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Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on August 25, 2023 by Barbara Harper

We went from a full and busy weekend to a quiet week, and there were good things about both. I’m happy to count blessings Susanne and friends at Living to Tell the Story.

1. Family time. My oldest son was here about ten days altogether, through last weekend. We had a nice blend of relaxing and chatting at home and family outings.

I told of some of our doings in last week’s FFF. In addition, on Saturday we went to the Lost Sea Adventure, “the United States’ largest and the world’s second largest non-subglacial underground lake” (according to Wikipedia) in Craighead Caverns, about an hour from us.

My husband has loved cave exploration ever since a research project he participated in while in college. I can’t say I am fond of caves myself. 🙂 I was unsure about this since I have balance, knee, and ankle issues and the website mentioned some steep places. But I didn’t want to miss out on the family excursion. So I decided to at least try.

The website had mentioned hand rails, but there weren’t many, and they weren’t all at a good height. I had to hang onto my poor husband for much of the trail. Then when we got to the area just before the lake, the guide told us the way down would be equivalent to a seven-story slope, which would of course be a seven-story incline coming back. There were benches at this spot for anyone who didn’t think they could make it. I was pretty worn out by this point, so I stayed on the bench. Mittu stayed with me because she wasn’t interested in the boat ride.

I felt bad about missing the main attraction. It would have been nice if the website had mentioned that seven-story slope.

But Jason took lots of pictures and videos.

And we ended the day at a Mexican restaurant.

2. My birthday. We celebrated a day early since Jeremy was leaving on my actual birthday. We went out to one of my favorite restaurants. Mittu made my favorite Texas Sheet Cake, and Jason picked out these cute decorations and birthday plates.

3. Not much cooking. I had not anticipated this, but with eating at Jason and Mittu’s house once and Jesse’s another night, and the various excursions and outings, I think I only cooked three nights of the ten. That made me feel like I was on vacation, too. 🙂 Then Jim got take-out for the next three nights after Jeremy left. One night was my birthday, which we’d already celebrated the day before. One night he had an errand around dinner-time and offered to bring something back to eat. And the other night was just because.

4. A quiet week followed all the family activity, which helped us older folks to recover. 🙂

5. Family photos. When we’re all together, we try to get pictures of us as a group.

We’ll have to do something other than a line selfie next time so the ones at the end can be seen. 🙂

The boys decided to dress alike. 🙂

Need a model for the Brawny paper towels package? 🙂

All in all, it’s been a great week.

Hope yours was as well!

Review: The Second Half

Posted on August 22, 2023 by Barbara Harper

In The Second Half, a novel by Lauraine Snelling, Ken Sorenson is just about to retire from his university Dean of Students position. He’s looking forward to unstructured days, fishing, and traveling. But office politics threaten the department he spent his career building up and the students he wants it to serve. He struggles leaving all he’s worked for to the office vultures.

Ken’s wife, Mona, has started an event-planning business, which she hopes Ken will help her with when he retires. When a major client considers her services, Mona feels she’s about to get her big break that will establish her company. But Ken is worried that the stress will send her back into the depression that she took so long to recover from. And he keeps talking about traveling. How is she going to work a trip into everything else she has to do?

Then both Ken and Mona get the wind knocked out of them with a phone call from their son. He’s with the Army Special Forces, hoping he’ll get transferred near his parents. Instead, he’s being deployed to Pakistan. His wife left the family, and his parents are the only ones he can ask to take care of his ten-year-old daughter and five-year-old son.

Ken and Mona love their grandchildren, so of course they agree. But not only are their lives and plans are thrown into an upheaval, but they’re not as young as they used to be. Then as the weeks go by, they find that the children have been traumatized by their mother before she left.

On top of everything else, their son doesn’t contact them via Skype from Pakistan at the appointed time. Is he safe?

Lauraine dedicated this novel to all grandparents who have left plans and dreams to take care of grandchildren. “While there are joys as well as hardships and sacrifices, they are gallant people who step up because they love their children and grandchildren, no matter what.”

This story also demonstrates Proverbs 16:9, though I don’t think it’s stated there: “The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.”

The plot seems chaotic at first, understandable with all that’s going on. But eventually the family works through the trials and issues and finds the aid they need.

Mona struggles with worry throughout the novel, which is also understandable. But one odd place puzzled me: “She’d never been so shocked as when Pastor Oliver preached on worry and used the word anathema. God didn’t just dislike his children worrying, it was anathema to Him” (p. 28, Kindle version). Though the Bible repeatedly directs us to trust rather than worry, I’m not aware of any passage that uses anathema in connection with worry. Plus, it would have been good to explain the term for readers who might not be aware of it.

But overall, this is a great novel. The characters and struggles are realistic, and the ending wraps up beautifully.

Birthday Meditations on Aging

Posted on August 20, 2023 by Barbara Harper

Since my birthday is this week, and I had a “milestone” birthday last year, I’ve been thinking about aging.

My husband and I often remark that we don’t feel “old” (“old,” to me, has always been about twenty years beyond where I am now). We might tire a little more easily and have a plethora of aches and pains. But looking closely in the mirror often yields unpleasant surprises. When did that happen?

Seeing my mother-in-law through her last ten years of life brought up a long list of concerns about what we’ll face as we age. I once heard a preacher say that one reason our bodies start to fail us as we get older is so that we’ll be more willing to let loose of them. Each year reminds us that we’re in a temporary habitation.

But probably what most concerns me about aging is not being taken seriously any more, being thought of as out of touch or irrelevant.

On the other hand, there are perks to getting older. I’m more settled in my own skin. I’ve wrestled through questions and problems. Hopefully I’ve gained some wisdom through the years.

I wish Elisabeth Elliot had written a book on aging. She was my mentor-from-afar since my college days and helped me prepare for womanhood, marriage, motherhood, and Christian life and service. I did just discover that she had a series about aging on her radio program. I might spend my birthday week listening to those.

But I found in my files of her old e-mail devotionals an excerpt from her book On Asking God Why titled “Happy Birthday—You’re Heading Home.” She writes what she would say to an old friend on her birthday. The last few paragraphs encourage me:

You’ve heard those bad news/good news jokes. Well, this isn’t cheap birthday card humor. The bad news is that another year has gone by and we haven’t done all we meant to do and it’s not going to come back to give us another chance. The good news is the Gospel. We can be reconciled to God–sins forgiven, fears taken care of. That old cross, the emblem of suffering and shame, stands between us and our sins and fears, our past and future, and on its outstretched arms we see Love. The Love that would die for us is the Love that lives for us–Jesus Christ, Lord, Master, Savior of the World, wanting to give you (for your birthday if you’ll take it) something that will really quench your thirst, rivers among the sand dunes and wells in the valley; wanting to hold your hand, help you, give you–not only a happy birthday, but everlasting joy.

I’m not the least bit bashful about telling my age. I’m glad for every birthday that comes, because it is the Lord, my faithful Guide, who “summoned the generations from the beginning.” I look in the mirror and see the increasingly (and creasingly) visible proofs of the number of years, but I’m reconciled. Christ reconciles me to God and to God’s wonderful plan. My life is his life. My years are his years. To me life is Christ, and death is nothing but gain. When I remember that, I really can’t think of a thing I ought to be afraid of. I can’t be sorry I’m a year older and nearer to absolute bliss.

I pray for you on your birthday, that your path, as is promised to the just man, will shine not less and less but more and more; that you will still bring forth fruit in old age; that the Lord will give you a thankful heart like the psalmist’s who sang,

O God, thou hast taught me from boyhood,
all my life I have proclaimed thy marvellous works:
and now that I am old and my hairs are gray,
forsake me not, O God….
Songs of joy shall be on my lips;
I will sing thee psalms, because thou has redeemed me.
All day long my tongue shall tell of thy righteousness.

(Psalms 71:17, 18, 23, 24 NEB)

So–happy birthday! If you have friends and parties and presents, be thankful for such bonuses. If you have no friends with you today, no party, not a package to open, you still have a long list of things to thank God for, things that matter much more. A birthday filled with thanksgiving and hope is the happiest kind of birthday. Have one of those! Deck yourself with joy!

I agree with Elisabeth and Paul that “to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21) and that heaven will be bliss. But I am encouraged that many through Scripture pleaded for more years of this life in which to serve and praise the Lord.

Elisabeth quoted the first part of Psalm 71:18. The whole verse, along with 17, stood out to me as I read it recently:

So even to old age and gray hairs,
O God, do not forsake me,
until I proclaim your might to another generation,
your power to all those to come.

That’s what I want to do with as many days as God gives me.

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

Laudable Linkage

Posted on August 19, 2023 by Barbara Harper

I have not been online much this week with all the family here. But I did come across a few good articles.

A Liturgy for When the House Feels Too Full of Children. Lovely poem for an overwhelmed parent.

A Home Is Not Our Hope: Resting in the Promise of a Place to Belong. “All of this moving has often left me longing for a home. Our home. A place we know and where we belong. A place with the perfect view from our many windows, with solid construction, a clean (mold-free) HVAC, and a beautiful piece of wooded land outside. Of course, we have no idea what settling down might look like, but all of these transitions stir in us a desire to have a home that is ours.”

Legalism, License, and the Tightrope of Bible Application. “Legalism, License, and the Tightrope of Bible Application. “Sometimes people warn of the danger of creating behavioral rules to either attain or maintain God’s favor. And at other times, people warn of cheap grace, where the gospel’s freedom is misunderstood to mean repentance is unnecessary. The tug-of-war between these perspectives may cause Bible application to feel like crossing a lava pit on a tightrope. Both sets of warnings are on to something; the dangers on either side are real. And both sets of dangers may have the same solution: holding fast to the main points of biblical texts.”

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on August 18, 2023 by Barbara Harper

It’s been a full and lovely week. I’m sharing favorite parts with Susanne and friends at Living to Tell the Story.

1. Family all together. My oldest son, Jeremy, is visiting from out of state. My husband took most of the week off and Jesse and Jason and his family have been over more than usual. Lots of talking, laughing, feasting, playing games.

2. Jeremy’s birthday. So glad he could be here for it!

3. Outings. One day this week we visited the largest (for now) new Buc-ee’s in Sevierville. Buc-ee’s is a super-sized gas station (120 pumps!) and convenience store. They have “the cleanest restrooms in the country,” food like fresh brisket, bakery items, and their own name-brand snacks (Buc-ee’s Nuggets with various flavorings), a whole wall of Icee flavors, clothing, and home goods—you kind of have to experience to get the full impact. 🙂

I was surprised to see a lot of kolaches (rolls wrapped around either sausage or fruit filling) and-mesquite flavored meats, which I hadn’t seen since growing up in TX. Then I found out the owner of Buc-ee’s is from TX.

It was interesting–but noisy and busy. For all the food they sell, there’s no place to sit. So we got some sandwiches and drove to Seven Islands State Birding Park, a place Jim has wanted to visit, to eat at their picnic tables. There are several different trails of various lengths, but we didn’t explore much due to the heat.

There are walls of information in the barn-like entrance and signs about what plants attract which birds. :

4. Games.We play games a lot anyway, but it’s especially fun where Jeremy is here.We’ve played Jackbox games, Uno Flip, and last night an epic round of Settlers of Cataan that was so close, three of us were set to win at the end. Jason did during his turn.

5. Refrigerator messages.

The week has gone by way too fast, but thankfully we still have a few days together.

Happy Friday!

Review: Ladies of the Lake

Posted on August 17, 2023 by Barbara Harper

In Cathy Gohlke’s novel, Ladies of the Lake, Addie MacNeill is orphaned at age twelve. Her older half-brother sells the family home in Prince Edward Island and ships Addie off to a Lakeside Ladies’ Academy in Connecticut.

Some of the older girls pick on Addie for her newness and different ways. But she surprises herself by finding three dear friends: Dot, Susannah, and Ruth. Eventually they dub themselves the “ladies of the lake” and plan to meet together regularly once they’ve graduated.

When Lucy Laude Montgomery publishes Anne of Green Gables, set in Addie’s beloved PEI, Addie writes to her. The two begin a regular correspondence, and Montgomery encourages Addie in her own writing endeavors.

But trouble stirs when Addie and Dot fall in love with the same young man, Stephen. Over time as he favors one over the other, jealousy and deceit escalate between the girls and ruins their friendship.

WWI is brewing, and Ruth lost her brother in the Lusitania bombing, so she’s prejudiced against Germans. Stephen Meyer and his brother, Jonas, are as American as they come. But their parents still have a heavy German accent. Soon the rest of the community joins in persecuting and ostracizing the Meyers.

Addie is called to Halifax to help her sister-in-law through the end of her pregnancy and delivery. While there, the colliding of two ships sparks the Halifax Explosion, which killed and injured thousands and destroyed homes and buildings. Addie lost her brother and his family and was deeply burned and scarred. Believing that Steven had chosen Dot, Addie decides to change her name to Rosaline Murray and make a new start.

Seventeen years later, Rosaline’s daughter, Bernadette, is about to graduate from Lakeside Ladies’ Academy and dearly wants her mother to come. Rosaline is sensitive about traveling outside of Halifax with her scars. But worse than that, she doesn’t want to face Dot, who is now the headmistress of the Academy.

Dot herself has struggled with secrets for seventeen years now. Believing Addie died in the explosion, Dot has no way to make things right. But when Bernadette starts reminding her of Addie, Dot wonders if Addie could possibly be alive. Could she ever face her again?

Rosaline and Dot resist the things they need to do the most: face each other and confess their wrongdoings and apologize. Their inner torment threatens to hurt themselves and those they love.

I enjoyed this story so much. I loved the characters and how the plot unfolded. The correspondence with Montgomery was a fun element. I had never heard of the devastating Halifax explosion. I loved how the author told it from the standpoint of those affected.

I listened to the audiobook which, sadly, did not contain the author’s end notes. I would have loved to learn more about what inspired the author.

Cathy Gohlke has written another winner that I can highly recommend.

When Do You Need to Look to Jesus?

Posted on August 13, 2023 by Barbara Harper

I don’t remember what I came to talk about with my elderly pastor’s wife that day four decades ago. Probably some besetting sin, some struggle of faith, some kind of burden. But I remember her shining, earnest face as she repeated, “Look away to Jesus.”

When do you need to look to Jesus?

Do you know where you’re going when you die? Do you have inner peace? Are you burdened with the weight of the world’s problems, and with your own as well? Do you have regrets, guilt, shame? Look to Jesus.

Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other (Isaiah 45:22, NKJV).

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

Do you need to change? Are you discouraged because of a lack of transformation and growth? Look to Jesus.

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Do you need focus as you run the race of life? Do you stumble and fall spiritually? Look to Jesus.

Let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:1b-2).

Do you long for something more than this life has to offer? Do you need hope to persevere? Look to Jesus.

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works (Titus 2:11-14, NKJV).

Do you need grace and help and wisdom for every day life? Look to Jesus.

Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face continually (Psalm 105:4, NASB).

You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek” (Psalm 27:8).

Looking to Jesus day after day,
Trusting His love each step of the way,
Knowing that He so willingly shares
All of my sorrows, troubles and cares.

Refrain:
Looking to Jesus—looking to Him,
Whether the path be sunny or dim;
Holding His hand by night and by day,
Trusting His love each step of the way.

Looking to Jesus when I am sad,
Looking to Jesus when I am glad,
Having no fear of tempest or foe,
Singing His praises, onward I go.

Looking to Jesus when I’m opprest,
Looking to Him for comfort and rest,
Shunning the world, its clamor and strife,
Looking to Him who crowneth my life.

Looking to Jesus me to defend,
Shield and encourage unto the end;
Knowing that He has buried my past,
Looking to Him for glory at last.

James Rowe, Public Domain

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

Laudable Linkage

Posted on August 12, 2023 by Barbara Harper

I have just a short list today, as I’ve been busy preparing for my oldest son’s visit.

Helping My Child Deal with Anxiety, HT to the Story Warren. “No mother wants to watch their kids suffer. We want them to have it better than we did, to skip the painful parts we suffered through. But we cannot control the world around them. We cannot control their brain chemistry or DNA. We cannot spare them the struggle of anxiety or depression.”

The Audacity of Disability, HT to Challies. “You might have gotten the diagnosis beforehand, when the beautiful process of growth in the womb turned fearful. Or maybe it happened like it did for us, entering the hospital with excitement, only to discover something terribly wrong in the delivery room. Or perhaps it was a few years later, when you began to notice that something wasn’t quite right. However it happened, however you learned of it, disability entered your world, unexpected and unwelcome.”

Songs Are Discipleship, HT to Challies. “How does this song build up the body of Christ? How does this song edify a seasoned saint? How does this jingle build up the newly-born believer? How does this worship leader understand his role and responsibility? We must take seriously the theological development of the individuals we call worship leaders because they are disciples too.”

Q&A with Tim Challies: Wisdom to Bolster Writers.

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on August 11, 2023 by Barbara Harper

It’s been a busy week, and I welcome the opportunity to pause with Susanne and friends at Living to Tell the Story to remember the best parts.

1. Return of the hummingbirds. We’ve had more than the usual trouble this year with ants and teeny flying bugs getting into the hummingbird feeder. Then they decompose, and the hummingbirds don’t come around—or if they do, they hover a bit and fly away. As I once again emptied and scrubbed the feeder, I looked up how to make hummingbird food at home. Since I put the new stuff out, we’ve seen more hummingbirds this week than we have all summer. They must like it! My husband rigged something to keep ants out, so hopefully the feeder will stay usable for longer..

2. Kayaking. Jim, Jason, and Timothy went to a nearby lake to kayak for a bit. It was Timothy’s first time, and it didn’t take him long to get the gist of rowing.

3. Jason and Mittu’s 14th anniversary. We watched Timothy so they could have a date. They brought dinner when they dropped Timothy off and brought me a Crumbl cookie afterward. My FaceBook memories have been filled with posts about “wedding week,” so it’s been fun to reminiscence.

4. Safety and electricity. We had some strong thunderstorms here one night, with a tornado touching down about 11 miles from us. Limbs are down and trees uprooted all over town. Thankfully, our area was fine. Jason helped a neighbor cut up a fallen limb that was blocking the road–but first they had to deal with a bowling-ball-sized active hornets’ nest in the branches! Thankfully they were all safe.

Then we had a few more storms Wednesday night, though they weren’t as severe. We did lose power then, but not for long.

5. Four-way FaceTime. We’ll celebrate Jeremy’s birthday when he is here next week. We usually ship the presents he opens here to him when he goes home. We sent some of the heavy or large presents to him early, before his trip here–we get free shipping from Amazon, so it didn’t make sense to have them shipped free here and then have to pay a mint to ship them to him in RI. When he received our early presents, he set up a Face-Time call with all of us so we could see him open them. Thankfully, the connection worked for all of us. It was fun to have a little pre-visit visit. 🙂

We’re looking forward to Jeremy coming in this weekend. Jim will take most of the week off as well, so we’re anticipating a lot of good family time. Meanwhile, there’s much to do to prepare.

Have a good weekend!

Review: Yesterday’s Tides

Posted on August 10, 2023 by Barbara Harper

Yesterday's Tides novel by Roseanna M. White

Roseanna M. White’s novel, Yesterday’s Tides, has two related story lines taking place in 1914 and 1942 on Ocracoke Island in North Carolina’s Outer Banks.

In 1914, Louisa Adair helps her mother and “Grann” run an inn. She’d like to go to teacher’s college, but there isn’t enough money. Plus, she’s needed at home.

Though Louisa has blue eyes, her skin coloring is darker than most people’s. Her mother will not tell her anything about her deceased father except that he was a good man. A few people are prejudiced against her, thinking she must be of mixed race.

When two college-age cousins, one from Maryland and one from England, come to the inn for the summer, Louisa has no idea how her life will change as a result. Louisa has no plans to fall in love: she keeps a polite reserve with the inn’s male guests. But she and Remington Culbreth, from England, find themselves in each other’s company often. Just after they do fall in love, WWI breaks out and Remington is called to service at home. Will their relationship survive not only the war, but the differences in their families and lifestyles?

In 1942, Evie Farrow now runs the inn with her grandmother. One day while taking some baked goods to the neighbors, a loud explosion is heard in the distant waters. While Evie’s Coast Guard friends prepare to investigate and help, Evie heads home to pray. When a badly burned Englishman washes up near the inn, somehow Evie knows not to report him. He says he is military, but he’s not in uniform. What mutterings she hears as he goes in and out of consciousness alert her to the fact that he is an intelligence officer. But what would an English spy be doing in Ocracoke?

When he wakes up, she learns his name is Sterling Bertrand and he is tracking a German operative. But it will take weeks for his wounds to heal. Meanwhile, he wonders just how far he can trust Evie, who seems to have secrets of her own.

I’ve read many dual timeline novels, and usually there are enough differences between the two timelines to keep from getting confused. I had a little harder time with this one, since both stories took place at an inn in Ocracoke and involved a visiting Englishman. I think I would have had an easier time with reading rather than listening. I didn’t catch some of the names that were the same in both timelines, so I kept getting surprised at the connections. I don’t think that would have happened if I were reading instead of listening.

As it happened, partway through the audiobook I discovered that I did have a Kindle copy! So I went back and forth between reading and listening.

One delight with this book was running into some characters from Roseanna’s previous books. I won’t say which ones, as that might give away parts of the plot. You don’t have to have read those books to understand this one, but it was a fun surprise to see those characters again. Evidently Remington was in an earlier book as well, but, though I remember the story and situation, I don’t remember him.

I’m sorry to say I was not thrilled with the audiobook narrator. Some of her accents seemed a little off to me. Plus she had an odd cadence, her inflection going up when it didn’t need to.

There are so many layers to this novel, and so much more to it than there appears to be at first. I loved the stories, and after finishing the book, I just wanted to sit with the characters a bit more before saying goodbye to them and starting another story.