JULY 2023
Seventeen years ago today!
JULY 27, 2023
Seventeen years ago, July 27th fell on a Thursday, just like today. On that day I featured three pictures on my then-still-new blog in a post entitled Welcome to the Valley! Taken in the first part of June 2006, the photos depict the scenery as one approaches Cache Valley through Sardine Canyon. With my return to blogging this year, I thought it would be fun to recreate those pictures, so during the first week of June Laurel and I headed into the canyon and I attempted to do just that. Of the original three, only two of them were successfully recreated by these new photos. (The third wasn't timed or angled well). So now, without further ado, I give you the original photos and my recreations, taken 17 years apart, complete with the original captions!
Note: the photos are "clickable" so you can view them in a slightly larger format
Note: the photos are "clickable" so you can view them in a slightly larger format
Headed down Sardine Canyon... (2006)
Headed down Sardine Canyon... (2023)
...and welcome to Cache Valley! (2006)
...and welcome to Cache Valley! (2023)
A few updates
JULY 25, 2023
The following are a few of the things we have been up to lately:
40th Anniversary of Grace Baptist Church in Delta, Utah
Laurel, the dogs and I headed down to Delta, Utah on the evening of July 14th after getting off of work. That weekend marked the celebration of 40 years since the establishment of the church that Laurel grew up in. Former members came in from out of town and out of state to mark the occasion. It was a great time of hearing old stories and testimonies of how God had used the church and their now retired pastor, Dennis Cason. The conclusion of the time was that it was only by the grace and faithfulness of God that the church has continued for these last 40 years. (The same conclusion we all should reach whether about our own walk with the Lord or the church we participate in!) Laurel was able to play piano for the congregational singing and I lead the songs. We sang as part of a quartet that included Laurel's mom and older sister, and Laurel sang a solo as well. What a joy to be a part of the recognition and praise of the great work of the great God over these past four decades out in Utah's west desert!
Don't be jealous!
This past Saturday, (the 22nd), Laurel and I did something we have never done so far in our married life. After sleeping in a bit (ok, we sometimes do sleep in), and grabbing some breakfast, (another habit we often participate in), we each grabbed a book and sat down to read. And read we did! Both of us were able to finish our respective books that day, and Laurel also started a new puzzle. It proved to be an awesome Saturday and one we will be repeating sometime in the future!
A new watch
For some time I have been interested in a specific line of dive watches made by Citizen. If the tales are correct, the watch originated in the last year of the 1980's and was put into service by the Italian Navy. Today it has a name, the Fugu, Japanese for pufferfish, a monikor seemingly embraced by Citizen itself as the caseback bears an engraving of the same. There are several reasons as to why this watch caught my eye and why I have been monitoring current pricing, but I won't bore you with those...at least not yet! Suffice it to say that the timing and pricing were right, so yesterday I dropped the hammer and put in an order. Within a few days I should be the proud owner of a Citizen Promaster Dive Automatic Fugu, reference NY0158-09L!
40th Anniversary of Grace Baptist Church in Delta, Utah
Laurel, the dogs and I headed down to Delta, Utah on the evening of July 14th after getting off of work. That weekend marked the celebration of 40 years since the establishment of the church that Laurel grew up in. Former members came in from out of town and out of state to mark the occasion. It was a great time of hearing old stories and testimonies of how God had used the church and their now retired pastor, Dennis Cason. The conclusion of the time was that it was only by the grace and faithfulness of God that the church has continued for these last 40 years. (The same conclusion we all should reach whether about our own walk with the Lord or the church we participate in!) Laurel was able to play piano for the congregational singing and I lead the songs. We sang as part of a quartet that included Laurel's mom and older sister, and Laurel sang a solo as well. What a joy to be a part of the recognition and praise of the great work of the great God over these past four decades out in Utah's west desert!
Don't be jealous!
This past Saturday, (the 22nd), Laurel and I did something we have never done so far in our married life. After sleeping in a bit (ok, we sometimes do sleep in), and grabbing some breakfast, (another habit we often participate in), we each grabbed a book and sat down to read. And read we did! Both of us were able to finish our respective books that day, and Laurel also started a new puzzle. It proved to be an awesome Saturday and one we will be repeating sometime in the future!
A new watch
For some time I have been interested in a specific line of dive watches made by Citizen. If the tales are correct, the watch originated in the last year of the 1980's and was put into service by the Italian Navy. Today it has a name, the Fugu, Japanese for pufferfish, a monikor seemingly embraced by Citizen itself as the caseback bears an engraving of the same. There are several reasons as to why this watch caught my eye and why I have been monitoring current pricing, but I won't bore you with those...at least not yet! Suffice it to say that the timing and pricing were right, so yesterday I dropped the hammer and put in an order. Within a few days I should be the proud owner of a Citizen Promaster Dive Automatic Fugu, reference NY0158-09L!
Thoughts on The Snare of Service excerpts
JULY 19, 2023
It seems to me that sincere Christians today can be easily distracted from the person of God Himself by an inordinant affection for the work of God; the "doing" of God's work being substituted for an intimate relationship with him. This, I believe, was the issue identified by Christ through John to the Ephesian church in the second chapter of Revelation. The church in Ephesus was a commendable church on many levels. They had a low tolerance for evil and false teachers. They did good works and continued in them. Twice in the text it says that they "laboured" and that they had "patience". They worked and they didn't faint, perservering for Christ's name's sake. However, there was a problem hidden behind this good work and good doctrine. The Ephesian believers had left their first love. They had fallen from a great height.
What precipitated this change? How had the work of God supplanted the love of God in their hearts? I believe this is a temptation that faces us all. It is the temptation to measure the quality and health of our relationship with our Savior based on what we do. We point to the works and say, "Because I do these things, I must love Him. Because I do these things, I must be a good Christian." Of course we would never think to phrase it this way. Let me give you an example from daily life. Consider a husband and wife that truly love each other. There are a lot of "works" that are done by that husband and wife for each other, but they come as a byproduct of the love they have. The things that are done are done BECAUSE of the relationship. However, an outsider may look at those same works and reach the conclusion, "If I simply do these things, then I will be a loving spouse," missing entirely the relationship that spawned those actions.
Lest you think that all of this is the product of idle speculation, let me direct your attention to the latter portion of Matthew chapter 7. Here Jesus identifies a large group that one day will profess Him as Lord, pointing to the many wonderful works done in His name. Do you recall Jesus' response? Quoting from Matthew 7:23, "Then I will profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." Do you see it? It is possible to have "many wonderful works" and yet have no relationship with Christ!
If you truly are saved, if God has made that "new creature" inside of you, if He indwells you by His Holy Spirit, than we are indeed known by Him. However, the distraction I mentioned in my opening sentence is still a real temptation for each of us. Our flesh wants to DO something. It wants to validate itself. It wants to point to its accomplishments. "I gave sacrifically. I read my Bible daily. I pray continually. I..." These are great things, but they are impoverished substitutes for an intimate relationship with Christ.
As I bring this post to a close, let me challenge you with this. Is God the desired end of your life, or is He a means to an end? Is your walk with Him more important than what you do for Him? When you pray, are you more interested in God Himself, or the answers you seek? I'll leave you with this: consider the prayers and praise of the psalmists. It is not uncommon for an entire psalm to go by without the psalmist ever asking for anything, though there is nothing wrong with asking. These psalms often simply dwell on the person and character of the great God! Oh that we would be like the psalmists!
(I purposely didn't give the attribution for The Snare of Service because sometimes I feel we see a name and we either credit or discredit the validity of what is said based on the speaker, and not on the actual weight of truth in the saying itself. The excerpts are from A. W. Pink)
What precipitated this change? How had the work of God supplanted the love of God in their hearts? I believe this is a temptation that faces us all. It is the temptation to measure the quality and health of our relationship with our Savior based on what we do. We point to the works and say, "Because I do these things, I must love Him. Because I do these things, I must be a good Christian." Of course we would never think to phrase it this way. Let me give you an example from daily life. Consider a husband and wife that truly love each other. There are a lot of "works" that are done by that husband and wife for each other, but they come as a byproduct of the love they have. The things that are done are done BECAUSE of the relationship. However, an outsider may look at those same works and reach the conclusion, "If I simply do these things, then I will be a loving spouse," missing entirely the relationship that spawned those actions.
Lest you think that all of this is the product of idle speculation, let me direct your attention to the latter portion of Matthew chapter 7. Here Jesus identifies a large group that one day will profess Him as Lord, pointing to the many wonderful works done in His name. Do you recall Jesus' response? Quoting from Matthew 7:23, "Then I will profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." Do you see it? It is possible to have "many wonderful works" and yet have no relationship with Christ!
If you truly are saved, if God has made that "new creature" inside of you, if He indwells you by His Holy Spirit, than we are indeed known by Him. However, the distraction I mentioned in my opening sentence is still a real temptation for each of us. Our flesh wants to DO something. It wants to validate itself. It wants to point to its accomplishments. "I gave sacrifically. I read my Bible daily. I pray continually. I..." These are great things, but they are impoverished substitutes for an intimate relationship with Christ.
As I bring this post to a close, let me challenge you with this. Is God the desired end of your life, or is He a means to an end? Is your walk with Him more important than what you do for Him? When you pray, are you more interested in God Himself, or the answers you seek? I'll leave you with this: consider the prayers and praise of the psalmists. It is not uncommon for an entire psalm to go by without the psalmist ever asking for anything, though there is nothing wrong with asking. These psalms often simply dwell on the person and character of the great God! Oh that we would be like the psalmists!
(I purposely didn't give the attribution for The Snare of Service because sometimes I feel we see a name and we either credit or discredit the validity of what is said based on the speaker, and not on the actual weight of truth in the saying itself. The excerpts are from A. W. Pink)
Excerpts from The Snare of Service
JULY 12, 2023
I came across the following recently. Look for my thoughts in a subsequent post!
"The main business and principal concern of the Christian should be that of thanking, praising and adoring that blessed One who has saved him with an everlasting salvation, and who, to secure that salvation, left Heaven's glory and came down to this sin-cursed earth, here to suffer and die the awful death of the cross, that His people might be 'delivered from this present evil world.' (Gal 1:4)"
"Our great enemy is very, very subtil in the methods and means he uses. He cares not what the object may be as long as it serves to engross the believer and hinder his giving to Christ that consideration (Heb 3:1) and adoration (Rev 5:21) which are his due. Satan's aim is gained if he can occupy the believer with perishing sinners rather than the Lord of glory."
"The main business and principal concern of the Christian should be that of thanking, praising and adoring that blessed One who has saved him with an everlasting salvation, and who, to secure that salvation, left Heaven's glory and came down to this sin-cursed earth, here to suffer and die the awful death of the cross, that His people might be 'delivered from this present evil world.' (Gal 1:4)"
"Our great enemy is very, very subtil in the methods and means he uses. He cares not what the object may be as long as it serves to engross the believer and hinder his giving to Christ that consideration (Heb 3:1) and adoration (Rev 5:21) which are his due. Satan's aim is gained if he can occupy the believer with perishing sinners rather than the Lord of glory."
July comes "round"
JULY 5, 2023
The first day of July found Laurel and I headed down the interstate to join her family at the Hale Centre Theatre for a Disney musical called Newsies, compliments of Ricky and Aubrie who had picked up tickets for the whole family as Christmas gifts! If you are not familiar with the story, Newsies is based on the lives of newspaper boys on the streets of New York at the end of the 19th century, taking inspiration from the Newsboys' strike of 1899.
Though I didn't notice the name, I believe we were sitting in the Young Living Centre Stage, a 911-seat theatre-in-the-round, where the stage is in the center of a large circular room and the audience surrounds the stage. In the Hale, the seating was arranged in concentric circles, each subsequent row being somewhat higher than that in front of it, and all of which looked down onto the stage itself.
Laurel and her family had attended plays and musicals during her growning-up years, so not only did she thoroughly enjoy the show, she also enjoyed the warm glow of nostalgia as the memories came flooding in. She and the family were familiar with the songs that were sung, having performed several of them themselves, and at least one of them commented afterwards that the theme song was stuck in her head!
To the more observant among our readership, you may have noted the quotation marks in the title of this post. They mark a subtle hat tip to the style of theater where we watched Newsies!
SOURCES:
- Hale Centre Theatre