Moving Again!

Well, it’s been a good run on this blog, but I’m moving again because I just got married and I don’t have the capacity to keep two blogs going. You can now read posts from both my husband Matt and I at our new blog:

hartke.wordpress.com

Blessings!

Favorite Christmas Songs – Celebrate the Incarnate God

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

Hark the herald angels sing
“Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled”
Joyful, all ye nations rise
Join the triumph of the skies
With the angelic host proclaim:
“Christ is born in Bethlehem”
Hark! The herald angels sing
“Glory to the newborn King!”

Christ by highest heav’n adored
Christ the everlasting Lord!
Late in time behold Him come
Offspring of a Virgin’s womb
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see
Hail the incarnate Deity
Pleased as man with man to dwell
Jesus, our Emmanuel
Hark! The herald angels sing
“Glory to the newborn King!”

Hail the heav’n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings
Ris’n with healing in His wings
Mild He lays His glory by
Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth
Hark! The herald angels sing
“Glory to the newborn King!”

 

Oh Come All Ye Faithful

O Come All Ye Faithful
Joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem.
Come and behold Him,
Born the King of Angels;
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

O Sing, choirs of angels,
Sing in exultation,
Sing all that hear in heaven God’s holy word.
Give to our Father glory in the Highest;
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

All Hail! Lord, we greet Thee,
Born this happy morning,
O Jesus! for evermore be Thy name adored.
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing;
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

 

O Come O Come Emmanuel

O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny
From depths of Hell Thy people save
And give them victory o’er the grave
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, O come, Thou Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai’s height,
In ancient times did’st give the Law,
In cloud, and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

Right Soteriology – Quote on the Cross

 

  

“The Cross is not the reason God desires us. God’s desire is the reason for the Cross.”

-Ryan Meegan

Zion & Babylon by Josh Garrels

Hear the Song

“Oh great mammon of form and function
Careless consumerist consumption
Dangerous dysfunction
Described as expensive taste
I’m a people disgraced
By what I claim I need
And what I want to waste
I take no account for nothing
If it’s not mine
It’s a misappropriation of funds
Protect my ninety percent with my guns
Whose side am I on?
Well who’s winning?
My kingdom’s built with the blood of slaves
Orphans, widows, and homeless graves
I sold their souls just to build my private mansion
Some people say that my time is coming
Kingdom come is the justice running
Down, down, down on me
I’m a poor child, I’m a lost son
I refuse to give my love to anyone,
Fight for the truth,
Or help the weaker ones
Because I love my Babylon
I am a slave, I was never free
I betrayed you for blood money
Oh I bought the world, all is vanity
Oh my Lord I’m your enemy
Come to me, and find your life
Children sing, Zion’s in sight
I said don’t trade your name for a serial number
Priceless lives were born from under graves
Where I found you
Say, my name ain’t yours and yours is not mine
Mine is the Lord, and yours is my child
That’s how it’s always been
Time to make a change
Leave your home
Give to the poor all that you own
Lose your life, so that you could find it
First will be last when the true world comes
Livin’ like a humble fool to overcome
The upside-down wisdom
Of a dying world
Zion’s not built with hands
And in this place God will dwell with man
Sick be healed and cripples stand
Sing Allelu
My kingdom’s built with the blood of my son
Selfless sacrifice for everyone
Faith, hope, love, and harmony
I said let this world know me by your love
By your love
Oh my child, daughters and sons
I made you in love to overcome
Free as a bird, my flowers in the sun
On your way to Mount Zion
All you slaves, be set free
Come on out child and come on home to me
We will dance, we will rejoice
If you can hear me then follow my voice”

-Josh Garrels

On Having 7 – From Randy Bohlender

“As most of you know, we found out a few weeks ago that we are expecting a baby. This will be our seventh child. We had three sons (Jackson, now 15, Grayson, 11 and Zion, 7) when we adopted Zoe at birth two years ago. Ten weeks ago, we adopted Anna River and Mercy Rain. A month after that, we discovered our surprise.

A lot of people have asked how we feel about it. I’ll admit, it’s a bit daunting. With five or six kids, you reach the tipping point where nothing normal works…a normal house, a normal car, a normal family income. At seven, you start thinking about life entirely differently. You start looking far down the road, because you know a sudden move jerks a lot of people around. All-family car trips become impossible – even in the family Suburban…and you wonder if, were it legal and you had an unlimited supply of green ink, you could possibly print money as fast as you’re going to need it.

All that said, we’re elated. We couldn’t be more excited. We’re not romanticizing things, we’re not delusional, we’re recognizing the hand of God on our lives and we’re leaning hard on it. This is good and this is God. I’m excited for our seventh child to be born because…

I’m learning to move beyond the western definition of comfort.

I have no grand idea that this is going to be easy. Even with ‘just six’, sleeping through the night doesn’t happen for us right now, and it won’t for…a long time. We don’t get a lot of time to talk. Our home – and any home we can afford in the near future – is going to be pretty cozy. Personal space is found primarily between our own ears.

I’m embracing all of this, because I think the western ideal of what it means to be an individual is overblown, oversold, and ultimately dehumanizing. We;re nott teaching individualism, we’re teaching self-ism. If life really isn’t all about me, then having a large family is a good way of expressing that. We are teaching our children to love others by putting them with others 24/7. We’re learning it ourselves, too. I can easily muster up a little kindness for the neighbor on the street. It’s noble – and brief. The real test is whether or not I can muster up kindness for my family in light of their constant presence.

I believe what the Word says about children.

There is an oft-quoted verse in Psalms that says “Children are a heritage from the Lord…blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.” It is rarely fully believed…or rather, it is believed in the rephrasing “Children are a blessing from the Lord providing they don’t crimp my style.” If children really are a blessing from the Lord – not a liability, but a responsibility, and a blessing – than why don’t we see more large Christian families?

We know finances to be a blessing, but we don’t see many Christians refusing a raise because they’ve been blessed plenty already. “Gee, Bob, I’d love the raise, but I’ve got to be responsible…”. No, we take the money and run. We call it the favor of God.

Unfortunately, we’re a little leery of the blessing of children because we’re not sure we believe it…and in many cases, we’re making the choice between a child and a boat, or a second car, or some other misguided marker of the good life. I’m not saying that it’s God’s plan for everyone to have a very large family like ours. I am saying that if you’re limiting it because you don’t want to change your standard of living, you’re shallow and shortsighted.

I believe in long term thinking.

Some time back, I was introduced to Kevin Kelly by a mutual friend. Kevin is a believer, the founding editor of Wired Magazine, and a founding member of the Long Now Foundation, a think tank geared towards the ‘what if the world ISN’T ending…’.

Over coffee, Kevin asked me “What if the world goes on for another 10,000 years – don’t you think Christians ought to be a force in shaping it?” While I don’t agree on his timeline, I greatly admire this thought process. Most American families don’t think beyond their 30 yr mortgage.

This is going to stretch some of you to the point of breaking, but I’m going to say it. Extending the kingdom and influence of God by large families is a huge, oft-missed opportunity for changing our world.

Presently, Islam accounts for about 21% of world population. While their influence is maintained by military might and political persuasion, a significant amount of their sway over the earth is based in the fact that more than one out of five people is a Muslim.

Christianity, on the other hand, accounts for roughly 30% of the earth. All that is true about Muslim influence is also true of Christian influence, although in certain pockets, the tide is tipping, and quickly.

Consider this – the average family size in the US (predominantly Christian) is 3.14, per the US Census Bureau. That’s a mom, a dad, and just over one child.

The average Muslim family, however, is 4.9 persons. That’s mom, dad, and not quite three children. They have just under 3 times as many children than we do.

Let’s break it down to the practical – place a Muslim family in a home across the street from a Christian family. These families grow and buy homes on the street as the children grow. Two generations down, there are thirteen Muslim homes. Christians? Not even four.

Who can disciple a nation while surrendering neighborhoods one by one?

We have so wholeheartedly bought into the fabled American dream that we are willing to limit our future by limiting the size of our families. We’re trading arrows in our quiver for a third garage stall, our flesh and blood inheritance for a plasma screen tv. Making this choice, we are willingly being short sighted and ultimately, hurting the Gospel’s reach in our area.

I want to reiterate – I’m not arguing that every Christian couple should have a family as large as ours….but I am convinced that more should than presently do, and many of those who choose not to have a large family made a choice for comfort over influence or a 401k over eternal blessing. I’m also pretty sure I have tweaked some of those people by messing with their shortsighted plans.

Then again, I’m just a blogger. Inquire of the Lord, friends, and follow His lead.”

-Randy Bohlender, www.randybohlender.com