Laudable Linkage

Posted on October 10, 2026 by Barbara Harper

Some of the good reads found this week:

The Mercy of God When Formulas Fail, HT to the Story Warren. “There is certainly personal responsibility for every Christian; disciplines that must be present for growth to occur. Yet a problem arises when those disciplines become the formula for how we think God ought to respond. . . The problem with this formulaic faith is that it boils faith down to a sum of actions as the key to unlocking results. Yet the goal of faith is not that our desires might be fulfilled, but rather it is knowing Christ and the power of his resurrection, sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in death (Phil. 3:10). It is knowing Christ and making him known; experiencing more of him and becoming like him.”

4 Ways to Let Go of Perfectionism in Your Quiet Time. “I used to think my quiet time only ‘counted’ if it was done the right way—uninterrupted, organized, meaningful, and preferably with something underlined in matching ink. But more often than not, I walked away feeling like I didn’t have time to do it like that. The house offered me a different equation: clean it well and I could see the results. Order the mess and everything would feel right again. But my quiet time with God didn’t work that way. I often didn’t see immediate results. No visible proof I had done it ‘well.’ No checklist to confirm I had gotten it right.”

Being Filled with the Spirit. “Few ideas in the Christian life leave believers as confused as being filled with the Holy Spirit. Some picture a mystical event that lands on a lucky few. Others claim it is a technique to be mastered. The apostle Paul gives a simple command in Ephesians 5, and the answer turns out to be more practical than either picture. The people who are filled with the Spirit are the people who are spiritually active and alive.”

No, Not All Sin Is the Same in God’s Eyes. “Perhaps you have heard a well-intentioned believer say, ‘All sin is the same in God’s eyes.’ . . . But as with every spiritual sounding mantra that isn’t actually a verse, we must ask if it lines up with what Scripture teaches. A careful study of the Bible will show us that, contrary to what many believe, not all sin is the same in God’s eyes. And rather than being a discouragement, the truth ends up being more helpful, encouraging, and fair than we might at first realize.”

Shame vs. Conviction: What’s the Difference? “At first glance, the two may look like twins, and the sinking feeling each produces may leave you thinking they’re synonymous. Don’t fall into that trap. One leads to freedom, while the other will leave you shackled in dark despair.”

Is Jesus the Social Justice Champion of Progressives? HT to Challies. “Progressive Christians often present a truncated portrait of Jesus, highlighting the parts of his ministry that fit their emphasis on social reform. In their view, Jesus was a social justice warrior who stood in solidarity with the poor and marginalized, challenged unjust systems and structures of power, and called his followers to pursue love, inclusion, and liberation.”

What I’ve Learned in the Cancer School of Wisdom, HT to Challies. “Drawing from his own cancer ordeal, John Piper has urged many of us not to ‘waste our cancer’ but rather to redeem it for good. I’m trying to do that. By the grace of God and, I dare to hope, for the glory of God, I truly want to live well and then to die even better. God’s Word taught me—long before my diagnosis—to live life and walk wisely, as if on the edge of eternity, and to avoid complacency and presumption by keeping my mortality in mind.”

Some Marriage Advice: Just Shut Up, HT to Challies. This is good for all conversations! I especially liked the imagery about the furnace. “Did you know that you don’t actually have to say every thought that comes into your mind? You can actually take a thought, examine it, and throw it away. Our minds are fickle. We often think things that are mean, rude, unkind, and downright untrue. It is so important that before these thoughts make it out of our mouths that we sift it through the sieve of God’s word.”

How You Handle Criticism Is a Test of Your Humility. HT to Challies. “Your character will grow in direct proportion to your willingness to accept correction. It will also make you a better Bible student and a better Christian because frequently when you read the Bible, the words will be a form of criticism, and the Holy Spirit speaks through that criticism. If you are defensive and not open to criticism, you will not have a good walk with God.”

The Problem with So Much More: A Critique and Apology, by the Authors, HT to Challies. I have not finished reading this whole piece, so it’s unusual for me to share it yet. I had never heard of the book, So Much More: The Remarkable Influence of Visionary Daughters on the Kingdom of God by Anna and Elizabeth Botkin. But I had heard of their concept that young women should stay home under their father’s influence rather than go to college, get a job, or go on missions trips. Many years ago, before Facebook, before message boards, there were subscriber lists for different subjects. Communication was by email and everyone who was accepted to the list got every email from every other member, all on the topic of the group. This group was made up of Christian moms, and my kids were around 3-12 then. I knew I didn’t hold to all the practices of the group, but I felt there was enough we were agreed upon that we could have some good fellowship. One day I shared some blessing from my college years and was told they didn’t believe in young women going to college. I had never heard that before and was incredulous. I tried to share, in what I thought was a gracious way, how God used a Christian college in my life. I was removed from their list. I found out later a lot of their teaching came from Bill Gothard.

What amazes me hearing now about this book is that it was written “by two unknown teenagers with no theological training or life experience” and yet “became the manifesto of the burgeoning ‘Stay at Home Daughter’ movement.”

The authors now say “with better hermeneutics and a better understanding of church history and historic theology . . . [we] realized our entire case was exegetically hollow. And that the life we had given up so much to live, and worst of all had called others to live, was built on a theological house of cards.” They are not deconstructing their entire faith, but they realized they were wrong on this issue and explain why.

Inside a Gilded Age Mansion, HT to Challies. This 11 1/2 minute video by Architectural Digest shows details of the Elms, a Gilded Age Mansion in Newport, Rhode Island. Some of the architectural tricks are amazing.

“Christians that shine by reflecting the light of the Sun of righteousness, do shine with the same sort of brightness”–Jonathan Edwards

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on October 9, 2026 by Barbara Harper

Thank you so much for your kind words, encouragement, and prayers regarding my post about being in the hospital with cellulitis. I’m still in the hospital, but there’s hope of going home today. The doctor will decide today whether I need more IV antibiotics or whether I can go home with oral ones. Much as I’d like to get home, I don’t want to leave too soon and end up back here. (Update: I am home now!)

I wasn’t sure earlier this week whether I’d have a FFF post or not–partly because I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to around all the hospital disruptions, partly because, frankly, I was a little down. But there are always blessings, always something to be grateful for. So I’m sharing today with you all and Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.

1. Improvement, though it has been slow. Cellulitis is a skin infection which is serious, and a nuisance, but can be dealt with. Its biggest danger is that it can spread quickly and then cause major problems. So when this experience involved more area than ever and looked deeper and “angrier” than I’d ever had, I was alarmed. Then when it seemed stuck at the same level for so long, I was discouraged. But finally it took a turn for the better.

Also, once I accepted the situation rather than chafing against it, my spirits improved. I might as well just lean into the chance to read, doze, and rest.

2. Good nurses. Most of the nurses and technicians have been great, a couple of them exceptional. Efficiency, cheerfulness, and thoughtfulness go a long way.

3. A nice view. I happened to get a room at the end of the hall which is a little bigger and has a lot of windows.

It’s been nice in the mornings to watch the light come up over the hills.

4. Humor. While still in the ER, they wanted to do an ultrasound on my leg to make sure there wasn’t a blood clot, which can also cause redness and swelling. There wasn’t, thankfully. When they brought me back from the ultrasound, Jim said, “Boy or girl?” 🙂

5. Camping. Jim, Jason, and Timothy were supposed to go camping this week since Timothy is off for fall break. I felt bad about derailing that. So I thought it neat when Jason sent pictures that he and Timothy set up a tent on their back deck and were camping out there.

Bonus: Hearing from a long lost friend. A good friend and I eventually lost touch when we started attending another church. It wasn’t deliberate–our lives just went in different directions and we didn’t have that weekly opportunity to touch base. She’s not on Facebook but heard from another mutual friend that I was in the hospital. She dropped a flower and card at the house, which Jim found when he stopped in to pick up some things. Then she sent me a couple of texts. My heart was so warmed to hear from her again.

And that’s it for this week. I hope yours has been good.

Prayer Request

Posted on October 7, 2026 by Barbara Harper

Hello friends,

I mentioned last week having flu-like symptoms and then redness in my leg.

I’ve been in the hospital since Monday with cellulitis. When I’ve had it before, it’s covered a few inches of area. This time, it went from my toes to a few inches below my knee. Doxycycline at home wasn’t keeping it in check, so we were instructed to go to the ER Monday. We spent six hours in the ER hallway and I was finally admitted that night to start IV antibiotics the next day.

When I’ve had cellulitis before, it has looked better one hour and then worse the next. So it’s normal for it to fluctuate. But I’ve been discouraged there hasn’t been more progress. If it’s not much better soon, the doctor is going to start an even stronger antibiotic.

Some of you know that I have irritable bowel syndrome, and antibiotics wreak havoc with my intestines anyway. I’m fearful of what these stronger antibiotics are going to do, but I’m trying to just take things a day at a time.

Jim, Jason, and Timothy were supposed to go camping this week with Tim being off for fall break. I feel bad about messing up those plans, but they’ve been good sports.

So for now Jim and I are hanging out in the hospital. I was chafing over the hospital stay for a while but just decided to use the time to read, rest, doze, and do things on the computer.

Your prayers are very much appreciated that God would grant healing, wisdom, and guidance.

Anna and Her Daughters

Posted on October 7, 2026 by Barbara Harper

Anna and Her Daughters by D. E. Stevenson was written in 1958, but has something of an old-fashioned feel to it.

Anna and her three daughters live in London, and their father has just passed away. Anna’s cousin and solicitor, Andrew, has to tell them that their money is gone. They’re not penniless, but they’ll need to economize. The girls will need to get jobs.

Anna decides instead that they’ll move back to her native Scotland.

The oldest, Helen, is beautiful but self-absorbed. She can’t stand the thought of leaving London and her friends and parties.

Rosalie is quiet and has always lived in Helen’s shadow, “pretty, but not as pretty as Helen.”

Jane is the brainy one who was headed to Oxford but can’t go now.

Everyone adjusts to life in Scotland and things like preparing their own food, except Helen. She goes to live with relatives in Edinburgh. Rosalie flourishes without Helen around. Rosalie and Jane get different but interesting jobs that they like.

Then Jane meets a young scientist named Ronnie but is too shy and awkward to even ask his name. Rosalie brings him home for dinner, basking in his attention–until he sees Helen.

The story is told through Jane’s point of view as each girl goes through trials and growth experiences.

The book ended up where I thought it would, but took a different route than I thought. I was a bit disappointed at first, but the situation is also found in Jane Austen’s books and even the Bible.

Stevenson’s writing reminds me a little of Louisa May Alcott. Not the language–they’re several decades apart. And Stevenson doesn’t drop in moral or instructive observations in a didactic way. But they both have a homey feel and an emphasis on family.

The audiobook is superbly narrated by Candida Gubbins.

What Makes for Good Worship?

Posted on October 4, 2026 by Barbara Harper

What do we mean when we say something like “The worship was good today at church?”

Many of us refer to the song time as worship. So we might mean that we liked–or even just knew–the songs. We might mean that we were in good voice, or the worship team was. Or we could be referring to a lack of distractions or feeling uplifted after the song service.

But what about when we don’t know the songs? Or they’re too high or low for our range? Or they’re not our favorites? Or there are technological glitches or distractions?

Does God not still deserve to be worshiped even then?

Someone at my alma mater used to say that worship is worth-ship–ascribing to God His worth. It’s not that He needs worship. He is secure in who He is. But we need to worship: first of all because He is worthy, but also because if we don’t see Him aright, we’ll likely be off in other areas of our heart and lives.

We can ascribe to God His worth in so much more than the musical part of the service: in paying attention during the Sunday School lesson and sermon, in giving, in reaching out to others.

And we can worship everywhere, not just at church. Yes, there is much of value in worshiping God together as a family of believers, and we’re commanded to do so.

Romans 12:1 says, “Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” That’s every day, every moment:

-praying for patience and kind words when we want to lash out so we can better reflect God to others.

-listening to praise music when we’re stuck in traffic.

-when appliances break down, remembering that nothing in the world is permanent and we have a better home in heaven. We can lay up treasure “where moth and rust do not corrupt.”

-remembering God’s patient, loving care of us while we’re calming a fretful child.

-reminding ourselves, when we’re doing some household task we don’t like, that we’re imitating a God who brings order out of chaos.

We associate worship with a good feeling. Pastor Erwin Lutzer has said, “Worship that is not based on God’s Word is but an emotional encounter with oneself.”

But we can worship in spite of feelings. Job worshiped after everything was taken from him. David worshiped in caves hiding from enemies who were trying to kill him. Paul worshiped while in prison.

Elisabeth Elliot has said, “Worship is not feeling. Worship is not an experience. Worship is an act, and this takes discipline. We are to worship in spirit and in truth. Never mind about the feelings. We are to worship in spite of them.” (from Let Me Be a Woman).

Sometimes worship spontaneously flows while singing praise songs or reading the psalms. But other times, we have to deliberately turn our minds to who He is and what He has done for us. Romans 12:2 talks about being “transformed by the renewal of your mind.” The more time we spend in God’s Word, the more He can transform our thinking, no matter the circumstances.

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

Laudable Linkage

Posted on October 3, 2026 by Barbara Harper

I have just a short list to share today. I thought about saving these til next week, but that might make next week’s list overly long.

Ten Truths to Cling to in Your Fight Against Sin, HT to Challies. “When you feel caught somewhere between the guilt that clings to you and the truth of Scripture, what does it actually mean to leave a sin struggle at the foot of the cross?”

A Beautiful Dependence. “Several weeks ago, a single phone call turned a quiet Saturday morning into a flurry of panic. . . . Blair’s life has become a picture of something I too easily forget: dependence isn’t a problem to solve but part of God’s good design. Just as Blair relies on me, I am utterly dependent on my heavenly Father for everything I need.’

Caring for Women in an Abusive Relationship. “One of the ways we, the women of the church, can help is by holding these sisters’ hands as they go to their brothers to get help. Now, the church is not the police. The church is not an attorney or a judge. But the church does hold authority over its members. There’s a reason we take membership vows.”

The 11 Deceptive Tactics of Seduction. Peter Krol has been doing a series on sexual sin and temptation from the book of Proverbs, and this nicely summarizes the issue.

Every day is a fresh beginning,
Listen, my soul, to the glad refrain,
And, spite of old sorrow and older sinning,
And puzzles forecasted and possible pain,
Take heart with the day, and begin again.

Susan Coolidge

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on October 2, 2026 by Barbara Harper

This has been a weird week. It started out great! But Tuesday night, I suddenly developed flu-like symptoms: chills, nausea, headache dizziness–and my left leg hurt. I had a pretty miserable night and morning. But by around 4 p.m., all the symptoms were gone except for a slight fever and redness in my leg. I saw the doctor Thursday and tested negative for flu and Covid. He’s not sure if the leg and the flu symptoms were two separate things or part of the same infection. They took blood to check my white blood cell count, but I haven’t heard back from that yet. Meanwhile, I am on antibiotics with strict instructions to go to the ER if it seems to be spreading. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen!

I’m not sure how much to talk about physical issues. I don’t want to sound like a hypochondriac, especially when it seems like there’s been some physical problem every week lately. But that’s what I’m dealing with just now.

In the midst of the unexplained and uncomfortable, it helps to look at the good things God spreads across our paths. I’m linking with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story to do so.

1. The stoppage of flu-like symptoms. I hate nausea more than any other symptom, even more than pain. So I am especially glad that didn’t last long.

2. Being back in church. After a couple of weeks of heart rhythm issues, it was good to be in church in person again. We had an excellent discussion in Sunday School.

3. Sunday lunch with the kids. Our church has smaller “care groups” that meet a couple of times a month. Jason and Mittu are in a different one from Jim and me, and often our groups meet on alternate Sundays. But none of us had care group this week, so we enjoyed a nice lunch out together at a favorite pizza place.

4. Productive days. I got a lot done Monday and Tuesday.

5. Cool days. At least in the mornings and evenings. Next week our highs are supposed to be in the 70s all week with lows in the 50s.

How was your week?

How People Change

Posted on October 1, 2026 by Barbara Harper

In How People Change, Timothy S. Lane and Paul David Tripp say that many Christians experience a “gospel gap.” They believe that Jesus saved them from past sin and promises a future hope of heaven, but they “do not have a gospel perspective on who they are.” They don’t know how to apply the gospel to everyday life in the present; consequently, they flounder in their relationships and don’t experience much victory in their lives over sin. “Their Christianity seemed more an ideology than a worship-driven relationship, and God’s practical call on their lives was more a duty to be performed than a joy to be pursued.”

People tend to fill this gap with other things, like legalism (lists of do’s and don’ts), mysticism (seeking emotional experiences), activism (championing a cause), and others.

The authors want to point people back to Christ. “Christianity’s change process does not revolve around a system of redemption but around a person who redeems.” They want to emphasize heart change, not just outward change.

If a Christian is going to make progress in the Christian life, she must be convinced of this powerful new reality. We are personally united to Christ through the Holy Spirit. We have new resources and potential because God has moved in. The basic spiritual DNA of every believer has been radically altered, and we are part of a new story of redemption that includes the entire creation!

The Word and Spirit work together, enabling us to see Christ in all his power and mercy. This leads to heart change at the level of what we worship and cherish at any given moment.

While the authors had many good things to say, and I especially appreciated the focus on Christ, I’m afraid I got lost in some of the verbiage. This is the first book of Tripp’s that I have read (Lane’s either. I am not sure how they divided up the writing). Tripp is a popular teacher and best-selling author, and I’m not, so what do I know? But for me, as a reader, it was hard to distill the main message from all that was said. Sometimes six or eight examples were used when one or two would have done.

In one chapter which was supposed to put everything together, we’re told to read Philippians (a short book, but still four chapters), then to glance back at chapters 7 and 8 of this book, then review a section of chapter 9, and then another section of chapter 10, and then look again at chapters 11 and 12. So instead of helping the reader by summarizing what was said earlier, we’re basically told to reread all or parts of six earlier chapters.

Their “x-ray” questions of self-assessment for where we might need to repent number thirty-four.

Looking at the reviews, some people loved this book and others felt as I did–that it was so wordy that it was hard to get the message sometimes.

September Reflections

Posted on September 30, 2026 by Barbara Harper

Those first cool breezes of fall have arrived this week and felt so lovely! The leaves are just starting to change, and I hope they take their time about it. I when the leaf color changeover is slow and steady rather than quick. I suppose the weather and water levels might effect how that goes.

Family activities

My TX family came to visit the first week this month, spending a couple of days here and then driving don to SC to see family there. We didn’t have any major outings–just thrift shopping, discovering a new restaurant, and lots of eating and talking. We had such a good time. I hope it is not another four years before we do it again.

We celebrated my youngest son’s 33rd birthday, and Jason, Mittu, and Timothy had us over for Grandparent’s Day.

The last half of the month did not go so well, with an extended bout of atrial fibrillation and a sore throat. But things are better on both fronts now.

Creating

I made just one card this month, for Jesse’s birthday.

He likes both video games and medieval stuff, so sometimes I go one way and sometimes the other. This design was one from the Cricut.

Watching

We like watching series because then you don’t have to think about what to watch next. You just go to the next episode. But we were between series, so we caught a few movies.

I Can Only Imagine 2 is, as the title suggests, the sequel to I Can Only Imagine. The first film tells the story of Bart Milland of Mercy Me: his mother leaving, living with his abusive father, trying to start a band that didn’t get much traction until he wrote the song “I Can Only Imagine” based on his fathers transformation after he came to know the Lord. After all those positives, Bart hit bottom again. Though he reconciled with his father, he still had pain from his past. He felt he didn’t know how to parent well due to not having a good example. His oldest son developed juvenile diabetes. Their relationship was not good. A man who was the band’s opening act who was also dying of cancer helps point Bart back to finding meaning, purpose, and faith even in suffering, leading to their song “Even If.”

We don’t watch movies like this very often, but we saw The Quiet Place and The Quiet Place Part 2 about murderous aliens that invade earth who can’t see but have very sensitive hearing. It was quite intense! The first one has very little dialogue but a lot of sign language, thankfully with subtitles. I liked the strong sense of family. The second one has a few bad words.

Love Across Time was in Prime Video and is about an American real estate agent whose bank merges with an English one. She has to travel to England to decide what to do about some old estates. She stays in one and finds in the basement a mirror that, instead of showing her reflection, shows someone dressed up like an English lord. Turns out he is an English lord from 1799. They talk, and when she has an allergic reaction, he comes through the mirror to rescue her. But then he can’t get back. He investigates modern life while she tries to figure out how the mirror works. And, of course, they fall in love. This was kind of cute. There was nothing objectionable except for one character’s consultation about the possible mystical reasons the mirror operates as it does, but then they decide it’s someone ties to certain phases of the moon.

Even though we’re not into Star Wars, we had enjoyed The Mandalorian a few years back. But we hadn’t kept up with the story as it carried on through various other programs. We did catch The Mandalorian and Grogu and enjoyed it.

Then we did find a couple of short series. We watched The Hardacres while subscribed to Britbox for a while. The title family worked on the Yorkshire fish docks in the 1890s until the father is injured and the mother loses her job. They begin their own enterprise, and when they do well, they seek financial counsel. When the gold mine they invest in strikes it rich, they buy a mansion and try to make a home in high class society–which doesn’t always go well. This is mostly clean except there are a couple of instances of people waking up next to someone they should not have been with, but nothing explicit is shown.

I got frustrated with Britbox with showing all but the last few episodes of the second season, requiring at that point subscription to the next level of Britbox, which is charged for a year at a time rather than monthly and for which no refund is given if you cancel.

We also discovered When Hope Calls. It’s a spin-off of the wildly popular When Calls the Heart on Hallmark. I had seen the first four seasons of When Calls the Heart years ago when it was available on something else (I forget what). But then I couldn’t see the rest of it without subscribing to Hallmark, which I didn’t want to do at the time. I think this new series was on Hallmark, but the first two seasons are available for a time on Netflix. The third season, for some reason, is on Great American Pureflix. The premise is that two orphaned sisters who were separated when their parents died find each other as adults and start an orphanage in a small prairie town in Canada in the early 190s. Oddly, though, one sister quits the series at the end of the first season, and the other shortly thereafter. A previously unknown aunt come to take over the orphanage. We also get to know some of the quirky townspeople. The show is squeaky clean and very Hallmark-ish.

Finally, we’re currently watching the second season of Crossroad Springs, also on Pureflix. It’s a Christian series, or at least somewhat so, about a pastor who comes to help his rancher father during a crisis. In the first season, the pastor was planning to head back to Chicago. But he finds ways he can be used in this small town. The second season seems to be about developing relationships and dealing with an unethical neighbor. The show is clean and wholesome, but it suffers from what a lot of early Christian films did. It almost seems fakey, though it’s not meant to be.

Reading

Since last time I have finished (titles link to my reviews):

A Small Book for the Anxious Heart: Meditations on Fear, Worry, and Trust by Ed Welch. Good.
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear. Good.
The Scent of Water by Elizabeth Goudge, fiction, audiobook, a story of renewal in several forms. A middle-aged woman from London moves to the house her aunt left her in the country. Good.
The Bird in the Tree by Elizabeth Goudge, fiction. The first of her Elliot family trilogy. Very good.
Mr. Harrison’s Confessions (novella) by Elizabeth Gaskell. A cute story about a young man coming to his first position as a doctor but whose boss/mentor doesn’t want him to vary from the old established practices. Then he finds himself engaged to the women at once without knowing how that happened.
The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith, fiction, audiobook, about a vicar with Job-like troubles. An older classic mentioned in a lot of other classics. I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I thought I would.
The Lost Story of Via Belle by Melanie Dobson, fiction, audiobook. A dual time novel in which a prolific novel-writer falls for a man who turns out to be a disaster. She disappears with no one ever knowing what became of her. A fledgling screenwriter who grew up with her books comes to the area in modern times and tries to piece together what happened. Good.
Every Given Day by Cathy Gohlke, fiction, audiobook. Set at the end of and just after WWI, first the Spanish flu epidemic breaks out and causes devastation. Then a great number of children who survived the flu came down with juvenile diabetes, a fatal diagnosis at the time. This story takes us one one family’s journey and the near-miraculous discovery of insulin. Good.
How People Change by Paul David Tripp and and Timothy S. Lane. Review coming soon!

I’m currently reading:

In His Image: 10 Ways God Calls Us to Reflect His Character by Jen Wilkin with a friend.
James: Walking in Wisdom by Lydia Brownback with the ladies’ Bible study group at church.
Beyond the Snow: The Life and Faith of Elizabeth Goudge by Christine Rawlins
The Powerful Purpose of Introverts by Holley Gerth
Things We Cannot Keep by Amanda Cox.
Anna and Her Daughters by D. E. Stevenson, audiobook.

Blogging

Besides the weekly Friday Fave Fives, Saturday Laudable Linkage, and book reviews, I’ve posted these since last time:

Opinions. We all have them, but should we always express them?
When You Have to Keep Going. God has created us to need rest, but sometimes we have to keep going and rely on His strength beyond our normal capacity.
Do You Want Peace? We can pray for it, but God has also provided some means to pursue it.
Grace vs. Presumption. We need to give ourselves and others grace when we’re not at our best. But we shouldn’t go so far as to be presumptuous that we have an excuse to sin at those times.
Stay in the Rough Waters. A whitewater rafting guide in Africa cautioned that, if you fall out of your boat, you shouldn’t swim towards the quieter waters near the shore: that’s where the crocodiles lie in wait. Our instinct is to seek quietness and calm. But God is with us in troubled waters until He brings us into a calmer place.

Writing

My turn to present a chapter to our critique group is coming up, so I’ve been working away on that. When I do get into my manuscript again, I see how much work it needs and want to delve into it more. But I’m still struggling with making time.

Looking ahead

Thankfully, the calendar isn’t too packed for next month. We’ll decorate pumpkins one night with the kids. I have a dentist’s appointment mid-month, then a pre-op appointment near the end for some oral surgery on my tongue early in November. I am not looking forward to that, but I am looking forward to getting it over with.

How was your September?

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

Every Given Day

Posted on September 29, 2026 by Barbara Harper

Every Given Day by Cathy Gohlke is set in New York City, 1918, and is inspired by true events.

Gwen Armstrong had taken care of her little sister, Marion, after her mother died of consumption (tuberculosis). When the time came that Marion would take care of their father so Gwen could pursue her dreams, instead, Marion married the man Gwen thought she’d had an understanding with. The sisters had little contact for twelve years.

In the meantime, their father died and Gwen took a job as a teacher. Then Gwen receives a letter from Marion. She has tuberculosis and wants Gwen to come and tutor her two children.

Gwen feels she can’t tell Marion no in her hour of need. Plus this gives her a chance to get out of the small town she has been tied to for years.

When Gwen arrives in NYC, Marion has already been sent to the sanatorium. Spanish flu is raging through the city, and the house has been put under quarantine. No visitors are allowed, because if any of them caught the flu, it could have fatal consequences for Marion.

Gwen settles into a new routine with the children, Alistair and Clara, with help from the housekeeper, Mrs. Barrie. Russell, Marion’s husband, is away most of the time on business. There are strange cars and trucks that come in the middle of the night every few weeks, but Russell says they are for his business and not to worry about them. He buys and sells antiquities from archeological digs in Egypt, Cairo, and other places.

Despite the family’s best efforts, however, the Spanish flu hits them, leaving devastating losses.

And the Alastair develops juvenile diabetes. The number of cases increases in the wake of the Spanish flu epidemic. Also known as the “wasting disease,” juvenile diabetes is a death sentence at that time.

One doctor has developed a diet for children with diabetes, but it is nicknamed the starvation diet and very controversial. It’s not a cure, but it holds out hope to keep children alive until help can be found. There is promising research with a recently-discovered hormone called insulin. But it’s so far from being available. It’s in an unpurified form and needs testing and processing for distribution. Will it come in time to save Alistair?

The author was inspired to write this story because her own granddaughter developed Type 1, or juvenile diabetes, after a bout of Covid. In fact, there was a higher outbreak of Type 1 diabetes cases after Covid just like there was after the Spanish flu.

Thankfully, the audiobook (nicely read by Aimee Lily) did include the author’s notes this time and shared how she wove the real facts about insulin discovery and usage into this story. One of her interviews here tells a little about this miraculous discovery and the rough road to its availability.

The first part of the novel, dealing with the Spanish flu, sounded eerily like our Covid epidemic, with masks being required in public and disagreements about whether isolation was helpful or harmful.

Interest in Egypt was at an all-time high in this era, too. And there was a fun cross-pollination of reading interests when this book told of Howard Carter’s and Lord Carnarvon’s discovery of King Tut’s tomb. Lord Carnarvon owned Highclere Castle, home of the fictional Downton Abbey. I had read of this historic find a couple of years ago in Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey: The Lost Legacy of Highclere Castle, written by the current Countess of Carnarvon.

There’s an undercurrent of a faith element as Gwen has only a passing belief in God, fights for control in Alistair’s treatment, and ultimately has to surrender him to God.

It’s not much of a spoiler to say that Russel is a jerk from the beginning. I couldn’t understand Gwen’s being taken in by his “charm.” And I felt the story dragged just a little about three-fourths of the way through, going through the same arguments over Alastair’s treatment and Russell’s demands of Gwen.

But overall, I enjoyed this story very much. Juvenile diabetes is still no picnic, but I am thankful for God’s gift of insulin.