A Word from Piper About Idolatry

So my Godly husband, who is my spiritual leader, forwarded me this e-mail the other day. There are 12 things John Piper mentions in this article about idolatry in our lives. Too many to post here so I thought I'd just post the ones that hit me the hardest. You can read the full article by clicking below. Enjoy!

Discerning Idolatry in Desire
12 Ways to Recognize the Rise of Covetousness
June 17, 2009 By John Piper
Read this article on our website.

Most of us realize that enjoying anything other than God, from the best gift to the basest pleasure, can become idolatry. Paul says in Colossians 3:5, “Covetousness is idolatry.”
“Covetousness” means desiring something other than God in the wrong way. But what does that mean—“in the wrong way”?

The reason this matters is both vertical and horizontal. Idolatry will destroy our relationship with God. And it will destroy our relationships with people.

All human relational problems—from marriage and family to friendship to neighbors to classmates to colleagues—all of them are rooted in various forms of idolatry, that is, wanting things other than God in wrong ways.

So here is my effort to think biblically about what those wrong ways are. What makes an enjoyment idolatrous? What turns a desire into covetousness, which is idolatry?

1. Enjoyment is becoming idolatrous when it is forbidden by God. For example, adultery and fornication and stealing and lying are forbidden by God. Some people at some times feel that these are pleasurable, or else we would not do them. No one sins out of duty. But such pleasure is a sign of idolatry.

2. Enjoyment is becoming idolatrous when it is disproportionate to the worth of what is desired. Great desire for non-great things is a sign that we are beginning to make those things idols.

3. Enjoyment is becoming idolatrous when it is not permeated with gratitude. When our enjoyment of something tends to make us not think of God, it is moving toward idolatry. But if the enjoyment gives rise to the feeling of gratefulness to God, we are being protected from idolatry. The grateful feeling that we don’t deserve this gift or this enjoyment, but have it freely from God’s grace, is evidence that idolatry is being checked.

4. Enjoyment is becoming idolatrous when it draws us away from our duties. When we find ourselves spending time pursuing an enjoyment, knowing that other things, or people, should be getting our attention, we are moving into idolatry.

5. Enjoyment is becoming idolatrous when it is not working a deeper capacity for holy delight. We are sinners still. It is idolatrous to be content with sin. So we desire transformation. Some enjoyments shrink our capacities of holy joy. Others enlarge them. Some go either way, depending on how we think about them. When we don’t care if an enjoyment is making us more holy, we are moving into idolatry.

6. Enjoyment is becoming idolatrous when its loss ruins our trust in the goodness of God. There can be sorrow at loss without being idolatrous. But when the sorrow threatens our confidence in God, it signals that the thing lost was becoming an idol.

For myself and for you, I pray the admonition of 1 John 5:21, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”

Happy 3 Months, Evie!

Happy 3 Months, Evie Girl!

We are so thankful that God has entrusted us with you for this time.

Here's my song for you:

(To the tune of You Are My Sunshine)

You are my Evie,

My only Evie,

And I am happy,

That God made you.

And my prayer for you,

Is that you will grow,

And learn to love God

With all of your heart!

We love you, Little Lady!

Words With Wiley

(Okay, so when I started this blog site, I never intended to put so many entries of things Wiley says. They are just so funny and cute and I love to share them. Plus, my main reason in blogging is to keep a record for me, Shane and our kids one day. So with that said, here comes some more!)

This evening Shane and I were standing in the Living Room talking and hugging. Wiley was in his high chair finishing his dinner. He looked up and said, "Are ya'll getting married?" (Too funny! Not sure why he asked this since he often sees us hugging like this.)

While making Wiley a sandwich, he pointed at something on the peanut butter jar and asked, "What's that?" I replied, "Peter Pan. This is Peter Pan peanut butter." Wiley asked, "Where's the Captain Hook pea-ut budder?"

This morning Wiley and I had this conversation...

Wiley - "Wanna go on my fari wif me Mama?" (safari)

Me - "I'd love to go on your safari with you. What animals are we going to see?"

Wiley - "Um, wike (like) cows an beaws."

Me - "Bears! Scary!"

Wiley - "I protect you. I'm In-in-a Jones!" (Indiana Jones)

Me - "Thank you. What other animals will we see on the safari?"

Wiley - "Um, wike Superman." (It was an interesting safari!)

The other day Shane was working in his office upstairs when he saw a turtle outside in the road. He ran downstairs, got us, and we all ran outside to see it. (Thank you, God, for allowing us to see this turtle. What a nice surprise.) He was a fast little guy and very brave. Even with all of us standing around him, he kept right on walking. He was on a mission. Here are some cute photos and comments Wiley made:

"Hey there, Turtle!"

"We're takin' a walk together!"

(For all you concerned moms out there...No, it was not my intention to let my child run around barefoot in the street! But hey, sometimes you just gotta live in the moment and not miss out on fun memories like this! :)

Why Does a Kid Need to Know How to Count?

(First a side note. Today Wiley is pretending to be the "PS Guy" - which took me a minute to realize he meant the UPS Guy.)

So the PS Guy and I were working on counting today. He does really well up until around 14 and then he gets it all mixed up. I was counting for him and when I got to ten, I slowed down and clearly pronounced each number. When I got to 20 I stopped and looked at Wiley. He smiled and said, "Ready or not, here I come." (Silly me! I guess hide and go seek is the only reason a kid needs to learn to count :)

Playtime

* Me - "Wiley, what do you want to play?"
Wiley - "I don't know what I'd like to play with you. Maybe something fun. Maybe a game, or balls, or a game, or soccer, or football, or basketball..."
(No wonder it takes forever to play.)

* "Mommy, I'm playing hockey- scos" (hopscotch)

* While playing grocery store, Wiley was the grocer and I was shopping. The time before, I had his Curious George doll with me pretending it was my baby. It wasn't with me this time so he asked where my baby was. I told him he was at home with his daddy.
Wiley said, "I'll go see him."
To which I replied, "You can't. You don't know where I live."
Wiley, "Where do you live?"
Me, "I'm not telling you. You're a stranger."
Wiley, "No. I'm the Piggly Wiggly guy!"

(For those of you who don't have them, Piggly Wiggly (or "Pig-a Willy" as Wiley says it) is the name of one of our local grocery stores.)

Don't Talk to Strangers!

I've been teaching Wiley about strangers and safety. It seems to go in one ear and out the other most of the time. The one time that he seems to REALLY remember this topic is in the grocery store for some reason. A week can pass without ever having talked about strangers, yet we go to the grocery store and the reminder comes flooding back to him it seems. We will be walking down the aisle with Wiley riding in the buggy, someone will start to pass us with their buggy and he suddenly asks VERY LOUDLY and POINTING, "Is that a stranger?!!!" Oh. . . the joys of motherhood!

The Wonderful Gift of a Sibling

(I just love this photo!)

Today I took Wiley and Evie to a playdate at a local park. I had an okay time being with the other moms, Wiley had an okay time playing, and Evie had an okay time sleeping in the baby wrap. But what we all had a really good time doing was just being together. After playing, we sat down at a picnic table and had lunch. I was sitting next to Wiley holding Evie on my lap as she had just woken up from her nap. I just sat there with my two kids and watched as Evie smiled and cooed at Wiley, and Wiley smiled back, leaned in, kissed her and said, "I love you , Evie."
The other day Wiley woke up from his nap and came into the room where Evie and I were. He was still a bit sleepy so he lay down on the couch and asked if Evie could lay beside him (he loves when I let them do this). So I put Evie beside him and they just lay there together. Wiley gave a huge smile and said, We're laying beside each other!"
I knew joyous moments as a mother of one, but none of those moments for me even begin to compare to the moments like this when my two children are sharing a moment of love together and I get to see it! I had no idea how special these moments are!!!!
Thank you God for the gift of having a sibling that you have given to our kids. I pray they would always love one another deeply and put the needs and desires of the other before themselves. May they be each other's best friend! Amen.