posted by Michael on 07/1/08

There have been so many things going on here at the Staddon house that it has been impossible for me to get anything posted for a while. It seems too bad because those things would make great blog posts. We’ve been splitting bee hives, planting trees, harvesting honey, chipping branches, and all kinds of other interesting projects. I even had my first try at welding. It has been a lot of hard, sweat-dripping work. But what deserves a blog post the most is what our family read in Psalm 118 this morning, especially verses 19 through 23:

Verses 19-20: “Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and will praise the Lord: this gate of the Lord into which the righteous shall enter.” Question:Who is “the door of the sheep” through which they enter into the fold?

Verse 21: “I will praise Thee: for Thou has heard me, and art become my Salvation.” Question: Who is our Salvation?

Verses 22-23: “The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.” Question: Who is the Head that the builders rejected?

Verse 24: “This is the day that the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Key question: What is “this” Day that the Lord has made?

Read the verses again. Verse 24 is just a continuation of the other verses. The gate, the salvation, and the stone are speaking of Christ. The Day in verse 24 is not ultimately speaking of any 12-hour or 24-hour period! This is speaking of Christ, the Eternal Day in which I will rejoice, beginning the moment that I made peace with God through the sacrifice of His Son. “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” 1 Jn. 5:12. The water Christ gives is a well of water springing up unto everlasting life (Jn. 4:14). “For God, Who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” 2 Cor. 4:6. “The Lord is my light and my salvation” Ps. 27:1, “a light to lighten the gentiles” Luke 2:32, Is. 9:2, and Is. 49:6. According to Hebrews 4:8-10 this eternal day that lives within me is the Sabbath, the Day of rest. “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” Mt. 11:28. My temporal body may work and sweat, but how glorious it is to abide in the Rest of Jesus Christ forever! Woe to me if I attempt the labor of iniquity on this Day! Question: “And to whom sware He that they should not enter into His rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not  profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest” Heb. 3:18 – 4:3a.

4 Comments » | posted in Politics, Recipes, The Bright Side, Tidbits

posted by James on 06/28/08

Ever since late spring, when you can expect things to stay hot and muggy and there is no fear of it ever getting cold again (or at least for a while), I have always wanted to get a bike and explore the surrounding area. I’ve always enjoyed biking, whether it was racing through neighborhoods playing "Bible Runners" or cruising through the West Virginia hills on old rails-to-trails biking paths. So, after a month or so, I was finally able to obtain a nice mountain bike. Ever since, I’ve been enjoying the many side roads, neighborhoods, and forest preserves full of biking opportunities. 

Beside enjoyment, transportation is another blessing of having a bike. Yesterday, instead of having to wait for a ride to a nearby park where activities were planned, I was able to ride there by myself and get the benefit of the exercise. However, bikes can also be dangerous.

It was growing dark as Robert and I headed for the exit of the forest preserve we had explored that evening. Because night was coming on, we were traveling rather quickly. This was a mistake because unknown to us, the entrance and exit had been chained off at dusk. Just before I reached the invisible chain, I followed a seemingly useless prompting to slow down. Suddenly, my bike came to an abrupt halt as it came in contact with the chain across the road. I probably would have flown off the bike, but thankfully, I had slowed down enough to lessen the effects of the impact. Later, Robert told me that he was overwhelmed with the urge to ask God for safety just seconds before I hit the chain. I think that prompting to slow down was from the Lord!

But anyway, the pros outweigh the cons. From experiences like the one above, I am getting to know the area around here pretty well and can serve as a sort of "tour guide." I enjoy taking people who have been busy sitting at a desk doing office work all day for short, refreshing biking ventures. Praise the Lord for bikes!

4 Comments » | posted in Family News, The Bright Side

posted by Robert on 06/24/08

I was in serious trouble! I had promised to bring back dinner from a certain restaurant for a friend who was busy at work. Unfortunately, by the time I was finished enjoying my own dinner, the restaurant had closed and I was unable to fulfill my promise. It was a terrible feeling!

A while later on I apologetically called my friend up. I was dreading having to share my mistake. But, to my utter surprise, someone had already completely redeemed the situation and delivered dinner to them in my name! What a relief! It was a great feeling.

The benevolent soul who had heroically saved the day was none other than Mike Kelly. Actually, though, this kind of thing is pretty normal for Mike. Whether it’s surprising his coworkers with a box of donuts, making extra efforts to help his boss be successful, going out of his way to pick up someone stranded at the airport, or generously giving certain people a certain beverage from a certain location, Mike is always ready to sacrifice his personal time, money, and energy to encourage those around him. That’s what it means to be a giver.

There seems to be two kinds of people that you come across in life: “givers” and “takers”. Givers sacrifice their own resources to invest in the lives of others. Takers selfishly attend to their own needs and thus zap energy from everyone else.

“Look not every man on his own things,
but every man also on the things of others.”
Philippians 2:4

6 Comments » | posted in The Bright Side

posted by Esther on 06/16/08

We are so blessed with a righteous father   who leads his family in the ways of the Lord! Thank you Dad! In so many ways you are a picture of who our Heavenly Father is to us. The following medley of revised lines from hymns and spiritual songs was compiled in his honor on Father’s Day. You should have heard us sing it to him last night! See if you can identify all 25 songs.

This is our Father’s Day

It is morning in our house today!
You will hear our father say,
“Rise up oh men of God.
You’ve been sleeping in your bedroom… long enough!”

Shall we gather in the Living room?
Oh come, oh come, and have the Wisdom Search.
And he sits with me and he talks with me,
And he tells me…
“The Bible stands like a rock undaunted
Mid the raging storms of time.
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!”
He… says…
“Search me oh God, and know my heart today.”

I am so glad that our father has said:
“Come, children, join and sing,
“Sing, the wondrous love of Jesus, Sing His mercy and His grace;”
We’ll sing and shout the victory!

Day by day, and with each passing moment,
Oh yes, he cares, I know he cares.
Blest be the tie that binds,
Our hearts in Christian love,
The fellowship of kindred minds,
Is like to that above.

Work for the night is coming!
Work thru the morning skies;
Work while the dew is sparkling,
Work for daylight flies.
Oh, happy day, oh, happy day,
Toiling on, toiling on, toiling on, toiling on,
It… will… be… worth it all
For all the saints, who from their labors rest
In darkness of night, God leads His dear children along.
There is a place of quiet rest…
(Slow) Silent night,
This is our… Father’s… Day.

4 Comments » | posted in The Bright Side

posted by Donald on 04/17/08

“If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honorable; and shalt honor Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it” (Isaiah 58:13, 14).

This verse was a particular encouragement to me years ago when I first began to study God’s design for time. Otto Koning’s testimony was a great encouragement also. Giving God the first day of the week however is only a way of telling Him that my whole life is His and that I seek to live for no one else but Him.

One part of His reward is that we would be able to ride, so to speak, on the high places of the earth, not caught up in distractions that can quickly become a burden. One way this was fulfilled recently was when a few of us had the opportunity to go hiking in Yu Shan National Park. It is one of Taiwan’s six National Parks and encompasses Jade Mountain, Taiwan’s (and in fact one of Asia’s) highest points. It was a short visit. We did not even see Jade mountain. But on the Walami Trail we got as far as the “beware of bears” sign and enjoyed each other’s company! May we learn as early as possible to enjoy the path of the One Who said “Follow Me”.

4 Comments » | posted in The Bright Side