About Barbara Harper

https://barbarah.wordpress.com

Laudable Linkage

Posted on January 17, 2015 by Barbara Harper

Here are some noteworthy reads discovered in the last couple of weeks:

My Love List, for when you need to remind yourself of God’s love for you.

One Indispensable Rule for Bible study.

9 Things You Need to Know About Widows.

What Everybody Ought to Know About Moms and Sons.

The Lens of Attention. Loved this.

What to Say to That Immodestly Dressed Girl at Church. Mentioned this last Thursday but wanted to list it here as well.

Stages of Grief: Anger. Alicia has been discussing stages of grief, and Christian ways to handle them, in reference to a life-changing condition.

How to Write Good.

Finally, Carrie shared some bookworm problems earlier this week, and I could identify with many, especially these:

Hope you have a great weekend!

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on January 16, 2015 by Barbara Harper

It’s Friday, time to look back over the blessings of the week with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story and other friends.

Thankfully this week has been a very normal one, compared to last week. Everyone is pretty much well from the various things we had going on, and feeling immensely better. Here are some highlights of the week:

1. Jason’s promotion. I mentioned at the end of last week’s post some good news that wasn’t public just yet. My middle son, Jason, was promoted to manager at his place of business and given a raise in salary that was just about what he felt he needed. He really enjoys his job but wasn’t making quite enough to support a family, so I am glad that all worked out and pleased that his gifts and skills are being recognized as well.

2. A refurbished computer. I had been having a number of problems with my desktop, and and mentioned for Christmas hoping for a way to get it running back up to par. My oldest son commented once that it was the oldest computer in the house. I had thought maybe over Christmas there would be some time while he was here to look at it, but we didn’t get to. Then my husband received some boxes in the mail and put them in Jesse’s room, and when I asked Jesse what they were, he said they were parts for my computer. Oh! I hadn’t known they were doing anything like that! Jesse had asked for some new components for his computer for Christmas, so they used some of his old ones plus a couple of new ones to update mine. Jim and Jesse put it together and then they and Jeremy set up programs and moved files over, all of them spending a good deal of time on it. I have quite a bit more memory in it now, which is helpful as well. It’s running much more quickly and smoothly. I am so glad they all know how to do that kind of thing. Thanks, guys! 🙂

3. New calendars. I meant to mention this last week, but forgot. One of my favorite things is getting out the new calendars the first week of the year and filling in the family birthdays and anniversaries. It’s so nice to look through all those fresh, clean pages and to flip through last year’s calendar at all the happenings of the year as well.

4. Restoring order. I love the holidays and having everyone here, and I miss that, but on the other hand it does feel good to get back to a routine. I’ve enjoyed going through and sorting, organizing and putting things to rights in the house. There is always more of that kind of thing to be done, but it feels good to make progress.

5. An unexpected lunch. It’s unusual for Jim and I to be alone for Sunday dinner, but this last Sunday we were, and Jim suggested getting something for lunch on the way home from church. It was so nice not only not to have to cook, but to have no clean-up as well, and I got a nice long nap in during the afternoon.

Happy Friday!

Are We Responsible for God’s Reputation?

Posted on January 15, 2015 by Barbara Harper

One of the things writing does for me is to help me think things through in ways that I can’t always do mentally. With writing I can take each strand of swirling thoughts, lay it out in black and white, follow it through to completion, go on to another, put them all together in some order, and then stand back and take a look at them. When I try to do that without writing them down, they just continue to swirl, and I can only think about one part for a brief time.

Something that’s been on the back of my mind for months is an offhand statement I saw on someone’s blog. When I go to a new blog, if what I see there interests me, I often will check out the “About Me” section to find out a little more about the person, to get more of an idea of who it is I am reading about. A part of what this particular blogger wanted people to know about her was that she was taught in her church and youth group to keep certain standards in order to maintain a good testimony before others, so people would think well of her God by what they saw her do; but as she got older she felt that many of those standards went beyond the parameter of what she was called to do, and furthermore, she felt that she was not responsible for God’s reputation, that He was big enough to take care of that on His own. She wasn’t advocating a total overthrow of any standards at all, but she was refusing to place them on that level on importance.

Now, I agree with this young woman that some people go beyond what the Bible actually teaches or implies in their standards, and that some place their standards almost on par with the ten commandments and look quite condescendingly at anyone who practices something different than they do, and that both of those approaches are wrong. What I mean by standards are the practical ways people work out their beliefs and convictions that may vary from person to person (Romans 14) as opposed to the bedrock doctrinal truth that there can be no variations on.

But what really stood out to me and has had me pondering these many months is the thought that we are not responsible for God’s reputation. Is that true?

First my mind went back to verses in the New Testament about doing or not doing things so that God’s Word is not blasphemed. For instance in Titus 2:3-5, older godly women are instructed to teach younger women in a variety of areas – soberness (self-control in the ESV), loving husband and children, being “discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands,” so that “the word of God be not blasphemed” (reviled in the ESV). The word of God can be blasphemed when I am indiscreet, lacking in self-control, or unloving to my family? Apparently so.

In I Timothy 6:1, servants were to “count their own masters worthy of all honour, that the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed.”

I Peter 2:11-12 says, “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.”

Philippians 4: 5 says, “Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand.”

Philippians 1:27 says, “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel.”

In II Corinthians 6:3-4a. Paul says, “We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way.”

In the Old Testament, God’s reputation was a motive for prayer. When God was going to destroy the Israelites for their lack of faith in going into the promised land, Moses prayed:

“Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for you brought up this people in your might from among them, and they will tell the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you, O Lord, are in the midst of this people. For you, O Lord, are seen face to face, and your cloud stands over them and you go before them, in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. Now if you kill this people as one man, then the nations who have heard your fame will say, ‘It is because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land that he swore to give to them that he has killed them in the wilderness.’” (Numbers 14:13-16).

In Psalm 106:21, 27, David prays, “But you, O God my Lord, deal on my behalf for your name’s sake; because your steadfast love is good, deliver me!…Let them know that this is your hand; you, O Lord, have done it!“

The sake of God’s name is a factor in many prayers and actions in the Bible, so I think, yes, we should be concerned about how we are representing God in what we say and do. Stated a little differently, I Corinthians 6:19-20 conclude that we should not do certain things because “your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”

That doesn’t mean different people can’t have different standards. I think people’s carping about other people’s different standards does far more harm to the reputation of God’s people than the different standards do. The Bible does teach grace in dealing with others who may not see everything quite the same way we do. But our motivating factor should be God’s honor and glory: even those with different practices in Romans 14 each did what they did “as unto the Lord.”

On the other hand, sometimes God does call someone to do something that seems harmful to their reputation, and to His. Mary’s reputation suffered as well as Jesus’s by the virgin birth, but it suffered in the eyes of people who didn’t believe it, and someday it will be vindicated. There are actions of God, or sometimes what seems to be a lack of action, that cause some to call Him unfair. But off the top of my head, areas in which people criticize God come down to problems on our end of things, not His. We don’t see the big picture or understand all His purposes and lack faith in His character, His wisdom, His love, etc. He is willing to risk being misunderstood to do what is right and necessary in any given situation and He wants us to know Him and trust Him even when everything doesn’t make sense to us.

When Jesus lived on the earth, He “made Himself of no reputation” and “though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped.” He did defend and explain His Father and even His own actions sometimes, but He wasn’t grasping after His rights or His “place” as the Son of God.

It is a misguided attempt to defend God’s reputation that sometimes earns Christians and the God they think they are representing a bad reputation. In almost any online forum, when a non-Christian makes a disparaging remark about God or the Bible or Christianity, you can count on some Christian leaping to God’s defense. That is not a bad thing in itself, but it can be if it is done harshly or condescendingly. Just this morning I came across a blog post about why Christians don’t seek to avenge insults against God: He Himself showed people grace in their ignorance and unbelief when He died for them on the cross, and in His love and longsuffering He waits and draws them to Himself. He wants us to show that same grace, love, kindness, and longsuffering. Of course we can and should soak ourselves in His Word and attempt to explain or put things into perspective for others and ask God to make it plain to them. Jude 3 speaks of “earnestly contending for the faith,” and I Peter 3: 14b-16 says, “But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.” That’s quite a different stance than “pouncing” on someone for saying something out of line with the Bible.

The more I think about this issue, the more I realize it is probably too big a topic for one simple blog post. But here are some conclusions I think I can draw so far:

1. Yes, God can take care of His own reputation. He is willing to be misunderstood in the short term, but some day everything will be set to rights and people will see and know Him for who He really is.

2. We can and should contend for the faith and have a reason for the hope that lies within us, but we should be gracious and respectful about it.

3. We do represent God both to other Christians and to unbelievers and we do need to be aware that our actions and attitudes reflect on Him favorably or unfavorably.

4. That will filter down into our everyday lives and standards. But I don’t think the emphasis should be on keeping standards in order to maintain a good testimony. That puts all the focus on the outward form rather than the inward reality. As Erin Davis said in What to Say to That Immodestly Dressed Girl at Church:

This requires an important shift. We need to stop asking, “How can we get our girls to dress modestly?” and start asking, “How can we get our girls to be passionate students of God’s Word?” Hebrews 4:12 tells us that God’s Word works like a sword, surgically removing those parts of our hearts that don’t line up with the holiness of God. Which would you prefer? A girl who covers up out of obligation, or a girl who chooses to change because of God’s work in her through His Word?

Now, when it comes to immodesty, especially with three sons, my first instinct would be to say, “Let’s cover up first, even if it is out of obligation, and then we’ll study the reason for it.” 🙂 There may be times for that kind of an approach: as a parent, often you have to require certain actions and standards for your children even if they don’t understand the reasons behind them. But the motivation, the overarching focus should be love for God and living for Him and what pleases Him and brings Him glory. It should be that inner love that works itself out into our everyday actions. In one biography I read years ago, a young person had grown up with certain standards against “worldliness” which she then joyfully jumped into when she turned away from God for a time. But once she came to truly know Him, the more she grew in her knowledge of Him and love for Him, the more those things just fell away on their own.

From a writerly point of view, I should probably let this sit a few more days and tighten, organize, and “polish” it better. But I am going to let it stand as a “thinking through my fingers” post.

What are your thoughts about our responsibility for God’s reputation?

A Presidential Visit

Posted on January 14, 2015 by Barbara Harper

I tend to steer clear of politics here because feelings can run high and I don’t want to stir up unneeded heat and controversy. I have strong opinions on some things and voice them occasionally but try not to couch them in political terms. However, when I do, I believe in being respectful to people on the other side of issues and to leaders in particular.

I did not vote for our current president and disagree with much of what he does. But when I heard he was coming to our area, I have to admit to being a little excited. It would be a historic moment: it’s not every day such a personage comes to our state. And then, even more amazing, I learned he was coming to my husband’s plant!

He was coming to highlight and announce manufacturing hubs that would bring together universities, manufacturers, and government agencies such as the one here in the Knoxville area where the University of TN, Oak Ridge National Labs, and Techmer PM worked together on their latest project, a 3D printed car.

To be perfectly honest, 3D printing baffles me, and making something the size of a car that way baffles me even further, but it’s pretty cool! You can find more about the president’s visit here, a transcript of his remarks here, and more about the car here.

This visit didn’t get much press because the president’s first visit that morning to a local community college to announce a program for two years of free community college based on the Tennessee Promise program here generated a lot more attention.

There was a lot that went into getting ready for the president’s visit. The Secret Service was there about a week before to check things out. It’s a sad fact of modern society that they have to look for every possible angle that some crazed person might think of to do harm and to be prepared against it. But Jim said they were very nice and even joked with them sometimes – not at all the stoic faces in sunglasses and earpieces that you see on TV shows.

For the record, if the president ever comes to your area, know that his staff and/or the Secret Service calls all the shots. One lady called the plant to buy tickets and had to be told they weren’t selling tickets. She got quite angry. Someone else called and wanted to bring his son by to meet the president. I don’t think they realized that just because he was coming to a small town, that didn’t mean it was a small-town type visit. Not even all the employees got to hear him speak in person, partly because there wasn’t a venue big enough for that. They had one lottery for people to hear him speak and another for a “meet and greet”: my husband was part of the latter and did get to shake the president’s and vice-president’s hands. Unfortunately we don’t have a picture of that: they weren’t allowed to take “selfies” with the president or ask for autographs, but they were allowed to take pictures of each other, so he has a bunch of pictures of other people shaking hands and has shared them with those in the photos: hopefully one of them has a picture of him they’ll share.

The president was very personable, interested in what they were doing, and asked intelligent questions about their products and processing.

One incident that was funny to tell about later but not so funny at the time: UPS and other major carriers were called and asked not to deliver anything that day. Somehow one smaller company got overlooked, and one of their driver’s drove his truck past all the police cars to deliver his package. Naturally they stopped him and checked out and unloaded his truck. They found the package addressed to the company and had him open it. It as a lab instrument that was housed in a metal carrying case which, of course, looked like ammunition of some kind at first glance. When someone opened the case, it was identified as an instrument for the lab, and the guy was free to pack up his truck and go, very much behind schedule. Even if he didn’t know the president was going to be there that day, it seems he would have realized something was going on with all the police cars there: why he didn’t stop and ask before driving in, we don’t know. If the president had actually been on the premises at the time, it would have been even more serious, I’m sure. As it is he has an interesting story to tell.

It was a long day with a lot of “hurry up and wait” time. They couldn’t go to their offices during certain hours: for security reasons they had everyone in certain areas. And, of course, as when any guest is coming, you hope everything goes well. Thankfully, it seemed to. The CEO and president of the company were very pleased. And now my husband can say he has met the president of the United States and shaken his hand. 🙂

Reading Plans

Posted on January 12, 2015 by Barbara Harper

I’ve mentioned that, while I enjoyed the several reading challenges I participated in last year, I felt a little constricted and constrained by them, too. It’s hard to balance: I like some intentionality in my reading, and that brings some books into my planning that I might not otherwise get to, and a challenge is supposed to be challenging. 🙂 But I like a certain amount of freedom, too, to read on a whim or pick up something and start right in without thinking that I can’t because I have all these lists to finish. So this year I decided to think about what I wanted to read, and then if that happened to fit into any plan, fine, and if not, I’d make my own plan. As it turned out, I will be able to participate in a few challenges this year.

I know I’ll be participating in Carrie‘s Lucy Maud Montgomery Reading Challenge this month, reading the second and possibly the third in the Emily series.

I’ll also be reading a few from Carrie‘s Reading to Know Classics Book Club for the year: Christy by Catherine Marshall; The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry; probably one or two from Grimm’s Fairy Tales, maybe Laddie by Gene Stratton Porter, and then I’ll be hosting the September discussion on The Screwtape Letters. A couple on the list I just read last year, so it is a little too soon to reread them.

In February I host the Laura Ingalls Wilder Reading Challenge (and I heartily invite you to as well! I’ll have more information about it soon and a sign-up post on Feb. 1), where we read anything by or about Laura. I am planning to read the next one or two in the series. The first couple of years I read a lot of books about Laura as well as some books of her magazine columns, and I think I’d like to just stick with her Little House series for now – though I ~~am awfully tempted by~~ decided to go ahead and read Pioneer Girl (especially after this review of it) since it fits a category in the classics challenge below.

The Back to the Classics Challenge:

I didn’t grow up reading a lot of classics, and I have made a deliberate effort to catch up with some of them in the last few years.

Karen changed the format for the Back to the Classics Challenge 2015: readers can choose books within the 12 categories listed, and reading six, nine, or twelve will earn you entries in a drawing for a $30 Amazon or Book Depository gift card. More information is here. Books have to be at least 50 years old. Sign-up is open through March 31. We don’t have to declare which books we’ll be reading in order to sign up, and we can change our minds during the year, but so far I am planning on:

1. A 19th Century Classic — any book published between 1800 and 1899: Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens (Finished 7/22/15)

2. A 20th Century Classic — any book published between 1900 and 1965: The Masqueraders by Georgette Heyer, 1928 (Finished 1/19/15)

3. A Classic by a Woman Author: Emily Climbs by L. M. Montgomery, second in the Emily of New Moon series. (Finished 2/4/15)

4. A Classic in Translation. a book written originally in a language not your own: One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, I set that one aside for Quo Vadis: A Narrative of the Time of Nero by Henryk Sienkiewicz (Finished 9/19/15)

5. A Very Long Classic Novel — a single work of 500 pages or longer: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (Finished 4/20/15)

6. A Classic Novella — any work shorter than 250 pages: The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (Finished 6/22/15)

7. A Classic with a Person’s Name in the Title: The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Finished 5/20/15).

8. A Humorous or Satirical Classic. The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis. Serious subject, but written in a satirical form. (Finished 9/26/15).

9. A Forgotten Classic. This one is hard to evaluate – there are classics I have never heard of but ay be well known to others. But I am going to go with The Dead Secret by Wilkie Collins. It’s one of his earlier works and not one of his more well-known ones. (Finished 11/7/15).

10. A Nonfiction Classic: Pioneer Girl by Laura Ingalls Wilder, published only recently but written in 1929 0r 1930. I wasn’t sure that would qualify since it was so recently published, so I chose instead The Problem of Pain by C. S. Lewis. (Finished 9/19/15)

11. A Classic Children’s Book: By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder, 5th in her Little House series. (Finished 2/18/15)

12. A Classic Play. ~~I don’t have any ideas for this one yet. Suggestions?~~ Decided on Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw. (Finished 7/30/15)

TBR Pile Challenge:

The TBR Pile Challenge is for reading books we have on hand or have on a TBR list but haven’t gotten to yet. I really enjoyed the this challenge last year and like the idea of incorporating books I have on hand into my reading instead of just piling on new ones. At first I wasn’t sure if I wanted to commit to reading twelve (though I have way more than that both in physical books and on my Kindle app) and thought about just choosing a smaller number – six or so – for my own purposes and not signing up for this official challenge. But once I started sorting through my books on hand (some even in a box in the closet!) and on my Kindle app, I found several I was excited about getting to, so here they are:

1. A Million Little Ways: Uncover the Art You Were Made to Live by Emily Freeman, 2013. I got this because I really liked her Grace For the Good Girl. I got it right at the beginning of last year but it got pushed aside for some of the other challenges. (Finished 3/30/15)

2. He Is There and He Is Not Silent by Francis Schaeffer, 1972. I can’t tell you how many years I have had this on my shelf, but I wouldn’t if I could because it would be too embarrassing. (Finished 4/22/15)

3. Gentle Savage Still Seeking the End of the Spear: The Autobiography of a Killer and the Oral History of the Waorani by Menkaye Aenkaedi with Kemo and Dyowe, 2013. Those who have been reading here a long time know that the whole story of the five missionaries who were killed trying to reach the Waorani, known then as Aucas, and the subsequent way God opened the hearts of this tribe to receive Jesus as Savior and Lord means a great deal to me and has impacted my life exponentially. This book was told by Menkaye, one of the killer of the missionaries who later became a father and grandfather figure to Steve Saint and his family, descendants of one of the five men. (Finished 5/24/15)

4. Strait of Hormuz by Davis Bunn. I like Bunn and his Marc Royce series, but this is another that kept getting pushed aside while I worked on other reading challenges.(Finished 6/9/15)

5. Better to Be Broken by Rick Huntress, 2012. (Finished 3/2/15)

6. The Fairest Beauty by Melanie Dickerson, 2013, a retelling of Snow White. (Finished 6/17/15)

7. My Emily by Matt Patterson, a family’s story of a young daughter born with Down’s Syndrome who is then diagnosed with leukemia. (Finished 3/4/15)

8. The Swan House by Elizabeth Musser, 2001. I really enjoyed her Words Unspoken (it was one of my top ten from 2010), so I wanted to read more from her. (Finished 4/18/15)

9. Out of a Far Country: A Gay Son’s Journey to God. A Broken Mother’s Search for Hope by Christopher & Angela Yuan, 2011, recommended by Tim Challies. (Finished 3/8/15)

10. Growing Up Amish: A Memoir by Ira Wagler. Saw this highly recommended by a number of people. (Finished 5/31/15)

11. Becoming More Than a Good Bible Study Girl by Lisa TerKeurst, 2009. Have had this on hand, meaning to get to it, for years. (Finished 2/1/15)

12. ~~Either Live Like a Narnian by Joe Rigney, 2013, or~~ The Narnian by Alan Jacobs, 2009, or both if I have time, for Carrie’s Chronicles of Narnia Reading Challenge in July. I have both already in my Kindle app – just have to decide which to start with. (Finished 7/24/15)

We’re allowed two alternates in case there is a book we just can’t get into, so I’ll choose The Captive Maiden by Melanie Dickerson, 2013 (a retelling of Cinderella) (Finished 6/28/15) and something by Ann Tatlock, if I can be that unspecific. I have six of her books in my Kindle app.

Sign-up for the TBR Challenge is open here through January 15, so you have time if you’d like to join in. The only stipulations are that the books on your list have to be ones you have never read before and have to have been published before January 1, 2014 (unfortunately! I had to cross two off my list because they were just published last year.). Those who complete the challenge by the end of the year are eligible for a drawing for a $50 Amazon or Book Depository gift card.

Non-fiction:

I think I will sign up again for the 2015 Non-fiction Reading Challenge, as I read a number of non-fiction books anyway. I will aim for the “Seeker” level, which is 11-15 books.

Image courtesy of Serge Bertasius Photographyat FreeDigitalPhotos.net

So…it looks like these will keep me busy for a while. 🙂 Do you have any reading plans for the year?

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on January 9, 2015 by Barbara Harper

It’s Friday, time to look back over the blessings of the week with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story and other friends.

Usually the first week after the holidays, after everyone has gone back to work, is my quiet time to rest and reflect, but this week has been crazy. My mother-in-law’s caregiver’s son was sick one day, so she was out, then Jesse was sick most of the week. I almost thought we might have to take him to the hospital for IV fluids, as he was getting dehydrated from not being able to keep anything down. Then his appetite was next to nothing for a couple of days. Plus my recuperation from having a tooth pulled was taking longer than expected. But there have been some bright spots throughout; here are a few:

1. Wellness. We’re getting better every day, and praying that whatever Jesse had doesn’t spread, especially to Great-grandma.

2. Evening hours at the Doctor’s office. One evening after dinner when Jesse was showing symptoms of a secondary infection, we called the doctor’s office and they were able to get him in right away. I’m so glad they’re open some evenings.

3. A quiet day. Sunday I wasn’t feeling well, so I ended up staying home from church. I spent the morning lying on the couch, listening to a couple of sermons online and dozing off and on. Maybe the Lord knew I needed that pocket of quietness and solitude between the lovely but busy holidays and the week that was to come.

4. Sunshine. It seemed like the sky had been overcast for days. It was nice to see the sun this week.

5. A meal brought home. Yesterday was just one of those days. It wasn’t bad, it was just frustrating in the sense that I felt like a ball in a pinball machine being whacked from thing to thing that needed attention and not able to complete anything. I finally got a couple of things done in the afternoon, and then called and asked my husband, “Would you reward my lack of inspiration to make dinner by bringing something home?” 🙂 Good man that he is, he agreed. It was nice to have the time I would normally have been making dinner to gather my wits.

There was also some good news on a couple of fronts, but they’re not public yet, so I’ll wait til next week to share them. 🙂 And maybe next week will be back to “normal” – whatever that is. 🙂

Book Review: The Snow Queen

Posted on January 8, 2015 by Barbara Harper

Audible.com offers an end-of-year gift to its members in the way of a free short classic audiobook. Past offerings have been A Christmas Carol, The Wizard of Oz, and The Cricket on the Hearth: this past year it was The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen (as of right now it is still free for members – don’t know how long it will be).

You probably know that Frozen, Disney’s blockbuster movie last year, was supposedly based on The Snow Queen, but there is little resemblance besides a woman who “was beautiful but all made of ice: cold, blindingly glittering ice; and yet she was alive, for her eyes stared at Kai like two stars, but neither rest nor peace was to be found in her gaze,” an ice palace, and a talking reindeer (among other talking animals and even flowers) and some of the themes. All of the main characters’ names are different. But it is a pleasant story nonetheless, though maybe a little weird in places.

The tale is told in seven shorter stories. It begins with a troll (or sprite or hobgoblin or demon – different translations tell it a little differently) who made a mirror which causes those who look into it to see to see only the bad and nothing good or beautiful. In fact, the bad was magnified and the real distorted. After terrorizing everyone they could with the mirror, the fellow creatures of this being decided to take this mirror to heaven to “mock the angels,” but in the process it fell and broke into millions of small pieces and splinters.

The next story tells of two childhood friend, Gerda and Kai (or Kay, depending again on which book you read), and their innocent play and love for each other, until one day Kai gets one of these splinters in his eye and heart, which changes him and makes him quite disagreeable. Then one day he sees the Snow Queen, mentioned already, whom Kai’s grandmother had told them of. He is frightened of her and draws back. But another day when all the boys are hooking their sledges up to carts and carriages to pull them, Kai ends up unknowingly fastening his to the Snow Queen’s vehicle. Too late he realizes who she is: she won’t stop, and she takes him to her palace far away. Her kiss numbs him and makes his heart grow colder.

Everyone in the village thinks he has died, but Gerda is convinced he has not, so she goes to look for him. Several more of the intervening stories tell of the people and creatures she meets along the way, some who help and some who hinder her.

There are vivid contrasts – light vs. darkness, warmth vs. coldness, innocence and purity vs. evil. In one segment it is said,

“I can give her no greater power than she has already”, said the woman; “Don’t you see how strong that is? How men and animals are obliged to serve her, and how well she has got through the world, barefooted as she is. She cannot receive any power from me greater than she now has, which consists in her own purity and innocence of heart. If she cannot herself obtain access to the Snow Queen, and remove the glass fragments from little Kai, we can do nothing to help her.”

I’ve wondered if the Snow Queen was inspiration for C. S. Lewis’s White Witch in Narnia. There are similarities, but the White Witch’s personality is much more developed – maybe because she spans several books whereas the Snow Queen is just in this one story – and she is more overtly evil. But the scene in which Edmund is taken into the White Witch’s sleigh and folded into her robes is very reminiscent of the Snow Queen doing the same with Kai.

There is also something of a religious element. I realized after reading this that I know very little about Andersen’s background, so I don’t know what he believed, but the children quote a fragment of a hymn which says, “Roses bloom and cease to be, But we shall the Christ-child see,” and later when Gerda is in trouble she prays the Lord’s Prayer, and angels come to help her. Near the end, “The grandmother sat in God’s bright sunshine, and she read aloud from the Bible, ‘Except ye become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of God.’ And Kay and Gerda looked into each other’s eyes, and all at once understood the words of the old song, ‘Roses bloom and cease to be, But we shall the Christ-child see.'”

I found some of the intervening chapters, particularly one where Gerda is talking to flowers to see if they know anything about Kai, and they tell their stories, not only a little strange but also not really contributing much to the plot. But overall it is a sweet story of good triumphing over evil, of loyalty, of loving someone despite their flaws, of resilience when facing hardship and adversity. You can find the whole story online in various places with minor variations in the text (like the spelling of Kai/Kay’s name). Some day I’d like to read a nicely illustrated book version of the story.

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

Book Review: Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room

Posted on January 7, 2015 by Barbara Harper

Forgive me for spending the first week of the year catching up with Christmas reviews. As I said yesterday, I don’t usually have the computer time when I finish these to talk about them, and when I do I feel it’s probably too far past Christmas. But Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room: Daily Family Devotions for Advent by Nancy Guthrie is another that I’ve read several times now and want to share more about with you.

This book is written in a much different style than her compilation of essays in Come Thou Long Expected Jesus that I discussed yesterday. It’s written for use as a family devotional, so the language is in a simper style that I think very young children could comprehend, but I enjoyed it even as an adult reading for myself. Each chapter ends with a prayer, some discussion questions, and a few more Scriptures on the topic of the chapter. There are 31 readings: I like that it doesn’t stop at Christmas but extends through the month. (I know I said I liked that Come Thou Long Expected Jesus only had 22 readings, but those in this book are short enough that I don’t think it would be a problem to keep up with all month). The sizing of the book, too, is small enough that I think children would be comfortable holding it and taking a turn at the family reading.

In addition, there are lined pages where you can jot down anything you want to remember about the discussions aroused from the readings and a few pages of Christmas songs with their history.

The readings cover several topics that you would expect, but also a few you might not have thought of, such as this quote:

When you look at something through a magnifying glass, it looks much bigger than it actually is. Is that what Mary meant when she said, “My soul magnifies the Lord”? Was she trying to make God look bigger than He actually is?

We can never make God bigger or greater than He is. The truth is, we can never fully take in or understand God’s greatness. But we can magnify Him. We magnify God not by making Him bigger than He truly is, but by making Him greater in our thoughts, in our affections, in our memories, and in our expectations. We magnify Him by having higher, larger, and truer thoughts of Him. We magnify Him by praising Him and telling others about His greatness so they can have bigger thoughts about Him, too.

Sometimes we wonder why we aren’t happy, why we make sinful choices, why we feel distant from God. Often it’s because we have small thoughts about God and magnified thoughts of ourselves, our wants, our rights, our accomplishments. Mary, the one God chose to be the mother of His Son, could have easily allowed thoughts of herself to become larger, even prideful. But instead of magnifying herself, she magnified the Lord (p. 29).

And this:

Sometimes we are given a gift that we think is not really useful to us, and therefore we never take it out of the box. We stash it away in a closet or on a shelf somewhere in case we need it someday. Sadly, that’s what some people do in regard to Jesus. They want to keep him handy for when something comes along that they can’t handle on their own, but for now they have no interest in making him part of their day-to-day lives, and so they put him on the shelf. They simply don’t believe he is as good as the Bible says he is, and so they have no real or lasting joy in having received this great gift (p. 79).

Day 17’s reading on “Glory Revealed” is one that especially stood out to me.

I appreciate Nancy’s thoughtfulness and depth in these devotionals, even couched as they are in simple language.

I’ve used this book several times, once with Jesse when he was younger and then on my own. It’s one I am sure I will use again, and I am happy to recommend it to you.

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

Book Review: Come Thou Long-Expected Jesus

Posted on January 6, 2015 by Barbara Harper

I’ve read Come Thou Long Expected Jesus:Experiencing the Peace and Promise of Christmas, compiled by Nancy Guthrie, many times, but somehow I have never reviewed it. Probably because, like this year, I’ve finished it right in the busiest of the Christmas season, and by the time I had time to go over it, felt it was too far past Christmas to review. But I am not letting that happen this year. 🙂

In Nancy’s preface, she tells of Christmases where all the activities had been accomplished, but her heart wasn’t truly prepared. Then she tried to find a book of Christmas readings, but the ones she found did not minister to her. She wanted to find a “book with short readings on Advent themes from a number of different writers I trust and respect; that reflected a high view of Scripture; and that put the incarnation in the context of God’s unfolding plan of redemption” (p. 10). When she couldn’t find such a book, she set out to create one, reading and editing multitudes of sermons and writings from well-known theologians and Bible teachers.

There are 22 selections on various aspects of Advent, from Mary to conception by the Holy Ghost to Joseph to the shepherds to Jesus’s humility and others, from such teachers and preachers as Charles Spurgeon, Augustine, Martyn Lloyd-Jones to Tim Keller, John MacArthur, J. I. Packer, and Ray Ortland. I don’t know all of the authors, so I wouldn’t endorse everyone 100%, but I don’t think I read anything in this particular volume that I had a problem with, at least not that I noted or can recall.

In many ways it is hard to review a book like this, with so many authors and topics. But I’ll share just a few quotes that stood out to me:

Ligon Duncan III on Joseph: “God is calling Joseph to believe his word and to act in accordance with it. And Joseph does just that. He accepts God’s word and he trusts God’s word and he relies upon God’s word and he re-orients his life to conform to that word. What a tremendous act of faith on the part of Joseph and what an example of obedience to God’s word in spite of circumstance” (p. 53).

From “For Your Sakes He Became Poor” by J. I. Packer (originally from Knowing God): “We see now what it meant for the Son of God to empty himself and become poor. It meant a laying aside of glory; a voluntary restraint of power; an acceptance of hardship, isolation, ill-treatment, malice and misunderstanding; finally, a death that involved such agony–spiritual even more than physical–that his mind nearly broke under the prospect of it. It meant love to the uttermost for unlovely human beings, that they ‘through his poverty might become rich.’ The Christmas message is that there is hope for a ruined humanity–hope of pardon, hope of peace with God, hope of glory–because at the Father’s will Jesus Christ became poor and was born in a stable so that thirty years later he might hang on a cross. It is the most wonderful message that the world has ever heard, or will hear.

We talk glibly of the ‘Christmas spirit,’ rarely meaning more by this than sentimental jollity on a family basis. But what we have said makes it clear that the phrase should in fact carry a tremendous weight of meaning. It ought to mean the reproducing in human lives of the temper of him who for our sakes became poor at the first Christmas. And the Christmas spirit itself ought to be the mark of every Christian all the year round.

…The Christmas spirit does not shine out in the Christian snob. For the Christmas spirit is the spirit of those who, like their Master, live their whole lives on the principle of making themselves poor — spending and being spent — to enrich their fellow men, giving time, trouble, care, and concern, to do good to others — and not just their own friends — in whatever way there seems need (pp. 70-72).

From “Good News of Great Joy” by Raymond C. Ortlund, Jr.: “God is terrifying to guilty sinners, even though he is in himself gloriously beauitful. But God is pursuing us, even though we avoid him. He himself has taken the initiative to break through our terror” (p. 99).

From the same chapter: “Our good intentions are not strong enough to control our evil impulses. We need a Savior to rescue us from ourselves” (p. 100).

From “The Lessons of the Wise Men” by J. C. Ryle: “Let us beware of resting satisfied with head knowledge. It is an excellent thing when rightly used. But a person may have much of it, and still perish everlastingly. What is the state of our hearts? This is the great question. A little grace is better than many gifts. Gifts alone save no one; but grace leads on to glory” (p. 111).

There are so many others I’d love to share. Packard’s and Ortlund’s chapters impacted me the most this time, I think. There was a lot that was deep and thought-provoking in both, especially Ortlund’s on God’s glory.

Our family doesn’t celebrate Advent liturgically or ceremonially, with different candles on different days and all that, but I do like to, as Nancy wrote at the beginning, spend some time preparing for Christmas with some kind of Advent reading. This book, so far, has been the best book I have found for that. I like that it is 22 essays rather than 24 or 25 or 31: it gives one some leeway to begin early in December but not fall behind if a day or two is missed. Though the chapters are longer than the average devotional booklet, they’re not too long to read in a sitting, and I have found I do better at this stage of life with sustained thought on topics like this rather than “grab and go” devotionals. But most of all I like the richness and the depth. I had used it for several years, laid it aside for a few years, and rejoiced to read it again this year. I’m sure I will read it again many times.

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

Book Review: Where Treetops Glisten

Posted on January 5, 2015 by Barbara Harper

I wanted to read Where Treetops Glisten: Three Stories of Heartwarming Courage and Christmas Romance During World War II by Cara Putnam, Sarah Sundin, and Tricia Goyer since I first heard of it because I have thoroughly enjoyed all of Sarah Sundin‘s books. So far everything she has written has been set during WWII, and I enjoy the period backdrop as well as her well-drawn characters. I had never read Cara before and had read only one of Tricia’s books.

This book opens in the Turner home Lafayette, Indiana on Christmas Eve 1941. Abigail Turner’s boyfriend was killed in the bombing of Pearl Harbor and Meredith’s had broken her heart. For all of these reasons, no one was in much of a mood to celebrate Christmas. But Grandma Louise felt that celebrating Christ’s birth was especially necessary in such times, so she gets up early to start decorating.

The book then divides into three sections, each focusing on one of the Turner siblings during subsequent Christmas seasons and written by a different author. Each section is also headed by well known Christmas songs which debuted during the WWII era.

Almost a year after Pearl Harbor, Abigail is a college student and has decided that, for the duration of the war at least, her heart is closed to romance. There’s just no sense in getting involved with someone during uncertain times. She works part-time at the unique Glatz Candies (a real store, now known as McCord Candies), and on her way to catch the bus for work collides with a young man. He boards her bus as well, and she notices he has a limp plus seems to be under a heavy weight. She reaches out to see if she can be of help.

Pete Turner for years considered himself the black sheep of the family. His childhood bullying and prankish sense of humor hurt, angered, or aggravated every one subjected to it, until he finally gave his life to Christ. But old reputations are hard to escape, so he centers his life and work in a different town. On leave in Lafayette, he encounters a lost child and helps her home only to find that her widowed mother is the younger sister of a friend and the target of some of his worst bullying. She’s in need of some help, which he offers, but she has never forgiven him. Yet her daughter seems taken by him, and he seems to understand her daughter more than anyone else.

Meredith had met a young musician in college who was German born but seemed very Americanized. Just as their relationship was growing serious, she learns he has fled, and paraphernalia left behind indicates he was probably a spy. Hurt and betrayed, she joins the service as a nurse, and her unit is following the front lines to attend to the wounded. Christmas Day is also her birthday, and being so far from home weighs on her. But the last thing she expects is having to deal with her betrayal head on.

Grandma Louise’s influence is a running thread connecting all the stories, and an epilogue brings them all to a satisfying close.

At the end is a chat with the authors about their research and how they worked together on the project.

I very much enjoyed this book. The characters and situations were realistic and the element of faith was genuine. I enjoyed each character’s journey and what they learned along the way.

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