Fluffernutter afficianados were in a near frenzy this past week. Do you know what Fluff is? It’s a kind of marshmallow goo. Take a ton of it, along with bit of peanut butter and some bread, and you have what may be the only sandwich to survive unscathed* by the fall: a fluffernutter. Nothing like it!

(*Only true IF you use crunchy peanut-butter.)

Well, the marshmallow mourning almost came about when a particular Massachusetts legislator threatened to slash the fluffernutter rations of Bay State schoolchildren. According to the Washington Post, Senator Jarrett Barrios got whipped up over the (alleged!) lack of nutrition in fluffernutters; he proposed a change to the Massachusetts school nutrition bill that would only allow kids to get one fluffer a week.

Thankfully, Representative Kathi-Anne Reinstein and others came to the defense of the humble fluffernutter, and saved it from an untimely demise. Reinstein even proposed making the fluffernutter the state sandwich of Massachusetts. We’re all eagerly waiting to see if this will make it.

Good news: the Post reports Barrios has dropped this amendment to Massachusetts’ school nutrition bill: the fluffernutter will continue to sustain Massachusetts schoolkids every day.

Check out the Fluffernutter website. I think you’ll particularly like the TV ad with the catchy song.

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Paul Tripp begins the fourth chapter of Lost In The Middle with poignant poetry. The simple truth that Dr. Tripp is getting at: “Midlife is a time of harvest… There may be no more common human experience than regret… This is our world, a place where regret lives.”

I don’t have to be in midlife (still several weeks shy of 29!) to know that regret is alive and well in our world. We live in a fallen world, and we are each are sinners, so all of us have a past tainted by the memory of our own sins and the sins done against us. Do you experience regret? It probably lurks around the fringe of your consiousness, slipping through the shadows of thought, waiting to whisper reminders of remorse. Maybe it’s failure in marriage, impatience in parenting, moral compromise, or persistent unbelief. It could have happened decades ago, or this morning. We each carry regret around with us, wishing we could do it differently; I think this chapter is particularly relevant for parents.

This is why Tripp comforts his readers with these words:

“In the face of crushing regret, we are not without hope. Regret is a longing that points us to our need. Beneath each moment of regret is a cry for a better place… Embedded in each mundane flash of regret and every huge load of remorse is a deep and abiding longing for a better place, a place where failure gives way to victory and sin gives way to righteousness.”

The most helpful part of this chapter, aside from simply acknowledging that we experience regret as a part of our fallen lives, are the Biblical strategies for dealing with regret:

1. Enjoy the freedom of confession.
2. Embrace God’s forgiveness.
3. Embrace God’s sovereignty.
4. Clarify your identity.
5. Plant a new harvest.
6. Celebrity eternity.

If you’re not sure what any of these mean, or how to use these steps to deal biblically with regret, read the chapter again, and talk to your husband, wife, caregroup leader, or trusted friend about how this should apply to you. And remember:

“Accept the fact that you are a sinner living in a fallen world, keep reminding yourself that Christ really does live inside of you, and keep your eyes on eternity. Start celebrating early.” (p. 132)

Categories: Thursday Thoughts For Parents, five15 blog
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On this day in 1887, Minot, North Dakota was incorporated. It is currently North Dakota’s fourth largest city.

Eyewittnesses confirm that there is an actual sign in Minot that reads the following:

Why Not Minot?
Freezin’s The Reason!”

Anybody ever been to Minot?

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Fresh on the heels of two posts about journaling (Write The Truth About Grace, Parts 1 and 2), I ran across these words by D.A. Carson yesterday, which provide a very helpful way to think about journaling (or any other spiritual practice, for that matter):

“How deceived we humans are when it comes to matters religious. So many things that start off as incentives to repentance and godliness develop into vicious idols. What starts as an aid to holiness ends up as the triple trap of legalism, self-righteousness, and superstition.

“So it somethings is with other forms of religious observance or spiritual discipline.  One may with fine purpose and good reason start “journaling” as a discipline that breeds honesty and self-examination, but it can easily slide into the triple trap; in your mind you so establish journaling as the clearest evidence of personal growth and loyalty to Christ that you look down your nose at those who do not commit themselves to the same discipline, and pat yourself on the back every day that you maintain the practice (legalism); you begin to think that only the most mature saints keep journals, so you qualify–and you know quite a few who do not (self-righteousness); you begin to think that there is something in the act itself, or in the paper, or in the writing, that is a necessary means of grace, a special channel of divine pleasure or truth (superstition). That is the time to throw away your journal.”  D.A. Carson, For The Love Of God, Volume 2, entry for June 26.

Is Dr. Carson saying that a Christian shouldn’t keep a journal?  Not for a minute.  He is saying that there is a risk: a risk that journaling (or giving, or fasting, etc.) might be done for the wrong reasons.  Like gratifying our proud sense of accomplishment, or leaving us feeling superior to others, or feeling that our actions have earned us God’s favor in some degree.  But that’s not why we keep a journal.

A journal is simply a tool to help us grow in godliness.  It is a means to an end: to know God better, to love Him more, and to measure ourselves rightly by God’s Word.   Let’s use the tool the right way, and grow in our love for Jesus Christ.

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Remember back in May, how at a BIG MEETING, we heard some thoughts from Whitni, Katherine, Craig, and Scott about their experience during their years in five15? Turns out, some seniors at 10:31 (the youth ministry of Covenant Life Church) did the same thing.

The GirlTalkers posted a few of them yesterday. If you’d like to read what your peers at CLC had to say, you can check it out here.

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Christ Died For Our Sins

Mark explained on Sunday morning that these five words are like the seeds of a giant redwood. A redwood seed measures a few millimeters long, but it yields some of the largest trees on the planet, towering hundreds of feet over California soil. In a similar fashion, the five words contain the seed of the whole Christian life. What do you need to know to be a Christian? More than this, for sure, but not less than this.

Two things that Mark wanted us to get:

1. Get The Gospel Right

In order to get the gospel right, we have to know that Christ died truly, intentionally, vicariously, temporarily, and publicly. Mark quoted R.C. Sproul to help us understand what it means that Christ died vicariously (in the place of someone else):

“The grand paradox or supreme irony of the Christian faith is that we are saved both by God and from God. The God of perfect holiness, who demands satisfaction for His justice and who will not wink at sin, has from all eternity decreed that He Himself should provide salvation to those very people who, by their sin, are exposed to His wrath and judgment.”

Once we have the gospel right, we have to:

2. Keep The Gospel First.

Remember Mike Bullmore’s message last October? Remember the flywheel? The functional centrality of the gospel? And of course, the three circles:

I love the concentric circles diagram.

• In the center is the gospel itself: “Christ died for our sins” 1 Cor 15:3.
• The second circle contains gospel truths: doctrines that are true because of the gospel, such as Rom 5:1, Rom 8:1, and Rom 8:32.
• The third circle represents gospel conduct: behavior that results when the gospel is understood and applied. We see examples in 1 Cor 6:18-20, Eph 4:32, Eph 5:25.

Mark encouraged us to consider how the gospel is making a difference in our lives. What we believe determines how we live. So what difference does the gospel make when you miss a day of devotions? In difficult relationships? How about with unforgiveness? If you find it difficult to forgive others, download and listen this message again today!

To apply: join us reading Sproul’s The Holiness of God.

Categories: Monday Matters, five15 blog
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So maybe you’re convinced that journaling is a good idea, but you don’t know where to start. You need to begin with some equipment. Not much, but something. Could be as simple as a composition notebook and a pencil. Or even loose leaf paper in a notebook. Some people keep a journal on a computer or handheld. But you’ll need something.

Personally, I like a Moleskine and a Bic four-color pen. Moleskine journals are hard to beat. Sturdy backing, quality paper, hidden pocket in the back, classic black, multiple sizes. They’re great. And yes, I do use all the colors in the Bic pen: red for Scripture, green for quotes from other books, blue for my own thoughts and meditations, black for prayers and prayer requests. I run out of red and blue fastest.

Once you have something to write with and on, then you need to write something. Here are a couple ways to get started:

• In a message Mark did back in January, he recommended writing two simple sentences about whatever verse(s) you’re reading: one that begins with “God…” and one that begins with “I…”
• Another way to say this would be to use your journal to answer two questions: 1) What does this verse tell me about God? and 2) what does this verse tell me about myself?
• Or, another suggestion from Mark: when reading the Old Testament, ask: 1) How does this verse show me God’s disposition to provide a Savior? or 2) Man’s disposition to require a Savior?

There’s a million different ways to do this. You don’t have to do it at all, but I think if you want to be amazed by grace, writing the truth about grace will help.

What about you?  Do you keep a journal?  What kind of journal do you use, and what kinds of things do you write about?

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This installment and application from the “Refresh, Part 1: Saved By Grace” message is this: if you want to spend the summer amazed by grace, don’t forget to write the truth about grace. (We’ve already talked about praying, singing, and reading the truth about grace.)

The ESV Journaling Bible has just been released, and I’m hoping we’ll get it in sometime soon. It’s pending arrival has me thinking about journaling. Do you keep a journal? In his book Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, Donald Whitney explains why tracking your spiritual growth in a journal can be helpful:

“…journaling blends biblical doctrine and daily living, like the confluence of tow great rivers, into one. The journal can be a mirror in the hands of the Holy Spirit in which He reveals His perspective on our attitudes, thoughts, words, and actions. A journal is a place where we can give expression to the foundation of our heart, where we can unreservedly pour out our passion before the Lord.” (pp. 205, 208-209)

Further:

“By slowing down and prompting us to think more deeply about God, journaling helps us feel more deeply (and biblically) about God.” (p. 210)

Plenty of good reasons to do this. Convinced, but not sure what to do? Stay tuned…

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As many of you know, Dave D leaves tomorrow afternoon for the US Military Academy at West Point.  We’re going to pray for him immediately after the meeting, off to one side of the stage.  Please look for us and come pray for Dave and his family.  Thanks.

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I hope you all know by now that I hate to cancel events. I love being together, and these things are usually next to impossible to reschedule.

However, sometimes wisdom weighs more than desire. This is one of those times. The storms last night gave me fresh appreciation for the raw power of electricity unleashed, and all the reliable weather-predicting services I could find (and I consulted several!) indicate that we are in for quite a bit of rain and storms this weekend.

I realize the prediction may be wrong. But I would rather make the mistake of staying home on a sunny day than stranding our group on slippery rocks with no shelter in an electrical storm. I trust you understand.

I don’t see a way for us to reschedule this hike, but it’s a great spot-be sure to try it some time.

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