Michael DiMarco

Imagine raising a daughter who does not fear, can mentally and emotionally handle being alone for long stretches, and that embraces adulthood before her 20s (or 30s.)

If only we could not make idols out of our children, oh the things they might accomplish!

“A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for.” - Shedd

In the top 100 (#55) of all Christian blogs, you need to follow the posts of our pastor Ray Ortlund. At the very least, read this one on withheld love that came out of his sermon on Proverbs 3 yesterday:

“Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.”  Proverbs 3:27

The alternative translation in the ESV margin is “Do not withhold good from its owners.”  If I have good I can do for somebody, then legally I own it but morally they own it.  The state has no right to force me to be generous.  And no one can walk into my house and start taking my things and say, “The Bible says I own it.”  What the Bible says to them is “You shall not steal” (Exodus 20:15).  But what the Bible says to me is “You shall not withhold.”

We tell ourselves, “I’m not doing anybody any harm.”  Okay.  But another question is, What good are we withholding?  Withheld love is a life-depleting social environment where beautiful things don’t happen.  But a culture of life is where people love each other openly and eagerly, with a sense of responsibility.

If I have the ability, then in God’s sight you have the ownership.

Withheld love vs. expressed love is a post from: Ray Ortlund

Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly, Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision, where I live in the depths but see Thee in the heights; hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold Thy glory. Let me learn by paradox that the way down is the way up, that to be low is to be high, that the broken heart is the healed heart, that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit, that the repenting soul is the victorious soul, that to have nothing is to possess all, that to bear the cross is to wear the crown, that to give is to receive, that the valley is the place of vision. Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells, and the deeper the wells the brighter Thy stars shine; let me find Thy light in my darkness, Thy life in my death, Thy joy in my sorrow, Thy grace in my sin, Thy riches in my poverty, Thy glory in my valley.

A Puritan Prayer- The Valley of Vision

What do you call a person that invests years into people’s lives only to realize they were dead the whole time? A TV watcher or church worker in the Bible Belt?