God Moves

“God moves in mysterious ways

His wonders to perform”

This weekend was a whirlwind.

I slept in here:

the guest of this lovely lady:

and saw these:

and then I did this:

and thus becoming a:

All I have to say is: wow.

Kyrie Eleison

Lord,

                                                                                       have

                            m   e   r   c   y .

I Wasn’t Joking…

After I posted this, Katie Marie sent me this picture, saying:
“The bookshelf above my bed also has similar trials…I haven’t been injured yet though.”

Her shelf….

My shelf. There’s no comparison…

If you like, here’s what’s on there (Oh, and that paper on the wall? A scan of Ephesians 1-I’m trying to memorize it.) :
Top shelf (Piles from L to R, top to bottom)

First pile:
The Everlasting Man, Chesterton
Idylls of the King, Tennyson
La Sainte Bible (French Bible)
The Norton Anthology of American Literature

Second pile:
A History of the American People, Johnson
God’s Big Picture, Roberts
The Knowledge of the Holy, Tozer
Jane Eyre, Bronte
Toward Jerusalem, Carmichael
Faithful Women and Their Extraordinary God, Noel Piper
The Enemy Within, Lundgaard
The Ordinary Princess, M.M. Kaye

Third pile:
My Bible (ESV)
Notebook 05, 07 (used another notebook in between)
The Abolition of Man, Lewis (need to read)
The Valley of Vision
The Confidence Man, Melville
Shadow of the Almighty, Elliot
The Man Who Was Thursday, Chesterton
Walden, Thoreau (I want to read this—been told that it’s utter gibberish)

Fourth pile:
Sock I’m knitting out of my own homespun Border Leicester (not the brown wool)
Orthodoxy, Chesterton
Various letters from sundry colleges

Fifth Pile:
The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hugo
Applying Biblical Principles to Real-Life Situations, Lara Bode (of The King’s Daughter Magazine)
Growing Up Christian, Graustien
Desiring God, Piper
When I Don’t Desire God, Piper
The New Bible Revised Commentary (This one’s blah. I need a new one…)

Bottom Shelf: (Horizontal items, L to R)
All For Jesus (TeenPact Worship CD III)
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (cd set)
Cd player
The Fellowship of the Ring, Tolkien
That Hideous Strength, Lewis
Animal Farm, Orwell
Rilla of Ingleside, L.M. Montgomery (I’ve decided not to read this. Walter dies. I don’t want Walter to die. Therefore, by not reading it, he won’t die.)
Shirley, Bronte
Morning and Evening, Spurgeon
God Still Loves the French, Mailloux (Andree Seu’s brother)
The Great Books Series: Pluto (interesting…)
The Great Books Series: Tolstoy
Notebook…empty

Vertical Books, L to R:
Quest for Love, Elliot (interesting, not sure I agree w/ everything)
Arabian Nights
The Great Divorce, Lewis
Did I Kiss Marriage Goodbye?, McCulley (excellent, despite the goofy title)
Don’t Waste Your Life, Piper
What’s The Difference, Piper
Catholicism and Fundamentalism, Keating (Fascinating. Riveting. Unconvincing.)
The Four Loves, Lewis
I Kissed Dating Goodbye, Harris
Let Me Be A Woman, Elliot
Ruth, Henderson
Candide, Voltaire
The Chosen, Chaim Potok
Boy Meets Girl, Harris
Pride and Prejudice, Austen
Not Even A Hint, Harris
Persuasion, Austen
True Spirituality, Schaeffer (need to read)
The Phantom of the Opera, Leroux
Sense and Sensibility, Austen (need to read)
Anne of Avonlea, Montgomery
Anne of the Island, Montgomery
Anne of the Windy Poplars, Montgomery
Cyrano de Bergerac, Rostand
Anne’s House of Dreams, Montgomery
Watership Down, Adams
Passion and Purity, Elliot,
The Gospel For Real Life, Bridges
Stepping Heavenward, Prentiss (hidden)
Jo’s Boys, Alcott (need to re-read)
After Many Days, Montgomery (This one’s dorky…she was running on fumes by this book.)
The Cross and the Switchblade, Wilkerson (powerful!)
These Happy Golden Years, Wilder (I had it out for a paper)
The New Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, Foxe
Crime and Punishment, Dostoevsky (I want to finish this SO badly!)
At Knit’s End, Stephanie Pearl McPhee (hidden)

Total: 70 books, 6 cds, various letters, 2 notebooks, one cd player, and one half-knitted sock.

(note: these are in no particular order)

Now, you should see my desk….

His Perfect Will

“Nate, we’re switching you to Dr. Smith* today,” Mom announced to my 4 yo brother. We’d had a long run of doctors appointments in last week, and Mom decided to switch my brothers to a GP in our church who’d just started up his practice.

“But I want to go to Dr. Jones**!!” Nate wailed. Although he knew Dr. Smith well, he was used to Dr. Jones and hated change. In his four year old mind, normal was priority–and the movies and treats at Dr. Jone’s office didn’t hurt any.

He couldn’t give it up–crying for over half an hour–protesting the change. “Dr. Jones’s is better!” he cried.

“How do you know?” we asked. “You’ve never been to Dr. Smith’s before.”

“It just is!” was his reply.

Now, four year olds don’t reason very well–but neither do we at times.

When God moves in our lives, changing things, toppling idols, weeding out habits, sins; burning away the dross, we often protest. “It’s better this way! I don’t like this!” we wail, hating the changes and the discomfort of His holy fire. We only know what we have now, and it’s nice. Everything fits tidily in its place–the ducks are in a row and everything is in it’s little box.

Then the Lord moves, placing His burning finger on some sin, removing a crutch we’ve been leaning on, slaying an idol. I want you for Myself. He tells us. It’s for your good, my child.

His will is perfect, never failing in wisdom. He disciplines us to make us holy–burning away the dross until He can see His face in us.

“For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”
~ Hebrews 12:11

God is sovereign. He knows best. He sees far beyond what our finite minds can imagine, and who can fathom His understanding? He is good, and His purpose is always for our good. Why should we not trust Him and His will?

Mom knows what’s best for Nate. She was purposing to do him good and serve him in the long run. He needed to trust her.

We are like my brother, and like him, we need to trust that God knows best–for His will is perfect.

*Not his real name
**Not her real name