All the Way

Baptized With Suffering

It is just as much as I can do to keep my head above water . . . .Sometimes I think that the dreadful experience I have been passing through is God's way of baptizing me; some have to be baptized with suffering. Certainly He has been sitting as the Refiner, bringing down my pride, emptying me of this and that, and not leaving me a foot to stand on. If it all ends in sanctification I don't care what I suffer. Though cast down, I am not in despair. ~ From a letter to Mrs. Condict, February 3, 1873.

[ Oh my. Could I say that? "If it all ends in sanctification I don't care what I suffer." - mr]

God Is For Me

Turn back, mine enemy, unmoved
Thy wiles, thy snares I see;
Turn back, for when I cry to God
I know He is for me.

Thy day is over; I no more
Thy willing slave can be,
For I have learned to cry to God;
I know He is for me.

Hence with thy strong delusions, hence,
I parley not with thee,
But mid thy temptings cry to God,
I know He is for me.

Ah, if thou knewest as I know
The God to whom I flee,
Thou wouldest not think to gain mine ear;
I know He is for me!

~ From Heart-Hymns of the Christian Life

I Surrender All

I know Mrs. Prentiss would agree with this. Listen and be blessed.

Day By Day

A blessed Mother's Day to all dear mothers. The Lord be with you day by day.

Thoughts of Katy's Mom

Hoping Katy's thoughts of her mom will encourage all you mother's today. I posted about them over at my devotional blog back in 2007. Read those thoughts here and may we all be more like this woman, who may be fictional, but certainly obtainable in real life if we love Christ as she did.

Real Progress

. . . I do not understand how a Christian can make such slow progress as I do and how old faults can hang on so.

If I had made any real progress, should I not be sensible of it?

I have been reading over the early part of this journal, and when I came to the conversation I had with Mrs. Cabot, in which I made a list of wants, I was astonished that I could ever have had such contemptible ones. Let me think what I really and truly most want now.

First of all, then, if God should speak to me at this moment and offer to give just one thing and that alone, I should say without hesitation, Love to Thee, O my Master!

Next to that, if I could have one thing more, I would choose to be a thoroughly unselfish, devoted wife. Down in my secret heart I know there lurks another wish, which I am ashamed of. It is that in some way or other, some right way, I could be delivered from Martha and her father. I shall never be any better while they are here to tempt me! ~ From Stepping Heavenward, (entry on her first wedding anniversary, dated January 16, 1838.)

[We see, though, that actually she had made real progress, based on what she wanted at this point in time. Of course, she was wrong about the last one. I do believe dealing with Martha and Father had a good deal to do with her growth in Christ. ` mr]