King's Christmas Letter 2011

{This is the King family newsletter for 2010-11, since we skipped last year. Mom wrote it beautifully, and she writes about little Isaac for those who depend more on yearly letters to catch up with us. She points them to my blog here for the full story. I will link to Isaac's story in the letter, so you don't have to wade through my entire blog to find it. We are so blessed gloriously above all that we could ask or think, and the Lord's mercy and goodness have followed us all year as He has graciously lead us in His footsteps. I hope you too have been drawn ever nearer to our loving Savior this past year. Merry Christmas! - Audrey}

Christmas Blessings from our home to yours!

From prison, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote,

“Life in a prison cell may well be compared to Advent. One waits, hopes, does this, that or the other-- things that are really of no consequence--the door is shut, and can only be opened from the outside.”

On Saturday, our family headed to the mountains to cut a Christmas tree and celebrate Jed’s birthday, but first stopped by the little cemetery to see Isaac’s new gravestone (it took awhile to get because I could not agree on just one scripture-- I wanted to put Genesis through Revelation!). Dusting the snow off of the small, shiny slab, we smiled to see the name and tiny footprints of our little boy along with Rev. 21:4 etched in the granite. We thanked God again for His goodness to us, and this reminder of how much we need Him. This is why He came, and we have much to celebrate. We serve a risen Savior! God is with us! I am reminded of when I was very pregnant with Isaac, and Wyatt (with his limited capacities) seeing my tears, patted my belly and said “No worry baby,” -- he understood. There is no worry or fear that Jesus hasn‘t covered so we might have joy. In the words of Bonhoeffer:

“We call on the name of the One who alone conquered fear, captured it and led it away in a victory parade, nailed it to the cross and banished it to nothingness; the name of the One who is the victory cry of the humanity that is redeemed from the fear of death-- Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified and lives. He alone is the Lord of fear; it knows him as its Lord and yields to him alone.”

Jeff and I just celebrated our 25th anniversary-- he surprised me with a trip to Victoria, BC. We had such a fun, sweet time together. We really shouldn’t wait another 25 years! At least Jed figured out we are married-- when I was due with Isaac, he (then 5) asked me when Jeff and I were going to get married! (Maybe with the 8th on they way, we should think about it? J) Jeff is a wonderful, Godly, tender-hearted husband and daddy, and I remember seeing him with Isaac, and what a picture of Christ it was to me. Jeff and I are so thankful to see our oldest children able to work together on projects, their God-given talents complimenting each other so beautifully, and their passion for truth binding them together. We will also never forget the strength they were to us during our time in the hospital with Isaac, and their strong witness as they joyfully took over in the NICU, bringing the light of Christ in a tough place to be. Nor will we forget grown sons on their knees saying “I love you” and “I’m here, little buddy” over and over to a helpless little baby bearing God’s image...the girls cherishing every moment tho’ their mother-hearts were breaking... tears, but JOY.

Right now, we are busy filling backorders of J.D.’s documentary (after two years of filmmaking, he finally “wrapped” it up in September). Someday he should do a story on making it as it is such a testimony of God’s faithfulness. Since the release, he and Cody have been on the road quite a bit for speaking engagements, radio shows (interviewed by a presidential candidate on one), magazine articles, etc. Visit his website at: www.cryingwolfmovie.com, and read the review by Jim Beers who worked under both the Reagan and Clinton administrations. Please keep J.D. in your prayers; he has taken a bold stand for truth and as the accolades swell, the opposition may as well.

For those of you who may not know about our time with Isaac, God is good, there is much to tell. For now, please do us the honor of visiting Audrey’s blog where she beautifully shares a bit of our journey (many of her thoughts are also mine). www.audreykk.blogspot.com

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift-- the one that can never be taken away-- all that really matters! Each of our lives is but a nano-second in light of eternity, so let’s keep making it count!

In His hands, and with all our love,

Laura for the King family

God was in the Manger

Recently we read these quotes (below) from "God is in the Manger", a compilation of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Advent Christmas writings. But thanks be to God! Jesus Christ did not stay in the manger. He has been from the manger to the cross, and has risen victorious to the right hand of the Father, and the knowledge of His Lordship will fill the earth far as the curse is found, and His unshakable Kingdom shall have no end. Christmas is a promise fulfilled, and we can be sure that all His other exceedingly great promises will be faithfully kept as well.

While we live in between the Already and the Not Yet, pain is real. But we find comfort that His pain was real too. In all our trials, He was born to be our Friend. Behold our King in a lowly manger! In His name all things will be set right one day, the path to misery will be closed for good, and tears will be wiped away. In our lives, we will be troubled, but fear not, for He has overcome the world. So we can sing, even in a minor key, "Rejoice."


This letter from an imprisoned Bonhoeffer to his fiancee is achingly beautiful, and something to ponder often during Advent and beyond.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Be brave, my dearest Maria, even if this letter is your only token of my love this Christmas-tide. We shall both experience a few dark hours -- why should we disguise that from each other? We shall ponder the incomprehensibility of our lot and be assailed by the question of why, over and above the darkness already enshrouding humanity. We are being subjected to the bitter anguish of a separation whose purpose we fail to understand. And then, just when everything is bearing down on us to such an extent that we can scarcely withstand it, the Christmas message comes to tell us that our ideas are wrong, and that what we take to be evil and dark is really good and light because it comes from God. Our eyes are at fault, that is all. God is in the manger, wealth in poverty, light in darkness, succor in abandonment. No evil can befall us; whatever men may do to us, they cannot but serve the God who is secretly revealed as love and rules the world and our lives."

-ak

I don't know about you, but I need to be reminded of this more often than not. From the compilation of Puritan devotionals, Voices of the Past.

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do,
do all to the glory of God.
1 Corinthians 10:31

This life is not to be valued but as it yields opportunities to glorify
God. We were not sent into the world to live for ourselves, but
for God. If we could make ourselves, then we could live for ourselves.
If we could be our own first cause, then we might be our own end.
But God made us for himself, and sent us into the world for himself.
It is not our duty to glorify God in heaven only, but also here on
earth in the midst of difficulties and temptations. No one is sent into
the world to be idle, or to bring forth fruit to themselves, but God’s
glory must be our chief work and aim while we are here upon earth.
We must not promote merely our own interests. Every man, besides
his general calling, has his own work and course of service where he
might glorify and honour God; ‘I glorified you on earth, having accomplished
the work that you gave me to do’ (John 17:4). In a great
house one has one employment, one another: so God has designed
for every man the work he has to do; some in one calling, and some
in another; but all have their service and work given them for God’s
glory. Every morning we should revive the sense of this upon our
hearts. This day I am going to live with God. When a Christian leaves
home in the morning, he must remember he is at Christ’s disposal;
he is not to do as he pleases, but to be guided by rule, and for God’s
glory. Not only in our duties or immediate conversation with God,
but in our sports, business, and recreation. What is it to do things in
the name of Christ?—But to do it according to Christ’s will and command!
In discharge of this work, we must do it all for God’s glory. We
can do nothing without him. If we have anything to do for God, we
must do it in his own strength, in every word and every deed.

10 January
Thomas Manton, Works, i:81-82

An Everyday Evening

Outside, the sun rolled into his western bed, pulling his vermilion covers with him. The air is mellow and cool, a welcome change from the lingering August heat. The sound of my brothers playing wiffle ball carries in the clear atmosphere. Basket in hand, I step into the old sleepy barn. Hens from their roost scold as I collect their days' work. Eleven. The rooster mildly watches in the semi-dark. G' night, Randall. I lock them safely in for the night. Lungs fill with clean blue calm, stars uncover slowly in the big sky overhead, gravel crunches underfoot. The evening makes my big flannel shirt feel just right. Home lights beckon invitingly, boys laugh in the backyard, Hannah's fiddle sings a song.

For everyday evenings, thank You, Lord.


-ak

Hardy Grace

I was reading in J.C. Ryle's book Holiness: Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties and Roots a while ago, and I came across this paragraph that struck me, and I copied it down in a little black Moleskine. I just reread it there, and thought you should read it too . . .

"Hundreds of hermits have buried themselves in some wilderness, and thousands of men and women have shut themselves up within the walls of monasteries and convents, under the vain idea that by so doing they would escape sin and become imminently holy. They have forgotten that no bolts and bars can keep out the devil, and that, wherever we go, we carry that root of all evil, our own hearts. To become a monk or nun, or to join a house of mercy, is not the high road to sanctification. True holiness does not make a Christian evade difficulties, but face and overcome them. Christ would have His people show that His grace is not a mere hothouse plant, which can only thrive under shelter, but a strong, hardy thing which can flourish in every relation of life... It is not the man who hides himself in a cave, but the man who glorifies God as master or servant, parent or child, in the family and in the street, in business and trade, who is the scriptural type of a sanctified man."

- J.C.Ryle, from Holiness

(John 17:15)

-ak PS For extra credit, watch The Village.

Crying Wolf Movie: Released!

Ladies and Gentlemen, the wait is over! Crying Wolf documentary is now showing for a limited time online for free!

For the last two years, my brother J.D. has been making an independent, investigative documentary, tackling the controversial topic of the Wolf Reintroduction to Yellowstone National Park, and wrestling with the ideologies and exposing the radical environmental socialistic agenda behind it all.




And he did it all by himself, (with the help of many family and friends, who have given so much of their time and talents, prayers and encouragement, and made the documentary a reality). I am grateful to be a part of the film too, assisting in some camera operating, graphics and illustrations, and just hashing out edit after edit with J.D. over the last two years.




This educational film contains important truths about freedom, conservation, and the Biblical principles of dominion and stewardship that we as Western civilization desperately need to hear. Please watch and share, and find out who is really "crying wolf".


-ak

Once upon a road trip to Oregon...

Multnomah Falls

The Oregon Coast

A dog named Saphirre in a saphirre ocean

Secret coves at low tide reveal treasure

Fresh crab for lunch? Yes please! We caught it ourselves.

Cody in the Dodger dugout at the Regional Championship in Roseburg

Cody pitched one game, but he is really a shortstop

And we were blessed to visit our friends, the Voetbergs, on the way home.
If you ever get to Chehalis and need really good coffee, visit their shop Cuppa Joe off exit 81 on I-5.
And if you are in serious luck, their fantastic family band might be playing nearby.

Me Little Hearties

Sea Shell, Sea Shell,
Sing me a song, O Please!
A song of ships, and sailor men,
And parrots, and tropical trees,
Of islands lost in the Spanish Main
Which no man ever may find again,
Of fishes and corals under the waves,
And seahorses stabled in great green caves.
Sea Shell, Sea Shell,
Sing of the things you know so well.

-Amy Lowell

Arrrrren't they cute?

-ak

A Book Trailer

Here's a recent project I worked on with my brother J.D. for Lamplighter Publishing.

Enjoy!

Safari and Psalm 36:5-6

In Yellowstone National Park again recently...

Your mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens;
Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
Your righteousness is like the great mountains;
Your judgments are a great deep;
O LORD, You preserve man and beast.
-Psalm 36:5-6

ak

A Mother's Day Tribute

Today is for Mothers, so here are a few words from a grateful daughter's heart.

Blessings on the hand of women! Fathers, sons, and daughters cry, And the sacred song is mingled With the worship in the sky-- Mingles where no tempest darkens, Rainbows evermore are hurled; For the hand that rocks the cradle Is the hand that rules the world. William Ross Wallace, 1865, from his poem, "What Rules The World"

I am so thankful for my Mother's godly influence in my life, and the Lord's kindness in placing her there. Mom turned down worldly pursuits for one that would cost her life in the world's terms, and instead found her life abundantly, as the Word promised. She is my heroine for her brave heart and her vision for God to be center in our home. As my siblings and I grew up, Mom modeled (and still does) womanhood not only in big things but in her habitual acts and daily work. The aroma of her homemade bread is still the olfactory theme of my life. Some of my fondest memories as a little girl are of Mom reading aloud to us; her conversations filled mine and my siblings' childhood and gave us a Jesus-centered education. As I type, I hear her voice reading to my 6 and 8 year old brothers in the next room, giving them the same precious gift. Now that I'm older and still at home for now, I have the blessing to still learn from her, and observe her wisdom in managing our home, loving her family, and showing hospitality to others. She is a strong pillar under our family roof, and I call her blessed! In honor of my wonderful Mother, below is a quotation on the important and colossal position given to mothers by the all-wise Creator.

"If drudgery only means dreadfully hard work, I admit the woman drudges in the home, as a man might drudge at the Cathedral of Amiens or drudge behind a gun at Trafalgar. But if it means that the hard work is more heavy because it is trifling, colorless and of small import to the soul, then as I say, I give it up; I do not know what the words mean . . . How can it be a large career to tell other people's children about the Rule of Three, and a small career to tell one's own children about the universe? How can it be broad to be the same thing to everyone, and narrow to be everything to someone? No; a woman's function is laborious, but because it is gigantic, not because it is minute. I will pity Mrs. Jones for the hugeness of her task; I will never pity her for its smallness." G.K. Chesterton, from his book "What's Wrong With The World"

Hello Spring

Hello Spring,

You have been a long time coming. I am glad to see you. You bring hope that warmth and color will once more grace earth's face. It is a brave thing to do, and that is why I like you. You are a heartening gift from a good Giver, and I rejoice in the joy you spring on the world.

There is not one blade of grass, there is no color in this world that is not intended to make us rejoice.
— John Calvin

It is May, and from my bedroom window I have watched you grow stronger and stronger. Other places you come swiftly, but not here. Here, you come slowly. I wonder if that is why I savor your arrival so much. Old Man Winter's dying breaths still blow over the snow-shrouded mountains, reluctant to relinquish power, but he is fading fast. The grass bravely pushes up from its brown grave, the birds raise hopeful voices, the rain makes mirrors of heaven out of the mud, and bravely you come steadily home.

I remember watching you this time last year, from a hospital window. One May day you looked softly in and spread your sunrise glow on our grief, and it seemed the gentleness of our Maker caressed our hearts the morning my infant brother, Isaac Samuel Triumph King, went to be with Him. And I cannot help but think with eager anticipation of the day you come to stay, and spread your glow over the Triumphal procession when all the King's subjects will dance with joy in His unfading glory, Home to stay.

Yes, you remind me of something deeper than what you seem. I think every brilliant color and keen clean scent and lengthening sunbeam is a proof of something more...

When I look across the sun-struck fields, I know in my inmost bones that my joy is not solely in the spring, for spring alone, being always returning, would be always sad. There is somebody or something walking there, to be crowned with flowers: and my pleasure is in some promise yet possible and in the resurrection of the dead.
— G.K. Chesterton, A Miscellany Of Men

Our Lord has written the promise of resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in springtime.
— Martin Luther

Yes, you are more than a season. You are a Promise. The brown earth cannot hold back the tender green grass forever, because, once upon a time in history, it could not hold back a God-Man for even three days. And every year since that morning, you repeat the Promise.

We, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. — 2 Peter 3:13

I like you. Please stay a while, and show us the beauty that grows from the dirt, our Creator's glory reflected in puddles of sky.

Sincerely,

audrey

On The Third Day (Quote)

On the third day the friends of Christ coming at daybreak to the place found the grave empty and the stone rolled away. In varying ways they realized the new wonder; but even they hardly realized that the world had died in the night. What they were looking at was the first day of a new creation, with a new heaven and a new earth; and in a semblance of the gardener God walked again in the garden, in the cool not of the evening but of the dawn.

- G.K. Chesterton (The Everlasting Man)

Fiddling Photos

At a recent fiddle contest, my sister Hannah acquiesced to my photographic spontaneity; a card table light lent itself nicely to my purposes...

ak

The Sacrifice of Open Hands

"It isn't a sacrifice unless we have something to put upon the altar."

I surprised myself when these words came out yesterday. I thought about the simple weight of what I'd just said...how often do I give flesh to those words? How often do I really place my desires there on the altar?


Too often, I find myself holding on to them. One cannot paradoxically give life to dreams by holding them with a death-grip. And death-grips are tiring. But when what is held tightly is released to God, rest and freedom can enter.


Whether our desires are little things like a simple hour to read in peace, or big things like traveling the world, good things like marriage and children, or things that can never be...a different ending to a tiny mound of brown dirt...in the end, all can eat away the soul if they consume us. If we seek redemption in anything but Christ, all we get are dreams that quickly turn to nightmares.


As we place our desires there upon the altar, we have room for His desires to enter.


The only freedom from bitterness and anxiety and futile manipulation is in the Dream-That-Has-Come-True. The only thing that can nourish our souls when we are consumed by it is the love of God in Christ. I must find contentment and fulfillment not in some plan or dream, but in Him alone, where He has me now, in this hour, in this fixed longitude and latitude, or it will forever elude me.


As Francios Fénelon wrote to a young lady hundreds of years ago:

You must return to Him. You will have no peace except through this surrender. Let go all your plans; God will do as He pleases with them. Even if they should succeed through earthly means, God would not bless them; but if you wholly offer them up to God as a sacrifice, He will turn everything to His own merciful purposes, whether He does what you have desired, or whether He never does it.

It can hurt to give them up. Plans, desires, dreams. It is death when they are ripped away. And unless the seed falls to the earth and dies...it is dead already. But when it dies, when we die to it, fruit can grow from the brown dirt.


Plans, dreams, desires, all are in much better care out of our hands and in our Heavenly Father's hands anyway.

"There is heaven in the depth of that word—Father! There is all I can ask; all my necessities can demand; all my wishes can desire. I have all in all to all eternity when I can say, "Father." - Charles Spurgeon

He promises that He is good, and works all things for our good. And the more we give up ourselves, stop holding so tightly to ourselves and more tightly to our Heavenly Father, the less it hurts and the more we realize...we have HIM. Hold all with "as the Lord wills."


I wonder if sometimes I don't have it backwards. What if Psalms 37:4 means not exclusively that we will get what our hearts desire, but that we would receive the desires of our hearts? Meaning, as we delight in God and all He has carefully chosen for us (for His glory), that our Father would place His desires for us in our hearts. What if He replaced our passing fancies (even consuming desires) with the ultimate Desire, the Desire of nations...more of God Himself? And desires that He give always have a fulfillment. We must simply find Him that fills all in all our all in all.

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 good things to those who ask Him! - Matt. 7:11

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. - James 1:17

But what if all we had was God? Wouldn't we have everything in Him?

"When in all gifts we find Him, then in Him we shall find all things."
- George MacDonald.

Jesus put Himself upon the altar. He opened His hands, let go of what He could have had, and received driven nails through them so we could open our hands, escape what we deserve, and receive Him. He died and fell under the brown dirt...and lived again more gloriously than ever.


Opening your hands and releasing what you never really held in the first place is the only way to truly see all you already hold. If all is His, and He is ours, what more do we desire? And in that open position, those hands are ready to give and serve, bless and receive blessing...as the Lord wills.

All to Jesus I surrender,
Make me, Savior, wholly Thine;
Let me feel Thy Holy Spirit,
Truly know that Thou art mine.

ak

Jazz Music Video - James Schlender

This was recently made by my film-making brother Jeff (with my Canon T2i and creative assistance), for our friend James Schlender, a talented seventeen-year-old fiddle player specializing in swing and jazz. As you will see if you watch to the end, he also plays a few other instruments. :)

Enjoy!







-a