On Our Wall (2)

Dave of Neco Dracones guessed it! Our other Van Gogh print is The Sunflowers (1888). We always have sunflowers in our garden and bring cuttings in our house throughout the late summer and into the fall. Sunflowers, as my wife puts it, "are just so happy!"

Coincidentally, this is why Van Gogh painted them. After a long depression, he and his friend, Gauguin moved into his Yellow House in Arles. His depression lifted and Van Gogh painted a series of four sunflower paintings, the one shown here (and on our wall) is his most famous.

It is nice to have sunflowers in the house all year long.

Book Plug: Reforming Marriage

And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma (Ephesians 5:2)

How would you describe the spiritual aroma of your home?

Thus begins Doug Wilson's introduction to his book, Reforming Marriage, in my opinion the best and most challenging book on marriage that I have read- it is not for the faint of heart. I especially recommend it for men, as Wilson calls men as men to be responsible for their marriages:

The text noted above says that when Christians walk in love they are imitating Christ, and the sacrifice of Christ is a pleasant aroma to God. Similarly, a Christ-like home atmosphere produces this sort of aroma before God and consequently before man... Where should this aroma originate? Jesus taught us, with regard to individuals, that cups must be cleaned from the inside out.If we apply this principle to the home, we should see that the "inside" of a family is, of course, the relationship between husband and wife, as they self consciously imitate the intimate relationship between Christ and the church... The health of all other relationships in the home depends upon the health of this relationship, and the key is found in how the husband is treating his wife.

As I mentioned, this is good stuff. I will be putting up more excerpts from this book in the coming weeks. This is just one of many great books on the family Canon Press has published. I hope you check them out.