Insights on Revelation

Posted on August 12, 2026 by Barbara Harper

The book of Revelation can be daunting to read, with all its symbolism and strange experiences. I used Charles Swindoll’s Insights on Revelation as a companion this time through the book and found it quite helpful.

Swindoll says this book is a “mile-high” view of Revelation. He goes into more detail than a mere overview, but mainly hits the high points.

The Greek word for “Revelation” is apokalypsis, form which we get our word apocalypse. Today, apocalypse conveys the meaning of a massive, end-of-the-world-type battle. Though Revelation tells of the final, victorious battle between good and evil, the word actually means an unveiling. This is an unveiling of the future, but even more so, and unveiling of the true King.

Revelation was written by the apostle John, brother of James. He was an old man now, living in exile on the island of Patmos, when he was caught up to heaven and told to write what he saw.

First he is told to write seven letters to then-existing local churches. Swindoll calls these a type of performance review. Each church is told what they did right, what they’re doing wrong, and how God wants them to respond. The message to each church has much to say to us today as well.

Then John sees several visions of things to come, including the reign of the Antichrist during seven years of what we call the Tribulation, leading to the final judgments of mankind, the resurrection of all from the dead, and the crowning of Jesus Christ as the King of the universe, with all those who believed on Him through the ages coming to live with Him in His kingdom.

Revelation pronounces a blessing on those who read and obey it: “The one who reads this is blessed, and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep what is written in it are blessed, because the time is near!” (Revelation 1:3, HCSB). The blessing is repeated near the end of the book: “And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book” (Revelation 22:7, ESV).

Swindoll emphasizes that we may not understand everything in the book–even John didn’t understand everything he wrote. But there is still much we can glean and be blessed by. He says careful observation of what the text says, paying attention to the context within Revelation, and bringing in what we know from other parts of the Bible help us understand it better. He says, “The book of Revelation wasn’t written to confuse, frighten, or entertain. Rather, it was given to believers to read, understand, and apply.”

There are groups of people with very strong opinions on some questions in Revelation: whether there will be a “Rapture” of the church, a catching away of Christians; when that will occur (before, in the middle of, or after the tribulation–seven years of trouble); whether there will be a literal millennium–a thousand year reign of Christ on Earth; or whether everything in the book is symbolic. I felt, even before this book, that these things are not worth arguing over or breaking fellowship over.

In fact, the study of Revelation can often devolve into trying to prove one’s version of these things. But a focus on these things can obscure or even miss the point. “The purpose of Revelation is to change us, not simply to inform us.” The book of Revelation gives us hope for the future, inspires us to live holy lives in light of what’s coming, and “moves us to worship God, who will ultimately triumph over evil.”

After each section, Swindoll share practical applications we can draw from the text for our lives here and now.

Some of the judgments God pours out on the unbelieving and rebellious in the end times are some of the most awful things we’ll read in the Bible. But the good news is, God has made a way to escape those judgments by believing on Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior now. The last chapter of the book contains an invitation: “The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price” (Revelation 22:17).

My Lady Ludlow

Posted on August 11, 2026 by Barbara Harper

My Lady Ludlow by Elizabeth Gaskell is a short novel–or a long novella–about an older aristocratic woman in the changing times of the late 1700s.

Her story is told by Margaret Dawson, a distant relative, now an old woman looking back on her time with Lady Ludlow. When Margaret was a teenager, her father died, leaving her mother with nine children. To help out, Lady Ludlow offered for Margaret to come stay with her, where she “did her Christian duty” by several young “gentlewomen” who were “out of means.” So Margaret traveled several hours to Lady Ludlow’s manor.

In those days, the Lord or Lady of the manor had pretty much the authority of the whole area. Lady Ludlow had a strong sense of The Way Things Should Be, based on the way things had always been. She could seem imperious and intractable, but she had a kind and generous heart.

She had frequent arguments with the young rector as well as her own steward about educating the “lower classes.” Reverend Gray wanted to open a Sunday School and then a village school, to teach doctrine and prepare young minds for the world to come. Mr. Horner, the steward, cared more about the here and now and “wanted to make every man useful and active in this world.” He had taken it upon himself to educate a bright young boy who happened to be the son of a man known for poaching. Mr. Horner thought the boy could be saved from the kind of life he was otherwise sure to grow into and possibly even come to work for the estate.

“My lady would hear of neither one or the other.” She thought the teaching of doctrine was best done by the family and church. She called reading and writing “edge-tools,” saying, “If our lower orders have these edge-tools given to them, we shall have the terrible scenes of the French Revolution acted over again in England. When I was a girl, one never heard of the rights of men, one only heard of the duties.” She thought that if the boy Mr. Horner was teaching, and others like him, learned to read and write, “his duties become complicated, and his temptations much greater, while, at the same time, he has no hereditary principles and honourable training to serve as safeguards.”

She then related a long story about friends in France who were killed during the Revolution, part of their fate hinging on a boy reading and sharing a message he should not have.

At first I wondered why Mrs. Gaskell created such a character. From what I’ve read about the author, Lady Ludlow’s views were not her views.

But, without spoiling the plot too much, Lady Ludlow gradually changes her thinking on many things. Then I realized the author was appealing to those who held the same views as Lady Ludlow, gently trying to open their eyes to other, better views.

My Lady Ludlow is one of the stories incorporated in the Cranford BBC TV series, along with the novel Cranford and another novella, Mr. Harrison’s Confessions, even though these stories don’t originally occur in the same place. The rector in the TV series is from one of the other books, so it’s sad that Rev. Gray wasn’t in the series. Mr. Horner, for some reason, is renamed Mr. Carter there. In the book, Lady Ludlow has one son remaining from her original nine, but he never appears at the manor. The TV series has him coming back as a ne’er-do-well, only interested in money, wanting to sell the estate to the railroad company. I know films can’t portray the books exactly, but when they add in their own plots, I want to say, “Go write your own books with your own characters, and don’t subvert those of others.”

Though Lady Ludlow is not as easy to like as Matty Jenkyns in Cranford, I did like the way she changed through the story.

How Bible Study Is Like Practicing Music

Posted on August 9, 2026 by Barbara Harper

The various church choirs I’ve been in over the years have followed a similar practice pattern.

With some hymns, the choir director might give us background information about the composer or the story behind the song.

Then the director has the choir sight-read the whole song. After that, he’ll take a section at a time and practice the parts with each group–sopranos, altos, tenors, and basses. Then he has us sing that section all together before going on to the next.

Once we have the parts down, we work on things like timing and dynamics (when to sing louder or softer). This involves singing either the whole song or shorter sections of it over and over.

As we practice the whole song, we often stop to go over any problem areas and smooth over any rough spots.

Even then, we’ll rehearse the complete song a few more times before singing it for the congregation. By that time, we know it pretty well. The time spent on individual parts helped the finished piece to come together.

I realized recently that Bible study works much the same way.

It’s good to read a paragraph or section of the Bible at a time, noting what we can of the context, author, and situation that led to the passage.

We might look up words we’re not sure of. One verse might remind us of something we read in another part of the Bible that we’ll then explore.

In trying to discern the author’s main point, we might look at repeated words. Is he comparing or contrasting anything? What does a “therefore” refer back to? What point is a “but” or “however” making?

After we study through the individual sentences–and sometimes the individual phrases or words in a passage–we put it all back together: we read the passage again with renewed understanding. It may feel like studying the parts takes away from the whole; but, actually, that study enhances our comprehension.We know the passage and its truths much better than we would have with a cursory reading.

Other ways learning a song in a choir is like Bible study:

A dedicated time. If we tried to learn a song without a regular time to get together and practice, we probably wouldn’t get very far. Likewise, if we don’t make a regular time in our schedule for Bible study, we’ll likely only read haphazardly, if at all.
Regular attendance. Everyone will miss choir practice occasionally due to illness or vacations. If people only drift in and out as they feel like it, they are not going to know the song as well. Once we set aside time for reading our Bibles, we need to make the commitment to show up as often as possible.
Others help us stay on track. In my earliest choir years, if I sat too near the altos or tenors, I’d find myself singing their parts. I had to position myself firmly surrounded by sopranos to stay on the right notes. It’s good to study the Bible on our own, but we need times with others as well. Joining a group Bible study or sharing what we’ve learned with a friend will not only strengthen our understanding, but will keep from drifting into misinterpretation or a wrong application.
Crossover learning. What we learn in one song often carries over into others. I didn’t have any kind of musical training when I first joined a choir, so learning the basic symbols, Latin phrases (forte, allegro, etc.), pronunciation, timing, etc. were foundational and helpful when starting new music. What we learn in studying one section of the Bible will aid us when we study other parts.

Being in a choir–or learning any type of music– might seem like work. It might even sound boring to go over one’s part again and again and to practice so many times. But we’ll never learn an instrument or song without regularly working at it. Yet that apparently mundane practice work will result in a number that’s beautiful, that ministers to others, and that gladdens our own hearts. We get much more out of it when we put time and effort into it.

Bible study might seem like work as well. We’d much rather just pick it up, read a few verses, and receive inspiration for our day. But the Bible is so much more than a spiritual pick-me-up. That everyday reading and study is where wisdom is developed, where our souls are nourished, where we come to know more about our God. We get much more out of it when we put time and effort into it.

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

Laudable Linkage

Posted on August 8, 2026 by Barbara Harper

Lots of good reads found this week:

Three Ways to Know I Am a Real Christian, HT to Challies. “It is a common question from earnest and sincere people: how can I know I am a Christian? There are all sorts of answers we might give, some probably more helpful than others. But it would make most sense to look at the scriptures and see some of the signs it would highlight. So, to that end, here are three biblical signs that you are a genuine Christian.”

I Was Helped by a Hypocrite, HT to Challies. “I’d been a believer for a year when I met Walt. He captivated a crowd when he preached. His counsel was pivotal in my life, and God used him to strengthen my young faith. But Walt turned out to be a hypocrite. After proclaiming God’s glory, he’d visit prostitutes on his way home to his wife. After his divorce, he stole another man’s wife. Walt’s downfall disoriented me. How could I be so helped by a man who was such a hypocrite?”

The God Who Suffers with Us and for Us. “Some of my most enjoyable conversations over the past two-plus decades have centered on the colossal question, ‘How can you believe in a God who allows bad things to happen to good people?’ In fact, some of my favorite convos have been with those who disagree with me over this question—not because I possess any powers of persuasion but because I’ve lived at the crossroads of suffering and faith for so long, I welcome the chance to talk about the elephant in the room (and the pain behind the question).”

Long Suffering: A Longer Look. “Dear reader, are you carrying a heavy burden that you can’t yet put down? Are you wearied by the ‘too far’ and ‘too much’? Perhaps you’ve wondered as I have—How do I keep going? How can I keep a tender heart of hope when I’m tempted to give in to the weariness, despair, and bitterness?“

Please Don’t Pray for Me, HT to Challies. What’s a parent to do when child who isn’t walking with the Lord says, “Please don’t pray for me. I don’t want your prayers.” Some good answers here.

What the Spurgeon Family Scandal Teaches Us About Failure, HT to Challies. “This unlikely ground zero for the greatest preacher of the 19th century reminds us of wonderful truths.”

“This I Call to Mind,” HT to Challies. “Our sins they are many. It is tempting to start here when we come to God in prayer. We think, sometimes, that much groveling will somehow lift us up to a place of forgiveness, that if we can just grasp the muchness of our sin, we will then grasp the muchness of God’s mercy.”

The Lie of Optimization. I had not heard of “optimization” as a buzzword until this week, where I have heard it twice. “In so many ways, improvement is a noble goal, and we should keep pursuing the better. Christians have a word for changing for the better: we call it sanctification. But sanctification means becoming more like Christ, and it has very little to do with how you wrapped the present for the baby shower or whether or not those dairy products in your fridge are organic.”

Pastoral Time Guilt, HT to Challies. Though this is written to pastors, I think that feeling of never being able to meet all the needs is also felt by parents, teachers, and others. “Our greatest problem is not that we lack time but that we often fail to steward it according to God’s purposes. We cannot add a single hour to our lives (Matt. 6:27). Instead, we are called to walk wisely, ‘making the most of the time’ (Eph. 5:15-17). Every sermon, counseling session, leadership meeting, family dinner, and unexpected interruption exists within God’s providential design. He has already prepared the good works we are to accomplish (Eph. 2:10), and there is ‘a time for every matter under heaven’ (Eccles. 3:1). Paul even connects wise stewardship of time with faithful gospel witness, urging believers to ‘walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time’ (Col. 4:5).”

From the Joy of Japan: How One Family’s Passing Stirred Thousands, HT to Challies. The impact of the deaths of a family who were on their way to serve in Japan.

Love God with All Your Imagination: A Call for Christian Storytelling, HT to the Story Warren. “Beyond offering mere childish entertainment, stories shape minds and hearts, linger in the imagination, and depict virtues that we can grasp, savor, and turn in our hands. In fact, Tolkien, the father of modern fantasy literature, believed that the best stories thrill us because they resonate with gospel truth.” (I disagree with the last sentence of a quote by Humphrey Carpenter here, but otherwise loved this article.

Within Thy circling power I stand;
On every side I find Thy hand;
Awake, asleep, at home, abroad,
I am surrounded still with God.

Isaac Watts

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on August 7, 2026 by Barbara Harper

Fridays keep coming faster than ever! I’m thankful Susanne at Living to Tell the Story started this weekly practice of pausing to count blessings.

1. A ladies’ event at church. Our church has a “Girl Talk” event periodically, with the most recent one occurring last Saturday. The topic this time was self-concept and how the Bible tells us to think about ourselves. One woman spoke about the topic, with some opportunities to ask and answer questions. Then a lunch was catered. I had a few really good conversations with different ladies afterward–not on this topic, but on others. All in all, a good morning.

2. Voting and another good conversation. Our state and local primaries this week garnered a longer line that I have ever seen at our polling place for a non-presidential election. About half-way through a line that snaked around and across a high school gym, I found out the lady behind me taught at a school where I knew a teacher. “Do you know so-and-so?” led to a conversation that was not only enjoyable, but helped the waiting time fly by.

3. Good numbers. I had a six-month appointment with my primary care doctor to discuss my lab work. I was concerned about my blood sugar, because my own readings at home had been high. But my A1C was better than last time, just a hair above “normal.” And my thyroid level is back in normal range after being too low last time.

4. Going the extra miles(s). Ladies at church were asked to make food for a back-to-school breakfast to honor teachers at our Christian school. When I signed up to bring pigs-in-a-blanket, I asked Jim if he could take them over for me, as I would have had some difficulties getting them there. He agreed to, but had forgotten he had another obligation that morning. Mittu was contributing food as well, and had also been asked to help serve, so I asked Jason, and he graciously agreed to swing by and pick them up for me.

5. An evening with Timothy and a dinner I didn’t make. Jason and Mittu had a meeting one night this week and asked if Timothy could stay with us. They offered to bring dinner as well. We just hung out in the family room and talked most of the night. Timothy played some videos of when he was little–his voice was so cute and high!

Bonus: We went to lunch with Jason, Mittu, and Timothy at our favorite food court for the first time in a long time. I tried a new Asian place which, sadly, was a disappointment. But I love a bakery there which makes “cronuts”–a cross between croissants and donuts. The regular ones are about four or five inches square, but they also make mini ones, about two by two inches. I like the smaller ones because I like all their flavors–chocolate glazed, glazed, and cinnamon and sugar–and this way I can get more than one. And, more importantly, we enjoyed catching up with the kids.

How was your week?

Into a Golden Era

Posted on August 6, 2026 by Barbara Harper

Into a Golden Era is the seventh novel in Gabrielle Meyer’s Time Crossers series, where the main character lives in two different years and must decide by her 25th birthday which timeline to remain in.

Ally is a well-known actress in 1929 California during the “Golden Age” of Hollywood. Her father owns a small movie studio, but it’s on the verge on bankruptcy. Bigger studios like that of L. B. Mayer are absorbing the smaller ones. Ally’s family is throwing everything into making one last film, Little Women, with Ally in the starring role as Jo.

Mayer approaches Ally’s father with a proposition. One of Mayer’s most famous stars, Spencer Hayes, has gotten into some trouble due to bad decisions and alliances. Mayer will loan Spencer to Ally’s father for the role of Laurie in the Little Women film if Ally will agree to date Spencer publicly. Mayer’s thought is that Ally’s good reputation will rub off on Spencer, making his latest scandal ebb away.

Ally’s father is afraid the opposite will happen, that Spencer’s bad reputation will rub off on Ally. But Ally agrees to the arrangement in order to save the family studio.

In 1849, Ally and her father and sister have just arrived in San Francisco. Her father had attempted to help Bronson Alcott, father of Louisa May, start a school in Massachusetts. When that failed, Ally persuaded him to travel out west and try to start a school there. Secretly, she wants to use her knowledge of the Gold Rush era from her 1929 path to help her father find gold, so he and her sister would be taken care of if she chooses to remain in 1929.

However, her father falls gravely ill en route. They are taken to a boarding house where Ally agrees to help in the kitchen to support them. However, she is stunned to learn that the owner of the boarding house is an infamous gangster. According to a recent popular movie in 1929, a fire is supposed to start in that very boarding house the next day, setting off a series of fires throughout the city. Ally isn’t supposed to knowingly change history in either timeline: if she does, she’ll forfeit her life in that timeline. But she can’t let the building burn down, not when her father is too ill to be moved.

To be honest, the Gold Rush era is about my least favorite time period in history to read about. But I did find both timelines interesting. Ally has difficult decisions to make in both timelines. She learns that there is often more to a person’s life that what appears on the surface.

Gabrielle always manages to put a little different twist on the time crossing scenario into each story. But I felt that in this book and the last one, there were a few too many time crossers in the story. If I remember correctly, in the first book, there were very few. Now it seems just a little too convenient that there are so many who turn up just at the right time to help out.

I’m still enjoying the series, though. There are enough hints about the next story in this one that I am already looking forward to it.

C. S. Lewis’ Letters to an American Lady.

Posted on August 5, 2026 by Barbara Harper

C. S. Lewis was a prolific letter-writer. Just the third volume of his collected letters covering the last thirteen years of his life is over 6000 pages.

Yet Lewis often felt burdened by the volume of letters he needed to write. He even asked friends not to write to him at Christmastime because he heard from so many people then, answering their correspondence became almost impossible.

Clyde S. Kilby says in his preface of Lewis’ Letters to an American Lady that Lewis said “one essential of the happy life is ‘ that a man would have almost no mail and never dread the postman’s knock.'” Yet he wrote because he “believed taking time out to advise or encourage another Christian was both a humbling of one’s talents before the Lord and also as much the work of the Holy Spirit as producing a book” and “one’s days and his talents are given him not for private expenditure but to be used in all lowliness within the will of God. Though the flesh abhorred it, he mortified the flesh.”

The American lady this collection of letters was written to is unnamed, by her request. After Lewis’ death, she donated his letters to Wheaton College. She was a widow and a “southern aristocrat” who “loves to talk and speaks well.” She also wrote “reviews articles, poems, and stories.” She had fallen upon hard times financially as well as family problems and, in the end, various health issues.

Her letters to Lewis are not printed here, but her first seems to have praised him for his books. He writes that he would have to “be either of angelic humility or diabolical pride not to be pleased at all the things you say about my books.” She must have shared some of her troubles with him, because he assures her of his sympathy and prayers.

Their correspondence goes on to include over a hundred letters. His tone is always cordial, though at times he says he can only write “a pen scratch” because of busyness or illness.

She writes that she has converted to Catholicism. He says that path is not for him, but he did not want their correspondence to be controversial. He was happy that her “faith and joy are so obviously increased.”

Some of his notes are sprinkled with humor:

About sleep: do you find that the great secret (if one can do it) is not to care whether you sleep? Sleep is a jade who scorns her suitors but woos her scorners.

As for wrinkles—pshaw! Why shouldn’t we have wrinkles? Honorable insignia of long service in this warfare.

Over the thirteen years they wrote to each other, we see glimpses of his personal life and what books he was working at the time. His marriage to Joy and her death took place in this time period. But most of the letters focus on encouraging her in her troubles.

Some of the quotes that stood out to me, some of which are well-known:

How little people know who think that holiness is dull. When one meets the real thing (and perhaps, like you, I have met it only once) it is irresistible. If even 10% of the world’s population had it, would not the whole world be converted and happy before a year’s end?

(Concerning someone she had a problem with) I mustn’t encourage you to go on thinking about her: that, after all, is almost the greatest evil nasty people can do us—to become an obsession, to haunt our minds. A brief prayer for them, and then away to other subjects, is the thing, if one can only stick to it.

I suppose the only way with thorns in the flesh (until one can get them out) is not to press on the place where they are embedded; i.e. to stop one’s thoughts (firmly but gently).

Your faith is a support to me as well as to yourself.

Remember one is given strength to bear what happens to one, but not the 100 and 1 different things that might happen.

As for the bug-bear of Old Peoples’ Homes, remember that our ignorance works both ways. Just as some of the things we have longed and hoped for turn out to be dust and ashes when we get them, so the things we have most dreaded sometimes turn out to be quite nice. If you ever do have to go to a Home, Christ will be there just as much as in any other place.

Re some of their health problems:

Not that you and I have now much reason to rejoice in having bodies! Like old automobiles, aren’t they? where all sorts of apparently different things keep going wrong, but what they add up to is the plain fact that the machine is wearing out. Well, it was not meant to last forever. Still, I have a kindly feeling for the old rattle-trap. Through it God showed me that whole side of His beauty which is embodied in colour, sound, smell and size. No doubt it has often led me astray: but not half so often, I suspect, as my soul has led it astray.

Pain is terrible, but surely you need not have fear as well? Can you not see death as the friend and deliverer? It means stripping off that body which is tormenting you: like taking off a hairshirt or getting out of a dungeon. What is there to be afraid of?

Has this world been so kind to you that you should leave it with regret? There are better things ahead than any we leave behind.

Remember, tho’ we struggle against things because we are afraid of them, it is often the other way round—we get afraid because we struggle. Are you struggling, resisting? Don’t you think Our Lord says to you “Peace, child, peace. Relax. Let go. Underneath are the everlasting arms. Let go, I will catch you. Do you trust me so little?”

Of course this may not be the end. Then make it a good rehearsal.

Though I’ve had this book in my Kindle collection for several years, it wasn’t on my radar to read any time soon. But in looking for a particular quote (the one about having better things ahead than behind), I began to read that in context, then read some more, then started at the beginning. Though I read some of these in the last volume of his collected letters, it was good to have all his correspondence to one person put together.

I’m so thankful this lady shared Lewis’ letters with the public. They were an encouragement to me, as I am sure they have been to many others.

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

(Updated to add: someone thought this book contained letters written to Joy Davidman, who later became Lewis’ wife. No, these letters are to someone named Mary. I don’t think Lewis knew Joy yet when he first started writing to “Mary.” None of his letters to Joy are in the larger volume of collected letters.)

Cranford

Posted on August 4, 2026 by Barbara Harper

Cranford was originally written as a series of vignettes by Elizabeth Gaskell in Charles Dickens’ magazine, Household Words. She started out with just two, but he encouraged her to write more. Afterward, with a little alteration, the pieces were formed into a book.

As such, there’s not an overarching plot through the book. The stories take place in a fictional small town whose residents are mostly older single women living in genteel poverty. They live by a strict code–“calling” is only for three hours a day and only for fifteen minutes. They are constantly evaluating situations by class–how to dress for this person’s get-together, whether it was right for that person to marry this one, and so forth.

The two main characters are sisters, Deborah and Matty Jenkyns, daughters of the former rector. Deborah is older and very strict in her views of what is acceptable and what is not. Yet she surprises others by breaking protocol sometimes in her compassion for others. She leads the way in new thinking that class is not always the basis for one’s actions.

When she passes away early on in the book, the more timid Matty has to come into her own.

The stories are told through a Miss Smith, who comes to visit often. This is what I would call a quiet book. The characters experience ups and downs, joys and sorrows. Gentle humor is sprinkled throughout.

When a man with two daughters moves into the neighborhood, the dynamics of society are shaken up a bit, especially as he doesn’t know that things like one’s financial situation are not discussed in public. A series of robberies take place just as a magician comes to town, making him a suspect. Matty comes across a former suitor she’d had to turn down decades ago.

This Kindle version of the book has a couple of interesting appendices, one on the historical context of the book, and one on Gaskell’s life. Many of the stories are based on Gaskell’s memories of living in Knutsford (including one tale of a cow dressed in flannel. She told someone she scaled down some descriptions a bit, thinking no one would believe the full version). The former article says, “The tale of Cranford, then, is the tale of England in miniature: a society caught in a moment of profound transition, learning to reconcile its cherished traditions with the irresistible tide of a new and unfamiliar age.” It also says Gaskell captured the “quiet comedies and secret sorrows of her characters.”

Gaskell’s family were Unitarians, and she married a Unitarian minister. The article describes them as “Dissenters,” though I had not associated that word with Unitarianism. The article says, “This progressive faith emphasized reason, social responsibility, and individual conscience over rigid doctrine” and “shaped her entire worldview. It instilled in her a powerful sense of moral duty and a deep-seated empathy for those on the margins of society.” I would not agree with many religious aspects of Unitarianism (they deny the doctrine of the Trinity, for one thing), but that does not come up much in the book. The emphasis here is more on “social responsibility.”

I first read Cranford about fifteen years ago, and thought it merely “pleasant.” But then I started watching the BBC series, which combines stories from this book as well as My Lady Ludlow and Mr. Harrison’s Confessions. That renewed my interest in the characters, so I went through the book again, this time via audiobook superbly read by Prunella Scales.

Though I like others of Gaskell’s books better, I liked this one much more than I did on my first reading.

Devotional Principles and Practices

Posted on August 2, 2026 by Barbara Harper

A few weeks ago, two different friends asked me what I do for my devotional time. Reading the Bible and praying is also known as quiet time, QT, devos, and who knows how many other names.

I felt a little awkward as I shared, because I certainly don’t hold myself up as a perfect example of what a quiet time should look like. And I felt I needed to share how and why I got to the practices I use now. One of my themes is that there is not one right devotional routine.

Still, I remember as a young Christian, it helped to have some practical advice rather than a general admonition to read my Bible.

After communicating with these friends, I began to think about sharing what I told them in a blog post. Instead, I decided to share some general devotional principles I’ve learned along the way.

Read with a plan. God can speak to us when we open the Bible at random. But, generally, we get more from a passage when we read it in context. I’m a big proponent of reading through a book of the Bible at a time. We wouldn’t read line two of paragraph one of a friend’s letter one day, then line four from paragraph five the next. We’d read the whole thing, then probably go back and reread certain parts.

I was also taught early on to read the whole Bible. God says it is all inspired by Him, so we should read it all. If we just floated in and out of our favorite passages, we’d miss some buried nuggets in unexpected places. Plus, some parts of the Bible help us understand other parts.

When I first became a Christian as a teenager, my church advocated reading the Bible through in a year. I am so thankful for that, both because I needed the structure and because that practice grounded me spiritually more than anything else.

But I found that I didn’t have time to stop and ponder what I was reading because then I’d get behind on my schedule. And once I fell behind, it was very hard to catch up.

There are multiple Bible reading plans on the Internet and in various Bible apps (a good variety is here). There are plans to read the Bible in 90 days, a year, or two, or five. Some plans incorporate readings from various parts of the Bible; some focus on a book at the time. Some plans go straight through from Genesis to Revelation (as I did for years). Others go back and forth between the Old and New Testaments (as I do now). The key is to find one that works for you. However, you’re not tied to that plan for the rest of your life–you can try different things.

Sometimes you’ll read a longer passage as an overview: other times you’ll study a smaller passage more in depth. I share ways to do both here: Ways to Both Read and Study the Bible.

If a certain verse or phrase or principle in a Bible passage piques our interest, it’s perfectly acceptable to stop and investigate it more fully. Or, alternatively, we could make a note of that verse or thought and come back to it later..

Read purposefully, not passively. One problem with using any kind of plan to read the Bible is that we can fall into a “getting the assignment done” mentality. We work through our routine and then check “Bible reading” off for the day.

But what is our purpose for reading the Bible? To get to know our God better and learn how He wants us to live.

When I first started reading the Bible, I was advised to underline promises with blue, warnings with red, commands with black, and salvation verses with yellow. That was helpful as far as it went. But that focus might cause us to miss the overall theme of a passage.

One of my pastors used to say the Bible is “divinely brief.” The Bible says God’s thoughts are more than the sand. Of all the multitudes of things God could have shared with us, He chose what is in the Bible. So everything there has a purpose.

As we read a passage, we can ask a number of questions. Who is saying what to whom? What is the line of thought developed in the passage? What does this teach me about God? Is the passage prescriptive, telling me something to do, like forgive others, don’t lie, etc.? Or is it descriptive, telling me what people did that I am supposed to learn from but not copy, like polygamy in the OT? What words are repeated? What are connecting words connecting?

Read prayerfully. The psalmist prayed, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law” (Psalm 119:18). Jesus opened people’s minds to understand the Scriptures (Luke 24:45). We can’t understand the Bible in our own human reasoning. We need God to unfold it for us.

We often think of prayer as a separate part of devotions, before or after Bible reading. But we can pray while we read. When we come across verses of praise, we can express them to God right then. When we’re convicted by what we’re reading, we can confess that to God immediately, ask His forgiveness and His help to change.

Read thoughtfully. Paul wrote to Timothy, “Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything” (2 Timothy 2:7). God told Joshua to meditate on His law day and night (Joshua 1:8), and we’re told the righteous person does just that (Psalm 1:2).

Biblical meditation isn’t emptying the mind: it’s turning the passage over in our thoughts, looking at it from all angles.

Sometimes part of our devotional routine might be staring out the window, thinking.

Read with aids. A good study Bible made a great difference in my understanding, giving background information, the meaning of the original Greek or Hebrew words, the different interpretations of a passage. Trusted study aids like Warren Wiesrbe’s With the Word or “Be” series are helpful. I’ve also used some of the Good Book Company’s “For You” books: Isaiah for You, etc. I’ve just started one of Charles Swindoll’s Insights series on books of the Bible. There are multitudes of Bible study aids and commentaries: perhaps ask your pastor or a good friend for recommendations.

Studying the Bible with a friend or group can be helpful, too. Discussing what we’ve read helps reinforce it. Often, someone will bring out a point we missed.

Read obediently. God tells us not just to hear but to do His Word (James 1:22). After (or sometimes during) reading the Bible, we need to ask what our response should be. Sometimes we need a definite outward response: we may need to apologize to someone, change our viewing habits, stop wasting money on certain purchases, etc. But sometimes the response is inward: I need God’s grace to respond to that person with love rather than irritation; I need to change my attitude toward a job I’m not looking forward to; I need to be grateful rather than complaining.

Remember there is no perfect plan. No matter what routine we use, there will be days we wrestle with sleepiness, distractions, or boredom. We have to battle our flesh as well as the enemy of our souls who would like to keep us from God’s Word.

Every time in the Word will not give us blinding flashes of insight. Every time in the Bible will not leave us feeling warm and cozy. Sometimes God will speak to a specific need or answer a particular question for us from His Word. But most often, it’s the daily intake of spiritual food that nourishes us and sustains us. It’s like physical food. Some meals are a Thanksgiving feast. Others are less memorable, but even the tuna casserole and peanut butter sandwiches nourish us.

Sometimes we can get so caught up in our devotional routines that we forget why we’re actually having them. We feel good when we’ve accomplished everything on our list and vaguely uneasy when we haven’t. But the point of a devotional time isn’t just to work through a routine: it’s to meet with God. That can happen over one verse or thirty if we have a heart that wants to meet with and get to know our God better.

There’s so much more that could be said–in fact, the book I am *trying* to make time to write is on this very subject.

If you’d like a peek into what some other women do for their devotional time, Christa Threllfall did a series of interviews on that topic here.

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

Laudable Linkage

Posted on August 1, 2026 by Barbara Harper

Here’s some of the good reading found this week:

How to Hold onto Faith When You Feel Disappointed. “Do you sometimes feel as if life and maybe even God has disappointed you? We picture ideal scenarios for our lives, and sometimes (usually) our reality falls short of our hopes and expectations. Sometimes it’s our fault, and other times, despite our best efforts, life goes sideways. We end up feeling hurt, disappointed, and even betrayed by God. We know He is all powerful and can order the circumstances of our lives any way He chooses, so why this?”

You Still Have to Eat on Vacation, HT to Challies. “When life takes a turn, or when we leave town, most of us tend to push Bible reading aside until our circumstances return to normal. If we’re not able to sit down at our kitchen table for a quiet hour of in-depth study, we don’t even crack open God’s Word. Somewhere along the way, we’ve told ourselves that if we’re not able to feast, we shouldn’t eat at all, not realizing that a handful of almonds in the middle of the night is far better than allowing our souls to starve.”

When You’re Looking for Substantial Devotional Reading. I don’t usually put reviews here to books I have not read, because I don’t want to recommend something I haven’t checked myself. But I love what Michele wrote in the first few paragraphs here about devotions and devotionals. (Plus, I have read one other book from each of the authors she mentioned, so I think they are probably all right.)

A Liturgy with a Pause–for the Killing, HT to Challies.”Picture this scene: A person is sitting in a room. A member of the clergy is with them, offering them communion, with the classic formulation: “The body of Christ (given for you). The blood of Christ (shed for you).” Some other prayers are said. A few moments later, a nurse or doctor administers a lethal injection, killing the person. Is this a scene from some disturbing dystopian movie? Sadly, no—it is the disturbing reality of the state of the Anglican Church of Canada.”

10 Reasons to Avoid Sexual Immorality. “Easy sex will keep you from being wise. To make this point, Solomon lists ten consequences of sexual immorality in Proverbs 6:24-35. Before reading my list, I urge you to read the passage yourself and see how many consequences you can observe. Perhaps making your own list will help you to remember these things when you face temptation.”

We Weren’t Always This Way. “I’ve been surprised by the friendships that begin right now, the ones where we step into each other’s lives with decades behind us already—decades in which we did not know each other. Decades we can describe only in summaries and stories. We bring all these years with us into the conversation, yet we sometimes forget that not everyone was alongside us for them.”

Better than Me, HT to Challies. “What is my greatest weakness? A few weeks go by and I know the answer. As I sit on the couch and scroll through my phone I notice an icky feeling bubble to the surface. Social media used to provide inspiration, but it now breeds comparison. I compare myself to others and my past self, able to do more—and do it faster, better, and stronger. I used to fit into smaller clothes, do more jumping jacks, or stay up later. Despite my accomplishments, there’s always someone who performs better.”

What Is a Woman? The Question Our World Is Afraid to Answer. “Between ‘be exactly like a man,’ ‘fit this narrow mold,’ and ‘make it up as you go’—you’re caught in the crossfire. The confusion is real. The answers seem impossible to find. Everyone claims to know the answer, but their answers conflict. But what if, among all these competing voices, there’s one you can actually trust? . . . There is. It’s the voice of the One who made you.”

When Christians Don’t Get Along: How the Gospel Calls Us to Unity. “I don’t know about you, but the thought of being personally named in Scripture because you were causing division in the church is a horrifying prospect. Yet this passage also gives us a powerful reminder: the Lord cares deeply about the unity of His Church, and the gospel is far greater than our differences, preferences, or personal agendas.”

Long-View vs. Short-view Leadership. “Call me simple, but my capacity to absorb ‘revolutionary tips for transformative change’ has a pretty low threshold. And I don’t have much patience with Christian resources that seem to be driven more by marketing than by Scripture. That said, God has graciously allowed me to stumble on some life-altering principles along the way. I call it Long View Leadership.”

No Christian can afford to neglect his Bible. If he does, he will be stunted and dwarfed in his spiritual life, and he will be a prey to doubts and fears, and may be carried away by every wind of doctrine.–Harry A. Ironside