Prayers from home

I am currently reading through Seasons of a Mother's Heart by Sally Clarkson and I am finding it extraordinarily helpful. Sally Clarkson and her husband run an established ministry for home-schooling families and, although this book is directed at home-schooling mums, it has a lot to say to those just need encouragement in their mothering, whether or not they home school.

She splits the book into the four seasons namely, Spring, season of renewal; Summer, season of response; Fall, season of resolve; Winter, season of reflection. She takes each in turn and offers wise counsel on such things as finding joy in our children and where God has placed us, bringing our desires into line with God's will, building our house, discipling our children. She uses examples from her experience of raising four children and writes like a good friend or older sister.

One chapter I found especially helpful was on the importance of praying for our children. How easy it is to be anxious about how our kids will turn out, whether they will love God and know to do the right thing, worrying about if we are doing enough to make this happen. Instead we should divert our energies from worry into prayer: not only is this the most important thing we can do for our children, but God will use it to bring us peace. Sally writes:

The more time I spend with my Father in prayer, the better prepared I will be to help my children. And even more important, the more I can rest in the Lord knowing, by faith, that my children are in his hands. When I can trust in God's providence, draw on his grace, join in the spiritual battle through prayer, and praise his name, all the other things I do as a mother seem to pale in significance. The more I grow as a mother, the more I grow convinced that the most important impact I will ever have on my children will be through my prayers for them.

Sometimes I feel like I have fallen to my knees out of exhaustion, tiredness, or frustration. But no matter what has brought me to my knees, that is right where God wants me. It is only from being on my knees in prayer that I will have the strength and assurance to stand up and keep going as a mother. The battle belongs to the Lord. Amen!

I whole-heartedly recommend this book. Whether you happen to be home-schooling or not, it will encourage you in your motherhood mission.

From Jeremiah Burroughs

A great quote from The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment (which I'm slowly making my way through!), for when we are struggling for contentment in the circumstances God has put us in:

The difference between what a godly man has and a wicked man, is this: a godly man is as a child in an inn, an inn-keeper has his child in the house, and provides his diet, and lodging, and what is needful for him. Now a stranger comes, and he has dinner and supper provided, and lodging, but the stranger must pay for everything. It may be that the child's fare is meaner than the fare of the stranger; the stranger has boiled and roast and baked, but he must pay for it, there must come a reckoning for it. Just so it is: many of God's people have only mean fare, but God as a Father provides it, and it is free of cost, they need not pay for what they have, it is paid for before; but the wicked in all their pomp, and pride, and finery: they have what they ask for, but there must come a reckoning for everything, they must pay for all at the conclusion, and is it not better to have a little free of cost, than to have to pay for everything? Grace shows a man that what he has, he has free of cost, from God as from a Father, and therefore it must needs be very sweet.

If God Already Knows, Why Pray?

It's not often these days that I have a "eureka moment" but recently it happened to me while I was reading a book about prayer. You probably know the feeling; you read something and suddenly something previously obtuse becomes crystal-clear. Now I've read a few books on prayer in my time, and some of them were quite good. But If God Already Knows Why Pray by Douglas Kelly is definitely the one of the best.

It is written in a very readable style, full of excellent illustrations and helpful stories. Dr Kelly follows the structure of the Lord's prayer and answers the question he poses in the book's title. He first deals with "If God already knows" under the headings of "Prayer depends on who God is", "Prayer and the praise of God" and "Prayer and the purposes of God". The next section deals with the "why pray", because "Prayer changes us" and "Prayer changes others". Part 3 then talks about "Our problems and God's solutions", discussing "The challenge to persevere", "Wrestling in prayer" and "When God appears to say no".

The section I found most helpful (and the source of my personal revelation!) discussed the divine initiative in prayer. Dr Kelly explains how

"God has specifically chosen to use the prayers of His saints (which they base on His written word) for His name to be glorified and His will to be done."

I believed this to be true in my head, but this did not energise me when it actually came down to the praying. Dr Kelly goes on to explain how

"effective prayers start in heaven and are sent down to us by God himself"

and after reading this section I really started to understand what this means.

"The risen Christ is interceding for us in heaven (Hebrews 7:24-28). The Spirit is there with Him, because the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are always together. And that same Spirit 'also helps us in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered' (Romans 8:26).

The Spirit leaves the throne where Jesus is praying and comes down into the believer's heart where he begins to re-echo the intercessions of Jesus. It is as though the Holy Spirit places a mirror inside our hearts and turns it in such a direction that it reflects back to heaven the deepest desires of the interceding Christ."

Eureka! Well, for me at least. If you feel you need some insights to fire up your prayer life, then read this book. Be warned, your prayers may never be the same again.

He saw the first time

I all too easily get discouraged when a task I have just completed soon needs to be done again. The washing, the dirty dishes, meals; I'm sure you can add your own list. So I found this quote from Helen Roseveare very helpful. She is describing her time at WEC mission headquarters, where she went in preparation for going to the Congo as a mission doctor.

I was told to go and wash the cement floor of the toilets and bathroom on the women candidate's floor. I found a bucket and a brush, and set to...I scrubbed out the first toilet and started on the second. A candidate entered the first with muddy shoes. The floor was still wet. When she left, I returned and did the first again. Meanwhile, someone else entered the second. This continued for some little time with a rising sense of frustration. I'd never get them clean! I'd fail, my very first day in training, to achieve the task I was set. Tears pricked at my eyes. I scrubbed on, muttering, 'Devil, get out of here! Devil, get out of here!'

Someone came in, and standing still a moment watching me, heard my muttered comments. She laughed and startled me. 'Now I understand why our cakes are all burnt today!' she exclaimed. 'We're in the kitchen underneath, and you're sending the devil down to us!' She left amused. But there was another quiet spectator, Elizabeth, who was in charge of the candidates and who had given me this task. After a short pause, she gently asked me why I was so upset. I explained the cause of my frustration. 'For whom are you scrubbing this floor?' she replied. 'Why for you, of course; you sent me here.' I've never forgotten her answer. 'No, my dear. If you are doing it for me, you may as well go home. You'll never satisfy me. You're doing it for the Lord, and He saw the first time you cleaned it. That now is tomorrow's dirt.'

From Give Me This Mountain by Helen Roseveare.

Online Books

If you're a bit short of cash after the Christmas season, or due to the "credit crunch" you're "tightening your belt", there is still no excuse for not getting a hold of a new book to read. Our amazing friends over at Desiring God not only give us free sermons, but books too. You can visit their online book section to get your pick of around 50 books. Happy reading!

Muffins: Fast and Fantastic

Catriona here, pulling myself out of the Christmas whirl to write a blog post (Nicki is picking herself up off the floor right about now!). Anyway, I have a great suggestion for a Christmas gift that is inexpensive but invaluable if you know someone who likes baking or would like to learn. It is a book about how to make excellent muffins called Muffins: Fast and Fantastic, and it is written by a lady who goes to our church, Susan Reimer. She wrote it several years ago when she first moved to the UK from Canada with her family. She was frustrated when her tried and tested muffin recipes just didn't work with British weights and measures so she set out to re-write the recipes for use in Britain and this book (which was self-published) was the result. It is extremely practical, and full of helpful comments about how to modify the recipes for different diets or just for variety. And even if you live in North America, it will still be useful to you as she gives advice on how to modify the recipes for US/Canadian ingredients and measures.

I can personally endorse almost all the recipes as I've virtually baked my way through the whole book and not one of them has been a flop. (My husband has enjoyed trying them out!) I even gave a copy to Rachel for her engagement and she made some excellent summer fruit muffins for her engagement party. If you can't wait for the book to arrive you could visit Susan's website where you will find the recipe for her amazing banana muffins and can get started right now!

(And Susan, hope you don't mind me giving you a plug - have a great Christmas!)

Great gift idea for Christmas

Yes, I know it's only the beginning of November, but once the evenings start getting dark I can't help but get excited about Christmas! And I've recently discovered some great books for children which have been released this year by Christian Focus. They are part of a series of short Christian biographies written in a style that is accessible to children.

We bought the book about Helen Roseveare for our oldest daughter (age 4) and she loves it. It retells an incident from Helen Roseveare's time as a missionary when she was looking after a very sick baby. It is easy for a child to understand and gives a great insight into the power of prayer. There are currently six books available in the series including George Muller, Corrie Ten Boom and Hudson Taylor. The Christian Focus website has them in the 8-12 category, but I think they are probably best for a bit younger than that. Check them out here and start your Christmas shopping early!

The Godly Man's Picture

Some advice was given to me recently from a very wise and godly pastor; ‘Don’t rush through the puritan classics...less is more when it comes to reading and fully understanding doctrine that will nourish and transform your soul.’

With this in mind, and perhaps also due to the busy demands of everyday life, I’ve moved quite slowly through ‘The Godly Man’s Picture.’ At the outset, Thomas Watson poignantly reminds the reader that,

The soul being so precious, and salvation so glorious, it is the highest point of prudence to make preparations for another world.

The remainder of the book outlines the characteristics of godliness, fully expectant that the godly man (in the generic sense) will be one who is patient, thankful, zealous, sincere, but to name a few of the chapter titles. However God’s grace and ever-present help is referred to often and encourages the believer to continue in perseverance. Many regard Watson as the most readable of the Puritans; his questioning approach serves to aid the reader by providing opportunity for reflection and personal response. I found the most challenging section of the book to be entitled: ‘A godly man prizes Christ.’ Not only is the precious worth of Jesus affirmed again and again throughout this chapter, the challenge arises as to whether we really prize Christ at all.

If we are prizers of Christ:
1. We will prefer him in our judgments before other things
2. We cannot live without him
3. We shall not complain at any pains to get him
4. We take great pleasure in Him
5. We will part with our dearest pleasures for him
6. We shall think we cannot have him at too dear a rate
7. We will be willing to help others to get a part of him
8. We will prize him in health as well as sickness

Helpful explanations and illustrations support each section of this book with Scripture references woven throughout. This book really is one to be read and re-read and referred to along the way.

Fear not men but let God be your fear

The title is a quote from one of Samuel Rutherford's letters written to one of his parishioners in the mid 1600's. I don't know about you but I certainly still need to be reminded of this truth today in 2008. I've been reminded of it today in a couple of ways.

First, our pastor Peter Grainger continued our series in the book of Acts today with a sermon entitled "The First Megachurch". His third point dealt with the account of Ananias and Sapphira and the "great fear" of God that swept through the early church as a result of these events (Acts 5:11). Peter quoted from Richard Longnecker's commentary on Acts:

…while we may be thankful that judgement upon deceit in the church is not now so swift and drastic, the incident stands as an indelible warning regarding the heinousness in God’s sight of deception in spiritual and personal matters.

You can listen to the whole sermon here. As Peter was preaching, it occurred to me how often I don't fear God as I should, but instead spend far too much energy focussing on sinful fears based on material worries and anxieties about family or what others think of me. In his excellent book Running Scared, Ed Welch shows us that the antidote to the fears that cripple us is a proper fear of God:

If you really want to fight fear, learn to fear Someone who captures your attention in such a way that your other fears suddenly seem pedestrian and unimportant...Can you hear the echo of the Sermon on the Mount? After Jesus reasoned with us about our worries and anxieties, he gave us the premier anti-anxiety treatment: "Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness" (Matt 6:33). You treat worries by pursuing what is even more important. Fear still reveals our allegiances, this time in a positive way. If we have a mature fear of the Lord, it means that we value and revere him above all else. That's how we fight fear with fear.

So by earnestly seeking to live in reverent fear of God, I counter the sinful fears that so often clog up my life and distract me from serving him as I should. Or to put it another way, when my life is full of worry and fear, it probably means that I am not fearing God as I should.

He who fears the LORD has a secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge (Proverbs 14:26)

Puritans, We Greet Thee In 2008

I signed up to the 2008 Puritan reading challenge mid January for a number of reasons. I've really loved using ‘The Valley of Vision’ Puritan prayer book to aid my devotions for some time now. I was also inspired by Timmy Brister’s reasons for getting aquainted with the Puritans. In brief, the puritans:

1. Had a relentless pursuit of God
2. Were physicians of souls
3. Possessed genuine piety
4. Were pacesetters in church history
5. Will provide a healthy perspective

January’s book for the month was The Bruised Reed by Richard Sibbes. I’ll admit it was hard going! It was written in 1630 and the old English used is at times extremely challenging. The bruised reed is based around Isaiah 42v1-3, namely v3...

A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. (KJV)

Sibbes explains that a bruised reed is a person in misery. This misery drives a person to see sin as the root of their misery, turning to other things for relief. It is essential for someone to be brought to this place of misery, before they can be saved, to allow the Spirit to work in their heart. Bruising is also necessary for us as Christians in our sanctification.

A smoking flax describes a situation where a fire once blazed high, however for one reason or another it no longer burns with zeal. Sibbes continually directs us to the victory of the cross as the source of encouragement when we are tempted to despair over our lack of faith and sin in our lives;

...there is more mercy in Christ than sin in us.

He practically exhorts us as Christians to continue in our duties rather than allow sin to cause us to make excuses for a lack of service for Him. We are also implored to believe Christ rather than Satan’s lies. The final chapters remind us that despite trials and tribulations, our victory in Christ is certain!

We are weak, but we are his; we are deformed, but yet carry his image upon us.

It is not too late to start the challenge! I hope to review the books as I work my way through them. I may well be reading into 2009 :-) It would be great to hear from you if you're reading too!

Stirred as a Pot of Paint

I'm enjoying reading Dr Helen Roseveare's book Living Faith: Willing to be Stirred as a Pot of Paint. I have just come to that part in her story that provides the explanation for the book's title. During reconstruction work in Zaire in 1969 following the devsatation caused by the civil unrest in 1964-5, Dr Roseveare was involved in the development of a medical training school. She writes:

Moving around inspecting all the different areas of work, I went in search of the painters (student volunteers) to see how they were faring. They were not in the first classroom, which suprised me. When I did not find them in the second room, I became suspicious. I looked at the woodwork around the door, which had not noticeably changed since I last saw it. I touched it gingerly. There was a sort of brown, sticky "goo"... I moved quickly across to the library. There they were, chatting away, brushes in and out of the paint pot, up and down the woodwork, totally unconcious that they were making no impression. The window frames looked just as before. I strode across to them and looked into the paint pot.

There was a sold mass of white matter, under a very thin remaining layer of rapidly dissapearing linseed oil. The pot had not been stirred....

I demonstrated the art of stirring. Hard work, right down to the bottom of the can, till all that was solid was stirred into the diluting oil, to become one consistency. It changed colour. It would not go so far now, but it would achieve the purpose for which it was designed. I left the two students, duly mollified, I thought, painting away with renewed vigour. Some half hour later, I suddenly realised that I had failed to explain that the paint would need stirring every so often until the job was completed...

We needed to be stirred until there was no seperation left between solid and liquid, between secular and spiritual, weekdays and Sundays. Our lives needed to be one of consistency, through and through, ready to do the task for which we were created. This stirring would need to be continued daily until the task was completed.

I wonder if we could pray as she did:

Please go on working in me until I really am transformed into the image of your Son. Today I mean this, with every ounce of my being, but when You start doing it, and the stirring hurts, and I feel I can't take it anymore, maybe I'll cry out to You to stop. Please when that happens, don't listen to my cry to stop, but just remember my vow to you today to be available to You, and just go on working away at me to make me like You want you to be.

More Respectable Sins

After reading the odd chapter here and there I've decided to reread from the beginning, Respectable Sins: Confronting the Sins we Tolerate. It's a great book and I can't recommend it enough. I mentioned previously that it would be a painful read and perhaps some of you might have been put off, wondering whether the book is only going to give you a good going over. Well let me say, it does and it doesn't!

Jerry Bridges is in no doubt whatsoever that uncovering those underlying "acceptable" sins in our lives is a sore job and so his first few chapters set you up well for the hard bits. I particularly enjoyed a chapter which dealt with 7 things to do when addressing sin in your life. I thought I'd share them to encourage you as you seek to walk by the Spirit and put to death the desires of the flesh.

1. Apply the Gospel - "As we struggle to put to death our subtle sins, we must always keep in mind this twofold truth: Our sins are forgiven and we are accepted as righteous by God because of both the sinless life and sin-bearing death of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is no greater motivation for dealing with sin in our lives than the realisation of these two glorious truths of the gospel."

2. Depend on the Holy Spirit - "Regardless of how much we grow..we never get beyond our constant need of the enabling power of the Holy Spirit. Our spiritual life may be compared to the motor of an electrical appliance. The motor does the actual work, but it constantly depends upon the power source of the electricity to enable it to work."

3. Recognise your responsibility - "Work as if it all depends on you, and yet trust as if you did not work at all."

4. Identify specific responsible sins - "As you identify a particular sin, give thought to what situations trigger it. Anticipating the circumstances or events that stimulate the sin can help in putting it to death."

5. Memorise and apply appropriate Scriptures - "We should bring to bear specific applicable Scriptures to each of our subtle sins. These Scriptures should be memorised, reflected on, and prayed over as we ask God to use them to enable us to deal with those sins. The psalmist wrote: 'I have stored up your word in my heart , that I might not sin against you.' (119:11) To store up means to lay aside for future need."

6. Cultivate the practice of prayer - "It is through prayer that we consciously acknowledge our need of the Holy Spirit, and...continually acknowledge the presence of those persistent sin patterns in our lives."

7. Involve one or a few other believers with you - "We need the mutual vulnerability with and accountability to one another, as well as the praying for one another, if we want to make progress in dealing with sin." More practically, Bridges suggests asking others for their evaluation of the subtle sins in your life: "Set aside time with your spouse, your brother or sister, or a good friend. Ask for their honest feedback. Assure them you will not become defensive or question their evaluation. Just listen but don't respond. You might ask them to rate you in each area according to a scale something like this:

• Not a problem
• Occasionally a problem
• Frequently a problem
• Characteristic of your life

Even if you don't agree with their assessments, take them to heart in humility. God may be using the other person to open up areas you have been in denial about."

When Sinners Say 'I Do'

I'm just about to start reading Dave Harvey's book, When Sinners Say 'I Do': Discovering the Power of the Gospel for Marriage. However, there is a temptation not to bother since Sovereign Grace Ministries have just set up a You Tube page of videos related to some chapters of the book!

Although I'll still read the book ('cause that's just what I do & I paid good money for it not to!), for those of you who might need a little inspiring to flick through the pages of what seems a worthwhile read, check out what Dave Harvey says about his book here.

(HT: Justin Taylor)

Heroines of the Mission Field: Mary Moffat

I've recently been reading A Scottish Christian Heritage by Iain H. Murray, and one of the chapters is about the life of Robert Moffat, missionary to South Africa for more than 50 years from 1817 until 1870. I guess he is not the most famous nineteenth century missionary, and in fact, he is perhaps better known as the father in law of David Livingstone. Even less well known is his wife Mary. As I read about the work of the Moffats I was keen to learn more about Mary Moffat and I tracked down a book written in the late 1800's called Heroines of the Mission Field, by Emma Raymond Pitman.

Mary Moffat was born in 1795 near Manchester, England. She and Robert Moffat met when he was working as a gardener for her father, who owned a nursery in Cheshire. They both shared a common desire to undertake mission work and Robert was sent out to South Africa by the London Missionary Society in 1816. Mary was keen to marry Robert and accompany him, but her parents forbade it. Two years later, Mary's parents relented much to Robert's delight, "for a missionary in this country without a wife is like a boat with one oar."

They married as soon as Mary arrived in South Africa and as Murray writes,

Mary's companionship came in time for the many hard years that lay ahead.

The Moffats worked tirelessly to bring the gospel message to the Batlaping people, but

discouragements abounded. Initial threats from the Batlaping people subsided into constant thieving, allied with stony indifference to anything spiritual.

As a woman in this environment, Mary faced particular trials, detailed by Mrs Pittman:

females [who] flocked around her...viewed her as a curiosity, to be teased, robbed or let alone, as it pleased them...The houses were as unlike English ideas of comfort as they were possible to be. These huts... were composed of a number of poles placed in circular form and covered with mats. When the sun shone, it was unbearably hot; when it rained the water poured in, while it was not unusual for dogs and serpents to force their way into some quiet corner.

Mary Moffat herself described the circumstances in which she laboured each day, with her house full of any number of locals, "leaving us not room enough even to turn ourselves". She goes on,

While some were talking, others would be sleeping, and some pilfering whatever they could lay their hands upon.

They worked for a decade without any sign of a change in the people around them and the London Missionary Society was considering abandoning the work. However, in 1829, at last six people were converted. Throughout these difficult years, Mary supported her husband in his work, even when he doubted whether they would ever see any fruit. Mary said,

We may not live to see it, but the awakening will come as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow.

Her faith in the promises of God was further illustrated by her ordering a communion cup and plates from England in 1827, before anyone had been converted. They arrived one week before they were needed in 1829.

She raised seven children, four of whom became missionaries themselves. Robert often had to travel around the surrounding countryside, and Mary was left alone on the mission station, although on some occasions she travelled with him, with all the danger that entailed. At the end of her life, someone said to her, "God has honoured you to be a great helper to your husband", to which Mary replied,

I always studied my husband's comfort, never hindered him in his work, but always did what I could to keep him up to it.

Although our lives today are very different today to that experienced by Mary Moffat, there is much we can learn from her faithfulness in carrying out God's work, and the dedication with which she pursued her helper role.

Respectable Sins

Over the last couple of weeks our family has been hit with a bout of the flu. It's not been pleasant for any of us and we've had to dig deep as we've sought to individually recover as well as look after one another. As the mum in the family most of the looking after has been done by me, mainly because the kids are still at a young age, and my husband has suffered worst of all. So let's say it's an understatement that I've struggled through these days with the physical demands of a sick family climbing the four walls of our house! Yet, I've found myself struggling even more so spiritually - I've lost sight of the Saviour too many times and it's been all too easy for me to become self-absorbed with how I'm feeling and neglect the privileged role I have as a wife and mother, called to love and care for my family.

The bottom line - it's become particularly apparent to me how impatient and irritable I have become! If you were to ask me what sins I struggle with most in my life, impatience and irritability would not be #1. However, they are sins that are all too real in my life and sadly are almost stealth-like catching me and those around me unawares.

Jerry Bridges has recently brought out his book Respectable Sins: Confronting the Sins we Tolerate. The book deals with how as Christians, we often become so focussed on the major sins of our society, that we neglect the need to battle with the more subtle sins in our lives. And lo and behold, there sits a chapter on impatience and irritability! Bridges describes impatience as a "strong sense of annoyance at the (usually) unintentional faults and failures of others. This impatience is often expressed verbally in a way that tends to humiliate the person (or persons) who is the object of the impatience." Closely related is irritability where Bridges writes: "While impatience is a strong sense of annoyance or exasperation, irritability...describes the frequency of impatience, or the ease with which a person can become impatient over the slightest provocation."

While reading through the chapter these words have been somewhat painful for me as I've been reminded of the many times in which I am impatient and irritable with my family. So, why am I sharing this? Maybe you are a wife & mother whose husband doesn't hang the bath towels the way you like, or pick up his dirty clothes from the side of the bed as you would. Maybe your children won't sit and eat all their dinner at the table and do it quietly with little mess as you would like. All too often I treat these situations as if it's my family who have the problem and neglect my attitude and heart. Is that you too? If not, which I doubt (!), maybe you can identify with anxiety, frustration, pride, discontentment, unthankfulness, selfishness, lack of self-control, anger, envy to mention a few more "respectable sins" that Bridges deals with. Can I recommend this book to you, it'll be painful, but immensly practical and helpful as you seek to "put to death" sin in your life.

Stirred as a Pot of Paint

One of the Christmas presents I received from my husband this year was Dr Helen Roseveare's Living Faith: Willing to be Stirred as a Pot of Paint. This is one in a series of reprints of her classics for a newer audience. I'm hoping to start reading it soon and offer a review on it, but today I thought I'd give you a heads up on this remarkable woman and leave you with a couple of other resources about her life and ministry.

For those of you who might be unfamiliar with Dr Roseveare, she was an English Christian missionary to the Congo from 1953-1973 where she practised medicine and trained others in medicine. She was taken in 1964 by rebel forces during a time of dangerous political instability where she endured beatings and rape. After her release she returned to England before heading back in 1966 to serve until 1973.

Helen Roseveare was one of the speakers at last years Desiring God "Stand" Conference. She spoke on "A Call for the Perseverance of the Saints" and you can listen or watch online here.

For a taster, here is a Noel Piper giving a short biographical overview of her life.



Also available online:
The Cost of Declaring His Glory audio
Digging Ditches interview with Evangelicals Now.
Maintaining Spirituality
Faithful in Loss - Final chapter in Noel Piper's book, Faithful Women & their Extraordinary God.

Revival in Rose Street

Some of you might like to know that one of our former church secretaries, Dr Ian Balfour has just had his book published - 'Revival in Rose Street' charts 200 years of Charlotte Chapel history recounting the ministries of some well known preachers - Christopher Anderson (it's founder), Joseph Kemp, Graham Scroggie, Sidlow Baxter, Gerald Griffiths, Alan Redpath, Derek Prime (& one of his assistants, Alistair Begg) and Peter Grainger, the current senior pastor with 15 years of faithful ministry under his belt, and counting.

The book is amazingly available for the bargain price of £10 and can be purchased at the church itself or by emailing info@charlottechapel.org.

Standard Parcel postage in the UK is £5.68 for one copy, £8.24 for two, £9.35 for three, £10.97 for four, £11.45 for five and £13.13 for six to ten (same price). Surface mail to anywhere else (European Community, the Americas, India, Australasia, etc) is a standard £10.66 for one copy. Airmail to overseas countries is £20.66. Weight is 1.916 kilo.

You might like to know that our wee blog of only 15 months even gets a mention!

Christmas Gift Ideas - Books for Kids

Just a couple of suggestions for kid's Christian books this Christmas.













After reading some good reviews on the Jesus Storybook Bible and The Big Picture Story Bible, we have bought them for our kids this year.

There's a good series by Derek Prime called "Sarah & Paul" for kids aged 4-7. Although they're engaging fictional stories, each book focuses on a biblical theme: for example, what does it mean to be a Christian, the 10 Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, what is God like? and baptism. Glen received these last Christmas and is beginning to enjoy them already (he turned 4 in August).


I'd also recommend Sinclair Ferguson's Big Book of Questions & Answers. We are looking forward to using this with Glen this coming year. As you know, kids are FULL of questions and this family guide to the Christian Faith contains a wealth of activities, prayers, and Bible references.

Christmas Gift Ideas - Books for Her

Here are a few books that I've read this last year (or revisited from the previous year) and would recommend for any mum, sister, daughter aunt or friend this Christmas.

Biblical Womanhood




God's Design for Women by Sharon James












Twleve Extraordinary Women by John MacArthur











Biblical Womanhood in the Home by Nancy Leigh DeMoss











Disciplines of a Godly Woman by Barbara Hughes










Women's Ministry in the Local Church by Susan Hunt & Ligon Duncan







Christian Biography





Marriage to a Difficult Man: The Uncommon Union of Jonathan & Sarah Edwards by Elizabeth Dodds










Faithful Women & their Extraordinary God by Noel Piper









Contending for Our All by John Piper









Elizabeth Prentiss: More Love to Thee by Sharon James











End of the Spear by Steve Saint











In Trouble & In Joy: Four Women who Lived for God by Sharon James







Devotional





Gentle Rain on Tender Grass: Daily Readings from the Pentateuch by Sharon James










For the Love of God by DA Carson










Esther & Ruth: Reformed Expository Commentary by Iain Duguid










The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions










Life as a Vapor by John Piper







Christian Life





Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper











Living the Cross Centered Life by CJ Mahaney











The Gospel & Personal Evangelism by Mark Dever










Humility: True Greatness by CJ Mahaney





Marriage & Family






Feminine Appeal by Carolyn Mahaney











The Excellent Wife by Martha Peace










Love that Lasts: When Marriage Meets Grace by Gary & Betsy Ricucci









Disciplines of a Godly Family by Kent & Barbara Hughes










Family Driven Faith by Voddie Baucham Jr







Christian Fiction





And the Shofar Blew by Francine Rivers










Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers









A Voice in the Wind (Mark of the Lion 1) by Francine Rivers











Echo in the Darkness (Mark of the Lion 2) By Francine Rivers










Sure as the Dawn (Mark of the Lion 3) by Francine Rivers