Under Hostile Fire

So we need to remember that any idea of getting beyond conflict, outward or inward, in our pursuit of holiness in this world is an escapist dream that can only have disillusioning and demoralizing effects on us as our waking experience daily disproves it. Any real holiness in us will be under hostile fire all the time, just as our Lord's was. ... Therefore, we should lay to heart Jesus' words to the disciples who slept in Gethesmane: Watch [be awake, alert, on guard] and pray that you may not enter into temptation [which will surely come]; the spirit [the renewed you] is willing, but the flesh [here meaning not indwelling sin as such, but human nature, through which indwelling sin works] is weak" (Matt. 26.4) It is as certain as anything can be that without watchful prayer and a prayerful watch, we shall not be able to stand firm against the world, indwelling sin and the evil one but will fall victim to their wiles and blandishments instead.
--J.I. Packer, Keep in Step with the Spirit

I Really Love My Odd Family

How I pity all those other mothers, sitting through long and boring band concerts or perhaps enduring the hard bleachers and wondering when to cheer at track meets --("How many laps does it take to make 2 miles, and which one are we on?") -- all in the name of encouraging perseverance and excellence in their children. I can offer encouragement to John and Leah by pulling up my computer chair and ... genuinely laughing. They made this video on "Odd Food Combinations" for an online contest, hired a pricey voice man to do the narration (and won.) Ah, another victory for homeschooling.