Listen - FamilyLife.com

I like this show. Dennis and Bob are discussing stepping up to the plate of parenting, and fatherhood specifically. Two part show available here:

Listen - FamilyLife.com

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National Wear Your Apron Day

Lagom: or, It's Good to be Swedish

I'm not sure if there's any Viking blood in my mixed earthly heritage, but a recent face book test confirms:

"Michelle completed the quiz "THE INNER NATIONALITY QUIZ: WHAT ARE YOU REALLY?" with the result: You are Swedish.
You are friendly, gentle, and modest, with a good heart and a lusty nature. You laugh easily, have a well-developed sense of irony, and tend to understand people intuitively. You are interested in new people, but will always maintain notions of insider vs. outsider, and this will lead you to commit to a group of friends and lovers who will be with you your entire life. If you have a weakness it's your timidity -- you feel pressure to remain 'lagom' -- on an even par with others. But this is also your strength."

Not being familiar with the term "lagom", but always interested in new words, concepts and people (as the results here point out), I looked it up. Wikipedia reports:

"Lagom is a Swedish word with no direct English equivalent, meaning "just the right amount".

"The Lexin Swedish-English dictionary defines lagom as "enough, sufficient, adequate, just right". Lagom is also widely translated as "in moderation", "in balance", "optimal", "suitable", and "average". But whereas words like "sufficient" and "average" suggest some degree of abstinence, scarcity, or failure, lagom carries the connotation of perfection or appropriateness."

"Hmm," I said. "That sounds just about right."

The Bible says:

"[G]ive me neither poverty nor riches. But give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God." (Proverbs 30:8-9)

“This, then, is how you should pray ... Give us today our daily bread” (Matthew 6:9, 11).

“But godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Timothy 6:6)

It is not the concept of holding back or denying oneself, or of putting up with or learning to live with your circumstances; but the practice of being perfect, content, fulfilled, just right.

The little quiz makes it look like seeking "lagom" is a kind of timidity - a seeking to be at par with others so as not to rock the boat. But it's off the mark there. "Lagom" appears to me to be a kind of modesty - a seeking not to put oneself above others while not lowering ones self to living lazily. And doesn't the Bible also teach us not to "lord it over" others, to humble ones self to the point of servanthood, and also to keep pressing on, to "live up to what we have attained"?

Jesus taught us to "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few." (Matthew 7:13-14)

Read the whole of 1 Timothy 6, and notice what Paul writes: "there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. . . .

But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. ... " (1 Timothy 6:6-9, 11-12) (ESV)

The Swedish quiz also said, "You are friendly, gentle, and modest, with a good heart and a lusty nature." (This is me - a "to the pure..." person - so I define "lusty" nature along with the common definition: "Full of vigor or vitality; robust. Powerful; strong".) I looked back at 1 Timothy 6 and said, "Hmmm." "Pursue ... love, ... gentleness. Fight the good fight ..." The quiz had mentioned a small "insider" group whom you will be with all through your life. Ya, the Bible talks about that too. So I applied my own meaning to their human words in my little Bible meditation today, and I came out Swedish.

And like I said, it sounds just about right. As the Swedish might say: "Det är [It is] lagom."

As Paul said, "Grace be with you all."

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Photo above is of Ingrid Bergman, a lovely lady born in Stockholm, Sweden, who lived during the days of the old classic black and white movies.

Thoughts on Springtime

"My heart is awed within me, when I think
Of the great miracle that still goes on,
In silence, round me--the perpetual work
Of thy creation, finished, yet renewed
For ever."

- from "A FOREST HYMN", by William Cullen Bryant - such a beautiful poem of days long ago

And here's a bit of a sweet poem from days gone by, called "A Laughing Chorus":

"... Oh, the pretty, brave things! through the coldest days,
Imprisoned in walls of brown,
They never lost heart though the blast shrieked loud,
And the sleet and the hail came down,
But patiently each wrought her beautiful dress,
Or fashioned her beautiful crown;
And now they are coming to brighten the world,
Still shadowed by Winter’s frown;
And well may they cheerily laugh, “Ha! ha!”
In a chorus soft and low,
The millions of flowers hid under the ground–
Yes–millions–beginning to grow."


I received the following in an email. I know that some folks see the amazing things of the world as mere coincidence, or not nearly big enough to make up for the weeds and thorns that they encounter, but I think the world around us is a pretty wonder-full thing to meditate on, because God made it in an amazing and wonder-full way.

See also Psalm 139

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How lovely to think about the way our Creator God planned everything so carefully and perfectly, everything with a plan. As His highest creation, "we are fearfully and wonderfully made."

God's accuracy may be observed in the hatching of eggs.

For example, the eggs of the potato bug hatch in 7 days.

Those of the canary in 14 days.

Those of the barnyard hen in 21 days.

The eggs of ducks and geese hatch in 28 days.

Those of the mallard in 35 days.

The eggs of the parrot and the ostrich hatch in 42 days.

(Notice, they are all divisible by Seven - isn't that neat?).

God's wisdom is seen in the making of an elephant. The four legs of this great beast all bend forward in the same direction. No other Quadruped is so made. God planned that this animal would have a huge body, too large to live on two legs. For this reason He gave it four fulcrums so that it can rise from the ground easily.

The horse rises from the ground on its two front legs first.

A cow rises from the ground with its two hind legs first.

How wise the Lord is in all His works of creation!

God's wisdom is revealed in His arrangement of sections and segments, as well as in the number of grains.

Each watermelon has an even number of stripes on the rind.

Each orange has an even number of segments.

Each ear of corn has an even number of rows.

Each stalk of wheat has an even number of grains.

Every bunch of bananas has on its lowest row an even number of bananas, and each row decreases by one, so that one row has an even number and the next row an odd number.

The waves of the sea roll in on shore twenty-six to the minute in all kinds of weather.

All grains are found in even numbers on the stalks. The Lord specified Thirtyfold, sixtyfold, and a hundredfold - all even numbers.

God has caused the flowers to blossom at certain specified times during the day, so that Linnaeus, the great botanist, once said that if he had a conservatory containing the right kind of soil, moisture and temperature, he could tell the time of day or night by the flowers that were open and those that were closed!

Thus the Lord in His wonderful grace can arrange the life that is entrusted to His care in such a way that it will carry out His purposes and plans, and will be fragrant with His presence. Only the God-planned life is successful. Only the life given over to the care of the Lord is safe.

The video below was created for the music of pianist David Nevue, "While the Trees Sleep":

True Woman '08

Are you aware that you can read, watch and listen to the lessons shared and prayed over at the True Woman Conference in 2008? When you have some time, check into these resources. Old fashioned is new and refreshing...