Thesis 28 -- The Qualitative Distinctions of Love

Posted on 2/6/2012 by Elyse Fitzpatrick

 There is simply nothing like God's love. God's love is so high above ours, so powerful and transformational, there's really no comparison. I suppose that living in the veritable "light" of that love is what will make heaven as wonderful as it will be.

Here's thesis 28: The love of God does not first discover but creates what is pleasing to it. The love of man comes into being through attraction to what is pleasing to it.

Read more / comment...

Grace for Regretful Parents, Too

Posted on 12/5/2011 by Elyse Fitzpatrick

Regrets. As a mom of three and grandmother of six, I know all about regrets. Just this week I missed one of my granddaughter’s birthdays, thinking it was a day later than it was. That’s not unusual for me either—even though I have taken to writing down everyone’s birthdays in my phone—I never seem to be able to remember everything when I’m supposed to remember it.

Read more / comment...

A Slap on the Hand, A Kiss on the Cheek

Posted on 11/7/2011 by Elyse Fitzpatrick

The workers were an hour and a half late arriving at my home. Now that they had finally come, I struggled to get my dogs outside, necessitating my dragging them out of the house by their collars. I had been working on an article on my laptop in the kitchen, getting ready to eat lunch and I now, too, needed to get out of the way.  So I decided to stack a plate, a boxed salad, two phones and a nice big cup of coffee on a tray and try to navigate my way out the sliding door onto my patio. Strange thing, though…that tray? It was actually the keyboard of my laptop. I’m sure you can guess what happened next. The coffee went flying and my computer fried.

Read more / comment...

What the Law Requires From Us is Freedom From the Law -- Put Your Dancin' Shoes On!!!

Posted on 10/10/2011 by Elyse Fitzpatrick

How on earth I'm going to encapsulate in a few short paragraphs the depth of the riches and wisdom and grace and mercy of God as distilled by Luther/Forde on pages 107-110, I don't know. When practically the entire passage has been underlined (more than once) and I've got my personal notes scribbled in margins and exclamation points everywhere...how can I distil this for you?  I feel what Forde must have felt as he wrestled and finally gave up and said,

Read more / comment...

Will Faith Be Enough Today?

Posted on 9/12/2011 by Elyse Fitzpatrick

I woke up this morning troubled by yesterday’s failures. In fact, I spent most of the night last night, trying to drown out the voice of my inner slave driver who incessantly told me that I’m still the same and that I might as well give it up. More confessions: The truth is that I wasn’t primarily troubled this morning about my sin before God. Yes, of course, there was that, but I was mostly concerned about my reputation before others. The question, “Why did I say that?”

Read more / comment...

Gentle Jesus, Meek and...Modest

Posted on 8/8/2011 by Elyse Fitzpatrick

I live in Southern California and now that it’s summer, a familiar problem has returned.  The problem is immodesty and now that the temperature is rising, the problem is becoming more and more obvious…again. But summer or not, modesty has been a topic of concern for me during my whole life.  For instance, back in the days when I was in Catholic school, modesty was demanded.

Read more / comment...

Something Good Theology

Posted on 7/11/2011 by Elyse Fitzpatrick

One of my favorite movies is The Sound of Music. Between the handsome Christopher Plummer and the perky, immensely talented Julie Andrews—and a sound track filled with some of the best music around—it’s hard not to like it. As a young girl, I particularly enjoyed watching Captain Von Trapp and Sister Maria discover their love for each other and thinking, “Wow! How romantic!” 

Here are some of the lyrics she sang to him,

Read more / comment...

The Transforming Power of the Cross

Posted on 6/20/2011 by Elyse Fitzpatrick

Let’s face it, no one reads a blog like this unless he (or she!) is deeply interested in and committed to growing in their own personal piety and helping others do the same. Because we love the Lord, we all want to grow into men and women who reflect His life more perfectly. For us, the question isn’t: “Should we seek to grow in holiness?” 

Read more / comment...