Stand Firm, Part 1

It was shaping up to be the joust of the century. There were two knights, one on each side of the tiltyard, each dressed in his own special suit of shining armor.

To the left of the grandstand there was Arthur, seated on his majestic white stallion. He looked around nervously, scanning the crowd. Suddenly he caught sight of his father, the king. His father gave him a nod of approval, calming his frayed nerves.

On the opposing side there was Henry. Seated on his strong black stallion, he surveyed his opponent. Ha! He thought. How does he expect to win dressed in armor like that! Only the most necessary pieces. Ha! And it was true. Henry was arrayed in a fine, full suit of armor. Every inch of his body was covered by either chain mail or the sturdiest of metals.

Arthur had a suit of armor that seemed much less protecting, but it seemed to glow from within. It was composed of a simple belt, breastplate, and shoes, along with his helmet. He carried a very simple but light shield and held his lance in hand.

Arthur looked at his opponent, sizing up the match. He knew that Henry would do anything to win this joust. After all, Henry wasn’t on their side. He was on the side of his father, Brandon, who was trying to rob the king of some of his kingdom. Well, Arthur thought. Today my father’s kingdom will be rid of one more threat. Or at least so he hopped.

The flag was dropped, signaling the beginning of the first match. As Arthur dug his heels into his horse, he almost turned back. But no, he couldn’t do that to his father once again. Besides, his father had given him a promise along with the suit of armor. “My son,” He had said. “Know that I will be with you always, through every battle.” And with those words ringing in his ears, he straightened his course to ride strait towards Henry.

Henry was certain that he could easily un-horse his opponent on the first pass. As he glanced up to survey Arthur’s position, he noticed that Arthur was making a straight course right for him! Henry veered slightly to the right to avoid contact. Both riders swung their horses around for another pass.

Some Fun Valentine's Day Facts

While looking for something to post about on Valentine's Day, I found a good article on the subject at www.history.com. I took the liberty to “pick and choose” paragraphs, to create an abridged version. (I asked my mom, and she said it wasn’t plagiarism). Please enjoy!

One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men — his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.

Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were often beaten and tortured.

According to one legend, Valentine actually sent the first 'valentine' greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl — who may have been his jailer's daughter — who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed 'From your Valentine,' an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories certainly emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure. It's no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France.
According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated one billion valentine cards are sent each year, making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. (An estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent for Christmas.)

Approximately 85 percent of all valentines are purchased by women. In addition to the United States, Valentine's Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia.

Tori

Carpet

If you haven't read Tori's post 'Putting Down Wood Floors,' please read that before continuing. Last night we had what you might call a small flood in our home. A pipe burst, and water was all in the hallway, in the living room where the piano used to be, and into our TV room. It took some time to clean up, but this story isn't the exact point.

Our TV room is carpeted, and the carpet had been down for years (like 20 or 30). Underneath the carpet we have beautiful brick floors. We had been thinking about pulling the carpet up, and when this happened we had to. It was dripping wet. We got it out onto the driveway, then started pulling up some of the foam stuff.

I began thinking about what Tori had said about the different carpet parts and how they parallel to your life. Sometimes when you have an emergency or tragedy, people find out more about who you are, and get to see more parts of your life. When we got down to the brick some of it was beautiful, but some of it was very dirty. When hard things hit your life and people see more of your character, what are they going to see? Are they going to see the life that God has cleaned up and made new, or are they going to see spots where you have delayed giving things to God and cleaning them up?

If you haven't asked God to help you get rid of these things, do it now. Many people say that character is built under pressure, however, in all truth, character is revealed under pressure. What will tragedy reveal about your life when it hits?

Putting Down Wood Floors

My dad likes fixing/renovating our house. As our first of ??? spring projects, we decided we would put a wood floor in the "den." We're replacing old, stained, blue carpet with real oak wood.

We yanked up the carpet, and there was a layer of yellow foam underneath. It had dust all over it. After nine years, the grime had really built up.

Then we pulled up the foam, and underneath was a pretty (at least I thought it so) terrazzo floor. In some places, however, you could hardly see the terrazzo, because if I had thought that the foam was bad, this...

Then the cleaning crew came in to put everything to rights. We probably swept up a good three, maybe five cups of dirt.

Putting down a wood floor takes a lot more work than you would think. There are two layers, first the clear foam stuff, then the wood.

The carpet could be viewed as your life. It looks fine, for the most part. Everyone can see it, so you try to keep it nice.

Your friends and family see the layer underneath that. It's dirty. But it's not that bad.

You and God are the only ones who can see the bottom layer. The dirt and grime, the sin that is lodged there. The stuff that nobody else could even guess at. It could be really pretty, but the dirt is covering the good part up.

But God can clean you out. It's not an easy job, but He can do it. After sweeping everything clean, He'll give you new protection- The Holy Spirit- to keep the bad things from finding their way in again.

And to help you remember you're His and you are forgiven- no hard feelings- he gives you a new polished, un-scuffed look. And unlike the flimsy un-stable carpet, you now have a new, solid foundation. One that will never let you down.

Well, I'm documenting the big project, and it looks like we're entering a new phase (we're not quite done yet). I have to go!

Tori