This day...

...these doors....

...this video.

Jamie Douglas

Have you heard about Jamie Douglas?

 

Jamie Douglas

by K A Peters

'Twas in the days when Claverhouse was scouring moor and glen,
To shake with fire and bloody sword the faith of Scottish men,
They had made a covenant with the Lord, firm in their faith to bide,
Nor break with Him their plighted word whatever might betide.
The sun was nearly setting, when o'er the heather wild,
And up a narrow mountain-path alone there walked a child.
He was a bonnie, blithesome lad, lithe and strong of limb,
A father's pride and a mother's love were fast bound up in him.

His bright blue eyes glanced fearless round, his step was firm and light.
What was it underneath his plaid his little hands clasped tight?
'Twas the bannocks which that morning his mother had made with care
From out her scanty store of meal, and now, with many a prayer,
Had sent by Jamie, her ain boy, a trusty lad and brave,
To good old Pastor Tammas Roy, now hiding in yon cave;
For whom the bloody Claverhouse had hunted long in vain,
And swore he would not leave that glen, till old Tam Roy was slain.

So Jamie Douglas went his way with heart that knew no fear.
He turned the great curve in the rock nor dreamed that death was near,
But lurking there were Clavers' men, who laughed aloud with glee.
He turned to flee, but all in vain, they drag him back a pace
To where their cruel leader stands, and set them face to face.
The cakes concealed beneath the plaid soon tell the story plain.
" 'Tis old Tam Roy these cakes are for!" exclaimed the angry man.
Boy, guide me to his hiding-place, and I will let you go."
But Jamie shook his yellow curls, and stoutly answered, "No."

"I'll drop you down the mountain cliffs, and there among the stones,
The old gaunt wolf and carrion crow shall battle for your bones; "
And in his brawny strong right hand he lifted up the child,
And held him o'er a clefted rock, a chasm deep and wild
So deep it was, the trees below like willow wands did seem.
The poor boy looked in frightened maze, it seemed some horrid dream.
He looked up to the sky above, and then at the men close by:
Had they no little ones at home, and could they let him die?

But no one spoke, and no one moved, or lifted hand to save
From such a fearful, awful death, the little lad so brave.
"It's waefu' deep," he shuddering cried, "but, oh !.I canna tell:
Sae drap me doon there if ye will, it's nae sae deep as hell."
A childish scream - a faint, dull sound - oh, Jamie Douglas true!
Long, long within that lonely cave shall Tam Roy wait for you;
And long for your welcome coming waits the mother on the moor,
And watches and cries, " Come, Jamie, lad," through the half-open door.

No more adown the rocky, path you come with fearless tread,
Or on the moor and mountains take the good man's daily bread ;
But up in heaven the shining ones a wondrous story tell,
Of a child snatched up from a rocky gulf that's nae sae deep as hell.
And there before the great white throne, forever blessed and glad,
His mother dear and Auld Tam Roy shall meet their bonnie lad.

 

My favourite Psalm

Dear Friends,

We sang this Psalm to this tune - Desert -  today at church, and it was just so beautiful that I wanted to post this to give you a little bit of an idea of how uplifting unaccompanied psalmody can be.

Be sure to turn up the volume nice and loud and pretend I'm standing beside you singing along.

We sang this Psalm at our wedding and it brings back lots of wonderful memories of that very special day.  I love it.

I hope your Sabbath Day was as inspiring as ours was.

Love,

Jeanne

Bible and Devotions

A few months ago there was a clever little comment on Twitter that said something about it being easy to give up on a belief that was never really yours in the first place. I wish I could find it because it was one of those pithy little truisms that are so simple yet so profound in their application. The tweet was talking about ensuring that your children own their own faith rather than merely living mechanically through that of their parents.

As daughter of a 10 year old, this is, of course, a subject quite dear to my heart. And with good reason. You know yourself the tragic number of Covenant children raised in sound Christian homes who never come to know Jesus Christ as their own personal Lord and Saviour. And always we ask ourselves - why? How can we ensure this doesn't happen to us?

I am aware, of course, that salvation is a sovereign act of God and that no parent controls the ultimate spiritual destiny of his children. How often do we read in Kings and Chronicles that the sons of Godly kings do evil in the eyes of the Lord, and then conversely that the sons of these evil kings do what is good and right? That said, it is also true that we can do much to prepare the hearts of our children so that they will not fall away. Our challenge is to live lives that glorify God; to teach our children the His Word; to help them develop an intimate acquaintance with our living Lord, and eventually, hopefully, to help them take ownership of those biblical values and make them their own.

In our home this challenge took many guises and forms. Most importantly, we intentionally worked on our own relationships with God and tried to ensure that Jemimah could see our faith worked out in our lives. We had our own quiet times. We prayed aloud and we looked for opportunities to speak about what God had done and about our faith. We told our young daughter Bible stories, sang Christian songs and Psalms, and began memorising. Young children even as young as two and three have phenomenal powers of memorisation, and even at this age Jemimah loved to learn new verses and to say them aloud. Beginning with quite short memory verses and catechism questions she quickly advanced to whole Psalms and Chapters. I love that she has hidden so much of God's word in her heart and I believe that it will hold her in good stead whatever happens in her future.

A little later we introduced formal Bible teaching through Family Devotions at dinner time. A simple time of Psalm singing, Bible story and prayer, family devotions gave us an opportunity to learn about God as a family and gave us a time to meet together and talk about what God was doing in our lives.

It was around the time that Jemimah was three or four that we introduced personal devotions into our days. I had just read For the Children's Sake and began to consider homeschooling about this same time. Initially this consisted in a reading from a children's devotional book like Leading Little Ones to God, singing a Psalm and praying, but as I read more into the methods of Charlotte Mason, it is perhaps not surprising that I was influenced also by her as we made decisions for teaching Bible and Faith.

Probably the worst thing we did in hindsight was to incorporate Bible and Memory Work as subjects into our school day. What we continued to do during this time did not change much, but what did change was that Jemimah naturally began to regard her personal devotions as school subjects and not as quiet time with her Heavenly Father. I had managed to give her the discipline of being daily in God's Word, but only if it was a weekday, and certainly never, never on holidays! I was worried about this.

The inappropriateness of what we were doing sort of niggled away inside of me until last year I read this blog post. The Four Little Penguins' mum begins her post this way:

The most important thing I can give my kids is a relationship with Jesus. I really want them to understand that even though they are little kids, their relationship with Him is just as valid and authentic as an adult's is. I don't want them to view their dad and me as mediators in their relationship, but more as signposts. So, gradually, I've been giving Kaytie and Nate independence in their "quiet time" every day.

As I read it I realised that I needed to move away from being a mediator in my daughter's relationship and to help her establish a habit of daily personal devotions that will hopefully stay with her throughout her life.

And yet, as I read, I was seized with huge doubts. You see, despite the fact that I realised there were problems with the way we were doing things, this time with the Lord each day was the most important part of our homeschool day.It was, in fact, my raison d'etre for homeschooling in the first place. At least five days a week, forty weeks a year, my daughter was spending time reading and meditating over God's word. And I wanted to ensure that she did it right!!

I prayed about it. And I kept reading. And is is God's way, it wasn't much later that I hit upon a solution. It was in another blog post, this time over at Mama Squirrel's, only I've just searched right through her June/July archive and I can't find it, so I must have been doing a bit of surfing. At any rate, in the post she spoke of doing a Christian Studies programme with her girls using books like Edith Schaeffer's What is a Family. A subject distinct from Bible. And I realised this was perfect for Jemimah and me.

It took me a while to decide how this subject would look in our peaceful home, but at the start of AO5 back in January I introduced a new subject - Practical Christianity - into our homeschool days, and I took Bible right out. Memorisation stayed as a stand alone. I don't actually mind if this is a weekday subject, in fact we like the breaks and the Word is still being learned. Practical Christianity became a weekly Girls' Afternoon Tea. We drink tea. From a pot. We eat scones or pikelets or a bikkie or two. We sit and chat about stuff. Like etiquette and makeup and what we've been thinking about in our devotions. Then I read and we discuss what we've read and the implications it has for our lives as Christian women. Currently we're reading Beautiful Girlhood by Mabel Hale. We're reading the original book, not Karen Andreola's Victorianised version so there aren't any pictures, but this book raises so many pertinent questions and issues that are as relevant for your young ladies now as they were when it was written back in 1922.

Nowadays personal devotions happen in the morning before we begin school. We're using a little guide called the Story Bible Reader prepared by the RPCNA and published by the Board of Education in Pittsburgh. The Reader guides the child through the Bible using stories from Catherine Vos' The Child's Story Bible as a commentary on the day's reading. There are monthly memory verses, a short Scripture verse used as a prayer, a reading from the Psalms and then the reading that pertains to The Child's Story Bible. Afterwards there are some conversation starters that Jemimah chooses from to write in her Bible notebook. I don't read what she writes there - it is her own personal reflection notebook, but she always writes something.

I am absolutely delighted with the way Jemimah has embraced her own quiet time. I love that because it is dated she chooses to do it daily to keep up. I love the way she is has established this invaluable practice at such a young age, and I am delighted in the growth I have seen in her Scriptural knowledge, familiarity with the Bible, and in her love of God. When I ask her what she is studying she gives knowledgeable and erudite answers. She asks interesting questions - most of which I can't answer. And most of all I love that at last she has a relationship with God that is free from interference from me.

Removing Bible from the curriculum opens the way for one more thing which we are yet to introduce and so I'll touch on it only briefly. Amongst the myriad reasons for studying the Bible is the fact that in its King James Version it is truly one of the finest works of English literature ever written. Whilst we were reading the Bible in school primarily for understanding, I was not prepared to read from the archaic language of this version despite its beauty and the advantages it would bring to my daughter in understanding other works written in the same style. Shortly, though, we are going to begin reading the KJV as literature - much as we read Shakespeare and Pilgrim's Progress in the original. Both Jemimah and I are excited about this - Jemimah because she likes Elizabethan English read aloud - and me because this is the version I grew up with as a young child. The verses I learned from memory are from the King James and it feels familiar and comfy. Now before you say it I have not become part of the "KJV is the only version" brigade. I believe, in fact, that the best version of the Bible is one that you can understand and for me that is the NIV. I do believe that the KJV is beautiful. I love its language, and I love to read it. The fact that it is the Word of God is just an added advantage.

These changes in our curriculum are new and ongoing. We are still learning and still making changes. So far, however, they feel good. I feel happy with our days, and there is no little nagging voice at the back of my mind telling me that things are not right. Time will tell, but right now Jemimah is happy, and so am I.

John Paton - missionary to cannibals

I can't belive how much we are enjoying The Story of John G Paton: Or Thirty Years Among South Sea Cannibals, written in 1892 by his brother, James. Each reading brings with it such gloriously inspiring quotes for the commonplace book. He was truly an amazing man.

Today's chapter was about the death of one of the New Hebridean Christians, Namuri.

To him, Jesus was all and in all; and there were no bands in his death. He passed from us, in the assured hope of entering into the Glory of his Lord. Humble though he may appear in the world's esteem, I knew that a great man had fallen there in the service of Christ, and that he would take rank in the glorious Army of the Martyrs. I made for him a coffin, and dug his grave near the Mission House. With prayers, and many tears, we consigned his remains to the dust in the certainty of a happy resurrection. Even one such convert was surely a triumphant reward for the Missionaries, whom God had honored in bringing him to Jesus. May they have many like Namuri for their crown of joy and rejoicing in the great day!

Such inspiring words.

Here are some of my favourite quotes:

On his father and family worship:

...There was one other mark and fruit of his early religious decision, which looks even fairer through all these years. Family Worship had heretofore been held only on Sabbath Day in his father's house; but the young Christian, entering into conference with his sympathizing mother, managed to get the household persuaded that there ought to be daily morning and evening prayer and reading of the Bible and holy singing. This the more readily, as he himself agreed to take part regularly in the same, and so relieve the old warrior of what might have proved for him too arduous spiritual toils! And so began in his seventeenth year that blessed custom of Family Prayer, morning and evening, which my father practised probably without one single avoidable omission till he lay on his deathbed, seventy-seven years of age; when ever to the last day of his life, a portion of Scripture was read, and his voice was heard softly joining in the Psalm, and his lips breathed the morning and evening Prayer,—falling in sweet benediction on the heads of all his children, far away many of them over all the earth, but all meeting him there at the Throne of Grace.

On catechising and keeping the Sabbath:

We had, too, special Bible Readings on the Lord's Day evening,—mother and children and visitors reading in turns, with fresh and interesting question, answer, and exposition, all tending to impress us with the infinite grace of a God of love and mercy in the great gift of His dear Son Jesus, our Saviour. The Shorter Catechism was gone through regularly, each answering the question asked, till the whole had been explained, and its foundation in Scripture shown by the proof-texts adduced. It has been an amazing thing to me, occasionally to meet with men who blamed this "catechizing" for giving them a distaste to religion; every one in all our circle thinks and feels exactly the opposite. It laid the solid rock-foundations of our religious life. After-years have given to these questions and their answers a deeper or a modified meaning, but none of us has ever once even dreamed of wishing that we had been otherwise trained. Of course, if the parents are not devout, sincere, and affectionate,—if the whole affair on both sides is taskwork, or worse, hypocritical and false,—results must be very different indeed!

Oh, I can remember those happy Sabbath evenings; no blinds down, and shutters up, to keep out the sun from us, as some scandalously affirm; but a holy, happy, entirely human day, for a Christian father, mother and children to spend. Others must write and say what they will, and as they feel; but so must I. There were eleven of us brought up in a home like that; and never one of the eleven, boy or girl, man or woman, has been heard, or ever will be heard, saying that Sabbath was dull and wearisome for us, or suggesting that we have heard of or seen any way more likely than that for making the Day of the Lord bright and blessed alike for parents and for children. But God help the homes where these things are done by force and not by love.

On leaving home:

My dear father walked with me the first six miles of the way. His counsels and tears and heavenly conversation on that parting journey are fresh in my heart as if it had been but yesterday; and tears are on my cheeks as freely now as then, whenever memory steals me away to the scene. For the last half mile or so we walked on together in almost unbroken silence,—my father, as was often his custom, carrying hat in hand, while his long, flowing yellow hair (then yellow, but in later years white as snow) streamed like a girl's down his shoulders. His lips kept moving in silent prayers for me; and his tears fell fast when our eyes met each other in looks of which all speech was vain! We halted on reaching the appointed parting-place; he grasped my hand firmly for a minute in silence, and then solemnly and affectionately said:

"God bless you, my son! Your father's God prosper you, and keep you from all evil!"

Unable to say more, his lips kept moving in silent prayer; in tears we embraced, and parted. I ran off as fast as I could; and, when about to turn a corner in the road where he would lose sight of me, I looked back and saw him still standing with head uncovered where I had left him—gazing after me. Waving my hat in adieu, I was round the corner and out of sight in an instant. But my heart was too full and sore to carry me farther, so I darted into the side of the road and wept for a time. Then, rising up cautiously, I climbed the dyke to see if he yet stood where I had left him; and just at that moment I caught a glimpse of him climbing the dyke and looking out for me! He did not see me, and after he had gazed eagerly in my direction for a while he got down, set his face towards home, and began to return—his head still uncovered, and his heart, I felt sure, still rising in prayers for me. I watched through blinding tears, till his form faded from my gaze; and then, hastening on my way, vowed deeply and oft, by the help of God, to live and act so as never to grieve or dishonor such a father and mother as He had given me. The appearance of my father, when we parted,—his advice, prayers, and tears—the road, the dyke, the climbing up on it and then walking away, head uncovered—have often, often, all through life, risen vividly before my mind, and do so now while I am writing, as if it had been but an hour ago. In my earlier years particularly, when exposed to many temptations, his parting form rose before me as that of a guardian angel.

On his decision to depart for the New Hebrides:

"The cannibals! you will be eaten by cannibals!" At last I replied, "Mr. Dickson, you are advanced in years now, and your own prospect is soon to be laid in the grave, there to be eaten by worms, I confess to you, that if I can but live and die serving and honoring the Lord Jesus, it will make no difference to me whether I am eaten by cannibals or by worms; and in the Great Day my resurrection body will arise as fair as yours in the likeness of our risen Redeemer."

The old gentleman, raising his hands in a deprecating attitude, left the room exclaiming, "After that I have nothing more to say!"

The last words of his wife:

She cried, "Oh, that my dear mother were here! She is a good woman, my mother, a jewel of a woman."

Then, observing Mr. Copeland near by, she said, "Oh, Mr. Copeland, I did not know you were there! You must not think that I regret coming here, and leaving my mother. If I had the same thing to do over again, I would do it with far more pleasure, yes, with all my heart. Oh no! I do not regret leaving home and friends, though at the time I felt it keenly."

Soon after this, looking up and putting her hand in mine, she said—

"J. C. wrote to our Janet saying, that young Christians under their first impressions thought they could do anything or make any sacrifice for Jesus, and he asked if she believed it, for he did not think they could, when tested; but Janet wrote back that she believed they could, and (added she with great emphasis) I believe it is true!"

In a moment, altogether unexpectedly, she fell asleep in Jesus, with these words on her lips. "Not lost, only gone before to be forever with the Lord"—my heart keeps saying or singing to itself from that hour till now.

The fact that he was Reformed Presbyterian is the reason that I chose thise book to read to Jemimah, but now I want to hold this book up high and yell, "Read this!"

It is truly inspiring, and you'll be glad you did.

We're reading it as part of our Australianised AO5.

Being a 'Shorter Catechism Girl'

Jemimah's up to Question 85 in the Westminster Shorter Catechism. 22 left to go. What a phenomenal achievement!

She first started memorising Scripture when she was two years old. True. We started the catechism when she turned four. Kids of that age have absolutely phenomenal memories, and while they don't understand what they're learning, at least they're doing the ground work for later on. I know this isn't particularly Charlotte Mason in its pedagogological approach, but when it comes to hiding God's word in our hearts, I believe the earlier we begin the better.

Now that we have so many past questions to revise each week, Jemimah's progress on new questions is getting slower. It's still steady though. We revise five past questions each day, and if we get stuck on a particular answer we revise it over the next day - and the next - until it goes back into the memory where is belongs. We always have a new question on the go. At first I just read the question and answer aloud. When she feels she can, Jemimah inserts the words she know until she can say the whole lot. Once a question is learned we practise it every second day for a while before it is added to the 'learned question' rotation.

It requires constant effort to commit the entire Shorter Catechism to memory. I tried as a kid, but I only got part of the way through. Even now, learning them along side Jemimah, her recall of them is far, far better than mine. I don't think there are even very many tricks - excepting hard work and commitment. She does have the Westminster Confession Flashcard App on her iPod touch, which we use occasionally to vary the lesson, but mostly we just practise, practise, practise.

Sometimes I wonder whether all the hard work and concomitant angst is worth it, but when I do, I like to read the little piece by Princeton's Professor Benjamin Warfield called Is the Shorter Catechism Worthwhile?, which is found in the back of our catechism book. It's all inspirational reading, but this little story is worth quoting in full:

What is ‘the indelible mark of the Shorter Catechism’? We have the following bit of personal experience from a general officer of the United States army. He was in a great western city at a time of intense excitement and violent rioting. The streets were over-run daily by a dangerous crowd. One day he observed approaching him a man of singularly combined calmness and firmness of mien, whose very demeanor inspired confidence. So impressed was he with his bearing amid the surrounding uproar that when he had passed he turned to look back at him, only to find that the stranger had done the same. On observing his turning the stranger at once came back to him, and touching his chest with his forefinger, demanded without preface: ‘What is the chief end of man?’ On receiving the countersign, ‘Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever’ — ‘Ah!’ said he, ‘I knew you were a Shorter Catechism boy by your looks!’ ‘Why, that was just what I was thinking of you,’ was the rejoinder.

It is worth while to be a Shorter Catechism boy. They grow to be men. And better than that, they are exceedingly apt to grow to be men of God. So apt, that we cannot afford to have them miss the chance of it. ‘Train up a child in the way he should go, and even when he is old he will not depart from it.’

One day Jemimah will grow to be a woman. My greatest hope is that she will grow up to be a woman of God. If learning the catechism helps her to achieve this then all the angst and hard work will all have been worthwhile.

Mary Jones and her Bible

Do you ever find yourself wanting your kids to know the same heroes that you do? I think back to the really special friends of my youth, and I so want Jemimah to be special friends with them too. Like Annette and Lucien and Danny. Remember them? Their very names take me back instantly to my grandmother's place, to early mornings milking cows, to carefree days building maze-like cubbies of corrugated iron sheeting, and wonderful times climbing trees and riding Freckles and Prince the ponies. Just thinking of those names takes me right back to the farm.

My cousin was staying with me last week. Despite the fact that he's 17 years older than me, he says that Patricia St John's Treasures of the Snow is the book that reminds him most about our Grandmother as well. Except for the Bible, of course.

Mary Jones was another of these friends of my childhood. I was surprised that Cousin Dee couldn't remember her as well, but he couldn't. I narrated her story in my best CM style, and although he thought it sounded sort of familiar he didn't feel any bonds of affection at all.

Jemimah and Mary are good friends now though. Jemimah finished reading Mary's story yesterday, and she hasn't stopped talking about her amazing tenacity since.

The story of how young Welsh Mary Jones saved for six long years for enough money for a Bible and then when she was 16 walked 25 miles to the home of Thomas Charles to purchase one is really quite inspirational when you're nine.

Jemimah read Mary Jones and Her Bible, Mary Carter's 1949 revision of Emily Ropes' original 1892 book because that was the version that was dear to me from my childhood. In fact, she read the very same copy! If I were going to recommend a version to you, Emily Ropes' original, The Story of Mary Jones and Her Bible is the better book. It is back in print and is available from Amazon here. You can read it online, or upload it to your Kindle for free here.

And for those of you who haven't yet met my very special childhood friend, Mary, here is her story for young children. It is worth watching, even if just to listen to the narrator's beautifully lyrical Welsh accent.

I hope you love her too.

Happy Reformation Day!

Does your church celebrate Reformation Sunday?

Why or why not?

How?

Do tell!!

Because of a hashtag

People exhibit symptoms of computerholicism in different ways. Mine is subtle, hidden within the confines of my four walls. Outside, few of my friends know that I have a blog, and would have no idea of the time I spend in front of the screen. Sometimes, I don't like to admit that to myself.

Others are more up front about their love of computers. Computer geeks, we disparagingly call them. Anyhow, thanks to a number of delightful computer geeks at the Geelong Bible Conference at the weekend, we have the words of the amazing Ted Donnelly recorded on Twitter.

You can see the whole twitter stream yourself by searching for tweets containing #gbc2010. For those who won't or can't though, here are some of my favourite quotes from #gbc2010.

Ted Donnelly in 140 character soundbites:

The Growing Church Commissioned

"You will be my witness" Acts 1:8

“When a person is filled with the Holy Spirit, they will speak about Jesus. My question is; what is wrong with us?” – Donnelly

“We go out into the world & we’re struck dumb. Are you conscious of that impulse within you?” – Donnelly

“When did you or I last speak to a workmate...about their need for salvation and the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour?” -

We can have as many conferences as we like...but nothing will replace Spirit filled men & women who talk about Jesus.” – Donnelly

The Books of Acts = the acts of the risen Jesus, by His Apostles, through the Spirit. - Ted Donnelly

“We’re just silly, feeble, weak, limited little people; every one of us. What can we do? ...but *He* has risen.” – Donnelly

The Growing Church Committed

"They devoted themselves" Acts 2:42

"Living organisms grow... If they don't grow, something is wrong... The Church is a living organism." Donnelly

"It is vital not to measure church growth simply in numerical growth" Donnelly

However, "We can't just salve our consciences and say we're just interested in quality, not quantity"

“Why would you not be where the Word is being taught? Where would you rather be?” – Donnelly

Devotion to the Word of God is the fist sign of a healthy, growing church. Do we hunger for the Word?

The Reformed churches can put so much focus on the sermon that the rest of worship is downgraded as the "Preliminaries".

“How many times we’ve sung words, and after we’ve sung them we can’t remember them?” – Donnelly

Even if we give thanks for the Regulative principle and Biblical worship, if God is not the focus, we have it wrong

RPW can be an idol when we think, "we’re OK because we’re doing it the right way" Maybe we’re not doing it at all!

"Christian life is life in community...you cannot develop the graces of the Spirit on your own!" - Donnelly

“How do we become more loving? By loving people that are hard to love.” – Donnelly

“We need each others’ imperfections that we together may grow in Christ.” – Donnelly

Panel Q&A Session

Q&A Answer Donnelly: Make sure each service helps people to see the Word in a new light. People will notice if they're missing out.

Q&A on evangelism. Peter Owen: How excited are you still about Jesus? Always be ready to give an answer. Think about this!

Q&A on evangelism: Peter Owen: Don't use friendship evangelism to just do evangelism. Genuinely make friends. People see fakeness.

"By very definition, every Christian is filled with the Holy Spirit." Lloyd-Jones on Romans 8

If the church is as she should be, people will come. The problem is not with the world, the problem is with the church. Lloyd-Jones

"We need to recover this expectation of steady, uninterrupted church growth" John Stott.

The Growing Church Changing

"It has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us" Acts 15:28

"It is possible to be a true believer and to be confused."

If you and I had been there in Jerusalem, this is the group we would have belonged to, the timid, conservative people.

If you add anything you cancel Christ. You destroy Christ. Christ + anything removes Christ. Christ alone or Christ not at all!

"Faith in Christ alone is what is required" Donnelly

The greatest danger to the church of Christ is change. But is it the greatest danger our church faces today?

Where change is possible and necessary, we must not fall into the danger of not changing anything and becoming irrelevant.

Is one of the reasons we are not growing because we do not change where we should change?

Do we give the impression that you have to be like us to join us? What little unconscious things do we do that exclude people?

"We don’t want to be so careful about not changing where we fall into the other extreme where we change nothing." - Donnelly

“Do you want 300 brand new people *very different* from yourself voting at your AGM?” - Donnelly

The Growing Church Communicating

"There is salvation in no one else" Acts 4:12

Absolute truth claims are offensive to our contemporary world. - Donnelly

9/11 has lead not to the blaming of Islamic fundamentalism, but to the blaming of all fundamentalism. - Donnelly.

In Jesus Christ alone is the sacred truth.

Religion is not man's search for meaning. If it were then it would be arrogant to say that we are right and they are wrong.

Religion is not just a search for truth. Salvation is the issue.

Other holy books contain wise advice that gives us peace of mind. But there is no salvation in their books.

We will all stand before Almighty God to account for who we are and what we have done. We cannot escape.

The search for truth will not help us before God at Judgement Day. We need a power outside ourselves to come and save us.

God has entered this world in saving power. He has given us a way for salvation and we have the privilege of telling others.

Jesus Christ of Nazareth. 4:10

No philosopher has ever exhausted his teaching and yet children and commoners could understand his teaching and loved to listen to him.

There is no other answer and no other saving truth. Why would we need another saviour?

Salvation is trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Growing Church Continuing

"You must testify also in Rome" Acts 23:11

The purpose of the Bible is practical and pastoral.

Christians will be persecuted. Be warned. Be prepared for the harsh realities of life. You will be opposed.

Since the Reformation Christianity has been socially acceptable. This is unusual. It is nearing an end.

Evangelical Christians are most unpopular. We will be opposed. Do not be discouraged. Persecution is inevitable.

The early Christians regarded opposition as a platform for evangelism, not as a time to keep quiet.

Because God had a purpose for Paul's life, he was invincible until God's plan for him was fulfilled. He could not die.

We will all leave this earth the second God has foreordained and not a second earlier. We don't need to be afraid.

God's work cannot fail. It is going to be gloriously, amazingly successful. Nothing can hinder the growth of God's church.

P

So there you are. Your very own Twitter summary of my weekend. Which is your favourite quote? If you would like to hear the real words of Ted Donnelly, recordings of the Geelong Bible Conference addresses are available at a cost of $20.00 on CD and $15.00 on MP3 by emailing the conference organisers . They are well worth listening to.

The quotes above of the last two session are by me. The others belong to the clever men I referred to earlier. The photo is by nwbingham here. He is rather clever too, and has his rather clever blog here. I met him in real life at the conference. He was actually rather nice - and not really geekish at all!! Clever, but not geekish. Nice.

The Weekend

We'll be here.

Attending this.


We'll be being edified, encouraged, fellowshipped and fed.

We'll be hearing great expository teaching of God’s Word to help us live practically as followers of Christ Jesus.

We'll be listening to this man. And this one. And this one. And some other ones.

There's also a bookshop...but what makes you think you'll find me there?

Have a nice one, folks. Waddayadoin'?

Teaching what really matters

Jemimah has her best friend, the Princess Pea, here this week. The blog-name is appropriate too, for one of these two are truly two peas in a pod. They were up and gone at the crack of dawn - frost lying heavy on the ground - for Jemimah's cubby where you will find them now if you care to look, rugged up in enough clothing to brave the South Pole, but having a tremendous lot of fun playing.

Some time soon I will need to call them inside to start school - alas it is not holiday time in our Peaceful Home as it is at Pea's public school - but I am procrastinating. As the only child at home with her two fuddy-duddy parents, Jemimah doesn't get enough opportunities to just be a kid and play. It is nice to see the two girls together.

The idea of short lessons and plenty of time to play and live real life was one of the things that first attracted me to a Charlotte Mason style of education for Jemimah. I have always been of the opinion that learning is an integral part of life that happens anywhere and everywhere - not necessarily in school - but for this to happen then there has to be plenty of free time. To me, the Charlotte Mason philosophy of education made this achievable.

Why is it then that sometimes I get so hung up about academics? Why do I worry if we get behind with maths, for example, or fret about getting our reading done? How is it that we didn't do memory verses at all whilst in Japan on holidays - since when has hiding God's word in our hearts been a part of the weekdays only academic curriculum, I ask you! How can it be that sometimes when we are running short of time I will forgo our Bible reading in order to finish history? What does this say about my priorities?

We had a baptism during our morning service on Sunday. Aren't they just the best? I am always challenged to hear over again the promises that we made when Jemimah was in that same place. I always measure my progress against the promises we made before God on that day eight years ago: Am I setting an example of a holy and consistent life? Am I seeking that my daughter might while young come to understand the history, doctrine and practice of the Reformed Presbyterian Church? Am I helping her to experience the blessings of loving obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ?

Am I practicing Bible centred parenting?

In an article by Susan Engel in the New York Times entitled, Playing to Learn, which I came across on Saturday, I read about the reforms proposed by the Obama administration for education in America:

So what should children be able to do by age 12, or the time they leave elementary school? They should be able to read a chapter book, write a story and a compelling essay; know how to add, subtract, divide and multiply numbers; detect patterns in complex phenomena; use evidence to support an opinion; be part of a group of people who are not their family; and engage in an exchange of ideas in conversation. If all elementary school students mastered these abilities, they would be prepared to learn almost anything in high school and college.

It's a pretty simple list really, isn't it: reading, writing, computation, pattern detection, conversation, collaboration and socialisation. In six hours per day.

Miss Mason had a list of attainments for a child of 12 as well:

What a Child Should Know at Twelve

The six years’ work–from six to twelve–which I suggest, should and does result in the power of the pupils–

(a) To grasp the sense of a passage of some length at a single reading: and to narrate the substance of what they have read or heard.
(b) To spell, and express themselves in writing with ease and fair correctness.
(c) To give an orderly and detailed account of any subject they have studied.
(d) To describe in writing what they have seen, or heard from the newspapers.
(e) They should have a familiar acquaintance with the common objects of the country, with power to reproduce some of these in brushwork.
(f) Should have skill in various handicrafts, as cardboard Sloyd, basket-making, clay-modelling, etc.
(g) In Arithmetic, they should have some knowledge of vulgar and decimal fractions, percentage, household accounts, etc.
(h) Should have a knowledge of Elementary Algebra, and should have done practical exercises in Geometry.
(i) Of Elementary Latin Grammar; should read fables and easy tales, and, say, one or two books of ‘Caesar.’
(j) They should have some power of understanding spoken French, and be able to speak a little; and to read an easy French book without a dictionary.
(k) In German, much the same as in French, but less progress.
(l) In History, they will have gone through a rather detailed study of English, French, and Classical (Plutarch) History.
(m) In Geography they will have studied in detail the map of the world, and have been at one time able to fill in the landscape, industries, etc., from their studies, of each division of the map.
(n) They will have learned the elements of Physical Geography, Botany, Human Physiology, and Natural History, and will have read interesting books on some of these subjects.
(o) They should have some knowledge of English Grammar.
(p) They should have a considerable knowledge of Scripture History and the Bible text.
(q) They should have learned a good deal of Scripture and of Poetry, and should have read some Literature.
(r) They should have learned to sing on the Tonic Sol-fa method, and should know a number of English, French, and German Songs.
(s) They should have learned Swedish Drill and various drills and calisthenic exercises.
(t) In Drawing they should be able to represent common objects of the house and field with brush or charcoal; should be able to give rudimentary expression to ideas; and should be acquainted with the works of some artists through reproductions.
(u) In Music their knowledge of theory and their ear-training should keep pace with their powers of execution.

This is the degree of progress an average pupil of twelve should have made under a teacher of knowledge and ability.Progress in the disciplinary subjects, languages and mathematics, for example, must depend entirely on the knowledge and ability of the teacher.

Charlotte Mason, School Education p. 301-302

It is a far greater list. Miss Mason expects children in addition to the list of the Obama administration above, to have a general knowledge of fine arts - Scripture, poetry, music, drawing and handcrafts. She expects geography, language, grammar and Bible. She expects general knowledge and conversation. All this in two or three hours a day.

So what do I expect? What is our aim for our daughter at the age of twelve? What do we want for Jemimah?

Am I teaching what really matters?

As I Christian, I obviously seek that my daughter will come to know her Lord and Saviour at an early age. That is my ultimate aim for Jemimah, but alas, it is not for me to teach this to her. Only the Holy Spirit can change my daughter's heart. It is, however, my responsibility to provide the framework for Jemimah to build upon, if not the skill itself. Susan Engel talks about this here:

Developmental precursors don’t always resemble the skill to which they are leading. For example, saying the alphabet does not particularly help children learn to read. But having extended and complex conversations during toddlerhood does. Simply put, what children need to do in elementary school is not to cram for high school or college, but to develop ways of thinking and behaving that will lead to valuable knowledge and skills later on.

For me this says that if I am to hope to achieve the goal of a saving knowledge of Christ at an early age, I need to teach Jemimah to think and behave in such a way that will lead to that desired outcome. I can help provide the scaffolding on which to build further knowledge too. I can encourage Scripture memory work. We can learn and understand the catechism. I can teach her to read and understand God's word and I can teach her how to pray. The rest is up to God, but that is up to me.

This then is my ultimate aim for Jemimah. But I would be kidding myself - and you - if I said that this is my only goal. At this stage in her education Jemimah appears to be quite academically bright. I encourage her when she says that she would like to be a nurse or a doctor or a vet (or less often and less likely an artist or a florist). I would like her to achieve academically because I like the fact that I am educated. I know that I do not need a university education to lead a satisfying and fulfilled life as a wife and mother, but I am so thankful that I do have one! I think it makes me a more rounded and interesting individual. I also think it helps me to be a more capable and efficient at my job of keeping a home. I think that my university education helped me to develop ways of thinking and behaving that lead to valuable knowledge and skills later on in my life. This is an aim of mine for Jemimah as well. If she wants to pursue further education then I would like to ensure that she has the adequate foundations to do this.

This is why I chose a Charlotte Mason Liberal Arts curriculum for our schoolwork - so she would know stuff. In addition to academic disciplinary subjects, I teach the artsy-fartsy ones as well. And to be honest, these are the ones that I use most often in day to day life as an adult. The names of flowers, trees and clouds. The names of the countries, their people and their foods. Musicians, artists and song. These are the things I use every day. Not calculus, not the Krebs cycle and not Latin declensions. So why do we learn them? We learn them to develop ways of thinking and behaving. Of course. As you do.

All of this merely brings me back to the question I asked earlier. With all this information, how do I ensure that I apportion my time according to need - how do I ensure that I teach what really matters?

I do hope you haven't ploughed your way through to here in the hope of finding the ultimate answer to this question, because the fact is, I don't have one. As I confessed earlier I am often guilty of getting my priorities wrong. I do think that a liberal education of many and varied subjects is part of the solution. Likewise, short lessons and plenty of time for play and just living life is another. I believe in being a learning home where our learning happens as part of life, anywhere and at all times, not just during lessons. I believe in allowing experiences to teach. I believe in developing thinking and behaviour - of concentrating on forming good habits and life skills. I believe in Bible centred education.

As to getting it all in the right order? As to teaching what really matters? Well, I'm working on that.

Are you?

Pop over here to see Hopewellmom's interesting take on this.

The Rare Book Room

...of the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Pittsburgh.

Where two of my great loves collide magnificently. Oh my! I, too, want to spend a night in this room! Anyone interested?

The Light of the World

I have already blogged about this beautiful children's picture book by R. C. Sproul here, but what I hadn't realised is that Sproul first thought of it whilst looking to write a children's sermon for Christmas Eve.

It's now available on DVD from Ligonier Ministries - just in time for Christmas perhaps? I think it looks absolutely delightful. I'm a great fan of books that tell the Gospel message in a way that captivates our children, but remains reverent and respectful toward God. The Lightlings gets it right.

Psalm 56

A psalm of mercy and hope in the midst of persecution from God's enemies sung my friend Jason Coghill, one of the founding members of wonderful Christian band, Sons of Korah.

May God bless Jason and Jane in their musical ministry.

Jemimah's comment:

It's incredible! Normal people can do great things for God with just one small skill!

To whet your appetite

10 Christian books from today's book delivery to whet your appetite of things to come:

1. Grandpa's Box Starr Meade
2. Heroes of the Reformation - Life-Changing Lessons for the Young Richard Newton
3. Heirs of the Covenant - Leaving a Legacy of Faith for the Next Generation Susan Hunt
4. The King without a Shadow R. C. Sproul
5. The Gospel for Children John Leuzarder
6. Against the World - The Odyssey of Anthanasius Henry Coray
7. Martin Luther - A Man who Changed the World Paul Maier
8. The 100 Most Important Events in Christian History Curtis, Lang & Petersen
9. For Kirk and Covenant - the Stalwart Courage of John Knox Douglas Wilson
10. Read Any Good Books? Sinclair Ferguson

Anybody have an opinion on any of there?

Happy Reformation Sunday

Image from Wunztwice's flickr stream 95 Theses. Cool, isn't he?


I've been spending a lot of time reading about the Reformation in recent weeks. Our curriculum, the Charlotte Mason inspired Ambleside Online, uses history as the organising spine. The resultant curriculum is sequenced and organised, and becomes the natural, built in skeleton for us to clothe in the rich literature for which a Charlotte Mason curriculum is known.

You can read about our Australianised AO history rotation here, but essentially AO3 which we begin in January 2010 - only a matter of a few short weeks, really, is the first year where our history diverges from the AO prescribed plan.

In AO3, students study the years 1400 - 1600. These years are titled: Renaissance to Reformation, but in reality something else very important happened during these years: In 1492 Christopher Columbus discovered America. Now while I am interested in Jemimah understanding what happened in America during these years, I don't plan on teaching American History in the depth that AO has packaged it for its predominantly American audience.

Since Australian history prior to the 1800's is obviously very limited, our solution is to spend Year 3 doing an in depth study of the Reformations of Europe and Scotland, focusing on our Reformed Presbyterian roots. In my history plan I write simply:

We study Luther, Knox and Calvin in depth during this year.

Easy to say, but now I am facing the reality of making AO3 work. I have made considerable progress, and I will explain what our plans are in coming weeks, but right now I have such notable figures as Erasmus, Huss, Luther, Wycliffe, Ursinus and Calvin haunting not only my waking hours but also my dreams!!

This Sunday is Reformation Sunday. Last year on this day I wrote a post about this occasion. I thought it was pretty good, but I doubt whether anyone except my husband ever read it since I had very few readers at that time. I thought I would reproduce much of it here today:

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Traditionally the Sunday closest to 31 October, Reformation Sunday takes its date from October 31, 1517 when Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Church in Germany, sparking the Protestant Reformation.

Luther rejected the Roman Catholic teaching that sin could be absolved through papal indulgences, since he believed that grace was given by God alone.

Luther's reading of Paul's letter to the church in Rome changed his thinking profoundly:

For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith. Romans 1:17

He realised that the righteousness of God was not a characteristic of a fearful God - something that made it impossible for man to live up to his demands - but rather, righteousness was an activity of a loving God. God is righteous when he declares that the unrighteous who have faith shall be righteous.

The world changing ideas of Luther and other Reformers - John Calvin, William Tyndale, Thomas Cranmer, along with men who came before him - John Wycliffe and John Hus to name two - resulted in the Protestant Church of today.

The Reformers had 5 main slogans, all using the word sola, the Latin word for alone. It was this word alone that defined the true biblical Gospel and set it apart from other pretenders. Urging a return to the Scriptures as the source of all truth, the cry of these Reformers was was:

Faith alone!
Grace alone!
Christ alone!
Scripture alone!
The Glory of God alone!

With Scripture alone as the sure foundation, the Reformers affirmed that justification is by grace alone, received through faith alone because of Christ alone — for the glory of God alone.

This is not just interesting history. This is what makes us Protestants. The essential truths of the 16th Century Reformation are often blurred, ignored, denied or even forgotten in the pulpits of today's churches. This is not the time to dilute or adjust the Gospel message under the pressures of social conformity. To be a friend of the world is to be an enemy of God.

With the Reformers, let us "contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints." Jude 3

May each of you enjoy a Gospel centered, God exalting Reformation Sunday this year.

I think this YouTube video is terrific. I hope you do too!

Reflecting God's Glory

How many of you enjoy the Children's Address during the Sunday church service not only for what it can teach your children but for what you learn from it yourself? If you look this way you'll see my hand waving high. I do. The simple explanations and practical demonstrations seem to help to cement even difficult theological concepts in my aged brain in a way that not even the best adult books and sermons can. Don't know what that says about me - that I'm simple perhaps? That I'm not a deep thinker? That I'm childish? Probably all three...

I've recently been reading Discovering Jesus in Genesis by Susan Hunt and her son Richie Hunt with Jemimah during our morning devotions, and I was particularly struck by this simple example of what it means to reflect God's glory.

The story takes place when young Cassie and Caleb and their mum and dad are having evening devotions after dinner:

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31

"Hey, you two," laughed their dad, "let's talk about this. Do you know what it means to glorify God?"

"Sort of," said Cassie. "But I don't know how to explain it."

"Let me see if I can help you," Dad offered. "God's glory is the beauty and goodness of His character. We glorify Him when we reflect His character. Do you know what reflect means?"

Caleb scratched his head. "We've been studying about the moon reflecting the light from the sun. Is that the same thing?"

"Bingo!" said his dad. "That's the perfect example. How much light does the moon have?"

"None," said Caleb. "The light we see is the reflection of the sun's light bouncing off the moon."

"Exactly. Now, my young astronomer, why do we sometimes see a full moon and sometimes just a little sliver of the moon?"

Caleb could hardly wait to answer. He loved books about the solar system, and he loved to talk about it. "It all depends on the position of the moon as it travels around the earth," he explained. "The position of the moon determines how much of it reflects sunlight to earth."

"So," asked his dad, "what does all of this teach us about reflecting the light of God's glory?"

"I think I understand," Caleb said, intrigued. "We are like the moon. We have no light of our own. And I guess we have to be in the right position to reflect God's glory."

Cassie stared at her brother in wonder. "That's so cool," she said.

Their dad wanted to be sure they understood. "You see," he explained, "when we are in a right relationship with the Lord Jesus, we will reflect His glory. We will be more and more like Him. We will show His goodness. What do you think moves us away from the right position to reflect His glory?"

"I'm not sure," answered Cassie, "but I'll bet it's sin."

"Bingo again!" said their dad. "So when we sin, we must quickly ask God to forgive us so that we get back in the right position to reflect His glory. And remember, 1 Corinthians 10:31 says that we are to glorify God in everything we do. In our work and in our play, in how we worship God and in how we treat others, in what we think and what we say--in all of life we are to glorify God."

Discovering Jesus in Genesis, by Susan Hunt and Richie Hunt Chapter 10, page 55-56.

Big Truths for Little Kids

Congratulations, Jemimah

...The Shorter Catechism was gone through regularly, each answering the question asked, till the whole had been explained, and its foundation in Scripture shown by the proof-texts adduced. It has been an amazing thing to me, occasionally to meet with men who blamed this "catechising" for giving them a distaste to religion; everyone in our circle thinks and feels exactly the opposite. It laid the solid rock-foundations of our religious life. After-years have given to these questions and their answers a deeper or modified meaning, but none of us have ever once even dreamed of wishing that we had been otherwise trained. Of course, if the parents are not devout, sincere and affectionate, - if the whole affair on both sides is taskwork, or worse, hypocritical and false, - result must be very different indeed!

The Story of John G. Paton by Rev. James Paton 1901

There is a certain well dressed bear around here right now. Her name is Bessie, and she's wearing a smart denim skirt, red and white Tee, and sparkly red 'Dorothy' shoes with roller skates attached.

Bessie's new clothes come as a very special reward for a young lady who really deserves some recognition for work well done.

On Friday of last week, Jemimah correctly answered the first half of the Westminster Shorter Catechism perfectly. That's 54/107 questions. Without a mistake. Wow.

Don't forget, she's 7.

See how you'd go:



Congratulations, Darling One. Your Daddy and I are very proud of you... Now on to the last half!!

There are more thoughts on catechising here.

The Revival of a Rebel Jew

Dr. Richard Ganz is the Senior Pastor of the Ottawa Reformed Presbyterian Church, one of our sister churches in Canada. He was born in New York City, and raised in a Jewish home.

To read his amazing testimony, click here and be inspired.

A not so joyful noise

So it seems that The Book of Psalms for Worship is ready. The boys seem excited about it - and rightly so. The new psalter sounds really exciting. I am delighted to learn that archaic language has finally been removed, and that it will be easier for my tired old eyes to read. I like its fancy blue and silver size. I like the fact that there are more tunes. There is only one problem then - me.

The boys tell me that I can get an extra-special deal if I order my new psalter today, but the savings are going to go nowhere near covering the years of counselling I'm going to need with the introduction of this new version. Goodness - I'm still recovering from the phasing out of the split paged Scottish metrical psalm book, and that was some time around 1973!!

Back then, my beloved Scottish psalter was replaced by the 1950 blue psalter. They came second hand from our sister churches in the US. Somewhat more willing to embrace change than we Aussies, our American brothers and sisters had given up their books to the Colonies and were using the newly introduced The Book of Psalms for Singing.

The words were different in the new Blue Book. Some of my favourite psalm tunes weren't even there. Take for example 'The Covenanter's Benediction', Psalm 72:17-19 sung to Effingham. It was gone. Kaputsy. Worse, the words of all the psalms that I'd learned at my grandmother's knee (she offered a dollar for each correct one - quite an incentive, it appears) were now wrong - only slightly so, mind you, so while the words said one thing, most of the congregation still sang the other...much to my relief.

Sometime in the early 80's we finally caught up with the Yanks (Did you know we call all Americans that, regardless of where you live in the country? Most inappropriate, sorry.) Anyhow, we caught up with America and moved to The Book of Psalms for Singing. ..the one that had been introduced back in 1973. It was maroon.

I didn't like it either. By this time I'd spent most of my teen years - the formative years - singing from the Blue Book. Perversely, I still sang the Scottish metrical words to the psalms I'd learned by heart as a kid, so that was no longer traumatising me, and I'd actually come to like some of the new selections.

The Lord will light my candle so,
that it shall shine full bright;
The Lord my God will also make
my darkness to be light.’

Psalm 18:28

It was gone in the new maroon book. (Why do they keep doing that to me?) More archaic language had been removed, and I could no longer sing the metrical words to the same tunes, they just didn't fit. Besides, the congregation had grown up with the Blue words and didn't know my old fashioned version any more. Well, the oldies did...but strangely there were less and less of them...

There were new tunes in the new book too. Sometimes they even had us sing Psalm 23 to Resignation instead of Crimmond! Nigh on sacrilege!

Eventually, of course, it was the new tunes that won me over. Who could be angry for long at a book that brought such delights as this one:



(One day I'm going to go to an RP International Conference...)

Besides, the words more clearly reflected the words of Scripture. I approved of that too. More of the thees and thous were gone, and both God and man were referred to as 'you'. Good, I reckoned.

I guess my final vote of confidence in this newfangled 1973 maroon book was when I decided to allow Jemimah to memorise this version of the psalms. In time, I've relearned most of my favourites too, although I must admit adding the odd 'eth' to the end of some words.

So now a new psalter is here. It's blue, not maroon. I like maroon. I'm familiar with maroon. I don't want to relearn new words. And I won't, so there. I'll be a child if I want to. Who says mums have to be mature and a good influence on their children? Not me!

You know, when I think about it, perhaps there's no need for a hissy fit just yet - which is good, because I'm actually in quite a good mood today, if you hadn't noticed - I've been on holidays, you know...

As I was saying, maybe I shouldn't worry. After all, we got the 1950 Blue book in 1975; the 1973 book in the mid 80's. At this rate we won't get the new 2009 book until...ooh...at least 2020 - if then. By then I'll be old and I'll be allowed to be crotchety and alarmed by change. I may even be wearing purple.

In fact, I think I will take advantage of this great offer. I wonder if the free postage applies to overseas orders? If not, at least I've saved money on the counselling - and maybe 'The Covenanter's Benedication' will be back. You never know.

Hmmm, the way I'm feeling, I could get as excited as the boys. Just give me a few years first.