Terribly Interesting

When I think of a Bible translator, I think of a nerdy scribe hold up in a dark tower somewhere inconspicuously taking a text from Latin or Greek and meticulously changing it to another language. This is most certainly not the case for William Tyndale. He was a die hard reformer. He translated the Bible into the common man's language under threat of death from the Catholic church that most certainly did not want God's word in the hands of the every day man. I have a newfound respect for the lengths this man went to so that you and I could apply the salve of God's word to ur individual wounds. The church at the time held complete control of the scripture. They forced everyone to believe as they did. Refusal to do so would get you burned at the stake. Tyndale was the first to translate much of the Bible from the original languages. He printed his illegal Bibles as an outlaw on secret presses. He was poor and always moving around to avoid the authorities that would ...

We have a funny tradition here at Gomer's House. Every year we celebrate Groundhog's day. Now, before you go thinking we have lost our minds and become supersticious, listen up. When we came to live here, I had never lived in a non-comfortable environment in my life. Things in my surroundings were always above par. Everything was always in its place. Then, God told us to move to this gigantic old house. The house did not have a lick of insulation. By that, I mean that it was cold. Basically, it was about  two degrees colder inside than out. Once, It was 42 degrees in our bedroom. Now, we have central heat on the floor we live on, but with no insulation, it just blows outside. Thus, it became our joke to know what Phil (the groundhog) said was going to happen with our winter. Now, the furrball is only right less than half a percent so you can't put stock in it, but it's fun. We watch Groundhog Day every year and have friends come to visit us. This year we went to eat ...

Happy Groundhog Day! The chandelier I ordered to go over the sink. The pineapple was a sign of hospitality at the time Gomer was built. A painting I did recently. Do you ever have one of those weeks where so much happened that you have no idea what happened? That's where I am at. It feels like it has been a whirlwind. We are trying to get everything out of the kitchen and dining room to prepare for the work that needs to be done the welcome the cabinets. We moved our two girls into a room together permanently so we could constantly have more guests. My huge desk got moved. All sorts of things have been moved around. I've constantly been in the studio painting. It's been a dream. I paint things and people buy it. Doesn't that blow your mind? On Sunday, the little country church in our town hosted a 4 town hymn sing. A hymn sing is just like it sounds. People get to sing hymns together. Each church takes a turn singing. After the merriment, everyone eats ...

I came across this picture in photos I had taken and thought it would be a great reminder for us all today.

I will provide for everything you need. Trust Me to provide for you. Remind yourself that I care for the birds of the air. I clothe the lilies of the field. I can easily provide for you. Remove any doubt in your mind that I do not want to give good gifts to you, my child. Do not focus on your behavior to influence Me. Focus on Me. Think on who I Am. I provide.  "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!" Matthew 7:11 For more on this segment, see this post.

I have been reading an expansive biography on William Tyndale. I must tell you, I have been overcome repeatedly at the lengths this man went to in order for us to have the Bible we do. He worked for decades as a pauper so that we could read God's words and apply them to our very person. What has most struck me time and time again is how God used exile and persecution to forge this man into someone who would stop at nothing so that others could have an intimate view of God and be able to see His love for them. I will post a full review later in the week, but I wanted to leave you with a few questions. Are you running from or medicating the very thing God wants to use to forge you into a person of fierce godliness? Why do you fear the desert? Why do you fear the Holy Spirit?

Perhaps you will recall a post I did a few weeks back about the most horrible kitchen around. This kitchen is also known as my kitchen. Remember when I made enough money from painting to get the copper dream sink? I made a little funny on my blog that day. I asked if anyone wanted to come build custom cabinets around it for me. Are you ready for what happened next? Someone contacted me. No really. Someone who builds cabinets. As you will know, we get a lot of empty promises and people saying they are going to help. This person, however, showed up. He measured the kitchen, the dining room, & the laundry room for custom cabinets. Can you believe it? It's a miracle. I largely have enough money to redo the kitchen (except for the appliances). Somebody, thank God with me. He is good. Do you remember me turning the kitchen over to Him and telling Him to do whatever He wanted. Kitchen remodels usually cost tens of thousands of dollars. God owns the cattle on a thousand hills and He...