A Fire Kindled Inside

I have a wonderful missionary friend who told me all about the years she spent with her husband ministering to the people of Thailand. A few months ago, she told me about her time in Asia and allowed me to write about it! I learned a lot from the interview. She also has godly wisdom to impart as someone who has walked with the Lord for many decades. Click to read "A Fire Kindled Inside."

It's a Thaiger!

Porcelain Doll

I'm porcelain

And I chip easily.

It's happened-- again

And you can clearly see

My roots go deep

But up top, I'm weak.

Awake and asleep

I'm liable to break

So hold me fast

Secure my heart

When today is past,

It's just one part

Of a great big story

That you will write

All for your glory.

So I won't fight

These plans you've made

And write my own.

I've always played

The part you wrote for me alone

And I won't alter

The course you set

For I would falter

And I won't forget.

Your love is all I need;

Despite my weakness,

I will succeed.

For you seek to bless my every way

And I will follow you

Each and every day.

Despite my foolishness I can do

Everything you ask.

Despite my fickle heart;

So peel away my mask

And set me apart,

Set me free to bask

In your love

And your love alone.

 

(c) 2011 Becoming Godly Maidens

Saint Paddy's Day

Happy Saint Paddy’s Day to ya! I be hopin’ that she finds ya in good healt and that ta luck o’ ta Irish be on ya.

As you probably know, Saint Patrick was the first missionary to the Irish. I want to take this chance to tell you modern day mission to the Irish.

 Ireland has the lowest percentage of evangelical Christians of all the English-speaking countries in the world! Only 30,000 (that’s less than 1%) are evangelical Christians. For every believer, there are 133 unbelievers! That's a ratio of 133:1

Ireland ranks in the top of the European lists in reference to teenage suicide, drinking alcohol and unwed mother rates. Cocaine and heroin use is rapidly on the rise amongst all socio-economic levels. Divorce (previously illegal until 1997) is a new difficulty for families, with a 70% increase over just four years.

Many evangelical churches today in Ireland consist of just 20 people, most of which meet in homes.

Please pray for Cross Ireland Ministries!

http://www.crossirelandministries.com/

And just because I’m a fan of Ireland, here are a few links to Irish music:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWTYt_-jafg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpSZefCKC6U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpMGWOAAKs4

An Irish Blessing for You :)

May the blessing of Light be on you -

light without and light within,

May the blessed sunlight shine on you

and warm your heart till it glows like

a great peat fire, so that the stranger

may come and warm himself at it, and

also a friend.

And may the light shine out of the two

eyes of you, like a candle set in two

windows of a house, bidding the wanderer

to come in out of the storm.

And may the blessing of the Rain be on you -
the soft sweet rain. May it fall upon your
spirit so that all the little flowers may
spring up, and shed their sweetness on the air.
And may the blessing of the Great Rains be on
you, may they beat upon your spirit and wash
it fair and clean, and leave there many a
shining pool where the blue of heaven shines,
and sometimes a star.

And may the blessing of the Earth be on you -
the great round earth; may you ever have a
kindly greeting for them you pass as you're
going along the roads.
May the earth be soft under you when you
rest upon it, tired at the end of the day, and may
it rest easy over you when, at the last, you lay
out under it;
May it rest so lightly over you, that your soul
may be out from under it quickly, and up, and
off, and on its way to God.

Hello blog friends, I want to tell you about a wonderful new book that a friend of mine has written. It is Postscript: I’ve Changed!, a poetry book filled with the thoughts and prayers of a young woman pouring out her heart to God. This book was incredibly encouraging to me and has prompted me to deepen my walk with the Lord. Not only is it great to have on YOUR bookshelf, it would make a delightful gift! Please check it out at the Becoming Godly Maidens bookstore, http://www.becominggodlymaidens.com/bookstore  or at http://pocketfullofsoul.weebly.com/purchase.html

Lord, What Kind of World is This?

On the shooting in Tucson, Az

What kind of world is this?

Lord, you said it was good,

But sin’s bite stings

 In every street, every neighborhood.

What kind of world is this?

Why would a person

Kill another human being

With a gun?

What kind of world is this?

Why aren’t we

Our brothers’ keepers,

Why can’t anyone see?

What kind of world is this?

In a nation so free,

A man use violence just because

It’s not exactly the way he wanted it to be.

What kind of world is this?

Is it really so important

That he must take a life?

I can’t understand; I can’t.

What kind of world is this?

It was only an innocent crowd

And he fired into it;

Oh, God, it shouldn’t be allowed!

What kind of world is this?

You know they’ll let him free.

He’ll plead insanity—

Well then, locked up he SHOULD be!

What kind of world is this?

A child had to die.

A Child of Hope—

Hope itself seems a lie.

And I cry.

God, where is hope?

When your beloved creature

Kills another of his own,

Hope has disappeared for sure.

God, where is justice?

As loved ones mourn,

Killers go free

When the courts adjourn.

God, where is care?

When someone can shoot

The faceless people in a crowd

No care is afoot.

God, where is sense?

When he can only

See his own way

Sense is abandoned and lonely.

God, where is peace?

When human kind

Comes to this, Peace seems

Only an idea in my mind

God, where is love?

I can only see hate

Everywhere I look,

Love comes too late.

God, where is mercy?

Does anybody even care

About his fellow man?

There is no mercy there.

But Lord, through my tears

I know in my heart

A very great truth

That was here from the start.

God, you are caring

And Sense personified.

You are Prince of Peace and Love,

Mercy that will never hide.

God will fix

The broken heart

He’ll send fresh hope

And a new start.

The answer is God.

So though we cry,

We know that despite death,

With Christ, we’ll never die.

Virgin Mary Through the Ages

Today I did some research on religious art through history for an illustrating job I have. The purpose of this was to study the culture and clothing of the first century as portrayed by various artists. As I scrolled through over one hundred of the most famous paintings, it struck me as funny how each artist’s culture changed his perception of different scenes. There were many that contained historically correct clothing and realistic scenes, but there were many others that did not. I couldn’t help cracking a grin when I saw Caravaggio’s Calling of Saint Matthew. This painting was done in 1600 and the persons in the picture were dressed in styles belonging to that century.

     I think Mary would laugh if she could sit next to me and see all these paintings. Roughly half of them depicted her. She was painted with everything from blonde and red to brown and jet-black hair, dressed in the plainest frocks and the most elaborate garments from the fashions of the first century to the Regency period.

Sometimes, she was a small young girl, other times a full-figured woman. She sat in barns, caves, thrones, clouds, temples, rocks, and even floated above the clear waters at the edge of a tropical island.

Her waist contracted and expanded and her skin darkened and lightened with the fads through the centuries. 

 I wonder what she was thinking while she was laboring in a smelly animal cave in the dark and cold night. I wonder if, as she held her newborn baby close to keep him warm and comforted, she knew that what had passed would be recorded and celebrated for millenniums by people all over the world.

Did she understand the significance of that moment? As she lay down, exhausted and sore, on a pile of straw, could she foresee what lay ahead?

Did she dare to imagine that millions would veneer and even worship her? Her hair was matted and messy. She was weary and sore from riding on a donkey all day and giving birth. Her clothes were dirty and old. She and her husband were almost penniless.

There was no floating above the ground in a gold throne while she rocked her baby. He was red, wrinkled, and floppy—and oh, so tiny! He did not sit up gracefully and observe the world with wise eyes.

When the shepherds, stinky and unpolished, came trooping through the entrance, what did she think? When she heard the hosts of Heaven break out into song, did she tremble? These weren’t little fair-haired children with stubby wings, after all. These were mighty spiritual beings like nothing  she had ever seen!

     What was it like? I always wonder what life is or was like in places and times I’ll never be in. What was it like? The paintings aren’t any help whatsoever. Even the scriptures skim the details. What was it like for Mary? I wonder.

Cute Mitten Ornament

Isn't this fun? Directions at http://the-feathered-nest.blogspot.com/2007/10/mitten-ornament-tutorial.html