John Henry Jowett

I have discovered a new author - John Henry Jowett. While packing for a recent move I decided to go through all my books to see if there were any I might give away. In the process I came across an obscure little book, The Silver Lining by John Henry Jowett. Hmmm, I thought, this looks interesting. I set it aside and began to drink in Jowett's words in my quiet time. This guy is incredibly deep. I decided to find out who he was. He was born in England on August 25, 1863. He lived for 60 years, was a pastor, wrote numerous books, and was a contemporary of G. Campbell Morgan. If you read anything Jowett has written, you'll never forget his words, and you'll be deeply influenced. He's my new favorite author. As a result, I have been on a hunt to track down as many of his books as I can find. I just read this morning in The Best Of John Henry Jowett edited by Gerald Kennedy, the following: "The God of peace shall be with you. And that is everything. If the King is present at the table, a crust is a feast. If the Lord is on the battlefield, then amid all the surrounding turbulence there is a centre of peace. When the God of peace is in the life there is a chamber of which the sound of warfare never comes. A motorist said to me the other day: 'The most tempestuous storm never gets into my engine.' And so it is when the Lord is with us. The real dynamics of the life are unimpaired. And what matter it if the world bruises my skin or denies me transient comforts, if my heart is sound, and if all that is within me is kept in the smooth activity of perfect peace." Such good words from Jowett. I'll share more in the days to come from some of my other books. I surely can relate to what he has said here and can say unequivocally that one can experience the peace of God even in the midst of the turbulence of life circumstances. Thank you JH Jowett for writing it out in a way that speaks to me today.

Burning The Midnight Oil

What a challenge it is to live in this day and age. At least for me. There are so many resources available that can be applied to ministry. It boggles the mind. I just finished redesigning the Quiet Time Ministries Online website, formatting a Message Board, and updating a shopping cart. I did it in the middle of the night during a time I couldn't sleep. I thank the Lord that He gave me the ability to even do it. That's a miracle in itself IMHO. I laugh when I think about how terrified I was about computers in the beginning. My husband had to teach me how to use WordPerfect, turn the computer on and off, and how to print documents. He taught me the basics. Then, when my Dad showed me the internet many years ago, that's when I really got interested. I realized that the Lord was at work on the internet and I could reach thousands of people by designing a website. So, I walked into a software store in Phoenix and asked the salesperson to show me what to buy. I got Corel WebDesigner (now out of print) and Paint Shop Pro. I taught myself those two computer programs and launched my website. It's funny to me now because I had no concept of what ftp was or html. After I used Corel WebDesigner I realized I needed something much more sophistocated. After a lot of research I bought NetObjects Fusion 3.0 (now it's in version 8). That was a great decision - I love NOF for web design. And I love designing websites. I guess it's the knowledge that it's not for me, but for others. I can literally pass on what God is teaching me to others. Wow - it's incredible. Well, it's really late. Or maybe I should say early - since it's about 2:30 in the morning. I have been burning the midnight oil this night, but now I'll sleep well knowing I've gotten this big job of web design completed. And I'm excited about this new form of expression - the blog - a virtual journal. It's going to be fun to share what I'm learning and also the things that God has me involved in.