We are missing Ana. Mama by proxy, Papa more immediately. It is a beautiful gray day here in AZ, and we are praying for progress. Thank you for your prayers and support.
Shower, O heavens, from above,
and let the clouds rain down righteousness;
let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit;
let the earth cause them both to sprout;
I the LORD have created it.
Isaiah 45:8
He is our God, and we will wait for Him to move the slow wheels of bureaucracy.
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Friday, September 12, 2014
That Nature is a Heraclitian Fire, and of the Comfort of the Resurrection
This is dear to me. Read it aloud, or at least mouth the words - the sound is the poem. Apostrophes generally signal emphasis.
Cloud-puffball, torn tufts, tossed pillows 'flaunt forth, then chevy on an air-
built thoroughfare: heaven-roysterers, in gay-gangs 'they throng; they glitter in marches.
Down roughcast, down dazzling whitewash, 'wherever an elm arches,
shivelights and shadowtackle in long 'lashes lace, lance, and pair.
Delightfully the bright wind boisterous 'ropes, wrestles, beats earth bare
of yestertempest’s creases; in pool and rut peel parches
squandering ooze to squeezed 'dough, crust, dust; stanches, starches
squadroned masks and manmarks 'treadmire toil there
footfretted in it. Million-fuelèd, 'nature’s bonfire burns on.
but quench her bonniest, dearest 'to her, her clearest-selvèd spark
Man, how fast his firedint, 'his mark on mind, is gone!
Both are in an unfathomable, all is in an enormous dark
drowned. O pity and indig'nation! Manshape, that shone
sheer off, disseveral, a star, 'death blots black out; nor mark
is any of him at all so stark
but vastness blurs and time 'beats level. Enough! the Resurrection,
a heart’s-clarion! Away grief’s gasping, 'joyless days, dejection.
across my foundering deck shone
a beacon, an eternal beam. 'Flesh fade, and mortal trash
fall to the residuary worm; 'world’s wildfire, leave but ash:
in a flash, at a trumpet crash,
I am all at once what Christ is, 'since he was what I am, and
this Jack, joke, poor potsherd, 'patch, matchwood, immortal diamond,
is immortal diamond.
-Gerard Manley Hopkins, c.1888
Please keep the Mussers in your prayers - our God hears and answers.
Thank you to those who have supported us on YouCaring.
Cloud-puffball, torn tufts, tossed pillows 'flaunt forth, then chevy on an air-
built thoroughfare: heaven-roysterers, in gay-gangs 'they throng; they glitter in marches.
Down roughcast, down dazzling whitewash, 'wherever an elm arches,
shivelights and shadowtackle in long 'lashes lace, lance, and pair.
Delightfully the bright wind boisterous 'ropes, wrestles, beats earth bare
of yestertempest’s creases; in pool and rut peel parches
squandering ooze to squeezed 'dough, crust, dust; stanches, starches
squadroned masks and manmarks 'treadmire toil there
footfretted in it. Million-fuelèd, 'nature’s bonfire burns on.
but quench her bonniest, dearest 'to her, her clearest-selvèd spark
Man, how fast his firedint, 'his mark on mind, is gone!
Both are in an unfathomable, all is in an enormous dark
drowned. O pity and indig'nation! Manshape, that shone
sheer off, disseveral, a star, 'death blots black out; nor mark
is any of him at all so stark
but vastness blurs and time 'beats level. Enough! the Resurrection,
a heart’s-clarion! Away grief’s gasping, 'joyless days, dejection.
across my foundering deck shone
a beacon, an eternal beam. 'Flesh fade, and mortal trash
fall to the residuary worm; 'world’s wildfire, leave but ash:
in a flash, at a trumpet crash,
I am all at once what Christ is, 'since he was what I am, and
this Jack, joke, poor potsherd, 'patch, matchwood, immortal diamond,
is immortal diamond.
-Gerard Manley Hopkins, c.1888
Please keep the Mussers in your prayers - our God hears and answers.
Thank you to those who have supported us on YouCaring.
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Twists & Turns
Hello Friends,
Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement. Yesterday, we got a new air conditioner! This means things will be nice and cool for Ana when she comes home to Arizona, but it also means a large chunk of money. It has been a singular year for our family in many ways, and we trust God to provide. We also don't want to turn away anyone who wants to help, so to that end we have created a YouCaring fundraiser.
The desire of the righteous ends only in good;
the expectation of the wicked in wrath.
One gives freely, yet grows all the richer;
another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.
Whoever brings blessing will be enriched,
and one who waters will himself be watered.
Proverbs 11:23-25
Papa has to confess to pride - he always wanted to stay comfortably on the "watering" side of this proverb. But, God works in many ways to make us more holy, and He gives us no excuses for pet sins.
Thank you again for your prayers and support; please don't stop praying for the Mussers. (I'll probably just keep saying that for some time.)
In Christ,
Papa
PS - Mama is now just generally a happier person since the AC is not trying to fall off the roof and is sending its air into the ducts, instead of into the sky.
Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement. Yesterday, we got a new air conditioner! This means things will be nice and cool for Ana when she comes home to Arizona, but it also means a large chunk of money. It has been a singular year for our family in many ways, and we trust God to provide. We also don't want to turn away anyone who wants to help, so to that end we have created a YouCaring fundraiser.
The desire of the righteous ends only in good;
the expectation of the wicked in wrath.
One gives freely, yet grows all the richer;
another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.
Whoever brings blessing will be enriched,
and one who waters will himself be watered.
Proverbs 11:23-25
Papa has to confess to pride - he always wanted to stay comfortably on the "watering" side of this proverb. But, God works in many ways to make us more holy, and He gives us no excuses for pet sins.
Thank you again for your prayers and support; please don't stop praying for the Mussers. (I'll probably just keep saying that for some time.)
In Christ,
Papa
PS - Mama is now just generally a happier person since the AC is not trying to fall off the roof and is sending its air into the ducts, instead of into the sky.
Friday, September 5, 2014
Organic Musings
There is a very good reason why the pictures given of our relationship to Christ are always organic. We are branches on the vine. We are living stones in a growing temple. We are the seed growing to produce abundant yield.
This is true in all relationships. If the sap is not constantly flowing, we dry up. If we do not regularly spend time with our spouse, our children, our friends, our pastor and elders - the relationships dry up and wither.
It's hard to do this with Ana right now, because she is not on this continent. But we pray. And God, who hears and answers prayer, knows how to minister to her no matter where she is. And we ask God that her baba would remember to show her the picture book we left. That she would get to snuggle her knit rabbit and hold her knit owl. And maybe when she comes home and sees Took and Porgies with their knit rabbits and knit owls, she'll make a connection. We've been her family for a while now - and we're looking forward to being her family for as long as God gives us.
This is true in all relationships. If the sap is not constantly flowing, we dry up. If we do not regularly spend time with our spouse, our children, our friends, our pastor and elders - the relationships dry up and wither.
It's hard to do this with Ana right now, because she is not on this continent. But we pray. And God, who hears and answers prayer, knows how to minister to her no matter where she is. And we ask God that her baba would remember to show her the picture book we left. That she would get to snuggle her knit rabbit and hold her knit owl. And maybe when she comes home and sees Took and Porgies with their knit rabbits and knit owls, she'll make a connection. We've been her family for a while now - and we're looking forward to being her family for as long as God gives us.
Monday, August 25, 2014
I forgot to tell you
We have been approved by USCIS! This means that we are just waiting on the wheels to turn in Ana's country.
Praise God!
Friday, August 1, 2014
The Prince of Peace has Conquered Death
And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. And he shall be their peace. - Micah 5:4-5a.
In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety. - Ps. 4:8
Do not stop praying for the Mussers.
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Adopted and Adopting
This is a more philosophical post. If those are not to your taste, I take no offense.
Our family holds to the theological framework described as "Reformed" theology, a branch from the stream of the Protestant reformation, generally by way of Scotland and England (ie - the Westminster standards). I know of a family at a sister church to ours (also in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church) that adopted a little boy from U. Our former pastor (since retired) adopted both of their children locally. There was recently an issue in our denominational magazine about adoption, with a somewhat breathless article about a family's recent Eastern Europe adoption, and some more reasoned articles from adoptees, etc.
But for all of that, I think Reformed people tend to have a hard time adopting.
Susanna's last family update may hit on a contributing factor. The standing (bad) joke among some friends of mine is "Presbyterians do it decently and in good order". The apparent chaos of God's providence can be scary (it is to me sometimes). But if we really hold to such a high view of God's sovereignty and glory in all aspects of our lives and the universe, why can't we trust that the ways our lives may be "messed up" by adoption are good for us, and utterly necessary to our sanctification?
My wife plays the harp, and took her bachelor's degree in it. Before I met her, I did not really appreciate orchestral music (favoring Johnny Cash and Hank Williams, who still make cameos when I am doing work in the garage). I did not appreciate orchestral music because I had no clue how complex and textured it was. The theme or leitmotif was about all I could remember from a piece. After many years (and concerts), I can honestly affirm that Sibelius on a fair-to-middling day wrote much better music than Hank or Johnny on a good day. I understand it better. I can see the long-range order, the development of a work part-by-part, and appreciate what is being built.
And so often I don't get God's harmonies. They grate, I can't see past this passage to the next, and I sometimes feel like I am trapped in a John Cage concert (thank God I am not - I mean that earnestly - God actually knows where He is going with all this).
But if you fear "terrible experiences" adopting (like some might categorize the experience of our old pastor), is it not perhaps more likely that we just refuse to understand what God seeks to do in us, the children, or everyone else around? If we elevate our idea of order, we risk making an idol of our preference (or a societal norm, or what other people might say, or whatever).
If ever our perception of events is allowed to be normative in our thinking, we are resisting God. The only reality that matters is His eternal, inscrutable, and most wise decree in all circumstances, and His revealed will to us in Scripture.
If we affirm that we were dead in trespasses and sins, but while we were yet sinners Christ died for us so God could adopt us, how can we be so cold? (And I am asking this of myself most of all.)
If God the Father could make us His children in the face of our deadly (and in our old nature still continuing) rebellion against Him and His love, why do not more Christians imitate their Father?
If we Reformed claim to understand the doctrine of Adoption, why are we so slow to apply it?
So let us flee every idol, whether of comfort, custom, order, luxury, system, hobby, career, or desire, and do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly before our God. Then, whatever He puts in our path to do, let us do it well.
Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
1 Thessalonians 5:12-18
PS - That the streets of the New Jerusalem are paved with gold is not intended to elevate beauty or give us an ideal to imitate. Rather, the effulgence of beauty is inescapable in the city of God, the temple of the Lamb. Beauty, order, system, are all effects, the cause of which is the utter dominion exercised by Christ in His kingdom. If we want beauty, order, or system here and now, let us seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. The elevation of the secondary to the place of the primary is idolatry. If God is first in our lives, whatever falls into place for the secondary things (like food and clothing) will be welcomed as more than adequate and gratefully received. Just a thought that was somewhat apart from the preceding, but which I wanted to note as well.
Our family holds to the theological framework described as "Reformed" theology, a branch from the stream of the Protestant reformation, generally by way of Scotland and England (ie - the Westminster standards). I know of a family at a sister church to ours (also in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church) that adopted a little boy from U. Our former pastor (since retired) adopted both of their children locally. There was recently an issue in our denominational magazine about adoption, with a somewhat breathless article about a family's recent Eastern Europe adoption, and some more reasoned articles from adoptees, etc.
But for all of that, I think Reformed people tend to have a hard time adopting.
Susanna's last family update may hit on a contributing factor. The standing (bad) joke among some friends of mine is "Presbyterians do it decently and in good order". The apparent chaos of God's providence can be scary (it is to me sometimes). But if we really hold to such a high view of God's sovereignty and glory in all aspects of our lives and the universe, why can't we trust that the ways our lives may be "messed up" by adoption are good for us, and utterly necessary to our sanctification?
My wife plays the harp, and took her bachelor's degree in it. Before I met her, I did not really appreciate orchestral music (favoring Johnny Cash and Hank Williams, who still make cameos when I am doing work in the garage). I did not appreciate orchestral music because I had no clue how complex and textured it was. The theme or leitmotif was about all I could remember from a piece. After many years (and concerts), I can honestly affirm that Sibelius on a fair-to-middling day wrote much better music than Hank or Johnny on a good day. I understand it better. I can see the long-range order, the development of a work part-by-part, and appreciate what is being built.
And so often I don't get God's harmonies. They grate, I can't see past this passage to the next, and I sometimes feel like I am trapped in a John Cage concert (thank God I am not - I mean that earnestly - God actually knows where He is going with all this).
But if you fear "terrible experiences" adopting (like some might categorize the experience of our old pastor), is it not perhaps more likely that we just refuse to understand what God seeks to do in us, the children, or everyone else around? If we elevate our idea of order, we risk making an idol of our preference (or a societal norm, or what other people might say, or whatever).
If ever our perception of events is allowed to be normative in our thinking, we are resisting God. The only reality that matters is His eternal, inscrutable, and most wise decree in all circumstances, and His revealed will to us in Scripture.
If we affirm that we were dead in trespasses and sins, but while we were yet sinners Christ died for us so God could adopt us, how can we be so cold? (And I am asking this of myself most of all.)
If God the Father could make us His children in the face of our deadly (and in our old nature still continuing) rebellion against Him and His love, why do not more Christians imitate their Father?
If we Reformed claim to understand the doctrine of Adoption, why are we so slow to apply it?
So let us flee every idol, whether of comfort, custom, order, luxury, system, hobby, career, or desire, and do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly before our God. Then, whatever He puts in our path to do, let us do it well.
Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
1 Thessalonians 5:12-18
PS - That the streets of the New Jerusalem are paved with gold is not intended to elevate beauty or give us an ideal to imitate. Rather, the effulgence of beauty is inescapable in the city of God, the temple of the Lamb. Beauty, order, system, are all effects, the cause of which is the utter dominion exercised by Christ in His kingdom. If we want beauty, order, or system here and now, let us seek first His kingdom and His righteousness. The elevation of the secondary to the place of the primary is idolatry. If God is first in our lives, whatever falls into place for the secondary things (like food and clothing) will be welcomed as more than adequate and gratefully received. Just a thought that was somewhat apart from the preceding, but which I wanted to note as well.
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