt) was one of the people I asked to share something she was thankful for from the past year. I also shared some things I was thankful for. These include how God enabled me to graduate from university in August, and secure a three day a week job in Launceston as a teacher's aid for next year. He also enabled me to learn more about his sovereignty, and the importance of being thankful, honouring my parents, and church. As well as this thanksgiving slot, I asked my friend Phil Ninness to share a short message about Christmas. He gave a five minute message on Luke 1. He has posted some of the content on it on his blog, and you can read it here The talk was very good, although it did cause a German exchange student to ask her host family "Is it normal to have sermons at Australian parties?".


I was grateful to God that I was able to make my party a spiritual time, as well as a fun time to eat lots of food, chat, and enjoy the beautiful garden my parents have created. It was a hot summer day. I also handed out small gifts of a wrapped cake and a card to my guests. I wanted to express thanks to people, so I wrote little thank you notes in most of the cards. I love the USA tradition of thanksgiving, and seeing my need to develop more gratitude, I wanted to have a theme of thanks at the party. God is so good to us - we need to express that more!

Soon I will post about the happy Christmas Day I spent with my family! I hope you had a happy Christmas too.

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The Nativity

I love this beautiful nativity scene some of my neighbours put up in a yard. The sign says "Heaven's Greatest Gift". I guess it is their way of reminding people of the importance of Christ.

I had always thought nativity scenes were a great way to remind people what the season is about, but Carmon's post on them has made me think a bit more deeply about it. I also love her approach to dealing with differences between Christians on these matters.

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Watch Your Steps

When I read Our Children are Sponges it reminded me of a story from Call of Duty: The Sterling Nobility of Robert E. Lee by J. Steve Wilkins. This story touched me when I read it last year. I hope you enjoy it too!

A favorite maxim ofthe Puritans was, "The father is the mirror by which the child dresses himself." In spite of all that is often said to the contrary we know this to be so. The greatest influence we will ever have is that which we have on the children that God has given us.

This reality was impressed upon thirty-three year old Robert Lee one winter's day eight years after the birth of his son Custis . . . One afternoon Lee took Custis for a walk in the snow, holding him by the hand. When they had walked for a short way, Custis dropped his father's hand and fell behind. In a few minutes Lee looked back over his shoulder and saw Custis imitating his every movement. Walking as his father walked, head and shoulders erect, with all the grace and dignity the eight-year-old could muster, he was struggling to walk in the very footprints his father had left behind in the snow.

Lee said later, "When I saw this, I said to myself 'It behooves me to walk very straight, when this fellow is already following in my tracks.'"

You don't have to have your own children to know the reality of this story! When I visited my nephews in Queensland, the two year old began to copy how I carry my pillow to any chair I go to sit on (it helps my sore back). He would come to the table with a cusion and say "I need my pillow". This was very funny, but also a scary reminder of what mimics children are!

I want to keep this fact in mind as I babysit my neice and other children. I see Esther several times a week, and I'll probably be a part of her life for many years. I want to leave a good legacy, in the small things and the large ones. The fact that children are mimics is also important in relation to choosing a husband. "What sort of father and grandfather will this man be?" is an important question to consider.

Here is another picture of Esther, unwrapping her presents on her birthday. Grandma gave her a wheelbarrow and lots of little tools. I am so glad that Esther's Grandma is a great example to her (and to me!) of love for God and others.

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Returning to the Backyard?

In November I wrote in this post about meeting Dr. David van Gend. I would like to recommend to you two of his articles. The first is on a topic of great currency in Australia at the moment, the abortion drug RU486.Political will or safer pill? discusses some of the issues associated with RU486, which are important to know about if we are to make a response. Please consider sending in a short letter to the Senate Inquiry into this issue, before January 16. Include your contact details and email as a Word attachment to community.affairs.sen@aph.gov.au

Dr. van Gend also has a great article, Abortion Distortions, exposing the myths surrounding backyard abortions. Even many Christians I know are put off doing anything toward reducing abortion levels because they believe that women will die if abortion is more difficult to access. I have personally looked at the Commonwealth Records of Maternal Deaths covering the last century, because of being confronted with this concern so much. They clearly show that few women ever died. No coat hangers featured in any of those deaths, either. The reduction in these few deaths occured after antibiotics were introduced, and had very little correlation with making abortion more accessible. Those I have passed Dr. van Gend's article onto have been strongly impacted with the facts he presents, and annoyed that this issue as been falsly presented over and over again.

My friend Christina Sonnemann has written a great article about how in advocating RU486, those who so often raise the spectre of backyard abortions are really arguing for a return to them. I hope it will be available online soon. Women who take RU486 usually abort at home, and deal with the many complications on their own. If you are really concerned about a return to the backyard, oppose this drug becoming available in Australia.

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They Shall Vanish

When I returned from a three week holiday to Queensland in September, I was amazed to see so many beautiful flowers blooming in my garden. It made me think of how when we plant the right things in our lives, the result can be beauty. However, within a month they had almost completely died off and looked ugly! So my mind returned to what my flowers usually remind me of. Psalm 37: 20 -

But the wicked shall perish;
And the enemies of the LORD,
Like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish.
Into smoke they shall vanish away.

My flowers are beautiful for a while, but they are also a regular reminder that the success of the wicked is brief.

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Simple Little Pleasures

I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful happens, but just those that bring simple little pleasures following one another softly like pearls slipping off a string. L. M. Montgomery.

Last week it was lovely to stay home a lot of the time. School is finished for the year, and one of the usual church meetings is not on this month, so there were fewer reasons to go out. I love to stay at home and get more exercise done, help around the house, look at my flowers in the garden and plant a few, read, learn the Bible, pray, and so much more! I rarely get to spend more than one whole day at home in a week.

There are so many simple little pleasures to take joy in at home. The bird songs outside my window, clean dishes, a recipe that works out, music playing, the trees waving against the blue sky, a seed coming up, the sound of Esther's excited laughter, a quote or Bible verse that inspires me, the taste of a fresh strawberry, a sunset, or even Mum's neat rows of vegetables. When I came to know my Heavenly Father's love several years ago, it was like I could have joy in the beauty of life in a new way. My heart had been shuttered not only from His love, but also from the wonder of what he has given us.

It has also been good to stay home more to recover from my busy weekend on 10 - 11 Dec. I babysat Friday night and Saturday, had to do lots of preparation for my Christmas party, held my Christmas party on Sunday, and went to church. After that I let myself begin a novel, something I rarely do! I am re-reading Anne of Ingleside. I want to put pictures of my party on my blog, but I'm having problems importing photos to my computer. It was both fun and a good spiritual time.

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The Blessing of Christian Education

Last week the Christian school where Mum and I work finished for the year. A presentation day was held. Students who had done well or achieved a certain level received awards. The children also performed several items. The class of 7 that I have worked with for part of this year, ages 5 to 7, were cute when they recited part of Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. All the items had a theme of faith. There was a song and a mime about the Exodus. There was also a long Scripture recitation of part of Hebrews 11, about Moses, by most of the students.

This is a picture of the puppet play three students performed about Jesus walking on the water. It was great, and the little children especially enjoyed watching it.

Mum has done a great job with her students this year - getting them ready to perform the items, and encouraging them spiritually. It was exciting for her to see them come to know Jesus more. Also, one of her students completed year 12 and was accepted into university. This is the first time our little school has achieved this (only about 40 students from Prep to Grade 12). It only runs three days a week, and the students are home schooled for the rest of the week. Mum has been working three days as the secondary teacher, and she is looking forward to cutting back to two next year.

It is such a blessing to be able to work in a Christian school, and teach the children about God. One little boy was reading to me out of his workbook about Christ's death on the cross. Then he looked at me and said "Why did Jesus wash us with his blood?". I only had a few hours a week work at the school this year, but next year I will be working for three days a week in another campus of the group of schools this one is a part of.

Unfortunately, the topic of Christian education is a contentious one in this day between Christians. All kinds of arguments fly around. Many Christians use arguments against Christian education that have no basis in Scripture. For example, expressing concerns about the socialisation of home schooled children. I enjoyed reading Kim's post on Christian education, but it did raise a lot of controversy!

The protestant church did all Australians a huge wrong when they handed their shools over to the state in the middle of the 19th Century. Whatever possessed them? I guess Christianity was so ingrained in the culture that they figured the government would continue to promote prayer and the Bible in schools. The final fruit of this decision, however, is obvious. Unless a school is based on Christ, its fruit will be poisonous.

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God's Mercy to Me

It was only about two years ago when I first considered that the difficulties God had brought into my life could be his mercy to me. Yet the more I think about it, the more I do believe that. God sends us suffering in his mercy. This is real to me in relation to my ongoing back pain from a crushed vertebra in my spine. I was injured in a car accident six and a half years ago, and this injury still causes me a great deal of trouble. Yet when I look at where my life was headed before my injury, I can see his merciful hand in bringing me this. I was ignoring God, disobeying my parents, and involved in various dangerous and sinful behaviours. Could God have got my attention in another way if he wanted to? Of course. He is, after all, the God who says of himself in Isaiah 45:7:

I make peace and create calamity;
I the LORD do all these things.

God has infinite choices, and infinite control. If he thinks lying me flat on my back for months and following that with severe pain for years on end, possibly for the rest of my life, is the best way to sancrify me, that is his goodness to me. He could heal me tomorrow, or in a moment. I pray he will. Yet if he refuses, that is his mercy.

Now if anyone had said this to me early on in my Christian life, shortly after my accident when I gave my life to the Lord, I would have been mad! I am not advocating that you bluntly tell suffering people this truth, especially if you have not suffered much yourself. However, you can begin to embrace this truth in your own life. Even if your difficulties are only small, it helps to look for the mercy of God in sending them to you.

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Let God's Mercies be Joy to You

Life is likely to continue to hold many forms of torture and dismay . . . for all who refuse to receive with thanks giving instead of complaint the place in life God has chosen for them. The torture is self-inflicted, for God has not rejected their prayers. He knows better than any of us do what furthers our salvation. Our true happiness is to be realised precisely through his refusals, which are always mercies. His choice is flawlessly contrived to give the deepest kind of joy as soon as it is embraced. Elizabeth Elliot.

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Do Small, Hard Things

Over at The Rebelution they have an excellent guest post by Alex King. The Rebelution is an exciting site, becuase it challenges stereotypical and destructive ideas about what the teen years should be. This post, Hard Things Come in Small Packages, reminds us that to accomplish large and difficult goals, we must persevere through many small, hard things. Here is a section of the article:

"Without doing these small things, we can’t achieve those huge goals. Look at this line from the parable of the talents in Luke 19:17,

And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.

This isn’t simply a kingdom principle that Christ is talking about; it’s also a logistical principle. Yes, for our own good, God will hold back the cities until we can handle the little. But we should also realize that if we didn’t do the little, then we’d never accomplish the cities anyway.

Doing hard things means being diligent in the small. Getting across an ocean means many strokes of rowing. Scoring a film means many mornings of getting up early. Changing the world means changing our everyday actions. These are the hard things that we need to be doing if we really want to make a difference - the small, seemingly unexciting tasks that we so often procrastinate on, or ignore altogether.

So when you run into something small and unexciting, and you feel like procrastinating or ignoring it, don’t! Get up that extra hour earlier to work on that project. Reply to that email that could wait, but shouldn’t. Write that blog post that you’re simply not in the mood for, but need to do. Change the way you behave around your family for the better. Do those little things that don’t seem important, exciting, or enjoyable at first – but that can get you to your goals.

We all want to accomplish Hard Things, but we often forget to get excited about small ones. If we can do the small things, then we’ll be on our way to the large ones, and ready when we get to them."

You might also consider voting for The Rebelution or another blog in the Weblog Awards. I can't vote because I don't have flash player version 7, but you might be able to!

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Turning Two

Recently my neice turned two, and I got permission to post pictures of her! She had a lovely birthday party with lots of friends from church.

For a moment it looked like she was going to blow out her own candles . . .


When everone began singing Happy Birthday, though, she was enjoying it so much that learning about blowing out candles was all too much. Mummie blew them out, while Esther gave big smiles to all her friends.


Here is Esther on her birthday with Mummy and Daddy.


It was a great privilege to meet Esther shortly after her birth, and to hear her first cry while I was sitting outside the room where she was born. It is such a blessing to have Esther in our family. What I love most about her is her laughter, and the expressions of total joy that sometimes come over her face. Her curls are great too. It has been exciting in the past year to watch her develop speech (she can string two words together now!) and learn to walk. She has also learnt to throw tantrums, which seem very funny even though they shouldn't be! Esther has also learnt to say a name for me. I always ask her, "Can you say Aunty?". Then she responds with "Tunty". Her attempts at Sherrin seem to come out more like herring or herrin.

What we want most for Esther, as Lyndon prayed at her party, is that she will know Jesus.

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When Two become One

On the weekend I had the honour of attending the wedding of some good friends, Jonathan and Evelina. I get very excited about weddings! When I attend one like this, I think "why would anyone settle for shacking up when they could have this!". Tragically in our culture many people have not even been to a wedding, because less people are marrying. Events like this wedding remind all who attend that God's ways are best. We can have a hopeful vision, and be inspired about all that He intends to do through the marriage committment that he has commanded.
Evelina had a beautiful dress with a train. I love wedding dresses with trains. The only problem is that it rained heavily all day, and trains can be a little inconvenient in those circumstances! Not to worry - it looked amazing!

The minister said that Jonathan and Evelina had thought and prayed more than any other couple he had counselled, in considering how to honour God in their lives together. What a compliment! His counsel to them was based on Ps. 37, the first Psalm I tried to memorize.

Do not fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity,
For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
And wither like the green herb

Trust in the LORD and do good,
Dwell in the land and feed on his faithfulness,
Delight yourself also in the LORD,
And he shall give you the desires of your heart.

When I began memorizing it in November last year, I didn't quite register that it was a very long Psalm to do as my first one! It has been wonderful to meditate on the 40 verses, even though I can't remember how they all string together.

It was exciting to hear this Psalm read and spoken on - but most exciting to see Jonathan and Evelina declared husband and wife! I am looking forward to seeing what God will do through them as a couple.

Here they are at the reception. They also had an afternon tea at the church for all those who came to the wedding. So it ended up being a long day - 1pm at the church until after 11pm at the reception! The reception was a beautiful time, and it was especially encouraging to hear the bride and groom thank their parents from raising them in God's ways.

Here are Josh, Ellen, Geoff, and Sam Downes. Josh was best man. He gave a good speech, both short and funny!

I first came to know Evelina through youth group and Girls Brigade when we were teens. I renewed my friendship with her after many years, when we both visited the Downes' to listen to tapes on theology and discuss God's ways. It was a long drive to Downes', and I got a lift with Jono and Ev. We had plenty of time to discuss all kinds of things during those trips, and it was both edifying and thought provoking. A big thanks to the Downes' for hosting us, and always being so willing to lend out their excellent books, CDs, and magazines.

I will end with a quote from Jennie Chancey about the movie Pride and Prejudice. This quote reminded and inspired me about the realities of what God intends for marriage.

"A marriage modeled on Christ and His Church is truly a piece of heaven. It's a shame that Hollywood sees it as a fantasy from another age. It's amazing that they don't understand that such a story would never make sense set in our times, when fornication is pretty much the rule--and when a girl's "patched-up marriage" would never be considered a scandal or even raise an eyebrow (in fact, today anyone would wonder why she needed to bother getting married at all--why not just shack up?). These filmmakers are looking back upon a culture steeped in Christianity (not perfect, of course), and they feel compelled to make constant apologies for the "restrictions" and "dour morals" of the time--little realizing that those boundaries and beliefs are the very things which give birth to a Mr. Darcy willing to work and wait for his bride and to a Lizzy whose own integrity and purity are the very guarantors of her lifelong happiness as Mrs. Darcy . . . It may look like fantasy on film, but I am here to tell you that it is as real as my husband's warm glance across a busy room and the touch of his hand when he helps me into the car or guides me through a crowded street."

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"The Deeps"

This prayer is from a book I want to get, The Valley of Vision, a collection of Puritan writings from the 16th and 17th centuries. Although “The Deeps” is a long prayer, it is well worth reading.

“The Deeps”

Lord Jesus,
Give me a deeper repentance,
A horror of sin,
A dread of its approach;
Help me chastely to flee it,
And jealously to resolve that my heart
Shall be Thine alone.

Give me a deeper trust,
That I may lose myself to find myself in Thee,
The ground of my rest,
The spring of my being.
Give me a deeper knowledge of Thyself
as Saviour, Master, Lord, and King.

Give me deeper power in private prayer,
More sweetness in Thy Word,
More steadfast grip on its truth.
Give me deeper holiness in speech, thought, action,
and let me not seek moral virtue apart from Thee.

Plough deep in me, great Lord,
Heavenly Husbandman,
That my being may be a tilled field.
The roots of grace spreading far and wide,
Until Thou alone art seen in me,
Thy beauty golden like summer harvest,
Thy fruitfulness and autumn plenty.

I have no master but Thee,
No law but Thy will,
No delight but Thyself,
No wealth but that Thou givest,
No good but that Thou bestowest.

No peace but that Thou makest me,
I have nothing but that I receive from Thee,
I can be nothing but that grace adorns me.
Quarry me deep, dear Lord,
And then fill me to overflowing
With living water.

I took this photo during my trial as a teacher’s aid at a Christian school on the North West Coast in October. The farming country there reminds me of the work of our “Heavenly Husbandman”, who so ably works in us to create a “tilled field” of grace.

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