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It's time for The Greenville Conference again. I'm off to Greenville this morning and will be back, Lord willing, in time for my weekend post on Saturday, if I'm not suffering too terribly from the post-conference blues.

Blessings on your week!

Completing the Post Below

I quickly posted the (really bad) pictures in the previous post before I left for prayer meeting. Here's the longer story:

Last year my dear, sweet friends the Girards and I went to the Greenville Conference together. It was a total blast.

UPDATE: new tradition. No doubt.

Lily was also there last year and forbade me to wear my "spazy skirt" (the one with the polka dots and stripes). The theme of the conference last year was John Calvin (wasn't every conference theme John Calvin last year? Well this one was the best.) and she said that Calvin would not approve of that very un-orthodox skirt. Ok, fine, so I didn't wear it though I was very spazed about the conference and felt a little impeded in my spaziness without the appropriate clothes.

My dear buddy, Lexi Girard, likes my spazy skirt so for her birthday (maybe you remember this post) I made her a matching "spazy skirt" and we've been planning for the past 7 months to wear them to the conference together this year. Lily still says I shouldn't because the conference is hosted by a Calvinist seminary so Calvin still wouldn't approve. But, Lily, very sadly, cannot go to the conference this year so I'm making my own conference clothing choices this year....

Well, Lexi's mom and sister, Gabby, do not like the spazy skirt. I mean, they like it. It's cute, come on, but they wouldn't wear it themselves. So last month I was going to make Mrs. Girard a skirt for her birthday. (for the past year we've all thought it would be kind-a cool to match at the conference.) So I got to the fabric store with my skirt idea in my mind. And they were having a warehouse sale. Perfect. I'll make four skirts. And thus, four matching skirts for the conference, which is in 16 hours and 18 minutes! I mean, just in case anyone was counting...

I made up the pattern myself and used myself and Ethan as the measuring guide. It's a front and back the same size and then 2 side panels that are much smaller (one size for Mrs. Girard and me, and one size for the girls) but give enough room for us to take a real sized step. Then I made the double ruffle (my favorite part of the whole skirt) and did a double drawstring. The fabric is so heavy that I couldn't pull it all on one ribbon drawstring so I had to make it two.

They were so much fun to make. I was at the Girard's on Thursday and wore my skirt so then all the girls changed their outfits to match. It turned out being really cute. So, there's the skirt story. I can't wait until tomorrow when we can all wear them to the first day of the Greenville Conference 2010. And by the way, Wednesday is Spazy Skirt Day for Lexi and me. Lord willing, I'll post some pictures soon of Lexi and me in our spazy skirts. We took some adorable pictures last summer, I just have to find them.

Have a great week!

Sarah

The Latest From My Sewing Room...

...matching skirts for me and my buddies at the Greenville Conference next week!! These pictures are awful but I'm about to leave for prayer meeting so this is as good as it's gonna get. Perhaps when I wear my skirt tomorrow I can take some pictures of it on me and post those so you get a better idea of what it really looks like. But anyway, Mrs. Girard, and her two girls and I will get to match at the conference!

The skirt:

The drawstring:

The double ruffle:

The flower ruffle fabric:
Have a great evening! Off to prayer meeting...

Conference Highlights, The Shotgun/Gunshot Game

Ok, are you ready? Your travel life will never be the same again. Oh, and this is really corrupting, too, because if you like to pray in the car while you drive (or have your kids or siblings take turns praying while you drive) this game is so distracting. And NO! you cannot play and pray at the same time. Just can't happen. Besides that, it totally cuts out on the social factor of traveling. Totally. I mean, one minute you're talkin' about the sacraments and the next minute the whole car is quiet because every one's tryin' to play the game and get the most points. It's terrible. And, it's addictive. AND it's way fun!! I had so much fun introducing this game to the Girards during the week of the conference. And we did still pray and read the Scriptures and talk about the sacraments. And when I drive by myself I do still pray. And when I have "bugs" in the car with me, I still have them pray with me. So hey...it can be done. And you'll have fun playin'...

The Shotgun/Gunshot Game

1. if you see a VW Bug shout "Shot Gun!". They are worth 3 points. If it's a convertible add 1 point. If it's old, add 1 point. (so if it's convertible and old then it equals 5 points)
2. if you see a PT Cruiser shout "Gun Shot!" They are worth 5 points. If it's a convertible then add a point.
3. if you see a MINI Copper shout "Shalom!" They are worth 8 points. If it's a convertible then add a point. And, there are some MINI Coopers that are bigger (actually 3 different sizes). If they're just a little bit bigger add a point. If they're more like an small SUV add 2 points.
4. if you see a Chrysler Prowler shout "Bazooka!" They are worth 30 points (you're probably not gonna see one any time soon).
5. if you see a SMART Car shout "Shamrock!" They are worth 11 points. If it's convertible, add 1 point.
   

If you shout a word and it's not the car you thought it was then you lose a point (it is indeed possible to start the game with negative numbers of points). And if you shout a word and you realize that you shouted the wrong word so you change what you said then you still get the points but you subtract 1 point. For example, if I see a VW Bug and I shout "Gun Shot" and then I realize it's a bug, not a cruiser, I change what I said and shout "Shot Gun" then I get 2 points, instead of 3.

If you are passing a car dealership and there are like 500 MINIs all in a row you can't get any of them. You can get any car at a dealership as long as it's by itself. So all those cars displayed in the front: if they're not parked in a row you can get them. If they're all lined up, though...you get none.

I think that's all the rules. So go have fun playin' the game. It's a blast. Let me know how many points you get your first time playing....

Old "Shotgun" (4 points)

Old Convertible "Shotgun" (5 points)

"Shotgun" (3 points)

Convertible "Shotgun" (4 points)

"Gunshot" (5 points)

Convertible "Gunshot" (6 points)

"Shalom" (8 points)

Convertible "Shalom" (9 points)

"Bazooka" (30 points)

"Shamrock" (11 points)

Convertible "Shamrock" (12 points)

Conference Highlights, Recipe

Since I made such a big deal about the Lemon Curd that Mama made for breakfast right before I left for the conference I have been asked to share the recipe. So here it is:

Lemon Curd
recipe from The Pie and Pastry Bible
by Rose Levy Beranbaum

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
4 large egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons lemon juice (freshly squeezed and strained) About 2 1/2 large lemons
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces or softened
a pinch of salt

Have ready near the range a strainer suspended over a medium bowl that contains the lemon zest.

In a heavy nonreactive saucepan, beat the yolks and sugar until well blended. Stir in the lemon juice, butter, and salt. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly (be sure to scrape the sides of the pan), until the mixture is thickened and resembles hollandaise sauce; it should thickly coat a wooden spoon but still be liquid enough to pour. The mixture will change from translucent to opaque and begin to take on a yellow color on the back of the spoon; it must not be allowed to boil, or it will curdle. Whenever steam appears, remove the pan briefly from the heat, stirring constantly to keep the mixture from boiling. When the mixture has thickened (196 degrees on an accurate thermometer), pour it at once into the strainer. Press with the back of a spoon until only the coarse residue remains. Discard the residue (or enjoy it as a treat–it tastes great). Gently stir in the zest and allow it to cool.

Mama put it in the freezer to make it cool more quickly so I could eat it for breakfast!!

Enjoy!

Conference Highlights, pt. 5

I am sitting here with a cup of Jasmine tea on a very warm spring day in North Carolina, and thinking that perhaps a cup of hot tea was not what I really wanted. So, let me grab my water bottle of water with no ice and continue this Conference Highlights series.

I've pretty much given up on Lily. I don't think she's even a reader of the blog anymore...much less an author :) But who cares?! We (meaning "I") quote so many other people all the time that we (of course, meaning "I") never serve up the tea around here anyway.

The next section of Conference Highlights is everything except the lectures :) I'm saving the lectures for last because maybe by the time we get to them Lily will be on summer break and might actually...occasionaly...sign on to the blog. Totally rad, I know.

The conference–which, I know, was a 1 1/2 months ago. How do I know? Because I and the Girards are already counting down to the next one :)– started on Tuesday afternoon and went until Thursday at noon.

One of the things that I was most looking forward to about the conference (besides the actual conference, and seeing my best friend) was spending the whole week with my buddies, the Girards. You'll have to come visit Redeemer to understand why I love them so much. Anyway, so the Monday before the conference Lily and I packed at the same time while we were talking to each other on the phone. (we postponed our Saturday talk time until Monday) It was so much fun. We pre-planned when to talk on Monday so that we would both be packing while we were on the phone. I know.....ridiculous.

It was one of the goals of the week to fit everything for the conference in my backpack. Which I did. Now granted, Leah said I looked like Christian in Pilgrim's Progress with that great burden on his back, but I reminded her that I was riding with the Girards and I wanted to fit everything...yes, everything...into one bag so who cares if I look like [a] Christian? Sounds like a compliment to me, sis :)

On Tuesday morning (after 5 1/2 full hours of sleep...that's another post :) I got up at 6 o'clock (I was so excited!) and got all ready to go. I made sure my burden was fully loaded :) and ate a quick breakfast. I was way too excited to eat anything worthy of being called "breakfast." Actually, let me brag on Mama for a minute: she made lemon curd (which is one of my favorite things that Mama makes) and let me have it on toast for breakfast that morning. And I had "Cassie Tea" to go with it. My dear friend, Cassie, gave me Chocolate-Mint Tea for my birthday. It is my favorite tea, ever. Oh, and the smell.... I save it for the Lord's Day to make it super special. But the conference day was such a special occasion that I had Cassie-Tea with my toast and lemon curd. Anyway...enough of breakfast (that took less time for me to eat than I'm taking to type it)

At 8:30 the Girards were here to pick me up (actually, to my great delight they were supposed to be here at 8:30 and they got here at 8:15 - you can tell The Crew was in high gear on Tuesday morning. Great job guys!)

So, we loaded up the car (which took about 30 seconds because...of course...I only had one bag) and I got to sit in the back with all the little bugs. Since this is a blocked blog I could probably just use real names here, huh? So, those cute little buddies of mine were my backseat companions for the week: Gabrielle, Alexandria, Dwight, and Calvin.

On the way down (one of my favorite parts of the whole trip) I got to read Matthew 26 for family worship in the car. Sweet deal!

Oh, and we did play the Shotgun/Gunshot game. That is also another post. But I will get to it because I can't leave that out of the Highlights series....we played it all week!

Ok, there's the morning of day one. Aren't you glad we're (meaning "I") doing this in sections and not one post?

To close the post...this has nothing to do with the conference but I just read this quote a minute ago and so I had to share it:

"Faith is looking again towards God's holy temple, and love is stretching out for the first sight or sound of the Beloved's approach." ~Ruth Bryan

Conference Highlights, pt.4

There are so many songs that we sang at the conference that I love. Ya know, 119X, O God Beyond All Praising, etc. But, I wanted to give you one more highlight hymn/psalm-wise. This is my favorite song, ever. I love singing this psalm in worship, at home, at the piano, in the car...everywhere. If I ever want to get another song out of my head I sing this psalm. And my description of singing it at the conference will not even come close to doing it justice. I mean, just read the words and imagine 500 people who love being at the conference and singing God's word together, singing 98A:

(if you've never sung it before, the chorus is a round so all the men come in first and you just get this overwhelming feeling of "what great things the Lord has done." At least I do...)

O Sing A New Song to the Lord

O sing a new song to the Lord
For wonders He has done,
For wonders He has done;
His right hand and His holy arm
The victory have won,
The victory have won,
The victory have won.

The great salvation wrought by Him
Jehovah has made known.
Jehovah has made known.
His justice in the nations' sight
He openly has shown,
He openly has shown,
He openly has shown.

He mindful of His truth and grace
To Isr'el's house has been.
To Isr'el's house has been.
The great salvation of our God
All ends of earth have seen,
All ends of earth have seen,
All ends of earth have seen.

O all the earth, sing to the Lord
And make a joyful sound.
And make a joyful sound.
Lift up your voice aloud to Him;
Sing psalms! Let joy resound!
Sing psalms! Let joy resound!
Sing psalms! Let joy resound!

With harp make music to the Lord
With harp a psalm O sing!
With hard a psalm O sing!
With horn and trumpet raise a shout
Before the LORD, the King,
Before the LORD, the King,
Before the LORD, the King.

Let seas in all their vastness roar,
The world, it's living hoard.
The world it's living hoard.
Let rivers clap, let mountains sing
Their joy before the Lord!
Their joy before the Lord!
Their joy before the Lord!

Because He comes, He surely comes,
The judge of earth to be!
The judge of earth to be!
With justice He will judge the world,
All men with equity,
All men with equity,
All men with equity.

Oh, it makes me teary just reading the words. Maybe I'm just moody.

This psalm actually has a conference story attached to it. Lily and I and the Girards (who I went to the conference with) had all be looking so forward to 98A. I mean, I really built it up for them (good thing it disappoint ;). That's one of the main reasons for going to the conference...singin' that psalm. So on Tuesday night (first night of the conference, right?) Dr. Pipa was speaking on Calvin the Preacher. We hadn't sung 98A all day and of course they had to sing it at night (when there are more people) and right before Dr. Pipa. Well, our dinner was late gettin' on the table so we were late getting back to the conference so we missed the singing. They did sing it....and we totally missed it. I was so thankful that we didn't miss any of the lecture, though. They usually sing it at least twice per conference. But we didn't sing it all day Wednesday. So Wednesday night the guys all go out together and just hang. So Lily and I got Pastor Dodds and Mr. Freeman to talk to Dr. Pipa and ask him if we could please sing it on Thursday. He said we could. We're still not sure if he said "yes" because we asked, or if it had already been planned that way. But either way, we sang it on Thursday morning right before one of the best lectures of the conference (Pastor Ian Hamilton on Calvin the Sacramentalist). It was awesome!

Some thoughts as we were singing: I get to spend eternity with all of these guys singin' around the throne of our great King and this isn't even close to 1% of all the saints that will dwell with Him forever. And if we think this is rockin' what is it gonna be like in heaven? I mean, if there are tears streaming down faces now, in this fallen world, where we don't understand Him fully and our hearts are so clouded by sin, what will it be like when we are before His face singing, "O sing to the Lord a new song, For wonders He has done!"

May the Lord take you into His day rejoicing in the great wonders He has done.

Conference Highlights, pt. 3

One more conference highlight for the week to send you "singing and shouting for joy" into your Lord's Day. We sang Stand Up O God Be Present Now. This hymn always makes me teary...every time. And if you sing it right after a lecture that made you teary (and still makes you teary when you listen to the cd) then you're just the sniffly row :) (since I was NOT the only one tearing up during the lecture and the hymn :)

May the Lord richly bless you as you delight yourselves in Him on His day!

Rejoicing in our Precious Savior,

Sarah for the Novelteatalkers

Stand Up, O God, Be Present Now

Stand up, O God, be present now,
And all who hate You, let them run
Like driven smoke, like melting wax,
Bound for destruction, doomed to die.
But let the righteous sing and dance,
Yes, sing and dance and shout for joy,
For He who rides upon the clouds
Is coming as He came of old.
His justice vindicates the oppressed,
He frees the pris'ner, brings him home.
Stand up, O God, be present now,
And we will sing and shout for joy!

Stand up, O God, be present now,
As once on Sinai You were heard
By those who left the prison's chain,
Who crossed the sea and faced the sand.
They ate the manna, drank from springs
Provided by Your gracious love.
They watched as mighty armies fled,
And so they gained the promised land.
Now, marching on to Zion's mount,
We see the heav'nly host descend.
Stand up, O God, be present now,
And we will sing and shout for joy!

Stand up, O God, be present now,
And we, Your people, will rejoice,
For You have saved us from the pit,
For You have brought us back from death.
So to Your holy place we come
With choirs and music young and old.
Rebuke the godless, cast them down
Till humbled they for mercy call;
Then men shall listen for Your voice
As riding through the heavens You come.
Stand up, O God, be present now,
And we will sing and shout for joy!

Conference Highlights, pt. 2

Good afternoon!

Here's another conference highlight, hymn-wise. I loved this one even before the conference. It's one of my most favorite hymns. This is actually written by Calvin. Enjoy!

Have a great day! It's beautiful outside!

In our Sure Redeemer,

Sarah

I Greet Thee Who My Sure Redeemer Art

I greet thee, who my sure Redeemer art,
My only trust and Saviour of my heart,
Who pain didst undergo for my poor sake;
I pray thee from our hearts all cares to take.

Thou art the King of mercy and of grace,
Reigning omnipotent in every place:
So come, O King, and our whole being sway;
Shine on us with the light of thy pure day.

Thou art the life, by which alone we live,
And all our substance and our strength receive;
O comfort us in death's approaching hour,
Strong-hearted then to face it by thy pow'r.

Thou hast the true and perfect gentleness,
No harshness hast thou and no bitterness:
Make us to taste the sweet grace found in thee
And ever stay in thy sweet unity.

Our hope is in no other save in thee;
Our faith is built upon thy promise free;
O grant to us such stronger hope and sure
That we can boldly conquer and endure.

Conference Highlights, pt. 1

So last week was the conference...in case some of you missed that...somehow. It was such a rich time. Such sweet fellowship. Wonderful lectures (some of them were particularly wonderful). Excellent singing (did Lily and I ever mention that it's like a piece of heaven...at least as far as our simple imaginations can fathom?). I will speak for myself: the conference was such a rich blessing from the Lord's hand.

But, you guys know that when something is "that good" I tend to pour every detail into one post and it goes on for forever and you probably never read the whole thing anyway :) And I mean, really, we've got 3-4 days of incredible wonderfulness to share. So, because we want you to read our posts and feast on all this good stuff with us, we're gonna do a series of posts.

Lily is at the Ligonier Conference this week so she'll do all her posting next week...right, Lily?

Who knows how long this series will last. But, I want to start by posting some of the hymns (and psalms) that were so good. Maybe you're thinkin' "whatever!" But ya know what? I have sung all of these before and some of the words just really hit me like they never have before. Some of them I've memorized since I got home and they're such wonderful reminders throughout the day. I mean, you just can't beat this: sittin' in traffic bein' reminded that "All flesh shall see the token That His word is never broken." So, the first hymn:

Comfort, Comfort Ye My People

Comfort, comfort ye my people,
Speak ye peace, thus saith our God;
Comfort those who sit in darkness,
Mourning 'neath their sorrow's load.
Speak ye to Jerusalem
Of the peace that waits for them;
Tell her that her sins I cover,
And her warfare now is over.

Yea, her sins our God will pardon,
Blotting out each dark misdeed;
All that well deserved his anger
He no more will see or heed.
She hath suffered many a day
Now her griefs have passed away;
God will change her pining sadness
Into ever-springing gladness.

For the herald's voice is crying
In the desert far and near,
Bidding all men to repentance,
Since the kingdom now is here.
O that warning cry obey!
Now prepare for God a way;
Let the valleys rise to meet him,
And the hills bow down to greet him.

Make ye straight what long was crooked,
Make the rougher places plain;
Let your hearts be true and humble,
As befits his holy reign.
For the glory of the Lord
Now o'er earth is shed abroad;
And all flesh shall see the token,
That his word is never broken.

Counting...

Just in case the Talk Time readers had lost track of how many days it is until the conference. I'm off to pack!

Actually, I'm waiting for Lily to call me. We were going to pack and talk on the phone (get in our weekly call even though we'll see each other all week) at the same time. Don't laugh at us. I mean, yeah, it's a little ridiculous. But we still have that girlish excitement about seeing each other.

It's been 9.5 years since I met Lily and every day of our friendship is just a little bit sweeter than the one before.

Have a great day!

Sarah

Time Change

Just a reminder...

Day Light Savings Time begins tonight. Don't forget to set your clocks forward one hour before you go to bed tonight....otherwise you will make it to church in time for the benediction.

Only 3 days until the conference! So, if there are no posts between now and the beginning of the following week it's because we're all busy packing and getting ready for the long anticipated conference. All three of the Novelteatalkers will be in Greenville next week....so no posts. But feel free to come join us :)

May the Lord richly bless you and refresh your soul in His house tomorrow....bright and early!

Miss Blair for the Novelteatalkers

Book Club ~ Institutes of the Christian Religion

*a long post for a single occasion*

I'm all ready to do my final post on Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion. I told you one of these days I'd pop up and tell you I had finally finished the whole thing. I finished it yesterday morning and marked it at the end, "The Lord's Day, February 22, 2009." I had really wanted to finish it on a Lord's Day so I had to mark it that way :)

So yesterday someone asked me, "ok, so what did you take away from it?" She's also reading it (just started in January and is hoping to get it read this year so we've been talking about together lately.) Ya know, I think there are a couple things I've taken away from it.

I really do think that it was written to be read all the way through at least once. It builds on itself. Book One speaks of the knowledge of God as Creator. Book Two speaks of of the knowledge of God as Redeemer, first in the Old Testament under the law and now, in the New Testament under the Gospel and Christ Jesus, our Redeemer. Book Three speaks more of us and our duty as believers under that Gospel and that Redeemer that is described in Book Two. It also speaks of the benefits and the blessings that come to those who are in covenant with that Redeemer. And Book Four speaks of the Church: that body of those individuals (spoken of in Book Three) who are redeemed by the Savior (spoken of in Book Two). So, it really builds: from God, as Creator, to God, as Redeemer and His covenant with a sinful people, to man, as a sinner, and then as a saved sinner, and then that body of saved sinners and their life in the church and in the world.

One of the things that I loved about the book was how thorough it was. Ya know, I know a lot of this stuff. It's not like there were whole sections of the book where I was learning new things. Maybe that's just my environment, I don't know. But it's not like fireworks were goin' off all the time. But it was really helpful in how thorough it was on every point. So when he was talkin' about infant baptism he covered why we believe in infant baptism, positively and negatively (why we don't believe in believer's baptism) and then he covered every argument of the Anabaptists and every argument that anybody else had ever brought up. And it wasn't just on baptism. He was thorough on every point. I mean, sometimes I was reading a section on one particular point and I was thinking, 'is he gonna talk about "this"?' And he did...and covered all the arguments for and against it. So that was really helpful.

I have heard that Calvin is remembered for saying "You can't know yourself unless you know God. But you can't know God unless you know yourself." I saw that to be very true all the way through the Institutes. I mean, from the beginning of Book One. We can't know God as our Creator unless we know that we have been created. But, we can't know that we've been created unless we know that there's a Creator. And that whole thought filters down into the particulars of each Book. I was thinking of it particularly in Book Three, on the Christian Life. Chapter Twenty (one of my favorite sections in the whole book) on prayer: ya know, we can't see our need to pray unless we see how dependent, how sinful, how un-sovereign (yeah, a totally made-up word :) we are. And then at the same time, we can't see our lack of sovereignty and our need for dependence until we see that there is one that is above everything we could ever imagine. One who is so "other" than us. And we see Him more and more in prayer! It's awesome!

Ok, so after I've read the whole thing (which, in case you hadn't gotten the message, I'm so glad I did), but anyway....after I've read the whole thing, I think it'll be really helpful as a reference now. Now I know where all the best quotes are (they're all marked, bulleted, underlined, stared, bracketed, are you getting the point? :) and I know what sections were my favorite. So I think it'll be helpful now as a reference. When I'm really struggling with something, I know where the section on prayer is. I know where the section on self-denial is. Or, if there's ever a question that I'm having a hard time answering, I know where the sections on the sacraments are (oh, and they were rippin' sections, too). I know where the sections on church government are. And they're all marked so I can go right to what I need and what will be most helpful. So in that way, it was really worth reading.

Ok, now, (some of) my thoughts on Calvin are done (for now) and you have to have some quotes to close out the book club (of one member) posts on John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion. By the way, I love it that the last words of the book were so good they were worth underlining, so the last quote I give you is the close of the book.

"...Men are never duly touched and impressed with a conviction of their insignificance, until they have contrasted themselves with the majesty of God." ~Book One, Chapter One, Section Three

"Additional sweetness is given to divine grace, which comes to our aid without the law, and additional loveliness to the mercy which confers it, because they proclaim that God is never weary in doing good, and in loading us with new gifts....divesting [our]selves of of an absurd opinion of [our] own virtue, [we] may perceive how they are wholly dependent on the hand of God; that feeling how naked and destitute [we] are, [we] may take refuge in His mercy, rely upon it, and cover [our]selves entirely with it; renouncing all righteousness and merit, and clinging to mercy alone, as offered in Christ to all who long and look for it in true faith. In the precepts of the law, God is seen as the rewarder only of perfect righteousness (a righteousness of which all are destitute), and, on the other hand, as the stern avenger of wickedness. But in Christ His countenance beams forth full of grace and gentleness toward poor unworthy sinners." ~Book Two, Chapter Seven, Sections Seven and Eight

"...We have obtained what was fit for us, the Lord having so often and so surely engaged to take an interest in all our troubles from the moment they have been deposited in His bossom....For the trials by which the Lord proves and exercises us are severe, no, he often drives us to extremes, and when driven allows us long to stick fast in the mire before He gives us any taste of His sweetness....What could they here do but become dispirited and rush on despair, were they not when afflicted, desolate, and half dead, comforted with the thought that they are regarded by God, and that there will be an end to their present evils. But however secure their hopes may stand, they in the meantime cease no tot pray, since prayer unaccompanied by perseverance leads to no result." ~Book Three, Chapter Twenty, Section Fifty-Two

"...We are redeemed by Christ at the great price which our redemption cost Him, in order that we might not yield a slavish obedience to the depraved wishes of men, far less do homage to...impiety." ~Book Four, Chapter Twenty, Section Thirty-Two

Book Club ~ Institutes of the Christian Religion

One of these days I'm gonna pop up and be done with this book and there won't be any more posts on Calvin's Institutes. But that's not this time. Believe me, I can't wait to say that I've finally finished it. I mean, yeah, I am really enjoying it but it will be great to finish it. Hopefully that will happen in the next week or so. Last night I got under the "100 pages left" mark. This morning, I only have 90 more pages to read!!

I was debating whether to do this post or not. Ya know, should I just wait until I finish and then do one final post? But this morning I read these two awesome quotes so I had to do the post, right?

So, here ya go. Calvin's startin' your day with a cup of tea at the chatty tea table. May the Lord richly bless your week.

"How sweet is it to pious minds to be assured not only by word, but even by ocular demonstration, that they are so much in favor with their heavenly Father, that He interests Himself in their prosperity! Here [in baptism] we may see how He acts toward us as a most provident parent, not ceasing to care for us even after our death, but consulting and providing for our children. Ought not our whole heart to be stirred up within us...to bless the Lord for such a manifestation of goodness? Doubtless the design of Satan is assaulting paedobaptism with all his forces is to keep out of view, and gradually efface, that attestation of divine grace which the promise itself presents to our eyes. In this way, not only would men be impiously ungrateful for the mercy of God, but be less careful in training their children to piety. For it is no slight stimulus to us to bring them up in the fear of God, and the observance of his law, when we reflect that from their birth they have been considered and acknowledged by Him as His children. Wherefore, if we would not mailiciously obscure the kindness of God, let us present to Him our infants, to whom He has assigned a place among His friends and family, that is, the members of the church."

"Having become with us the Son of man, He has made us with Himself sons of God. By His own descent to the earth He has prepared our ascent to heaven. Having recieved our mortality, He has bestowed on us His immortality. Having undertaken our weakness, He has made us strong in His strength. Having submitted to our poverty, He has transferred to us His riches. Having taken upon Himself the burden of unrighteousness with which we were oppressed, He has clothed us with His righteousness."

For a conference countdown: my sweet little buddy, Ethan, counts it down for me every morning. I was doing it and then he figured out that he can do that too. So every morning he lets me know: "Sarah, 22 days until the conference and in 22 days, it'll be less than 1 day until the conference." So there ya go: 22 days!

Have a great day!

Sarah

Update

It's a busy week here at the Blairs. Oh wait, I think every week is a busy week at the Blairs, but anyway....

I just have time for a quick update before I go get ready for my piano lesson:

35 days until the Greenville Seminary Party...I mean, Conference and 168 pages of Calvin to read!

I figure if I read 10 pages a day (50 pages a week) I'll finish by February 28. So far, I'm on track. I just finished my 10 pages for today.

I do hope you are all have a great week. I can't believe we're already half-way through! Just keep counting all His mercies to you...they're new every morning!

In our Faithful Redeemer's grip,

Sarah

Book Club~Very Unique Jewel of Christian Contentment

Finally, another post! It's been a busy few weeks at the Blair's home, and I'm sure at the Freeman's home, as well.

Part of that busyness does not include the book club. I am making an executive Talk Time decision (that Lily and I sort-of talked about on Saturday): the book club is on hold until March 10 at 1:00. That's when the Greenville Conference begins and Calvin's Institutes should be finished! Right now, I'm jammin' on Calvin and so *pause* on the Very Unique Jewel of Christian Contentment.

Yeah, Lily and I changed the name (we're allowed, it's just a puritan, ya know?) Have you ever heard people say something was "very unique"? Ya know, "We live in a very unique neighborhood." Or, "I have a very unique personality." Ya know what, guys? It can't be. Unique means one-of-a-kind, right? Right. So how can you be very one-of-a-kind? How can you be more one-of-a-kind than one-of-a-kind? It just can't be! So the other day Lily and I were talking about contentment (and probably our lack of) and we think that Burroughs really should have emphasized the "rare" part of the title. Or, actually, it should be "The Very Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment." Or how about the "Very Unique Jewel of Christan Contentment." It just can't happen...it's so rare, it's very unique. So, that concludes our book club posts until March 10 at 1:00 (and don't count on one then, either because I'll be listening to Dr. McGoldrick on Calvin!!) In any event, go strive after that very unique jewel....it's worth all the striving!

So, a Calvin/conference update: 1 month, 2 weeks, 3 days until the conference and 227 pages of Calvin left to read. Who thinks I'm gonna make it and who thinks the ratio of 48 days to 227 pages is *hopeless*? (and that is the ratio because 227 is a prime number so it can't be reduced.)

Yeah, math is all part of the busyness around here, lately.

The big news of my week is that yesterday I did get registered for the conference...so it's official!!

To close this rambling post, a quote that I read the other day:

John Cotton (a puritan minister in the 1600's) was asked why he stayed up so late reading at night? His answer was:

"Because I love to sweeten my mouth with a bit of Calvin before I go to bed."

I greatly encourage you to try a bit of Calvin. Sweeten your mouth with Calvin on prayer (Institutes, book 3, chapter 20). It will greatly encourage your soul. And Lily, you better not comment and say that you love to read Calvin before you go to bed because it puts you to sleep...it does not and that would completely ruin my point! ;)

But, I do hope you guys are having a great week so far....striving after that very unique jewel of Christian contentment!!

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly more than all we can ever ask or think, be all the praise, in the church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever~

Sarah for the Novelteatalkers

Conference Countdown

Good Evening,

The Blair crew has been enjoying a few weeks of vacation and tomorrow, it's back to early rising, school, work, laundry, chores, choir, piano, practice, teaching, early bedtimes (I can't wait!!) and all the things that make life around here so spicy. I can't wait until tomorrow.

But, today has had it's perks also. My plans for going to the Greenville Conference are close to be finished and I'll be able to register soon.

I have about 270 pages left to read in the Institutes.

I had a very fun trip to Barnes and Noble this morning with my sis and Mama. I just love getting good books. I got our book club book three books from now :) After Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, The Hidden Art of Homemaking, and Heaven Taken by Storm (which I am totally pumped about), we're hoping to read God's Passion for His Glory with the complete text of Jonathan Edwards's book, The End For Which God Created the World. I can't wait. And we would love it if any and all of our Talk Time readers want to join us in reading it (or any of our book club books). And, I also got another book by Piper, Taste and See. It also looks really good. In a couple minutes, when Mama comes back downstairs I hope to order Calvin's Sermons on Ephesians and Given For You: Reclaiming Calvin's Doctrine of the Lord's Supper. I mean, come on, after I finish the Institutes I have to have something else by Calvin to read, right? Yeah! So, it's been a fun day. How about all of you?

Tomorrow pretty much equals no posts. Between school, chores, work, teaching, choir, piano, prayer meeting, teaching keepers at home, writing a paper, reading, co-op...oh yeah, and finishing Calvin, you can count on no posts from me until Friday afternoon or Saturday. But, Lily said that she'd post her resolution of the year so she's chained to at least doing one post for you this week.

May the Lord bless and keep all of you, and continue to cause His face to shine upon you this year!

Miss Blair

Book Club -- Institutes of the Christian Religion

This morning I finished the third book of Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion. I made the goal of finishing this book by the end of December and now I'm ready to plunge into the fourth book and try to get it done by the conference: March 10 at 1:00 in the afternoon! I don't know if it's gonna happen...but I'm certainly gonna try. I can't quite now, right?

And, as always, when I finish a book of Calvin I have to give you a "quotable" right? I have been looking forward to the third book since I started the Institutes and it has fulfilled all my expectations. I think my favorite section was Chapter Twenty, on Prayer. It was excellent. So, I wanted to risk Lily's "long post displeasure" and post the entirety of section 2 of that chapter. I do hope it proves a blessing to you today. Now, I'm off to read Calvin...actually, to make a Christmas gift for one of my dearest buddies.....pictures coming soon, Lord willing (after I give it to her, in case she reads the blog before she gets the gift ;).

Have a great day!

In Him Who is Faithful,

Sarah

~

"To prayer, then, are we indebted for penetrating to those riches which are treasured up for us with our heavenly Father. For there is a kind of intercourse between God and men, by which, having entered the upper sanctuary, they appear before Him and appeal to his promises, that when necessity requires they may learn by experiences that what they believed merely on the authority of his word was not in vain. Accordingly, we see that nothing is set before us as an object of expectation from the Lord which we are not enjoined to ask of Him in prayer, so true it is that prayer digs up those treasures which the Gospel of our Lord discovers to the eye of faith. The necessity and utility of this exercise of prayer no words can sufficiently express. Assuredly it is not without cause our heavenly Father declares that our only safety is in calling upon his name, since by it we invoke the presence of his providence to watch over our interests, of his power to sustain us when weak and almost fainting, of his goodness to receive us into favour, though miserably loaded with sin; in fine, call upon him to manifest himself to us in all his perfections. Hence, admirable peace and tranquillity are given to our consciences; for the straits by which we were pressed being laid before the Lord, we rest fully satisfied with the assurance that none of our evils are unknown to him, and that he is both able and willing to make the best provision for us."