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Eowyn's Heart

The name of this blog is based on the character Eowyn from Lord of the Rings because I strongly identify with her on many levels. The purpose of this blog is to proclaim the glory of my Lord and King through His work in conforming me into the image of His Son, Christ Jesus. In all things, I trust you will see His hand at work.

Saturday, July 22, 2006

Humble Pie

For the first time ever, I've had to ask my Landlord to hold my rent check. I'll have to replace my tire and it's likely to be expensive. Since I haven't built back up my savings after Christmas & two visits from family members that involved some unexpected expenses, it has to come out of the regular budget - and there's very little room for it.

If I hadn't just been grocery shopping, I'd have simply skimped there, but it happened right after I finished shopping. So, after smilingly turning in my rent check this morning (not technically due till the 1st - and I'm never late), I had to ask tonight if they'd hold it till the 5th so my next check can fill in the difference between the rent and the cost of the tire :-(

Fortunately they have a "not overdue till after the 5th of the month" policy on rent payments - so I still won't be "late" by anyone's standards but my own - but I was feeling so good about always having my rent paid by the 1st.

Stuff

Prayer concerns:

My grand-niece, Lacey - that the Lord would place her in a home where she will be safe, cherished and, most importantly, raised in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

That I would be a good role model as I disciple my friend Bonnie and that this endeavor would be a fruitful one for both of us.

That God would provide for the needs of my family - spiritual, physical & financial.

For my friend, CR, who desperately needs salvation. Oh that he would know the joy and peace that I daily live in!!

Blessings:

New priorities :-) God has recently brought me to a place where I'm finally acting on what I've known for years. I'm looking forward to the growth that will naturally result :-)

Great sale at JC Penney - got some neat clothes for nephews Benjamin & Jonathan :-)

My car - and all the perks - like the roadside assistance program :-)

Utilities included in my rent :-) & A/C in 100+ degree temps!!

Good Books!! - Just finished "Twelve Extraordinary Women" by Dr. MacArthur and now I'm almost done with "Don't Waste Your Life" by John Piper :-) Really, really good stuff!!

Why I love my Mazda lease agreement

Flat Tire . . . Free Roadside Assistance . . . actually, assistance at my apartment since I was able to nurse it home :-)

Friday, July 21, 2006

READ:

Read this email first, then click to see the video... And you thought those people that set up roomfuls of dominos to knock over were amazing...

There are no computer graphics or digital tricks in the film. Everything you see really happened in real time exactly as you see it.

The film took 606 takes. On the first 605 takes, something, usually very minor, didn't work. They would then have to set the whole thing up again. The crew spent weeks shooting night and day. By the time it was over, they were ready to change professions.

The film cost six million dollars and took three months to complete including full engineering of the sequence. In addition, it's two minutes long so every time Honda airs the film on British television, they're shelling out enough dough to keep any one of us in clover for a lifetime. However, it is fast becoming the most downloaded advertisement in internet history. Honda executives figure the ad will soon pay for itself simply in "free viewings" (Honda isn't paying a dime to have you watch this commercial!).

When the ad was pitched to senior executives, they signed off on it immediately without any hesitation - including the costs. There are six and only six hand-made Honda Accords in the world. To the horror of Honda engineers, the filmmakers disassembled two of them to make the film.

Everything you see in the film (aside from the walls, floor, ramp, and complete Honda Accord) is parts from those two cars. The voiceover is Garrison Keillor. When the ad was shown to Honda executives, they liked it and commented on how amazing computer graphics have gotten. They fell off their chairs when they found out it was for real.

Oh, and about those funky windshield wipers. On the new Accords, the windshield wipers apparently have water sensors and are designed to start wiping automatically as soon as they become wet. It looks a bit weird in the commercial.

NOW PLAY: http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/honda.php

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

What have I to fear?

"The Lord looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men.
From the place of His dwelling He looks on all the inhabitants of the earth;
He fashions thier hearts individually; He considers their works.
No King is saved by the multitude of an army;
A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.
A horse is a vain hope for safety;
Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength.
Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,
On those who hope in His mercy,
To deliver their soul from death and to keep them alive in famine.
Our soul waits for the Lord;
He is our help and our shield"
Psalm 33:13-20

In Hebrew, the word "Selah" means "pause & consider". This passage had a lot of "selah" moments in it for me. A friend of mine was recently the victim of a vicious and nearly deadly attack. This friend is big and strong - not even close to the kind of person you would normally consider a victim - in fact, quite the opposite - you feel safer around him than you would around most anybody else. But there it is - he was made a victim - he was scared (and justly so!) and helpless to defend himself.

This Psalm was part of my regular reading today and, in the light of my friend's recent experience, really striking. Consider how the Psalmist (King David) builds the phrases to demonstrate the total and utter security we have in the Lord, and the total and utter fear we live in without Him. These are my "Selah" moments:

"The Lord looks from heaven" - He doesn't look around from an earthly perspective - He is not of earth! He is different. He is separate! He is superior.

"He sees all the sons of men" - He is fully aware of what's going on down here.

"He fashions their hearts individually" - This section jumps out at me more than any of the others. God is not just the creator of mankind - He is the creator of each man/woman individually. He created MY heart. He molded & fashioned it. Not just the muscle - the fleshly organ that pumps my blood - but, in the context of this passage, He fashioned my desires, my emphathy, my compasion, my passions - all that makes up WHO I am - which is so much more than WHAT I am.

"He considers their works" - "Consider" is a fascinating word in this context. It means, "To think carefully about; To think or deem to be; To form an opinion about; judge; To take into account; bear in mind; To esteem; regard; To look at thoughtfully" (www.dictionary.com). When God looks at the life of each individual on this planet, He considers their works! This God who is so far above the puny humanness of our race - who chooses, for His own purposes, to be aware of these creatures He has formed - takes time to think carefully about, to form an opinion about, to bear in mind, to take into account each and every thing each and every creature does. Now there's Selah moment!

"No King is saved . . . A mighty man is not delivered . . . A horse is a vain hope . . . " - Every earthly thing we put our trust in is untrustworthy. Every thing. Our own wit or strength - that of others - even that of thousands of others mightier and wiser than ourselves. What do we have to fear in this world if we are without God? EVERYTHING. Without God we would be justified in crawling into the smallest corner, screaming in terror at the world around us - for without God's good pleasure, we have NO safety.

"Behold" - I love that word. "Look" - "Lift up your eyes" - "See". It reminds me of the seen in Lord of the Rings - Return of the King - in the last battle, the good guys are vastly, outrageously outnumbered. Doomed. The bad guys are confident and cocky in their own strength. The "know" they have won and are relishing the fear in those about to be slaughtered (albeit courageous fear). Then, "Behold" the ground beneath them gave way and it was themselves who were doomed and slaughtered. In this same way - King David shows us our utter helplessness and weakness, then says "Behold". What a magnificent transitory word!!

"the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him . . ." - Here is our safety. Here is our confidence. Here is our courage. "If God is for us, who can be against us?" No one! We are utterly and totally secure in ANY circumstance if we belong to Christ. HE fashioned the hearts even of those who threaten us and HE CAN crush them with just a thought. In the midst of a raging flood, in a lonely hotel room with a strangers gun cocked & pointed at our head, in the hands of a terrorist with a blade to our throat - IF we belong to Christ - we are SECURE.

I do not mean that the flood will not drown us or the gun will not go off or the knife will not sever our head from our body. Avoiding death is not the security I'm talking about. Death is inevitable for ALL of us. None of us knows when it's coming - whether in old age going quietly in our sleep or at the slow and vicious hands of cancer or in the sudden unexpected tragedy of an accident or at the hands of someone evil and uncaring. How or when we die is not the issue. Death is a fact. Our security is not from death - our security is IN death.

For all men, God has appointed a time to die. What matters is not how or when we die, but what happens afterward - for all of us are eternal beings. The flesh passes away - that much is certain. The person goes on - that much is also certain. Those who are in Christ have nothing to fear in this process however and whenever it comes because we know we continue on in the presence of our Lord - in eternal blessedness and hope. So, what have I, the beloved child of the living God have to fear? NOTHING!

Those who do not belong to Christ however should fear death with every ounce of their being - for the eternity that awaits them holds far more terror than this world could ever expose them to, even at its absolute worst.

For those who do not know Christ - if you think you have no safety now, in this world, consider how it will be when God not only removes His hand of mercy completely (you are living in His mercy now, whether you acknowledge Him or not - the fact you are still breathing is evidence of that). Consider how, once that hand of mercy is removed, you then see His wrath poured out without the constraints of mercy. All your denial of Him, every act that spat in the face of His beloved Son who hung on the cross to bear your sin, all your self-conceit in the face of the Almighty God, every selfish act, every unkind word, every lustful thought, all of your rebellion - now YOU must pay for it. You would not accept His free gift - You would not bow the knee to the only One Who knows you more intimately than you know yourself and yet loved you enough to suffer and die for your sin - the only one who bled to redeem you though you were unworthy to be redeemed. So now, in death, YOU pay the penalty for every unholy thing about you - and that is everything. There is nothing in you worth redeeming - all you are is worthy of this great and terrible judgment - and now you will pay. For eternity.

Repent. Bow the knee to the God who wants to save you. Turn to Him and find true safety.