Above is a pic of my youngest daughter and me.
My Husband, My brother in Christ
I Have Lived, I Have Loved
The following are some thought provoking excerpts that I wanted to share with you from chapter 11 in the Girl Talk book study of Elizabeth Prentiss 'More Love to Thee':
Is it better to be thinking of the Rock, not the feet that stand upon it?...there is something awful in the thought of having our own way with leanness of soul.
The more I reflect and the more I pray, the more life narrows down to one point -- What am I being for Christ, what am I doing for Him?
Being spiritual for [Elizabeth Prentiss] was not some esoteric experience. It was being patient with a tired and grumpy child; serving the needs of her husband when exhausted herself; listening patiently to the complaints of a discontented church member. Her ability to convey the down-to-earth reality of holiness in a way that other women could understand helps to explain the success of her writing ministry during this period in her life... Elizabeth firmly believed that a Christian could know 'peace' whatever the circumstances through submitting to the will of God.
This is a chapter that also explains well the purpose of a Christians experience with the deep valley's of life that are inevitable. They seem to come in my own life after an especially 'mountain top' season. It is a time when there seems to be a sense of desertion. I wrote THIS after one of those challenging valley's in my own life. The explanation in this chapter is that such seasons of divine chastisement can serve to wean a Christian away from an excessive reliance on feeling.
Well said.
Elizabeth responded by writing:
Certainly He has been sitting as the Refiner, bringing down my pride... If it all ends in sanctification I don't care what I suffer.
She considered that time a valley of humiliation. A season of which her pride was stripped to the core which appeared to happen when she was struggling with the deception of the study of perfectionist claims. This is a controversy of which it is thought that a Christian can become sinless in this life. Apparently the Lord gave her a hands-on desertion experience that nipped that in the bud. One that actually caused her to become, if anything, clearer and stronger in her own arguments against perfectionism. Most assuredly because they deny, among other things, the truth that God chastises those He loves. She likened it to the following:
Imagine soldiers getting ready for warfare, being told by their commander that they had no need to drill, and had nothing to do but drink nectar.I would share with you her experience of having a woman that embraced perfectionism stay in her home for a month, but that is something I want you to read for yourself WHEN you buy your own book, if you haven't already. I feel kind of guilty at how hard I laughed when I read it.
There is so much more in this chapter that I want to share... but then I am afraid I will spoil the book for you. This will certainly be a well-worn book in my library.
