The Week In Words

Posted on September 20, 2010 by Barbara Harper

Welcome to The Week In Words, where we share quotes from the last week’s reading. If something you read this past week inspired you, caused you to laugh, cry, think, dream, or just resonated with you in some way, please share it with us, attributing it to its source, which can be a book, newspaper, blog, Facebook — anything that you read. More information is here.

Here are some that caught my eye this week, with little commentary:

You’ll see why I like this one from a friend’s Facebook. 🙂

“The wisdom of the wise and the experience of the ages are perpetuated by quotations.” — Benjamin Disraeli

From Mennonite Girls Can Cook:

“Every house where love abides
And friendship is a guest,
Is surely home, and home sweet home,
For the heart can rest.”
~Henry Van Dyke~

I want my home to be a place where the heart can rest.

From another friend’s Facebook

“Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.”

And from yet another friend’s Facebook, advice from a friend of hers while recuperating from a serious condition:

“Give yourself time to completely heal without guilt for taking the time.”

If you ever have had to heal from something, you know about feeling either guilty or discouraged because you can’t do things that need to be done. But healing takes time.

From Keep a Quiet Heart by Elisabeth Elliot:

The secret is Christ in me, not me in a different set of circumstances.

And finally, from Angela Hunt’s The Note:

Some people…accept the “trappings” of belief without ever actually embracing the belief itself.

Sad but true. One of my prayers for each of us in my family, myself first of all, is that we would be genuine believers and not just going through the motions of Christian culture.

If you’ve read anything that particularly spoke to you that you’d like to share, please either list it in the comments below or write a post on your blog and then put the link to that post (not your general blog link) in Mr. Linky below. I do ask that only family-friendly quotes be included.

In case he needs my prayers

Posted on September 19, 2010 by Barbara Harper

I saw this at my friend, Emily‘s. I don’t know who the author is. I’ve read so many missionary stories in which someone felt led to pray for someone else and did so, only to find out later that was a time of unusual need. I try to pray for a need as soon as I hear about it, but I need to follow those unexpected thoughts about others with prayers, as well.

I can not tell why there should come to me
A thought of someone miles and years away,
In swift insistence on the memory,
Unless there is a need that I should pray.
We are too busy to spare thought
For days together of some friends away;
Perhaps God does it for us — and we ought
To read His signal as a sign to pray.
Perhaps just then my friend has fiercer fight,
A more appalling weakness, a decay
Of courage, darkness, some lost sense of right;
And so, in case he needs my prayers — I pray.

Laudable Linkage and Neat Photo

Posted on September 18, 2010 by Barbara Harper

Just a few to share this week:

Do Your One Small Thing by Lisa Notes, about little things that minister to people.

Friendly Thorns by Chris Anderson, about how God can use a “thorn in the flesh” (II Corinthians 12:7-10).

I’ve been following Wrestling With an Angel for some time, a raw, honest, deep, thoughtful account of a father whose son is autistic, and I was glad to see that Tim Challies convinced the author to write a book.

I’ve mentioned before that my blog is more like visiting neighbors over the fence than a business, but 5 Minutes For Mom shares some good thoughts about When and What a Blogger Should Charge For Their Services for those considering that. Many of us get a slew of requests for free publicity, and this is a good guideline if you don’t want to be used in that way.

I think I may have shared this here before, but I came across it again recently, and I like it:

And this is really cool:

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Have a great Saturday! I’m off to bake Jesse’s birthday cake.

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on September 17, 2010 by Barbara Harper

Susanne at Living to Tell the Story hosts Friday’s Fave Five so we can share our favorite things from the last week. This has been a wonderful exercise in looking for and appreciating the good things God gives. Click on the button to learn more, then go to Susanne’s to read others’ faves and link up your own.

Here are five of my favorites from the past week:

1. Jesse’s birthday. My used-to-be-little boy turned 17 yesterday! We’re not having most of the celebration until Saturday, because that is originally when Jason and Mittu were going to be able to come up, but they came yesterday. So we went ahead with Jesse’s birthday dinner yesterday. In our family the birthday honoree chooses what’s for dinner, whether it is something I make or a meal out. This year Jesse chose Five Guys Hamburgers. They didn’t have one in the town where we used to live, so he’s excited that they have one here.

2. Jason and Mittu coming! Missing Jeremy, though. 😦

3. This little bistro set!

We wanted to get a bench or a couple of chairs for the small front porch area, and we stopped by a local place with a sign out front about patio furniture being 40-60% off. Everything else seemed expensive, even marked down, but I was amazed that this was such a reasonable price. And it is sooo cute! It’s just me.

4. A new love seat!

This house has a small area just inside the door that we’re using as kind of a sitting room — it’s not big enough for a full-fledged living room. So we wanted to find a loveseat and a couple of chairs for it. Our old living room set was worn and torn, but we wanted something that would fit in with the decorations we had accumulated for that room. This was hard to find, let me tell you! There is not much in the upholstered market these days in pink that doesn’t look too red or too peachy. We found this at a Mom-and-Pop-type outlet place for about $300 less than a big furniture store had it for. We’re getting two chairs as well, but it will take about two weeks to get those in, and they don’t have the floral pattern — they’re just solid beige.

5. This stool:

That little bar area looks into the kitchen. We wanted a stool with a back and arms and the ability to swivel, and I love the design of this one. We originally got two, but it made the area too crowded. Jim sometimes sits there to chat while I am cooking or cleaning up the kitchen.

It’s looking kind of like acquisitions week, but we’ve been searching for these various things almost since we got here — we just happened to get it all in this week. Thankfully, Jim’s relocation package included money for “incidentals” which pretty much covered these odds and ends furniture pieces we needed, so that was a blessing, and the Lord led us to some great deals. We’re still waiting on the futon for the sewing/craft/guest room to get in as well as the two chairs I mentioned. But it will be nice to do something else with our weekends besides look for furniture now!

Hope you have a great Friday!

A birthday, a scare, and a bargain book that wasn’t

Posted on September 16, 2010 by Barbara Harper

Happy Birthday to Jesse!

How did my youngest get to be 17 already?!

Jason and Mittu planned to come up this weekend, so we were going to wait to celebrate until then — but then they decided to go ahead and come up today. So we could celebrate today — except we’re not ready because we had planned to celebrate on Saturday. I still have shopping to do! So I think we’ll have his special birthday dinner tonight and then cake, ice cream, and presents on Saturday.

__________

Tuesday afternoon we got a call from my mother-in-law’s assisted living place that her oxygen level had been a little low the day before and they thought she needed to be seen by a doctor. The nurse there seems to be a little over-cautious (a couple of weeks ago she insisted Mom had a urinary tract infection even after the doctor tested and said she didn’t), but over-cautious is probably better that not cautious enough. She seemed fine, but I took her in to the doctor. When her oxygen level reading was back up to 92 (had been 85 and then 89 the day before) and she had no other symptoms of anything, I assumed he would say all was well, must’ve been just a fluke, and send us home. But instead he wanted her to have some blood work drawn to check for a couple of heart problems which could cause a dip in oxygen and a chest x-ray, which they couldn’t do at the office, which meant I needed to take her to the hospital lab. She was pretty agitated at having to do that, which tends to cause confusion problems, but once we got into the waiting area she was fine and we shared a package of peanut butter crackers. This was our first experience with the hospital here, and everything went very smoothly, everyone was not only efficient but cheerful, and they even had free valet parking, which was a humongous help, because I had brought her walker instead of her wheelchair.

So Thursday I was on to other things, thinking all of that was over and done with, when the doctor’s office called and said one of the tests showed the possibility of a pulmonary embolism and we needed to take her in for a CT scan. Jim took off work and took her back to the hospital for a very long afternoon while they took more blood and then did the scan, which I imagine was pretty scary for her. The doctor there said if it had been a pulmonary embolism, she probably would not still be here, so he didn’t think that was a problem, but of course he had to check it out anyway. The scan showed no embolism, but he said her platelet count was high, which could have thrown off the one blood test, and she had the remnants of an infection, so he gave her some antibiotics. He did find a couple of other things to keep an eye on — having been married to a smoker for 54 years has affected her lungs — but overall there was nothing serious to worry about at this time.

So that was a relief for us all. We thought everything was probably ok, but once they suspect something you have to check it out. Though she’s getting more feeble, she’s been in excellent health — no sign of diabetes or blood pressure or cholesterol issues. But she is 82, so at some point her body is going to start having problems. I’m just glad everything turned out all right this time.

__________

Jesse was required to read a classic book for a book report at school. As we looked through my collection, we found The Scarlet Pimpernel, which I thought he might like, with its sword fighting, intrigue, and rescuing of people. The copy I had read years ago was borrowed either from a friend or the library, and the copy I had on hand was a W-Mart 2 for $1 special that I bought years ago, but I had not read that particular copy. When Jesse got to the end of it, he discovered it was more than two chapters short! There were no obvious pages missing — it just stopped abruptly. And the report is due Friday! So while I was pondering whether the library might grant me a card even though I don’t have my TN driver’s license yet, it occurred to me (thank you, Lord!) that the text might be online — and it was. It never occurred to me to check bargain books to make sure they were all there, but that might be a wise thing to do next time!

Book Review: Her Mother’s Hope

Posted on September 14, 2010 by Barbara Harper

The first blurb I saw for Her Mother’s Hope by Francine Rivers mentioned mother-daughter conflict, and that in itself didn’t sound like something I would want to read, but Francine writes riveting stories, and I knew there would be much more depth. And indeed, there was.

Marta Schneider is born to an abusive father and a God-fearing mother in Switzerland in the late 1800s. As she grows older, her father takes her out of school at a young age and sends her out to work at various service-related jobs. When she foresees that her life will never change, with her mother’s encouragement, she leaves.

Marta tackles anything that comes into her path with resolve and hard work. She travels various places and learns different skills and languages with a desire to open her own boarding house some day. When she finally realizes her dream, she unexpectedly falls in love with one of her boarders and marries.

When Marta’s daughter, Hildemara, is born early, small, and frail, Marta is determined that she will never end up as her younger sister, Elise, did, who was a fragile soul, beautiful and overprotected, who came to a tragic end. Marta’s efforts to make her daughter tough and strong are often misunderstood. Hildemara feels as if she can never obtain her mother’s approval, so when she can she goes off on her own quest.

You just ache for these two and their misunderstood actions toward each other.

I also enjoyed Marta’s relationship with her quieter husband, the fact that though she drives him crazy sometimes, he loves her and her “fire.” They spar often over — well, over many things, but most often over the need to rest and wait on the Lord versus the need to take matters into their own hands and do something.

The historical backdrop covers two world wars, the plight of immigrants to this country, especially when their old and new countries are at war, and the hard life of a sharecropper.

Francine shares that though the story is fictional, it contains many facts from her own family’s history.

It’s not a short read at 483 pages, but it goes quickly. I enjoyed spending an entire evening with this book, which is rare for me — I usually read in bits.

I don’t feel as if I am doing the book justice, so let me just say I recommend it. I have readers who would want to know these things, so I will just mention that there are a couple of instances of intimacy between Marta and her husband that were more explicit than I wanted to read, but they are very brief.

I am glad I waited to read the book until this time, because the sequel, Her Daughter’s Dream, is due out today — so I don’t have to wait long to find out what happens next!

(This review will be linked to Semicolon‘s Saturday Review of Books.)

The Week In Words

Posted on September 13, 2010 by Barbara Harper

Also, if you’ve posted a quote on your blog this past week, feel free to link it here as well. You don’t have to save it for Mondays. And please do read and comment even if you’re not posting quotes.

I am so very sorry to be so late with this today! I sometimes work on this post on Sunday evenings, but after Skyping Jeremy (or Skyping with Jeremy? Not sure how to say that) last night, I fell asleep on the couch until about 2 a.m., and then went to bed. Then this morning I laid back down for a little while…and then it turned into a long while. And then I woke up to several phone calls that needed attention. I hope I am not coming down with Jesse’s cold.

Anyway, on with the quotes!

From Janet‘s sidebar:

Goethe once wrote in a letter that “there are three kinds of reader: one, who enjoys without judgment; a third, who judges without enjoyment; and one between them who judges as he enjoys and enjoys as he judges. This latter kind really reproduces the work of art anew” (quoted in Alan Jacobs’ A Theology of Reading).

I don’t know how long you’ve had that there. Janet, but it just jumped out at me last week. I am not sure how “judging” is meant there, but I took it to mean thinking. analyzing, discerning, and I like to think I am the third kind of reader.

From this post via a friend’s Facebook status:

The gardener’s sharp-edged knife promotes the fruitfulness of the tree, by thinning the clusters, and by cutting off superfluous shoots. So is it, Christian, with that pruning which the Lord gives to thee. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

That, of course, echoes John 15:1-2: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.”

From another friend’s Facebook status:

Do not ask the Lord to guide your footsteps if you are not willing to move your feet.

I have to admit I too often do that. Sometimes a delay to pray about something can be a delay to obey what I already know the Lord wants me to do, or sometimes I am praying for guidance when I am reluctant or even not yet willing to go in the direction that might be the answer.

This was from Laura writing at Kindred Heart Writers:

Ring the bells that still can ring,

Forget your perfect offering.

There is a crack in everything.

That’s how the light gets in.

– Leonard Cohen

That cracked me up but also illustrated a great truth, that none of us is perfect and that God’s grace shining through the cracks can glorify Himself.

And finally, from Elisabeth Elliot‘s book A Lamp For My Feet quoted in one of her e-mail devotionals:

But my limitations, placing me in a different category from Tom Howard’s or anyone else’s, become, in the sovereignty of God, gifts. For it is with the equipment that I have been given that I am to glorify God. It is this job, not that one, that He gave me.

I had quoted that once years ago in regard to physical limitations, but Elisabeth was mentioning it in regard to talents, abilities, and opportunities. It applies as well to time and any other type of limitation — whatever it is is allowed by God and is the framework in which He wants us to glorify Him, rather than chafing or wasting time wishing things were different.

His Robes For Mine

Posted on September 12, 2010 by Barbara Harper

This is a recent hymn by Chris Anderson of Church Works Media which wonderfully expresses what Christ did for us. It is on the Promises CD by Soundforth — you can hear a snippet here and read more of the thoughts behind the text here.

His robes for mine: O wonderful exchange!
Clothed in my sin, Christ suffered ‘neath God’s rage.
Draped in His righteousness, I’m justified.
In Christ I live, for in my place He died.

Chorus:

I cling to Christ, and marvel at the cost:
Jesus forsaken, God estranged from God.
Bought by such love, my life is not my own.
My praise-my all-shall be for Christ alone.

His robes for mine: what cause have I for dread?
God’s daunting Law Christ mastered in my stead.
Faultless I stand with righteous works not mine,
Saved by my Lord’s vicarious death and life.

His robes for mine: God’s justice is appeased.
Jesus is crushed, and thus the Father’s pleased.
Christ drank God’s wrath on sin, then cried “‘Tis done!”
Sin’s wage is paid; propitiation won.

His robes for mine: such anguish none can know.
Christ, God’s beloved, condemned as though His foe.
He, as though I, accursed and left alone;
I, as though He, embraced and welcomed home!

Laudable Linkage and Video

Posted on September 11, 2010 by Barbara Harper

Just a few links this week to some worthwhile reads:

Growing As a Homemaker. This is great encouragement for young moms who feel overwhelmed.

Wondering Why God Makes Life Impossible Sometimes. Jon’s Stuff Christians Like is usually funny and/or satirical (not always the same thing), but sometimes he comes up with a serious one that touches the heart. When I read this I had just been somewhat down because of problems or issues several friends or extended family members were facing, and though this truth is not new to me, I still have to go over it from time to time and adjust my perspective.

You Need a Mother Very Badly. Some of you may be familiar with Gregg and Sono Harris, pioneers in speaking and writing about the home school movement. Sono recently passed away, and this poem is a tribute by one of her sons. Keep the tissues handy, especially if you’ve lost your own mom.

From the ever helpful Tipnut: 12 Simple Sore Throat Remedies and 12 Home Remedies For Nausea.

It’s hard to believe all these people took the time to do this, but it’s pretty neat, for at least the first 45 seconds or so.