One of the Best

Another year will soon be over. As I review it in my mind's eye, I see that it hasn't been without golden moments. Some of these didn't appear to be so at first, but now I know better. They seemed to be very bitter, and pointless; but it was these that brought about changes that perhaps never would have occurred otherwise. *Maria's* death helped me better understand the frailty of this life, and the hope of another. My ever-present physical discomfort and other hard trials, I learned, are a chance to prove GOD's power to let me weather tribulation well. Even more, all these things brought me closer to Him as I searched my own life for things that could be standing between me and heaven, me and the answer to prayer. Although I probably didn't allow them to work all the changes they could have, they have not been in vain. I've gained a drop or two more of personal experience in my walk with the LORD, and for that I am grateful.

Not only has this year brought spiritual improvement, but also physical, mental, and social improvement. I'm not the ablest person, but visits to the chiropractor have been paying off, slowly but surely. Along with many other things, I can lift both my legs myself now when going up stairs, and stand a little easier too. I have made headway in being more independent--including getting my slippers on, and after discovering that the sink wasn't so hard to stand at as before, doing the dishes again after a two-year hiatus. I've made leaps and bounds in terms of my education, even though I still have a long ways to go due to being so slack the past few years. Friends have come, and some have gone--but not without teaching me a thing or two!

Yet for all this, I know I didn't make the most of this year. There have been failures as well as successes. I failed to learn lessons the important lessons of self-control sooner. I've failed to use my time and talents as wisely as possible, every day and all day. I've failed to always be kind, patient, unselfish--in short, to always be Christ-like. I've failed to know Him as well as I should, and failed to fit myself as much as I could for the home He is preparing for me. When I look at all that loss, I am tempted to feel that I have no gains.

Thankfully that isn't the case with me, and I'm sure it isn't with you either. While we are to rejoice in this, however, we are to remember that we can't eclipse the fact that in some way or another, we missed reaching the mark. What can we do? Not change it, no. It is too late for that. We can ask God's forgiveness for our shortcomings, and take hold of His strength to make this coming year one of the best of our lives. Rest assured, He will give it to you, to me, if we simply ask and believe. He longs for us to reach a higher standard far more than we do, so He will do all He can to help us to reach it--if we are willing to be helped, willing to follow His directions. He says to us as surely as He did to the Israelites of old, "Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. ...And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin:" (Isaiah 1:16-18, 25). "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." (Isaiah 41:10).

 

I aim to take hold of these promises and let this year be one of the best I've ever had. I hope you do too.

 

Blessings,

Jean

 

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Will You Cease to be a Sir Arthur?

Sir Arthur

Four days ago, we welcomed a new dog into the family. Sir Arthur was the name we had chosen for this fat, able-bodied tri-color corgi that was supposedly good with other dogs. He was coming from Kansas and being dropped off in Portland, ME. Since the drive to Scarborough is somewhat lengthy, only Dad went to pick him up. When they returned, Friday was on the stairs in the garage. By nature, Friday is a very gentle, submissive dog. It's true that he and Lacey didn't always get along, but for the most part they were friends. Things became serious only in the last few months of Lacey's life--which is understandable because sick dogs tend to turn aggressive. Anyway, when Arthur got out of the car, there was growling and then a nasty dog fight. Friday received the worst of it with a big wound on his ear. Sir Arthur only ended up with a little nick on his face.
 

That wasn't the end of the trouble. During the fight, Zelda and I remained in the house. Our cat Kitty was curled up on a kitchen chair. When Arthur came in, he was on his leash and standing by the rubbish barrel, not even near Kitty. Well, when she saw him she literally went crazy. She started running and climbing everywhere, even up the cabinets and the windows! In the end, she tore down the hallway so fast that the phrase "at the speed of light" seems too inadequate. She has never acted that way towards any animal.

Friday

Over the past few days, Friday and he have been growling at each other. We finally put Sir Arthur in a crate for the safety of everyone. What's more, Friday is not a very vocal dog, but he has been whining and panting more than ever before. When Dad goes to take Sir Arthur out, Friday will not only whine, but also put his head back and howl pitifully, like a wolf. When Lacey was alive and Dad took just her out, he would cry out of jealousy--or so it seemed--but never in the way that he has been doing.

Kitty

Two days ago Mom decided to let Sir Arthur out of the crate while Friday was in and Dad wasn't home. Things didn't go well. Oh, he didn't bother Friday. He saw Kitty and went over to her. He just stood there looking. Kitty was afraid and began to arch her back. I believe she hissed once when he lunged at her. It was so quick and so noisy that I scarcely knew what happened, but next thing I know my mom and sister are over there yelling. Zelda is protecting Kitty's head while Mom is banging Arthur's snout, trying to get him to realize his grip on Kitty's tail. Friday came over and started attacking Kitty too--which is unusual. They are the best of friends--or they were. In the end, Mom did manage to get Arthur off, but in all the ruckus, Kitty was using my sister's hand to bite on. No fingers were broken, but it looks horrible. Her other arm and even her stomach all have scratches as well.

Fluffy

The only animal that has remained unscathed is old, ornery Fluffy. She stays in the bedroom most of the time. The other day, however, after we had moved Arthur to the bookroom so he wouldn't have to stay in the cage, Fluffy ventured out. Now the bookroom is right next to the bedroom, and when Fluffy reached the bookroom entrance (which was barred because the crate was in front of it), she stopped. Turning around very slowly, she slunk back to the bedroom entrance, and then bolted in. Fluffy normally bolts right away, so even her behavior is very odd.

It may not surprise you that most of us here want to send Sir Arthur back to the organization we got him from (which you must do if you are not happy with the dog). He is a lovely dog when it comes to people (though he was eyeing my sister when she was bathing him, so who really knows?) and he loves to play ball; but he isn't good with other animals, and he has been causing a lot of stress between them and the members of the family.

Sir Arthur is a fine example of the truth that "none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself" (Romans 14:7). Everything has an influence; everything is either a savour of life unto life, or a savour of death unto death (2 Corinthians 2:16). If Arthur, who is but a dog, wields such a powerful influence, how much more do we?

"GOD has invested man with an influence that makes it impossible for him to live to himself. ...Every soul is surrounded by an atmosphere of its own—an atmosphere, it may be, charged with the life-giving power of faith, courage, and hope, and sweet with the fragrance of love. Or it may be heavy and chill with the gloom of discontent and selfishness, or poisonous with the deadly taint of cherished sin. By the atmosphere surrounding us, every person with whom we come in contact is consciously or unconsciously affected. This is a responsibility from which we cannot free ourselves. Our words, our acts, our dress, our deportment, even the expression of the countenance, has an influence. Upon the impression thus made there hang results for good or evil which no man can measure. Every impulse thus imparted is seed sown which will produce its harvest.  It is a link in the long chain of human events, extending we know not whither. If by our example we aid others in the development of good principles, we give them power to do good. In their turn they exert the same influence upon others, and they upon still others. Thus by our unconscious influence thousands may be blessed." Ellen White, Christ's Object Lessons, pg. 339.

All of us, then, exert an influence on each other, and all of us have exerted an influence for evil in one way or another, probably to a greater and worse extent than Sir Arthur. No, most of us haven't bitten people's ears or anything like that, but we have inflicted emotional wounds that are just as painful, if not more. In that way, we are all a lot like him. While that isn't a very bright picture, and while we can't cease to impact others, there is good news. GOD is willing to forgive us for and cleanse us from everything that would stop us from exerting an influence for good (1 John 1:9). Then we will be wonderful blessings to the world. The only one who can stop this wonderful change from happening is each of us. The choice is ours. Will you cease to be a Sir Arthur?

Blessings,

Jean

"Thou in Faithfulness"

Recently I read about a man named Patrocinio Martinez, a native of New Mexico. He wasn't converted until later in life, but the Lord was watching over him until beginning to end.

During the winter of 1902, a fever swept through the Martinez home. Pat's wife, Rosaura, cared the best she could for her five children, but death came even so. The two oldest boys, Isidro and Basilio, fell first, followed by their daughter Carmelita. Pat was heartbroken, but said, "I praise God yet, friends." Rosaura was distressed, and added to her grief was the burden of carrying another child; but she continued to tend to her loved ones. Sadly, death wasn't finished with this family yet, and dealt an especially cruel blow. The favorite, baby Manuel, was the next to be stricken with the fever, and he didn't make it. Losing her "little Spaniard" was too much for Rosaura. She suffered a mental breakdown, sobbing constantly and refusing to eat or care for Soledad, the only remaining child. Patrocinio sought in vain to help her. His wife would listen to no one.

Pat was in a quandary. How could he go off and support his family when Rosaura was in such a state? The doctor was quite a ways away, and there was no guarantee that he could offer assistance anyway. Pat had been raised in the Catholic faith, but he nevertheless felt that God was more approachable than the church made Him out to be. One night while lying in bed with the sound of his wife's crying in his ear, he talked to God in his mind, telling his Maker all about the situation. Eventually he fell asleep, emotionally spent.

That night Pat had a dream that he was in an unfamiliar forest. There was a road in this forest, and he decided to follow it. He came upon a shocking sight. There, in broad daylight, was a young man hanging on a scaffold. Disturbed as he was, Pat looked closely at him; was it someone he knew? No, he concluded, the man didn't look familiar. Maybe if he kept walking he would meet someone that could explain the strange sight to him. He didn't have to wait long. He soon met a man that he sensed was somehow important, that knew something about all of this.

After explaining what he had seen, the stranger looked at him tenderly. "You mean to tell me that you did not recognize the man on the scaffold?"

"No. Why should I?"

The man led him back to the spot, and beckoned him to look again. Pat obeyed, and was horrified to see that it was his son Manuel!

The stranger went on to explain to Pat that that was the kind of person his beautiful baby would have been had he lived. The family, he said, was spared greater sorrow by the baby's death. Furthermore, Pat was to tell Rosaura to stop crying and to start thinking of the child that was to be born. This child would be a blessing to the world, and should be given a godly name. "Look forward to the future and the family you will have," the man admonished. "Do not weep for the past."

With that, Patrocinio awoke to find himself still in bed with his sorrowful wife. He leaped out, and exclaimed, "My dear wife, I have just learned something, and you must listen to me!" Taking her by the shoulder, he got her attention and related the dream.

As he spoke, Rosaura's weeping subsided. When he finished, she was completely silent. "It is the truth of God," she finally said. "Now I understand, and I must obey!" And she did. The next day she was up and about again. As much as she didn't want to, she ate, and held back the tears that wanted to spill over. Their son was eventually born, and they called him Jose, meaning "God shall add." God did add many more children to their family, and Jose, after many long, dark years, became a Bible and literature evangelist--truly bringing good to the world.

Whatever our grief, whatever our trial, may this serve as a reminder that, "Whether good or ill befall, it must be good for me." We may not understand how that can be now, but we may trust that it is so, and say with the psalmist, "I know, O LORD, that thy judgments are right, and that Thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me." (Psalm 119:75).

Blessings,
Jean

His Eye Was Single

In Matthew 6:22, Jesus said, "The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light." As far as the followers of Jesus go, one of the most shining examples of someone who sought to live this principle to the full is Jonathan Edwards. Edwards was born in the 18th century, and is best known as one of the chief figures of the Great Awakening, as well as the author of the famous sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry GOD".

What has been often overlooked by many of us—except perhaps those who take to write a biography of him—is that Edwards was a driven man, with only one ambition: to live for GOD's glory. Every other aspiration was subordinate to this aim, and every aspect of his life was subject to it. Jonathan Edwards' Resolutions testify to this.

For example, number 28 shows that he understood that studying the Bible every day was an absolute necessity when it came to having a healthy spiritual life. " Resolved, to study the Scriptures so steadily, constantly and frequently, as that I may find, and plainly perceive myself to grow in the knowledge of the same." Number 29 shows that he knew the importance of prayer: " Resolved, never to count that a prayer, nor to let that pass as a prayer, nor that as a petition of a prayer, which is so made, that I cannot hope that God will answer it; nor that as a confession, which I cannot hope God will accept." The following resolution, number 30, clearly shows that he sought to attain to greater heights in his relationship with GOD. "Resolved, to strive to my utmost every week to be brought higher in religion, and to a higher exercise of grace, than I was the week before."

Edwards wasn't just concerned with religion in terms of a life of mere devotional thought and exercise. He determined to bring the Bible into his everyday life. This included the wise management of his time. "Resolved, never to lose one moment of time; but improve it the most profitable way I possibly can."[1] Even appetite did not escape his scrutiny, as is evidenced by the 20th resolution: Resolved, to maintain the strictest temperance in eating and drinking."

Naturally, these encompassed not only Edwards' conduct towards himself, but towards others. Three of the seventy resolutions deal with the way he ought to speak to people[2], number 46 specifically addresses his attitude in regards to the members of his family— particularly his mother and father[3], and two others pertain to issues that relate to his fellowmen, albeit indirectly.[4]

Someone once said, "Bible religion is not one influence among many others; its influence is to be supreme, pervading and controlling every other. It is not to be like a dash of color brushed here and there upon the canvas, but it is to pervade the whole life, as if the canvas were dipped into the color, until every thread of the fabric were dyed a deep, unfading hue."[5] We have no doubt seen that this is certainly true of Edwards. His religion influenced his life through and through. You truly cannot know anything about Jonathan Edwards without knowing of the other. Indeed, the two are so thoroughly intertwined that it is well nigh impossible to separate the man from his beliefs. In other words, they were one. His eye was single.

While he did not have all the light that we do today, Jonathan Edwards was a faithful steward of the truth which he did have, and I believe that he will rise again when Jesus returns. I believe that GOD allowed this man to live not only to bless those in his day, but also to be a blessing to us through the example that he left behind. I know that this has been the case with me, and it has made me want to more fully consecrate myself to the service of the Saviour. May we all seek, as he did, to let our eye be single to the glory of GOD.

Blessings,
Jean

---

[1] Number 5

[2] Numbers 16, 31, and 36.

[3] Number 46

[4] Numbers 14 and 58

[5] White, Ellen. The Desire of Ages, pg. 312

It's What We Do Today

William Briconnet, Bishop of Meaux, was sent to Rome as the representative for Francis I, king of France. While there were many cathedrals, religious processions, and prayers, there was also much luxury, irreverence, and violence. On his return to France, the bishop pondered what he had seen, and found that he was dissatisfied with what the Church had to offer his soul. Professor and Bible translator Jacques Lefevre was a long-time friend of Briconnet's, and it was to him that the bishop expressed his desire for something more. His friend presented him with a Bible, and as he read he cried, "The more I read, the more I long to fill my soul with its inexhaustible sweetness!" The Scriptures wrought change in the Bishop of Meaux. He rebuked the clergy who squandered money on evil pastimes, and he banned the monks from telling coarse jokes as an excuse to take up an offering. Briconnet also visited all the congregations in the area and inquired whether the priests were faithful. If the answer was no, they were replaced with someone who was. It was not easy to find such men, so he established a seminary to train pastors. At the same time, the bishop was not above preaching in the pulpit himself!

Neither did the royalty of France escape the influence of his conversion. Francis I and his sister Margaret were his friends, and he sought to share the joy he had discovered with them. As he heard the bishop speak, the king was aware of something of what the gospel could do for his countrymen; but for whatever reason, he cast his lot on the side of Rome in the end. Margaret, however, found Jesus to be the Friend she had searched for, the One who could dispel the heaviness in her heart.

Afterwards, Briconnet continued to labor to bring others to the Saviour, and as Lefevre and others joined him in Meaux, the place became renowned throughout the country for its spirituality. If one was inclined to Protestantism, it was said that he had "drunk at the well of Meaux." Sooner or later, persecution began, as always happens when the Bible gains a strong foothold. Then the bishop was faced with an ultimatum: either recant or burn at the stake. Sadly, he chose the former, and never looked back.

The bishop wasn't the only one to fall. Another was Pavane, a gentle youth who possessed great love for GOD, and who worked to help his friends find Him. "The virgin Mary can no more save you than I can.There is but one Saviour, Jesus Christ," he explained to them. It was this statement that led to his arrest. He was commanded to publicly renounce his statement, and if he refused, he was to suffer the same fate that Briconnet would have.

Like the bishop, Pavane shrank from being a martyr, and agreed to their demand. Christmas Eve, 1524, found the lad walking barefooted and bareheaded through the streets, with a rope around his neck and a candle in his hand, to the cathedral of Notre Dame. Once there, he asked forgiveness of Mary for having spoken against her. Afterwards, Pavane was brought back to his dungeon; but he was now in a darker place than that cell. He couldn't remember the comforting Scriptures he had read, and he couldn't alleviate the tremendous trouble that now afflicted his soul.

In contrast to Briconnet, the youth decided, "I would rather go a hundred times to the stake, than to drink this bitter cup!" With tears, he confessed his sin to GOD, and resolved to forsake it. Stake or no stake, he would be faithful to his Saviour. His end came quickly, but he faced it courageously, happy that nothing could take him from Jesus now. It appears that Pavane was able to witness for Him before the flames extinguished his life, for a doctor from the Sorbonne later commented to his associates that "It would have been better for the Church to pay millions in gold than to allow that young man to speak."

We are not to be concerned in regards to having the strength to be a martyr unless we are in that situation. GOD only gives us enough grace for the day (2 Corinthians 12:9). However, we need to realize that it is what we do each day that determines what we will do in the future. Our Saviour bid us "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed [is] willing, but the flesh [is] weak" (Matthew 26:41). Somewhere along the way, the bishop and the boy were lax in this matter, and so paved the way for their denials. If we too fail to always follow this command, we begin to walk the road that will, in the end, lead us to follow the sad examples of the men we read about--and we may not be able to escape as Pavane did. After all, it's what we do today that determines what we will do tomorrow.

Blessings,
Jean

Note: See J.A. Wylie's The History of Protestantism for the accounts of these men.

 

Letters and Liberality

*Lily* knew *Ryan* went to her church occasionally, but aside from that, she knew little else except that he was younger than she was. She decided to get to know him, and wrote him a letter. She didn't receive a reply, but that was because Ryan's mother said he had lost the envelope.

"All right," Lily said with a smile. "I'll write him another one!" She started to, but never finished it. Weeks went by, then months, and finally a year. Lily felt terrible, especially because of what she had said she would do. She purposed to begin her endeavor anew, and wrote to Ryan apologizing for not sending him another one sooner. Lily then decided to write him a letter every month. No letters came to her for quite some time, but she was cheered by the thought that maybe she was adding a bit of happiness to someone's day. Then, after seven months of doing this, a letter from Ryan arrived! It wasn't that long ago that this took place. I am happy to report that since then, he and Lily have been communicating quite regularly.

Paul says in 2 Thessalonians 3:13: "But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing." Why could he say that? The apostle knew from personal experience that fruit from such labors did not always always come speedily, and some might be tempted to give into discouragement. If your efforts to be friendly, to do good to someone, seem futile, don't stop! Someday you'll see that it wasn't in vain. Perhaps it won't be in the same way that Lily saw with Ryan, but you will see it--if not here, then in eternity. That is certain. Besides, you will find that there is joy in giving, even if it isn't acknowledged.

Even if nothing were to come of it with others--though that is impossible--, it won't have been in vain for you. All along the way, you will have cooperated with the Master as He sought to teach you the lessons of unselfish love and labor, and thus reaped many a blessing in terms of character-building. As it says in Proverbs 11:24: "The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself." Paul affirmed this when speaking to the church about giving funds to spread the gospel. He wrote, "But this [I say], He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully" (2 Corinthians 9:6). Are these words true, not only concerning money, but also love and kindness? I think so. If we work with Jesus to uplift those around us, He will be the more able to uplift us; but if we do nothing for our fellow men, or if we give up because it seems too hard, how can He help us? Not only will those around us suffer because of our selfish stinginess in that case, but so will we. Our characters will become so narrow because we won't think of anyone but ourselves that Christ will have no room to work with us--and we know what that results in!

Let us be liberal, then, not caring whether the visible returns are great or small. There is too much else at stake for us to do otherwise.

Blessings,
Jean






 

The Furry Four is No More

Yes, the Furry Four. Four because we recently acquired another cat, named Fluffy (who, by the way, isn't fluffy) to go along with Lacey, Friday, and Kitty. In one of my previous posts, I mentioned the dogs, Lacey and Friday. I didn't mention then that Lacey was disabled. We rescued her nearly six years ago. Prior to us getting her, she had been hit by a car. Her former owners used her as a breeder, and after the accident apparently decided she was of no use to them. They neglected to get her necessary medical treatment, and consequently she ended up with a spinal compression. This made it so she couldn't hold her waste in, and she had to wear a diaper. My father found her online while looking for a dog to replace Brandy, a corgi we had recently put down.

Well, Lacey was also a corgi, and my dad fell in love with her. At the time, we lived in Massachusetts, and she was in Delaware, but that didn't matter to him; he drove all the way down there to get her and back. While it was a new and difficult experience caring for her at first, we grew to love her. Two years later, we rescued Friday. In hindsight, that was a mistake. There was a change in Lacey. She became more protective of her food (previously she would leave it all day, and only eat at night), and more nervous. Even so, the change didn't seem to be that serious, and we continued on as normal. Over the next few years, we had hamsters and cats. With each new animal, she became more and more nervous, but we thought it was more or less all right, because by the time it was just Friday, Lacey, and Kitty, they had all come to an understanding of sorts, and they all loved each other in their own way, even though they annoyed one another. Lacey and Fluffy weren't well acquainted (mostly Fluffy's choice). Recently, however, she had tried to attack Friday and Kitty.

Along with her declining emotional state, there was her declining physical state. Lacey struggled to move around these past few months, often falling when trying to stand up or walk. She was resting more and more, with only spurts of energy here and there.

The looming threat of her harming someone or something, and her obvious physical discomfort, are what made us decide to put her down today. Mom and Dad went with her, while Z. and I stayed here. Apparently it didn't take long at all, and she was happy all the way through.

What made me sad more than her being gone--I know it was the best thing--is the fact that she was even disabled and had to die. Nothing was ever meant to suffer or to die. GOD never meant for us to know that. I don't know if I will see her again; the Bible neither affirms nor negates pets being in heaven, but even so, the whole tragedy made me long for that day "when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory" (1 Corinthians 15:54). How about you?

Blessings,
Jean