Laudable Linkage

Posted on August 15, 2026 by Barbara Harper

Some of the good reads found this week:

Faith Over Fear: Meeting Christ in the Middle of the Storm, HT to the Story Warren. So many good observations here. “The disciples are caught in a situation they did not choose. They are doing exactly what Jesus told them to do—getting into a boat and crossing the Sea of Galilee—when trouble finds them. The wind rises, the waters churn, and progress becomes painful and slow (Mark 6:48). They are experienced fishermen, not novices, yet skill offers no relief. Darkness surrounds them. Exhaustion sets in. Control slips away. This matters because it confronts one of our most common assumptions about faith: that obedience guarantees smooth sailing. It doesn’t. Sometimes obedience places us directly in the path of difficulty. Faithfulness does not exempt us from storms, and competence does not shield us from fear.”

Does Rejecting Hell Really Set You Free? “We’ve separated eternal judgment from the larger story of Scripture and held it up in isolation, sometimes with devastating results. But the misuse of a doctrine does not make it false, and reshaping reality to ease our discomfort won’t bring us peace or freedom.”

Do I Resent the Life God Gave Me? HT to Challies. “Though I hate to admit it, resentfulness is a subtle but very real temptation in my heart, especially during times of deep pain and sorrow. Over time, I’ve learned how important it is to recognize this temptation when it comes, so that when I start to go down that path, I can take steps to realign my heart with the truth.”

When God’s Plans Seem Inconsistent with His Promises, HT to Challies. “What we see in God’s instruction to Abraham seems to show that there will be times when God asks things of his people that feel deeply confusing, yet we can be confident there is always more happening than what we can understand. We learn that God will allow trials in our lives that seem to contradict his promises, yet we can be sure he is steadfast and faithful beyond what we can see or understand in the moment.”

Canadian Family Claim Christian Grandmother Was Euthanized Against her Wishes, HT to Challies. This is alarming. “A family in Canada has alleged that their 83-year-old grandmother was euthanised despite her stated Christian beliefs and lack of mental capacity to consent to the procedure.”

Peace Is Better. “I’m not advocating for being silent about the great injustices of our society. We have to speak the truth when it’s needed. But I am saying that most of the things we want to create conflict and confrontation about in this world are just ways for us to personally feel that we got to say our piece, for us to get some sort of validation that we’re right, or for us to let someone else know that they’ve wronged us or made us feel sad, angry, or disappointed. I would argue that in most instances, the better path is the one where we pray and ask the Lord to soften our own heart, forgiving the person who slighted us or made us feel a certain way, and moving on with our day in peace.”

You Are Not Enough (And That Is Not Failure), HT to Challies. “‘You are not enough. Not enough. Not enough.’ Those hard words have been the mantra accompanying me as I’ve parented our children into adulthood. However, I am continually and graciously reminded to embrace the freedom found in their somber tone. Words that once felt like a condemnation of me as a mother have become a necessary reminder of the One who is enough and abundantly more than enough. His burden, I’m reminded, is easy and light (Matt. 11:30).”

What to Do When Your Spiritual Leader Falls. “Hopefully we realize that if we get close to any of our spiritual heroes, we will begin to see cracks and flaws. But what happens when spiritual leaders fail in big ways, ways that ruin lives and bring dishonor to the name of Christ? What do you do when someone you look up to falls?” I would add one more point to the excellent ones Ben listed: remember grace. A sin that may disqualify a man from spiritual leadership doesn’t mean he is no longer useful to God and must become a pariah in Christendom. God has marvelously forgiven and used people who grievously sinned and repented in Scripture.

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. Elisabeth Elliot

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on August 14, 2026 by Barbara Harper

It’s been a busy week, but a good one. I’m pausing with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story to share blessings from the week.

1. Jason and Mittu’s 17th anniversary! It’s hard to believe they’ve been married that long! It was fun to look at wedding photos in my Facebook memories.

2. Timothy’s first day in a new school. He has been taught at home with an online curriculum up until now. Jim texted to ask how his first day went, and he said, “Cool and amazing.”

3. Dinner and catching up. Jason and Mittu brought dinner over Tuesday night, and we got to hear more about the school experience and what classes Timothy is taking.

4. Anticipation. My oldest son is coming to visit for a little over a week.

5. Jim’s help. I have a master cleaning list that I work through before someone comes to visit. I asked Jim if he could sweep and vacuum the floors for me. He did that plus a few other things on the list. I usually divide it over a couple of days, but we got most of it done in one.

How was your second week of August?

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.