Grace & Truth Link Up

  • Spurgeon and the Psalms

    ByLauren Bible reading, book review, Christian, Grace & Truth Link Up, prayer, Uncategorized
    16 Comments

    SpurgeonThe Psalms draw me in during my time with the Lord.  I tend to avoid negative feelings by watching TV, eating or shopping.  Pretty much anything that distracts me from the pit in my stomach.  Hanging out in the Psalms helps me feel.  And feel like it’s ok to feel.

     

    King David experienced every range of human emotion we experience or imagine.  Extreme grief, shame over sin, anger and frustration – at God no less.  He felt separation and distance from God and He experienced great joy in the Lord’s presence.  The Bible records it all.

     

    Praying the Psalms helps bring up my emotions and process them.  This book reminds me of God’s goodness, faithfulness and mighty acts.  And none of that changes when I express my negative feelings to Him.

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    What Does Spurgeon Have to Do With it?

     

    With these sentiments toward Psalms, I appreciated the opportunity to read and review Spurgeon and the Psalms.  Charles Spurgeon, an English preacher (called “The Prince of Preachers”) in the 1800’s, wrote sermons, books and commentaries that  influenced so many that he continues to be held in high regard in Christian circles today.  Spurgeon

     

    Spurgeon wrote that “No one needs better company than the Psalms.”  He called them “the school of patience, the soul’s soliloquies, the little Bible, the anatomy of devotion, the Holy Land of poesy, the heart of Scripture, the map of experience, and the tongue of saints.”  During his pastoral ministry Spurgeon preached through the Book of Psalms and these sermons later became published under the title The Treasury of David.  The introduction of Spurgeon and the Psalms explains that a short passage from these sermons accompanies each of the 150 Psalms.

     

    This beautiful book, in leathersoft black with gold gilded edges, feels good to hold.  Each Psalm, presented with its own commentary, makes the small volume perfect for daily times of devotion with the Lord.

     

    SpurgeonThe New King James Version is beautifully written and Spurgeon’s commentary poetic, but I personally find it a little difficult to follow.  To be transparent, though, I think God is calling me to slow down with Him.  So I plan to keep at it.

     

    *** Full disclosure – I received a copy of this book for free as a member of the Bible Gateway Blogger Grid.

     

    The Link Up

     

    I already shared Karen Girl Friday’s post Not Separating God’s Goodness from His Holiness on Facebook and Twitter, and now I share it here.  Dig into the important read.

     

    1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

    2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.

    3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate).

    Grace and Truth_Meet Hosts

    We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.

    MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
    Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

    LAUREN SPARKS
    Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

    LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
    Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

    TAMMY KENNINGTON – Restoring hope. Pursuing peace.
    Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

    Now Let’s Link Up!

     

    You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

    Click here to enter

    If you liked this post, do me the huge honor of using the buttons below to share it to your favorite social media accounts. And if you want to get these essays emailed to you once a week, subscribe!  Lastly, my posts may contain affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases. If you buy anything from one of these links, I will receive a few pennies to help offset the cost of this website at no additional charge to you. Thank you in advance for your help.

     

    To find some great places where I might be sharing this post, click here.

  • Graduation and Complex Feelings

    ByLauren Christian, community, Grace & Truth Link Up, joy, lament, special needs, trusting God
    34 Comments

    graduationNationaltoday.com says today is Repeat Day.  I feel that.  We attended a graduation ceremony last week for our daughter Shelby.  She graduated from high school at 17.  But now at 21 she is graduating from the same school’s transition program.  We are so grateful for the extra years our state allows special education students to stay before moving on to the adult world.

     

    I have lots of feelings, as I did when writing about her first graduation here, here, here and here.  And I have shed buckets of tears over those feelings.  It’s complicated.  Usually when a graduation happens, bigger and better things await.  But I would keep Shelby right where she is forever if I could.  I am thankful for the adult dayhab that she will attend from now on.  It will give her some socialization and a break from the boredom that is hanging out at home.  But it’s not the same.  And that, along with tougher medical care – and someday a small group home – are what is available to her for the rest of her life.

     

    Graduation Goodies

     

    But let’s break from the doom and gloom to talk about the sweet, special moments from her graduation.  She was so excited to be celebrated.  There were balloons, cupcakes and other decorations.  Her teacher spoke of Shelby’s sweet disposition, her stubborn streak and how she’s grown.  She called her a ray of sunshine.  And she is.

     

    One of her former aides asked off work to come see her.  And the aide who works with her now stuck to her side.  Teachers and paraprofessionals from her elementary, middle school and both high schools have cared for her and loved her so well.  And I might as well include nurses, bus drivers, diagnosticians and transition specialists too!  My husband’s observation was that she is known – really known by this community.  And that’s hard to leave behind.  She’s so fortunate to have had this experience with school.

     

    Shelby’s Best Buddy Delaney came to the ceremony.  And invited us all to her graduation party.  She has taken Shelby to Homecoming and a friendship ball.  A halloween party and an Easter egg hunt.  Ice cream and soda dates filled the in between.  Shelby loves to be with same age peers.  And I don’t know how many other high school seniors would spend their time like this.

     

    Lastly, we met Shelby’s boyfriend at graduation.  We didn’t know that she had one.  I don’t think she knows either.  But this young man thinks my daughter is beautiful.  He told us that she hugs him and they walk holding hands.  I was so grateful for his tender affection for her and for the comic relief.  I really needed it.

     

    Graduation Education

     

    So the day was both sweet and hard.  My point in telling you all this is to make sure you know that we can hold both things.  We can be joyful and still grieve.  I can laugh in the midst of pain.  We can be grateful for the experience and still think it sucks that it’s over. 

    Our emotions don’t have to fit in one nice, neat box.  God made all these emotions and none of them are bad.  He handles messier things than this.

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    And even when there is tension between our desires and our realities, we can be confident in God’s sovereignty and His love for us.

     

    And now if you don’t mind, I’m going to follow the instructions in Matthew 6:6 from the Message.

     

    “Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.”

     

    And now for this week’s featured post from the link up!

    Linda from beingwoven.org used scripture beautifully to express the frustration and inner turmoil we often feel about the hard things in the world.  I so appreciate her vulnerability and her prayer of obedience in I Have Very Few Words…Today.

     

    1. Share 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

    2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.

    3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate).

    Grace and Truth_Meet Hosts

    We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.

    MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
    Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

    LAUREN SPARKS
    Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

    LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
    Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

    TAMMY KENNINGTON – Restoring hope. Pursuing peace.
    Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

    Now Let’s Link Up!

     

    You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

    Click here to enter

    Sharing is caring! If you liked this post, do me the huge honor of using the buttons below to share it to your favorite social media accounts. And if you want to get these essays emailed to you once a week, subscribe!  Lastly, my posts may contain affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases. If you buy anything from one of these links, I will receive a few pennies to help offset the cost of this website at no additional charge to you. Thank you in advance for your help.

     

    To find some great places where I might be sharing this post, click here.