God is a Sanctuary

"Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord God; Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come." Ezekiel 11:16

Banished from the public means of grace, we are not removed from the grace of means. The Lord who places His people where they feel as exiles will Himself be with them and be to them all that they could have had at home, in the place of their solemn assemblies. Take this to yourselves, O ye who are called to wander!

God is to His people a place of refuge. They find sanctuary with Him from every adversary, He is their place of worship, too. He is with them as with Jacob when he slept in the open filed, and rising, said, "Surely God was in this place," To them also He will be a sanctuary of quiet, like the Holy of Hollies, which was the noiseless abode of the Eternal. They shall be quiet from fear of evil.

God Himself, in Christ Jesus, is the sanctuary of mercy. The Ark of the Covenant is the Lord Jesus, and Aron's rod, the pot of manna, the tables of the law, all a re in Christ our sanctuary. In God we find the shrine of holiness and of communion. what more do we need? O Lord, fulfill this promise and be ever to us as a little sanctuary!

C.H Spurgeon

Read A Daily dose of Spurgeon

Interesting Thoughs on The Wind and the Willows

"One can argue over the merits of most books, and in arguing understand the point of view of one's opponent. One may even come to the conclusion that possibly he is right after all. One does not argue about The Wind in the Willows.
The young man gives it to the girl with whom he is in love, and if she does not like it, asks her to return his letters. The older man tries it on his nephew, and alters his will accordingly. The book is a test of character. We can't criticize it, because it is criticizing us.
It is a household book; a book which everybody in the household loves, and quotes continually; a book which is read aloud to every new guest and is regarded as the touchstone of his worth.
But I must give you one word of warning. When you sit down to it, don't be so ridiculous as to suppose that you are sitting in judgement on my taste, or on the art of Kenneth Grahame. You are merely sitting in judgment on yourself...it is you who are on trial."
A.A. Milne

Read it online here for free: The Wind in the Willows and listen for free here at LibriVox. This movie has been recommended to me but we haven't seen it yet: The PBS/Masterpiece Theatre version.

Some Inspiration

“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.” –Antoine de Saint-Exupery

The Freedom of Life

Mother and Child by Mary Cassatt

"It is a universal rule that the more excited or naughty the children are, the more quiet and clear the mother should be. A mother who realizes this for the first time, and works with herself until she is free from all excited and strained resistance, discovers that it is through her care for her children that she herself has learned how to live. Blessed are the children who have such a mother, and blessed is the mother of those children!

It is resistance -- resistance to the naughtiness or disobedience in the child that not only hurts and tires the mother, but interferes with the best growth of the child.

"What!" a mother may say, "should I want my child to be naughty? What a dreadful thing!"

No, we should not want our children to be naughty, but we should be willing that they should be. We should drop resistance to their naughtiness, for that will give us clear, quiet minds to help them out of their troubles.

All vehemence is weak; quiet, clear decision is strong; and the child not only feels the strength of the quiet, decisive action, but he feels the help from his mother's quiet atmosphere which comes with it. If all parents realized fully that the work they do for their children should be done in themselves first, there would soon be a new and wonderful influence perceptible all about us."



Annie Payson Call 1904 (pages 208 & 209)





I have not read the whole book yet, but will here:
http://books.google.com/books?ct=result&id=VbURAAAAYAAJ&dq=the+freedom+of+life&ots=XKp6Tr8dZU&pg=PP1&lpg=PP1&q=it+is+a+universal+rule+that+the+more+excited+or+nauty