All Articles For Lubbers, MaryBeth

Mrs. Lubbers is a wife and mother in the Protestant Reformed Church of South Holland, Illinois. For I know [Abraham], that he will command his children and his household after him….  Genesis 18:19 I didn’t ever really know my grandparents, my paternal grandfather not at all. Life was hard on the farm and Charles died at the age of 62. But I’m told this taciturn fellow was a charter member of Hope Church, Grand Rapids. I have peered closely at the old brown snapshot of him for some small clue to explain my own looks and personality and that of...

Mrs. Lubbers is a teacher in South Holland Protestant Reformed School. Interspersed in her article are the expressions of some of her students regarding their favorite Psalter numbers. “Is any merry? let him sing psalms.” James 5:13 Is your family happy? Do you talk together, work together, play together? Do you sing together, in your home, as a family? Is singing together an expression of your happiness? Is singing Psalms together one of your merriest occasions? There are, in the Scriptures, literally hundreds of references to making music unto the lord. “Sing praises to the Lord, which dwelleth in Zion:...

Mrs. Lubbers is a wife and mother in the Protestant Reformed Church of South Holland, Illinois. Far, far away in the country of Denmark there is a wonderful playground for children. This playground is a “junk playground.” All kinds of scraps are brought here and children are encouraged to build things out of pieces of wood and other odds and ends with their own tools. A child such as you may go to this playground any time and begin building a cabin or a fort or an airplane or a boat. There is no limit to the things you can...

Mrs. Lubbers is a wife and mother in the Protestant Reformed Church of South Holland, Illinois. “Called unto liberty” Galatians 5:13 Ranking right up there on any American’s priority list is freedom. Personal freedom, religious freedom, and societal freedom are considered to be not only a privilege but the right of each and every one of us. Our nation was forged on the anvil of freedom. In an eloquent statement, memorized by schoolchildren throughout this land, the Declaration of Independence reads: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their...

Mrs. Lubbers is a wife and mother in the Protestant Reformed Church of South Holland, Illinois. “But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned….” II Timothy 3:14 Paul is writing to Timothy. Preachers are admonishing parishioners. Parents are talking to their children. Pupils are being encouraged by teachers. “But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned . . . .” Not all children do, you know. Many infants carried to the baptism font later turn their backs on what they have learned. The tears of parents drop continually for the children who have despised their spiritual...

Mrs. Lubbers is a wife and mother in the Protestant Reformed Church of South Holland, Illinois. “Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord…” I Peter 3:6 Wife. Strife. Not many words rhyme with wife; this is one of the ugly ones which does. With divorce in America at an all-time high (one out of four marriages ends in divorce), many today would also agree that this word most aptly describes their marriages. Irreconcilable differences. Enmity in the home. War in the bedroom. Strife. And what more can one expect when a daughter of Eve marries a son of Adam?...

Mrs. Lubbers is a wife and mother in the Protestant Reformed Church of South Holland, Illinois. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another… I John 1:7 The family – husband, wife, and children – constitutes the very closest relationship on this earth that is possible. In contrast to the trouble and turmoil of our age, the family unit is a little, tightly-sealed kingdom. Within its walls there is fellowship and nourishment as each member serves the welfare of the other. And although Satan launches fierce attack at this...

Mrs. Lubbers is a wife and mother in the Protestant Reformed Church of South Holland, Illinois. He giveth snow like wool….” Psalm 147:16 I love snow. I love its texture, its freshness, its coldness, and its symbolism. I love the pristine whiteness of new-fallen snow, its dazzling brightness chiseling little dagger points into my eyes, the kind of snow that we experienced last month in the Midwest. And while others button up their coat collars ever more securely and shield their faces with the warmest of woolen mufflers, I love the gentle touch, or biting sting, of snowflakes on my...

Mrs. Lubbers is a wife and mother in the Protestant Reformed Church of South Holland, Illinois. “Feed my lambs, Feed my sheep.” John 21 “I am persuaded that the use of a good Catechism in all our families will be a great safeguard against the increasing errors of the times. Those who use it in their families or classes must labor to explain the sense; but the words should be carefully learned by heart, for they will be understood better as years pass.” C.H. SpurgeonIn just a few weeks, catechism classes for the instruction of children in the Protestant Reformed...

Mrs. Lubbers is a wife ad mother in the Protestant Reformed Church of South Holland, Illinois. Even though you are not a wife or mother, a husband or father; even though your parents may be old or have already died; even though you may not have a brother or a sister, there is a relationship in the Reformed family which can be yours. It is that of friend. How precious is a friend. How blessed for you if you have a close friend. Birth gives us our relatives, but we are allowed to choose our friends. Nor does having a...