They still hold hands…awwww. And do a little math—imagine the impact on the world with all those descendents!

This is what the Friedrichs will be doing to celebrate Reformation Day:

Mommy will finish reading to her little boys a book about Martin Luther by May McNeer, illustrated by her husband, Lynd Ward (he is said to have been influenced by Albrecht Dürer for his illustrations). We will continue to practicing “A Mighty Fortress is Our God,” belting it out enthusiastically if not melodically. We try.

We might get some inspiration if we listen to some German music written to the glory of God, like Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue.” Our subwoofer and surround sound can make us feel like we’re in the church with the organ.

If she still has a voice, Mommy may read more about the Huguenots, too. A refresher course on the countries in Europe using the Geosafari would be a good idea (we own an ancient model). We can add Martin Luther to our timeline books.

We’ll pick a video to watch tonight…I bought several excellent videos on various reformers and missionaries from a former teacher who was selling most of her library. We will either watch the one about John Hus or the one about the Swiss Reformation, both from Gateway Films. If there is time today, we may listen to a taped sermon from a series David Chilton did on the Reformation.

Food is always a big part of any celebration in our family. We will be having our traditional Reformation Day dinner, which reminds us of our German heritage and the country where Martin Luther bravely proclaimed God’s truth. The main course is bratwurst in beer (using a recipe I got from the Saenz family). We will also partake of homemade applesauce, sauerkraut, dark rye bread and a spiced apple cider wassail (I may give out the recipe if asked nicely). For dessert we make homemade donuts.

Just in case you’ve forgotten the reasons we celebrate Reformation Day, here’s a reminder. May we teach our children to jealously guard the truth of God and proclaim it as fervently as the great saints of that day.

Please forgive me…I haven’t written haiku since junior high. I couldn’t resist, even though it doesn’t evoke the requisite seasonal images. But, hey, it’s got 17 syllables.

Tonight’s entry on beauty is short but sweet…this is for you, sweetie.

Let it be said that you reflect God’s glory in your own special way .

Last night I talked about how fleeting is our personal beauty. I discussed how we are to see our youth and beauty, both as it is in full bloom and as it is fading, as a reason to adore God for the beauty that He creates and the Beauty that He is. His beauty will never fade or change. And we have a blessed hope that we will one day behold the beauty of the Lord and perfectly reflect His glory, when we are His beautiful bride, with shining faces and lovely raiment.

I once heard a pastor’s wife, the mother of nine beautiful daughters, say at a Bible study that her beauty was fading and her daughters’ beauty was increasing. The beauty she referred to was her outward appearance, but many people were attracted to her for her godly maturity and wisdom. She was attractive because of those qualities which increased with her years and her submission to God. Nickey was right that gray hair can be a sign of wisdom, and wisdom is more precious than gold or jewels, more to be sought than any fleeting beauty. As our beauty decreases, we appreciate His beauty more.

Wisdom is of utmost importance, but beauty is not antithetical to it. Both are characteristics of God and come from Him. Those who would neglect their appearance out of false piety are guilty of spiritual pride. They do not understand that God’s dominion extends over all things when they can admire the beauty of a sunset but can’t appreciate the blessings of their feminine beauty and charms. Restoring the Garden doesn’t stop at the bathroom door .

Problems arise when we lose our sense of proportion. People who understand music (that’s not me) know that the most beautiful music has a sense of rhythm and proportion, which makes all the notes fit together in a harmonious whole…the individual notes are placed in such a way that they contribute to the beauty of the entire composition. A note out of place is jarring (something I do know about, being subjected to much piano practice). How does this apply to our beauty? When we are 40-something and trying to look like a teenager, we are out of proportion, a jarring note. When we have had several children and we obsess over (not) having a model-thin figure, we are not making a lovely melody with our life. When we wear clothing or makeup which draws attention to ourselves rather than quietly enhancing our beauty, we are being immodest and stealing the show from the Composer.

Just as wine is good and gladdens our hearts, but must be enjoyed in moderation, so our beauty is to be enjoyed, but its purpose must always be to glorify God.

Which brings me to another area of beauty which women need to keep in proper perspective: the beautifying of our homes. Wives and mothers are privileged to have dominion-responsibilities over this special realm. As Every Thought Captive reminds us with Denise Sproul’s excellent columns, we are tending a garden which contains tender plants, olive shoots around our tables (Psalm 128:3). Gardens take a lot of work, especially weed-pulling. A well-tended garden not only grows food to nourish our bodies, it has beauty to nourish our souls and provides shady places so we can rest.

Because of our sin-struggles, we can easily become unbalanced in our homes, too. We either let things get out of control through our laziness or busyness, neglecting the cleanliness and organization which help make home a haven for our families; or, we become obsessed with cleanliness and decorating perfection, elevating those superficial things above the peace and comfort of our families. Beauty and order are worthy goals to have for our homes, but the ultimate goal must be to further God’s kingdom through the ministry He has given us there…not to emulate a magazine picture. “Where no oxen are, the trough is clean; but much increase comes by the strength of an ox,” (Prov. 14:4) is a verse mothers ought to meditate on when they are bemoaning another broken dish or the endless piles of laundry.

Edith Schaeffer is one of the loveliest ladies I’ve ever met. She spoke at a crisis pregnancy center brunch I attended in 1990, and I was impressed with her quiet radiance. Her appearance was not especially remarkable, but her eyes sparkled, her smile was genuine and she carried herself in a way that proclaimed she was a daughter of the King. She was also gracious, signing books and asking questions of the groupies ladies who came to get her autograph. I’m going to leave you with a passage from my autographed copy of What is a Family?, to keep in mind as we think about the right perspective for beauty in our lives:

Constructive creativity not only affects other human beings, but brings glory to God by being in the stream of His creativity. Creative works which blend with the real universe, whether made by men who are in communication with God or not, are fulfilling what God gave man capacity to create. Cain and Abel had creative ideas in building altars in an arrangement of some special pattern of selected stones. Cain had a creative idea in arranging all his fruits and vegetables on his altar, but Cain’s creative act was a destructive one. Why? Because the arrangement was not beautiful? No, because he was defying what was the given way of coming to God, through the lamb. Beauty as contrasted with ugliness is not a criterion for judging as to whether a creative work is destructive or constructive. A very beautiful work of art can be totally destructive in its effect, and in leading a stream of people to take a defiant position, denying truth. It really is important to understand that creativity is marvelous, but can also be terrible. The choice involved and freedom needed for bringing forth art, music, literature, architecture, scientific projects, and so on, means that the results will affect other human beings and influence them, at times without their knowing how powerfully they are being influenced. If God really exists, there is an absolute truth. Therefore, creative expression which denies God’s existence, and denies that there is an absolute, and denies truth and even the existence of truth, denies His Creation—and is destructive creativity.