Author: Sarah Joy Albrecht

While shaking my fist at my oven tonight (I need to recalibrate the temperature – it runs, I’m guessing, about 50 degrees too hot) for burning my homemade onion & rye bread, I was listening to audio from one of Pastor Strawbridge’s archived sermons from March of last year entitled, “The Spiritual Discipline of Prayer”.

At the end of the sermon, Strawbridge read a quote from C.S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters that stuck with me enough to replay the audio and jot it down. The quote encourages Christians to pray even when we feel far from God or don’t feel like praying.

As you read this excerpt, bear in mind that it is written from the point of view of the devil teaching another devil how to tempt a new Christian. When the devil refers to “our cause”, it is the cause of getting Christians to fall away from the Lord. The “Enemy” is, in this context, referring to God.

Now it may surprise you to learn that in His efforts to get permanent possession of a soul, He relies on the troughs even more than on the peaks; some of His special favorites have gone through longer and deeper troughs than anyone else. The reason is this. To us a human is primarily food; our aim is the absorption of its will into ours, the increase of our own area of selfhood at its expense. But the obedience which the Enemy demands of men is quite a different thing.

Hence the prayers offered in the state of dryness are those which please Him best. We can drag our patients along by continual tempting, because we design them only for the table, and the more their will is interfered with the better.

Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do our Enemy’s will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys.

*Trough
Pronunciation: \ˈtrȯf, ˈtrȯth, by bakers often ˈtrō\

2 a: A conduit, drain, or channel for water; especially : a gutter along the eaves of a building b: a long and narrow or shallow channel or depression (as between waves or hills); especially : a long but shallow depression in the bed of the sea — compare trench

From the Daily Paul:

Are women the problem?
Posted January 12th, 2008 by FoolshGame

I know it is politically incorrect to say so… but, are men the only ones that care about liberty?

Who are the vast majority of women going to vote for in November 2008? They’re either going to vote for Hillary or Obama. And, in the Republican primaries, which will decide the nominee on the Republican side, those that do vote Republican (and, they’ll be a small minority compared to those that vote Democrat), they’ll either vote “evangelical” for the Huckster or “neo-con” for Rudy.

Ron Paul does not catch the imagination of women like he does with men; certainly, not in California… and, there are more than a few delegates to be had here in California, since they’ve gone to district-by-district delegate allocation.

We could send a lot of delegates to the Republican Convention, but we need women on board for the Revolution.

So far, they’re not. The next Ron Paul campaign TV ad should be directed at women. He should tell them why they should vote for him.

FoolshGame is right in the sense that many of the “undecided” women voting have said in exit polls that they, at the last minute, felt compelled to vote for other Republican candidates because they seemed to care more about women and family issues.

In reality, they don’t understand that “seeming to care” is not the same as “caring” . Neo-cons offer a platform that is actually harmful and undermining to families.

In Democratic races, some of the women who voted were quoted as saying that they voted for Hillary because they didn’t see much difference between the candidates so they chose Hillary based on gender (YouTube clip!).

A few thoughts –

1. Delegates. The straw poll results have been good – but participants are not the same people who are delegates. The RP campaign has been working on having delegates for each state – so far, does anyone know how many RP delegates were present at the caucuses? Is this “plan” working?

2. Motherhood. Many conservative women have children and taking time off from this 24/7 job to be a delegate or to go to a straw poll is difficult .

Maybe some of the husbands out there would volunteer to to take care of their children for a few days, or be willing to dip into the vacation fund and hire a babysitter. This way, their strong, conservative wives could help shape the image of the campaign and maybe even help convince the undecided women’s vote of the truth.

I know a number of moms who would be more active in the campaign except that they love their children and would not be likely to shirk their responsibilities at home in order to attend a campaign event. For moms with newborns who are nursing, it’s pretty much impossible to attend these events.

3. Need for practical application. While I’m reluctant to “soften the message” of the campaign, I would like to see Ron Paul’s wife and female family members speaking more often. It would definitely help!

I do think that conservative women understand Dr. Paul’s message perfectly – I think that there is still a need, and I have said this before, for the campaign to show in their ads the practical application of the liberty message.

This current generation only knows the Bush / Clinton empires and Dr. Paul’s message is like comparing apples to oranges.

Many voters, men and women, have no concept of the practical implications of freedom.

Their cages have become security blankets, and breaking free is scary. They’re used to having a welfare state who provides free shots, medical care, food, housing, education, etc. The idea of personal responsibility is scary because the current system does not reward personal responsibility.

I work hard, yet there are habitually unemployed people I know who get vouchers for their mortgage payments that cost more than what my husband pays for our mortgage payment.

Sharon Jasper is classic example of this, and forgive me for quoting Michelle Malkin – I can’t find another site with the original “slum” picture, complete with 60″ TV, in the story.

Even people who are not currently depending on welfare are comforted knowing they have a lifeline to welfare access if they fail financially.

Perhaps this is a rabbit trail, but look at the example of income taxes. How many people people do you know are comfortable with giving their money to the government each year as if it’s a bank? They otherwise would not have the discipline to put aside money. They see their tax return as an investment dividend! Think of all the feature articles during tax time with suggestions for whimsical ways to spend the tax return. You’d think they were talking about winning the lottery! The average person, groomed under current system, has no concept of being disciplined throughout the year to invest the same money to yield a greater return than they would if they let the government sit on it.

If the RP campaign wants the undecided vote, they need to show how this different (and to those who don’t study history or who have studied history with the current textbooks available, the Bush/Clinton way is the modern way vs. Ron Paul’s ideas which are the “old way”) way of doing things is beneficial to them.

Undecided voters are undecided because they don’t understand and can’t imagine the benefits of freedom. There is a fear of learning the hard way. The current system bails them out – like when they commit to stupid mortgage decisions that allow them to have their cake (house bigger than they need) and eat it too (government enforced deals from lenders to allow the idiots to refinance even if their credit is in shambles).

Freedom = responsibility.

4. Be encouraged!

Women4Ron Paul

Citizen Jane members for Ron Paul

GrannyWarriors

Ron Paul discussion at IVillage

Sarah Joy Albrecht
(Mom to five children, ages six and under.. and I’d be a delegate in a heartbeat if I had a babysitter! ;-) )

This is a response to a recent comment left on an earlier post:

I do hope you reached out to your friend and gave her the gift that spoke to you..

There is truth in many things, and not just in one religion.

Jesus walked among the masses and did not judge them. He gave unconditional love and acceptance. Do this for your friend and you will both be blessed!

God and Goddess Bless you.
karen

Hello Karen!

Thanks for your comment on my blog. I am very glad to know that my readership is diverse, and I am thankful that you felt comfortable enough to comment.

I do agree with you that there is truth in many things. In religions other than Christianity, certainly there are people who practice self-sacrificing behavior of being kind to others, albeit with different motivations.

It is very hypocritical when Christians abuse the environment instead of caring for it, when they flaunt Christianity as a means to obtain political power, when they have hot tempers and pick fights, when they harm animals, when they abuse other people both spiritually and physically.. and the list could go on.

Yet, Jesus came to sacrifice himself as payment for these horrible sins. The Bible is clear these things are sinful – but the Bible also offers hope through Christ instead of condemnation. There can be forgiveness of these sin-debts against God because they have been paid for by Christ.

I appreciate your bringing up Christ, who did walk among the masses as you said. He dined with “tax collectors and sinners” (Mark 2), people who were outcasts in society.

How many Christians today would go into a bar and strike up a conversation with society’s outcasts?

Not many, but I know some! And, I certainly have friends from all walks of life. This love for people comes from a heart dedicated to God. It comes from recognizing how much we have been forgiven and not thinking of ourselves as better than others. It can be frightening to talk to people who have made themselves to look unfriendly – but as the Bible says in 1 John 4, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear.”

You are right that Jesus did not judge people in the sense of avoiding them or publicly shaming them.

I am reminded of one such story, found in John 8, of a woman who was about to be stoned by the Pharisees for adultery, whom Jesus rescued. Jesus simply saying to the Pharisees, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.”

But, the story does not stop there.

When the Pharisees dropped their stones and stepped away, Jesus said “Woman, where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee?” And she said, “No man, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.”

Go and sin no more does imply a judgment of sorts – he did not say that her adultery was acceptable.

There are many similar stories in the Bible (including the aforementioned one in Mark 2), but in all of them, Jesus offers something better, and it involves repenting of sin and following Him.

My concern is many Wiccan teachings are in opposition to Christianity. It’s not that there wouldn’t be truth and insight in a Wiccan gardening book, but I would consider it blasphemous to promote a book that pointedly undermines the premise that God is the creator of the plants, water, weather systems.. of the whole universe (Genesis 1; Job 38:4; Isaiah 42:5; Isaiah 45:18; Revelation 4:11 – and I would add Romans 1:18-32, which specifically speaks of consequences for those who do not acknowledge God as Creator and Lord.).

That’s why I think that a book about gardening, without the Wiccan-specific teachings, would still make a great gift for a Wiccan friend.

There are some fantastic, breath-taking pictorial books of beautiful gardens, which upon viewing, certainly stir my soul. A book like this would affirm the friendship – because that’s what the gift symbolizes: understanding a friend’s love for gardening, and doing something that would bring joy to the friend.

As you said, there is truth in many things and I think there is a way to show love to a Wiccan without compromising the Christian friend’s faith. Besides, if the Wiccan friend truly loves her Christian friend, she would not want the Christian friend to have a hurt conscience over a gift.

Again, thanks for reading my blog and I hope to have dialog with you in the future.

Much love,
Sarah Joy Albrecht

Happy New Year!

It’s hard to believe it’s January 1, 2008. But, here we are!

We had a wonderful New Years Eve with my in-laws and husband’s siblings and their friends. We ate Jambalaya and stayed up quite late to watch stunt man Robbie Maddison set a record by jumping a football field on a motorcycle. There was so much anticipation for a few seconds of a man blurring through the air. It was fun and my boys, especially, loved it. Whenever I have to cover my eyes when my four year old climbs trees, I am reminded that Evil Knievel had a mother, too.

Last night, we added all of the important birthdays and anniversaries to our new Audubon bird calendar. My children looked to see where their birthdays were located on the unmarked pages.

Looking at the calendar, with so many blank boxes that will surely fill up quickly, caused me to think about the past year – loved ones that have died (I put the anniversaries of their deaths on the calendar, as well as their birthdays and wedding anniversaries), the kids various milestones, our month long trip to Japan…. what a great year! And yet, at the beginning of the year, I had no idea that God had so much in store for our family!

So, it is with eagerness that I am looking forward to the year ahead. As I put away my calendar and was reflecting on these thoughts, humbled by how the Lord has worked in our lives in the past year, it was pressed upon my heart how HARD it is sometimes to have a fresh start in life. It’s not always as easy as putting a new calendar on the wall. Broken relationships do take time to mend. Sometimes when we have sinned, we have consequences to pay – they’re not over instantaneously. If we have done something that has hurt someone, there is a regaining of trust that sometimes takes place. Job situations are no different – it’s pretty rare and unheard of to just leave your job and go to a new one all within one day… there are interviewing processes, two week notices, training the person filling your shoes… all of these life changes take TIME. Fresh starts are often a progression of the ‘ducks being in a row’ so to speak.

BUT… even though all of these fresh starts, which can even be admirable and worth hanging in there over, aren’t instantaneous, there IS one LIFE-CHANGING fresh start that happens INSTANTANEOUSLY:

Placing our trust and belief in the Lord Jesus Christ.

There is no waiting period for a fresh start with the Creator of the universe. It’s as simple as confessing our sinfulness, seeking God’s forgiveness, acknowledging with thanksgiving that Jesus paid for our sins on the cross, and striving to study and obey God’s Word.

Perhaps there are Christians out there who need a fresh start.

For example, it’s easy to get into a groove where our relationship with God is as scheduled as our family calendar. When we find ourselves going through the motions of church attendance and “being spiritual” when its convenient, it’s easy to rationalize away or turn a blind eye to those in need: “Someone else will take care of them, my plate is too full” or “I know I need to seek so-and-so’s forgiveness, but she contributed to the situation and I’ll wait until SHE says something first.” We serve God with our minds and our bodies, but not with our heart and soul. The root is that we pridefully want to be in control of our lives, and even our relationship with God, and we are afraid to turn the reigns over to God. What if we turn control over to God and He gives us something we can’t handle or puts someone who is a nuisance in our life? What if He calls us to face our worst fear?

Or, perhaps there is great hurt that is in the way of a relationship with God. Sometimes the things of this earth seem so big that God seems distant. We are consumed by our hurt, to the point of even cherishing it and holding it up as an idol. I know this sounds harsh! It’s not meant to be – but I do know what it’s like to focus on a problem and trying to solve it ourselves or bear the hurt or burden of it ourselves, instead of focusing on God and trusting in Him for our comfort or for the things that our out of our hands.

A fresh start in these situation would be seeking God’s forgiveness for doing things our way, or stubbornly holding onto hurt and trying to hold it all together on our own strength, pridefully refusing to admit that our burdens really our too big for us to bear alone.

When we seek God’s forgiveness, He grants it to us instantaneously.

I John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

There is no waiting period to receive God’s forgiveness – Christ has already done the work on the cross for us, thousands of years ago. All we have to do is admit our sinfulness, lay it at the cross with thanksgiving, repent of our sin, and place the reigns in God’s hands.

If it sounds similar to salvation, that’s because it is! Although we don’t have to keep getting saved every time we sin, we must constantly be going back to the cross in all that we do. Our salvation is constantly being worked out in our lives – this is called sanctification.

As you look to the year ahead, pause for a minute and check to make sure your heart is right before God. Confess your sins and sinful attitudes – we all have them! The Bible says that if we say we’re without sin, we’re liars! Then, humbly dedicate 2008 to the Lord. Thank Him for being a God who does care about the details of our lives. Bask in the awesomeness of His power. Ask for Him to guide your path in the coming year. Say, “Lord, I am your servant. Please give me help me to be a good steward of the time you have given me. Please open my eyes to opportunities to serve you and help me to grow closer to you.”

Right there with all of you – reflecting, confessing, rededicating.

With much love,

Sarah Joy Albrecht

Photo Credit : MapleMama via Flickr

Now, tell me again why Ron Paul has been intentionally excluded from the upcoming Fox News debate?