Using the best words for His glory 1

Okay, I realize that this is a bigger deal to me than it may be to some of you. But as a dedicated English teacher, I cannot help but use this medium to promote the proper use of our language. After all, we would never want our careless presentation to detract from the message we have to deliver.

God is a God of order: grass grows upward, water flows down a hill, and so on. Although the Bible does not contain grammar instructions, the nature of God shows us that there are absolutes. This philosophy applies even to the everyday use of words. When a word has a defined meaning, it is important to use the word correctly. More and more frequently, people have been using words to say things that those words do not exactly mean. If this continues, we will eventually have chaos instead of communication as everyone uses his favorite word to mean whatever he wants it to mean.

Occasionally, I would like to present a few common usage problems and the solutions for how to avoid them. Let's do what we can to preserve the meaning of our language. (Don't worry. I do not plan to include grammar diagrams in any of this series.) :)

I'll start with a simple one: anxious vs. eager. We seldom use the word eager, and we seldom use the word anxious properly. According to the American Heritage College Dictionary, anxious means "uneasy and apprehensive about something uncertain; worried." Eager means "having or exhibiting keen interest, intense desire, or impatient expectancy." Basically, anxious and eager both indicate one's emotions while waiting for something. Eager indicates a positive excitement, and anxious indicates a nervous expectation.

Therefore, if you told me "I'm anxious to see you next week," I would wonder what it is about me that scares you. I'll try to be nice, really. The gracious thing to say is "I'm eager to see you next week." Unless we honestly mean that we dread what is ahead, eager is the better word choice.

Bottom line: when talking about a future event, use anxious when you are nervous about it and eager when you are looking forward to it.

Speak out about Rosie O'Donnell's comments

Surely you have heard about Rosie O'Donnell's hateful comments about Christians on The View. This is outrageous! Why is she allowed to say whatever she wants to about us?
To send an e-mail to ABC about this, go to this address:

https://secure.afa.net/afa/activism/takeaction.asp?id=214

Remember, Edmund Burke said, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." We cannot sit idly by and watch people like Rosie tear down the name of our God, comparing His followers with terrorists. The least we can do is send an e-mail. The network must see that there are people out there who care. There is also a mailing address (click on the link and scroll down) if you would like to send a letter too. I have heard that letters are much more effective than e-mails or phone calls, but any little bit will help.

If you are not familiar with what she said the other day, read this article:
http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=51956

John R. Rice on Christians studying language and literature

"There are three great needs in writing and speaking for God. They are clearness, force, and beauty. No one has a right to speak so he cannot be clearly understood. No one has a right to speak for God without trying to make himself forceful to get results. And no one has the right to speak or write for God without trying to make what is being said attractive and charming. So to get a good speaking style, to make oneself easily understood, to make oneself forceful and effective, every Christian worker ought to study language and great literature. It is not wasting time to sharpen the axe if you are going to chop wood. It is not wasting time when you get ready to serve God, to serve Him acceptably and to reach the greatest number of people possible with the Gospel. I am all for special training in language and in literature for all who go into full-time Christian work."

He also says,

“I did not know when I majored in English and took Shakespeare and Browning and Tennyson . . . that I was preparing my mind and coloring it and getting ready to understand truth better, to speak more fluently and charmingly.”

I was tagged :)

I've been getting tagged; so I figured I may as well join everyone else who is doing this.

I was tagged by Shanna and Jessica.
1. Some of the Book(s) that changed my life: the Bible
2. Some of the Book(s) that I’ve read more than once: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte, Great Expectations and Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom, and many others
3. Some of the Book(s) I’d want to have with me if I were alone on an island: my Bible, Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe (for inspiration), and a book about wilderness survival
4. Some of the Book(s) that made me laugh: Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, anything by Richard Lederer (such as Anguished English, Adventures of a Verbivore), and anything by O. Henry
5. Some of the Book(s) that made me cry: Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriett Beecher Stowe
6. Book(s) that I wish had been written: Mom and I would like to write a book someday about the incredible ways that God has taken care of us in fulfillment of His promise to take care of fatherless and widows
7. Book(s) I wish had never been written: anything by Charles Darwin or John Dewey
8. Book(s) I’m currently reading: the textbook for the English Literature class I'm teaching this semester
9. Some of the Book(s) I’ve been meaning to read: Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen, Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, Middlemarch by George Eliot

Thoughts on contentment

"The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want."
Sheep don't know what's best for them; they don't see the big picture of life. Any needs that they have -- protection, food, shelter -- must be met by their shepherd. A good shepherd will take good care of his sheep.

Our Shepherd is the Lord. He knows exactly what we need and loves us completely. When the Bible says "I shall not want," it means that there is nothing that we should have that we won't have. If it is good for us, then our perfect Shepherd will take care of it.

Therefore, if there is something that He has chosen not to provide for us, perhaps a door that has been closed, then we can know that it would not have been good for us. If it were, He would have provided it.

Like the sheep, we don't see the big picture. Sometimes God has to make decisions for us that we would not make ourselves. But He has promised that we shall not want for anything. Rather than being disappointed, we ought to be excited to see what "exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think" plans He has, as we trust with full confidence that His way is best.

A favorite poem

This is "Verses Upon the Burning of Our House," by the American Puritan author Anne Bradstreet. It is one of my favorites: her strong faith in God rather than in her possessions is a great example.

In silent night when rest I took
For sorrow near I did not look
I wakened was with thund’ring noise
And piteous shrieks of dreadful voice.
That fearful sound of “Fire!” and “Fire”
Let no man know is my desire.
I, starting up, the light did spy,
And to my God my heart did cry
To strengthen me in my distress
And not to leave me succorless.
Then, coming out, beheld a space
The flame consume my dwelling place.
And when I could no longer look,
I blest His name that gave and took,
That laid my goods now in the dust.
Yea, so it was, and so ‘twas just.
It was His own, it was not mine,
Far be it that I should repine;
He might of all justly bereft
But yet sufficient for us left.
When by the ruins oft I past
My sorrowing eyes aside did cast,
And here and there the places spy
Where oft I sat and long did lie:
Here stood that trunk, and there that chest,
There lay that store I counted best.
My pleasant things in ashes lie,
And them behold no more shall I.
Under thy roof no guest shall sit,
Nor at thy table eat a bit.
No pleasant tale shall e’er be told,
Nor things recounted done of old.
No candle e’er shall shine in thee,
Nor bridegroom’s voice e’er heard shall be.
In silence ever shall thou lie,
Adieu, Adieu, all’s vanity.
Then straight I ‘gin my heart to chide,
And did thy wealth on earth abide?
Didst fix thy hope on mold’ring dust?
The arm of flesh didst make thy trust?
Raise up thy thoughts above the sky
That dunghill mists away may fly.
Thou hast an house on high erect,
Framed by that mighty Architect,
With glory richly furnished,
Stands permanent though this be fled.
It’s purchased and paid for too
By Him who hath enough to do.
A price so vast as is unknown
Yet by His gift is made thine own;
There’s wealth enough, I need no more,
Farewell, my pelf, farewell my store.
The world no longer let me love,
My hope and treasure lies above.

A Prayer for Israel

This is an interesting link that I received in my e-mail. It is important that we remember how special Israel is to the Lord, and we need to be praying for them.

A Prayer for Israel

Turtle Brownies

I made these brownies for some people the other day, and they are so good that I'm putting the recipe here so that you can try them too. I've made these brownies many times, and they are very easy and delicious. They are fun to make, too. I think the recipe came from an employee cookbook at the company where Mom used to work. Let me know if you like them!

Turtle Brownies
Ingredients:
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 14-ounce package caramels, unwrapped
1 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped
1 package German chocolate cake mix
¾ cup butter, melted
6-ounce package (1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 9” x 13” baking pan.
Melt caramels and 1/3 cup evaporated milk; set aside.
Mix together cake mix, melted butter, 1/3 cup evaporated milk, and nuts. Press ½ of the dough mixture into bottom of prepared pan. Bake 6 to 7 minutes and remove from oven.
Immediately sprinkle chocolate chips on baked layer. Drizzle melted caramel over chocolate chips, and drop remaining dough by small spoonfuls over caramel. Return pan to oven and bake for an additional 16 to 18 minutes. Cool. Cut into squares.

Thoughts on the Resurrection

Last night, the guest speaker at church really got me thinking. He pointed out how good it is that we cannot take pilgrimages to Jesus’ grave, because our God does not lie in a grave somewhere.

Now, of course, I have always believed in and appreciated the resurrection. But for some reason, it really struck me harder last night. Can you imagine what our world would be like if He still lay in the garden tomb, if He had not risen again? The preacher is right: we would all be taking pilgrimages to Israel to visit His grave, focusing on the grave rather than on the Person. Think of all the scientific research that would probably be done, desecrating His body. Think of the wars that would be fought in Israel because of the presence of this sacred site: as Islam moved in, they would fight over the control of the grave; and throughout history, the grave would have been a hotspot of aggression toward Christians and Jews.

Or would it? No, I suppose none of these problems would exist if He were still in the tomb. Why? Because if Jesus had not risen again, then nobody would believe, nobody would care. The Romans and the unbelieving Jews would have been victorious, believing that the body in the tomb really did belong to an imposter. For if He were still in the tomb, if He had not triumphed over death, then we would not know that He truly was our Savior; for only God can conquer the grave. If the resurrection had never happened, then we would have nothing to believe in.

I Corinthians 15:14-19 explains it like this:

14: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
15: Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.
16: For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:
17: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
18: Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
19: If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

But verse 20 makes all the difference in our lives and in the history of the world:

20: But now is Christ risen from the dead.

Praise the Lord! He has conquered death, making it possible for all of us to join Him in Heaven if we accept Him. Thank You, Lord, that His body does not remain on the earth. He is not here: He is risen!