The Boy and Butterfly

The Boy and Butterfly

Behold how eager this our little boy
Is for this Butterfly, as if all joy,
All profits, honours, yea, and lasting pleasures.
Were wrapt up in her, or the richest treasures.
Found in her, would be bundled up together,
When all her all is lighter than a feather.
He halloos, runs, and cries out, Here, boys, here,
Nor doth he brambles or the nettles fear.
He stumbles at the mole-hills, up he gets,
And runs again, as one bereft of wits;
And all this labour and this large outcry,
Is only for a silly butterfly

This little boy an emblem is of those
Whose hearts are wholly at the world’s dispose,
The butterfly doth represent to me,
The world’s best things at best but fading be.
All are but painted nothings and false joys,
Like this poor butterfly to these our boys.
His running through the nettles, thorns, and briars,
To gratify his boyish fond desires;
His tumbling over mole-hills to attain
His end, namely, his butterfly to gain;
Doth plainly show what hazards some men run.
To get what will be lost as soon as won.
Men seem in choice, than children far more wise,
Because they run not after butterflies;
When yet, alas! For what are empty toys,
They follow children, like to beardless boys.

-- John Bunyan, author of Pilgrim’s Progress

"The Bank's About Out of Cash. Ma'am"

Our family has been closely following the happenings on Wall Street and in Congress over the past few days. It's not like we personally have much to loose in a financial crisis like this... except maybe a stable country and happy neighbors. That would be a bigger deal that some of the investments and stocks people are gnashing their teeth about.

I've been wondering just where this is going to go, knowing that whatever happens, God is in control. I also can't tell you how many times I've breathed a sigh of relief that my parents have been happy to go without over the years to remain debt-free and instill in all of their kids the principle of only buying what you can pay for! The peace of mind certainly pays off!

For years, I've known that our government and our financial system is only living on borrowed time. We have a lot of "money" but in reality, most of it is only worth the paper it's printed on.

Today that reality hit a little close to home. I stopped by our local small-town bank to cash a couple of (small) checks. As I attempted a left turn into the bank parking lot, I realized that the cars at the drive-up were all the way out onto the street waiting in line. So, I waited in line for a long time, not thinking much of it. When I finally pulled up to the window, I saw that my favorite teller, an old family friend was working. I smiled a pleasant hello. Her usual cheery greeting was only a sigh and a, "What do you need today?"

I assumed she was just tired, and trying to think of something friendly and sympathetic to say, remarked, "You must be overworked today! I can't believe the line-up you have here! The cars are still all the way out onto the street!"

Another sigh. "Yeah," she replied. "___ told me to just go ahead and close this window down after a few more cars. We're gonna run out of money here."

I laughed at what I thought was a joke. "Yeah, tell them to go home, 'cause the bank's out of money, huh?"

"No laugh," she retorted. "I was serious. We've had so much money taken out today that I AM going to run out of cash if I get even a few more checks. I really meant that." And then she raised her eyebrows and motioned towards the pickup pulling away, "I just cashed a BIG check for somebody who's getting his money out. Bigger than I ever do normally."

As I drove away, I shook my head. "The bank's running out of money...The bank's running out of money..." It sounded like something out of a history book.

And then I reminded myself... maybe this will be in my childrens' history book some day.

Praying for the "Want To"

God's free and sovereign heart-changing work is our only hope. Therefore we must pray for a new heart. We must pray for the "want to [do what's right]" - "Incline my heart unto your testimonies" (Psalm 119: 36)... He has promised to do it: "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes." (Ezekiel 36: 27)
"Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help [us want to do what we ought to do] in time of need." (Hebrews 4:16)

- John Piper, The Godward Life

Family Camp and Dishpan Cookies

Our family has been bustling around, preparing for our church's annual Family Camp happening next week. We're in charge of Registration, so some of us spend an inordinate amount of time filling out spreadsheets and marking people's names on our little map of all the cabins and re-figuring the total amount of adults and children coming.

Family Camp is a great time to re-connect with friends who we only get to see once a year and to hear great sermons/messages every morning and night that are encouraging, inspiring, and quite frequently, uncomfortable and convicting. It's a reminder to "break up the fallow ground" in our lives... Its also a time to remember that we are as surrendered and holy as we want to be. Keith Daniel, our guest speaker from South Africa always reminds us of that. Our problem isn't usually that we don't know what God wants of us and our lives - our problem is that so often we aren't willing and broken and yielded to live every day the way He has called us to!

If you family happens to be interested in coming to Family Camp this year (Oct. 2-5), you can contact us at: mbcfamcamp {at} gmail.com. There are people coming from Texas, Arkansas, Nebraska, Montana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Wisconsin, but there's still room for more!

Things are coming together really well for the most part. (Maybe Jennifer, who's planning all of the meals and organizing the kitchen work doesn't think so! She has a lot to do!)

As we prepare for Family Camp, our house has been filled with the smell of baking cookies for several days! With 150 or more people to feed snacks to each day, and homemade cookies as the mainstay of snack time, that's a lot of cookies to bake!

Speaking of cookies, I need to go make a few more batches right now. Here's one of my favorite cookie recipes when baking for a crowd:

Dishpan Cookies
2 c. butter, softened
2 c. brown or raw sugar
2 c. granulated or raw sugar
Cream the butter and sugar till smooth. Add:
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
Mix well, and then stir in:
4 1/2 c. flour (I've been using a combination of oat, wheat, and white flour)
2 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
Add:
5 c. rice crispy cereal or crushed cornflakes
2 c. flaked coconut
1 - 12 oz. pkg. chocolate chips
3 c. quick oats
Stir, till well combined. (Add more quick oats and/or rice crispies if the dough is too soft or the cookies spread all over the pan when cooked)
Preheat oven to 325. Drop rounded teaspoons onto greased cookie sheets. Bake 9-12 minutes till lightly browned on the bottom, still soft on top. Take out a bit early for chewy cookies. Makes 8-10 dozen. These freeze really well!

Blog Followers

I'm always curious as to who is reading my blog... From time to time people who see me in person somewhere will mention something they read or saw on my blog. Often, I look astonished and say, "You read my blog?! I had no idea that you were reading the stuff I write!"
Sometimes I'm embarrassed. Sometimes I'm flattered.

Whatever the case, I'm always curious as to just who all is reading my blog. As I told Jemima the other day, "When I post something and my blog gets 200 hits in the next day or two and nobody leaves a single comment, it certainly leaves me wondering what everyone is thinking and who read it!"

I love Blogger's new feature of allowing blog readers to become public "followers", helping me to know who at least a few of my readers are. And it's a handy way for me to keep up with the blogs that I try to read... I log in to my Blogger account, and - presto! - all of the latest posts from everyone's blogs are right there!

I'd love to see you become a blog follower... I'll know who you are that way! Just click on "Follow this blog" in the top left hand corner of my blog!

A Trip North, Part V: Goodbye Mr. & Mrs. Bjorlie!

The cousins see to it that each cousin is sent off with a properly decorated car and a memorable goodbye!


Liz and Nate are scrambling to finish wrapping the car in plastic wrap!


A wet, bubbly goodbye! At least the rain had stopped!

A Trip North, Part IV: Andrea's Wedding

JohnMark and Andrea planned an outdoor wedding... and as Hurricane Ike slammed into the Gulf Coast, rain poured down all day almost 2,000 miles north. JohnMark and Andrea didn't seem to mind the change of plans too much, as the umbrellas came out and the wedding moved into a huge picnic shelter. "After all," as Andrea said, "We're getting married, and that's about all that matters to me!"


The rain didn't keep the crowds away! Here sit the aunts and uncles and cousins, waiting anxiously for the first glimpse of the bride (tucked away in a trailer at the back of the picnic shelter)!


John Mark and Andrea wrote their own vows.

John Mark and Andrea's congregational wedding hymn couldn't have been more fitting.
Together we all sang “ How Good Is the God We Adore.”

How good is the God we adore,
Our faithful, unchangeable Friend;
Whose love is as great as His pow'r,
And knows neither measure nor end.

'Tis Jesus the First and the Last,
Whose Spirit shall guide us safe home:
We'll praise Him for all that is past,
And trust Him for all that's to come.
- Joseph Hart, 1712-1759





When two Norwegians get married, they just have to have a Norwegian wedding cake, right?! Thanks to Aunt Laila, they did!

A Trip North, Part III: Cousin Fun!

Cousins


A late night goodbye at Uncle Jim's


A moonlit walk along the railroad tracks with the cousins


Girl cousins!


Joanna and our dear Grandma Else!

A Trip North, Part II: Luis & Kelli's Wedding

And a few more Luis and Kelli photos...
The church they chose was a photographer's dream, and Ruth thoroughly enjoyed putting her camera to good use!

A Trip North in Photos, Part I: Luis & Kelli's Wedding

Here's the promised photos from our recent trip to visit my Dad's side of the family in North Dakota. But before I get started posting pictures from Cousin Andrea's wedding which happened a week ago, I've got to post a few from her older sister, Kelli's wedding that happened in July. I've been intending to put Kelli's wedding pictures up ever since we ventured North for her wedding in July... but time just got away from me.

So, you'll have to see both weddings at once. I hope you won't mind! After all, they're sisters. One of them married a Bolivian, and the other married a Norwegian. We love both of the new cousin-in-laws!

Kelli met Luis while living with a missionary family in Bolivia several years ago, never dreaming she would someday marry him. When she came back to the states several years ago, her heart stayed in Bolivia and she hoped that somehow God would allow her to go back there and live. Little did she know that God was preparing a young Bolivian man to be her husband!

We all love Luis - he's a wonderful guy and although Kelli is still more fluent at Spanish than he is at English, he's catching on rapidly and we can talk to him about almost anything now!