Into the Fire

Tuesday Tunes

         

Doobie Brothers had a boatload of hits. This is one of the many performed live with some custom additions. Great group.

 

Father, bless your musicians - may they all know who gave them their talents. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. 

 

Fighting it big time, but . . . The Lady's Mine

                           

Those of you who know me will find it highly unusual to learn I just finished The Lady's Mine by Francine Rivers. "Why?" you ask. The story begins in the year 1875 putting the story far back of my preferred contemporary reading tastes. Generally speaking, I do not read historical novels, but leave it to Francine Rivers to capture me first with the title of this book followed by the eventual introduction to Matthias Beck in Chapter 1. 

Needless to say, the prim and proper Bostonian Kathryn Walsh, who's been effectively banished from her home by her step-father, who she refers to as "the judge", arrives in the rough and tumble mining town of Calvada, California, to collect her inheritance from an uncle she's never met. 

Red-headed with piercing green eyes, she packs a little dynamite in her personality which inevitably explodes her into trouble's front door - and usually once she's entered, she finds no convenient exit. 

Every man in the town is looking for a wife and figures the beautiful Kathryn Walsh would do nicely. Her staunch denial of ever wanting to marry dissuades all but two of the men in town. Of the two, only one of them makes her heart accelerate and the rush of heat flood her bloodstream - much to her consternation. 

When Kathryn fights all the battles for acceptance and views the depressing hardships women face in this era of being treated as brainless, powerless, inferior servants to men, she works hard to make a difference in the town by using the printing press her uncle left her, continuing his legacy in the newspaper he called "The Voice".

Visiting her uncle's grave, she observes the local madam from one of the brothels weeping at his marker and wonders how their lives had touched. 

There are innumerable other events in this story of overhauling a sordid and dangerous mining town, but at its core The Lady's Mine is a love story filled with hardcore obstacles, lots of resistance, heart-wrenching revelations, life-changing events both good and tragic, and all things in between. There are plenty of laughs, possible tears, and a few characters to make you fighting mad.  

From Redeeming Love to The Masterpiece to The Lady's Mine (and several more novels in between), Francine Rivers portrays men as gentlemen or volatile, smitten or possessive, protective or dangerous. Women are depicted as innocent or wicked, nurturing or needy, competent or perilous. The heroes are real men full of desire, discovering love in the process. The heroines inevitably admit that those real men are irresistibly attractive and that as hard as loving them might be in the beginning, it's what they want in the end. 

The Lady's Mine is a fun read portraying serious issues within a tempestuous love story where a compassionate and spunky young woman resists for as long as she can the terribly attractive and honorable in his heart man who pursues her. 

 

Father, you've given Francine such incredible gifts, so many meaningful and anointed stories. May you continue to bless her writing and provide all she needs to do it as she honors you with her words. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. 

Sunday's Offerings

         

          "God opposes the proud

               but gives grace to the humble."

     Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you. 

 

James 4:6b-8a (NIV)

Because men and women . . .

   
If you choose to, you can believe men and women came from a one-celled amoeba a zillion+ years ago after a random explosion. Go ahead. You're free to choose. But - you can't begin to prove it. You can only speculate - because believing God made a man and from him a woman just won't work for you. And, if you want to fire back that neither can that be proved, there is far more evidence in DNA of it being a fact than the theory you've chosen to embrace. But we digress. 

Present-day man faces unbelievable challenges to his masculinity. One of the facets of today's culture wants to emasculate his maleness and turn him into a simpering girly-man. Another facet accuses men of being "sexist" because they have a natural tendency to lead and "fix things". Still another facet reams men for sexual harassment for being visually stimulated by what those women are plainly putting out there for them to view. Such are the challenges of men today. 

Present-day woman also faces challenges to her femininity. One of the facets of today's culture expects her to climb the ladder to some kind of working success, degrading her for potentially wanting to marry and be a mom - especially a stay-at-home mom, and heaven forbid she might want to homeschool her children! A similar facet expects her to force her equality with men into the workplace and every other venue where she is present - even when in most cases she cannot be physically "equal" to most men. Added to these conundrums is the inconceivable status of today's women's sports where the perversion of males insisting they're females, nullifies the talents given to these competitive female athletes. Clearly, women have their own kind of challenges today. 

So "what?" you ask. Well, this: 

There is incredible brilliance in the relationship potential between man and woman. Whether or not you accept that God created them, there is no doubt that the two sexes have a natural tendency to be drawn to one another. In God's plan, they are meant to be together, finding those He designed for one another, investing in their relationships, treating each other with respect and admiration, discovering love, experiencing the tantalization of romance, and consummating the physical thrill of it all after an ordained marriage where vows are made to honor Him and each other. That's the plan.

Is that plan always followed? It is not. Plainly and simply, many people don't know the plan, don't want to know the plan, and intend to make their own plans no matter what. Waiting, taking time to seek a plan that works, involving God who they reject - well, it's their choice. 

And sometimes even "the plan" falters. Because . . . humans fail. Men and women fail. Those who follow the Lord fail. People absolutely fail.

God does not fail. He knows our every failure. He loves. He forgives. 

But, woe to those who mock his Creation, who corrupt the male and female part of His creation. The enemy of people's souls wants nothing more than to destroy and corrupt every man and every woman God has created, designed, and engineered. God knows the present-day challenges to the sexes because they aren't new. He knows all the ploys sold like merchandise to the people of this world, confusing them about everything and enhancing the falsehoods whispered to them by every form of communication in their lives prompted by the enemy's deceptions. God knows. He's the only escape from all of it. Jesus waits for us. The Holy Spirit shows the way to the Truth. If only people will listen. 

Our choice. Every day.  

 

Father, no one can make "things" perfect. Only you are perfect. Mankind can live with hope when he turns to you because you provide the plan that you designed for each of us. We fail, you pick us up and place us back on the right path. We veer away again, you let us go far enough to determine we messed up - again. You welcome us back. Your love is bigger than we can imagine. Thank you for giving us Jesus. Holy Spirit, thank you for your comfort and counsel. Apart from you, God, we can do nothing. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. 

Because . . . women

                                 

                                 

                         

                   

                                 

                         The great Lord God made them all. 

 

Father, may each woman know that you made her, that you endowed her with unique gifts, that she was born to worship you in spirit and in truth, and that when each one comes to you in full submission, you will lead the way and satisfy the desires of each heart as she delights in you. Thank you, Jesus. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. 


                     
                  

Because . . . men

                             

   

     

   

 

                    The great Lord God made them all. 

 

Father, may each man know that you made him, that you endowed him with unique gifts, that he was born to worship you in spirit and in truth, and that when each one comes to you in full submission, you will lead the way and satisfy the desires of each heart as he delights in you. Thank you, Jesus. In the Name of Jesus, Amen. 

Tuesday Tunes

   

She's beautiful with a voice to match and the perfect timbre for Smooth Jazz. Enjoy. The great Sade. 

 

Father, all the talent, beauty, and no respecter of persons come from you. To you, we're your creation. You see the beauty beyond the skin. All made to honor and worship you in spirit and in truth. May each one know from where their talents and gifts originate. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.