Harvard

Last week, I stole away for an afternoon to see what the Lord is doing at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA. I enjoyed an afternoon of history and Christ, with Chaplain Jeremy from RUF. (Reformed University Fellowship: http://www.ruf.org/.) If you get a chance, check out their website, and if you are a student, look for a RUF group on your campus.

Jeremy and I had lunch at John Harvard's. Has some great food and really cool website http://www.johnharvards.com/ (The virtual tour is exceptional:)

...And the back wall is the exposed field stone foundation. Cool huh?!Notice the books on the Harvard Seal. The three books on the seal represent the Old and New testaments and the Book of Nature (information from this article by Michael Welker.) The founders had the book of nature face-down in the original seal (pictured above) because they believed that no one had discovered all there was to know about God's creation. However, Harvard's seal now has all three books facing upwards.

The Massachusetts' Bay colony's reason for founding Harvard University.The Chapel is a memorial to all the graduates of Harvard that have died in the wars of the past centuries, except the Confederate soldiers of the Civil War. (Side Note: There are Nazi soldiers memorialized here, but not our Southern brothers... Think about that for a minute.)

While quartered in Cambridge, George Washington's troops stayed in this building. After the War, many repairs needed to be done to the building. As a result, Harvard sued the Continental Congress for damages.

While considering potential husbands for our daughters, let’s look at the heart and vision of the young man instead of whether he is completely stable financially. I have a couple of ideas as to what to look for in a young suitor for my daughters. This is not an exhaustive list, but it’s a good start.

1. He must love the Lord with all his heart mind and soul. (The only way to know this is to know him)(Thank you Jesus)
2. His desire must be to glorify God by enjoying Him. (Thank you Dr. Piper)
3. He must have boldness in his faith and an assurance that has lead to a godly vision for his future family. (Thank you Vision Forum)
4. He must see his godly role in the marriage as Priest, Profit, Protector, and Provider. (Thank you Dr. Bachman)
5. He must be sacrificial in his laying his life down for his family (Thank you Dad)
6. He must be teachable and willing to listen
7. He must be a member of good standing in a local church under the headship of several elders.


This is not a recipe on how to find the perfect husband for your daughter, and everyone has their own specifics. However, right now my family believes these are the things we need to be looking for in potential suitors. This is also what we need to be cultivating in my sons. (I’m sure this list will be added to as we approach “courtin’ season” but I doubt we’ll withdraw from it) This means that our future sons-in-law may need a little financial assistance here and there, but I believe that’s what generational faith is. As I see it, we need to look beyond the financial and focus on the spiritual.

The Ageing Youth and its Effects on the Family

Young people are getting married at an older and older age each year. We are “fish in this world and we don’t even know we are wet.” I am a conservative, homeschooling, environmental, Reformed Christian; but I have not found in the Bible where it says a young man must be finished with his education, have a house, a supporting job, and a life’s calling as an elder in a church before he gets married. I believe we are requiring too many so called “Biblical” traits from our children before marriage. We may be doing it for their “best,” but I think we may actually be exasperating them. I don’t know about you, but I am a first generation, multi-generational minded believer. This means that I was not given the advantage that some of our young people have in being debt free when they get married. And guess what? I still have a mortgage. God has been working in our family in a mighty way, but my family is still paying for the sin of their father’s self-indulgence. I will say that those early marriage struggles were hard, but refined us as a couple fully dependent on God. The idea of having to be completely established before being married is possibly a way for the Enemy to keep us from having children during our youth. I believe we, as parents, tend to think that as soon as the child leaves the nest they are on their own. Not me. If I believe I should be debt free; then I will help my children and anyone else I can to be debt free. Our life can’t stop because we have debt. God promises food and clothing to those who love Him and keep His commandments. However, He may not grant shelter from the storm. He is the shelter in the storm, and we tend to forget that. We cannot plan out our lives so much that we completely leave out God’s providence (James 4:13-15).

May God direct and bless fathers and mothers as they grapple with these things.

Can you learn how to work diligently while blessing others?
This was the question I asked my two young warriors for the Lord.
Yes! This is actually the best way to work.
To prove this, the boys are dutifully doing a simple household chore for my wife and daughters this week: the laundry.
One MAJOR priority while doing this specific task is separating the whites from the darks. (I wear red socks, and if they are thrown in with the whites, well, all those beautiful white shirts turn pink:)
“Now sons,” I asked my boys, “Why do we separate the whites from the darks?” (The answer is a great biblical application.) We do it so that the colors from the darks do not run and cause the whites to be stained.
In relation to our friends, we need to be careful who we hang out with because their habits tend to rub off onto us. You could argue that just as our friends may influence us, we may influence them more. It is like a white load that has bleach in it, if a stray colored article gets into the load it will be ruined, whereas the rest of the load will be spotless white. (I think the Lord used the example of leaven in the batch of dough;), but the same thing applies). Nothing is untouched by sin. You will be stained.
Back to our challenge…
They’re doing well so far, but they still have several days to go.
I think they might do the ironing next… (You hear that Ben?)