Category Archives: Christian Life

Book Review: The Telling

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The Telling is the last  in the Seasons of Grace series by Beverly Lewis about an Amish wife and mother who suddenly and inexplicably leaves her family. Over the last two books, the family has dealt with practical and emotional ramifications of her absence and discovered a couple of clues as to where she might be while the mother, Lettie, searches for a way to make peace with her past. Lettie’s daughter, Grace, receives permission from her father to go to the last known place Lettie has been to try to find her, and her Englisher friend, Heather, offers to drive her there.

Meanwhile Lettie has gone as far as she can to try to set things right and determines she must go home and confess to her family and church, wondering all the while if they will receive and forgive her.

Heather deals with a course of holistic treatment for her cancer and some unexpected information about her own past.

Grace must continue to deal with the impact of her mother’s absence and then the consequences of her return while trying to be a friend to Heather and wondering what to do about the seeming interest of a young man named Yonnie.

I enjoyed this book very much and was well satisfied with the ending, even while seeing it coming. Various aspects of repentance, forgiveness, and grace are shown in  by each of the characters involved. It will be a little sad to leave these characters behind now.

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

The Week in Words — under new management

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I mentioned last week that Melissa was no longer able to host “The Week In Words” and that I was thinking of taking it up. I had just about decided not to, as there didn’t seem to be that much interest, but then Janet wrote me this morning asking if I was going to. So I decided to give it a try. I have never hosted a meme before, so this will be a learning experience!

One disadvantage is that wordpress.com does not support any kind of a “linky” system. Participants would need to leave their links in the comments, and I could also come back through the day and make a list within the post of those participating. This is how the various hosts of Poetry Friday usually do it, and it can work well. Thanks to Quilly, I did discover there is one Mr. Linky code that will work with the free hosted WordPress blogs.!

So..here we go!

As I have mentioned before, I love quotes: I keep a file for them on my computer, underline them in books, put a sticky tab at the top of  pages to remind me where they are. Sometimes it’s due to the succinctness and depth of truth in them, sometimes just the way it is worded causes me to think differently or more deeply about something. Sometimes I think, “I never thought about it quite that way.” Other times my response is, “That’s it exactly: that’s just how I thought, only he/she expressed it better.” If quotes affect you the same way, 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.

I am struggling not to put the whole May 5 reading from Our Daily Walk by F. B. Meyer today: it’s good, and I encourage you to read it. But I think this quote will stand out better just by itself in this post. In discussing not shrinking from a loving heavenly Father’s will because it might be painful, Meyer says:

You will only lose what you would gladly give up if you know as much as God does of what promotes soul-health.

We’re so reluctant to give up anything or go through any changes, but sometimes what we cling to, what the Father is trying to pry from our clutched hands (or probably more accurately, what He is patiently waiting for us to release to Him),  is actually what is stunting our spiritual growth and health.

I’ll just leave that one quote today since I had so much else to say, but the May 7 reading about forgiveness is excellent as well. 🙂

I’m looking forward to reading what has inspired you this week. At this point I do have one major request: please keep it family-friendly. Thanks!

1. Janet
2. Susanne		 3. Susan
4. Sekyoushi		 5. Mama Bear

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National Day of Prayer 2010

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I have never “celebrated” the National Day of Prayer except to say a brief prayer in private for my country. I Timothy 2:1-2 says, “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.” I have to confess I often don’t think to unless there is some kind of trouble, imminent or potential, and I suspect many conservative Christians are the same way.

I know there is some controversy over the national declaration of such a day. Whatever the separation of church and state actually means, it is clear that our founding fathers did not mean that every vestige of religion be moved from public life. They often invoked God’s name in their writings, even in their official documents. While I think Christian leaders can declare such a day without governmental support, I think it is wise and helpful for government to acknowledge it is not beyond the need for prayer.

I am not much for writing out prayers — I’d rather just pray them. But I have benefited from the many prayers in Scripture and from other people’s writings, and writing them out can be a good way to sort out one’s stray thoughts, think through how one wants to pray, and focus without as much distraction. So in that vein, I wanted to write out what I want to pray today.

Dear Father,

Thank you for this nation. Even with all its flaws, it is a good place to live. I am thankful for its blessings and provisions. We too easily take for granted all we have here. Help us to be more mindful of others, even within our own country, who don’t have the blessings we’re so accustomed to, and help us to be more generous.

I do pray for our leaders, from the president all the way down to the local school board members. Help them to seek Your guidance. Help them to be honest, to be motivated by the good they can do rather than their own positions and status, to take a stand when needed and to know when and how to negotiate when needed. Help those who don’t know you to be convicted of their own need for you and to hear and believe your truth. I do pray “that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.”

I do not pray that we may “reclaim the culture.” I think what many people mean by that is that we might return to the cleaner lifestyles and family values of decades ago. While I do pray for those things, I acknowledge that people can live even in that culture without truly knowing You and without being motivated by Your truth. What I do pray for is a revival like the kind that shook our nation during the Great Awakening, in which people would acknowledge You, be convicted about living their lives apart from the dictates of Your Word, and believe on You for forgiveness and salvation. Your Word says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD” (Psalm 33:12a). May our nation become a truly Christian one.

In Jesus’ name,
Amen

The Week in Words

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http://breathoflifeministries.blogspot.com/2010/01/announcing-week-in-words.html Melissa at Breath of Life has been hosting a weekly carnival called The Week In Words,which involves sharing something from your reading that inspires you, causes you to laugh, cry, or dream, or just resonates with you in some way.

However, she is going to have to discontinue hosting due to personal issues. I am thinking of taking on the hosting of this, if someone else has not already volunteered. I love quotes: I keep a file for them on my computer and underline them in books with a sticky tab at the top of the page. Sometimes it’s due to the succinctness and depth of truth in them, sometimes just the way it is worded causes me to think differently or more deeply about something.

The free WordPress blogs do not support Mr. Linky or McLinky for people to link up their own posts, so that is a drawback. But I suppose people could leave their links in their comments, or I could update the post with them throughout the day. I will think about it and let you know next week: let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Meanwhile, I think I will probably keep sharing quotes sporadically whether the meme itself continues or not.

Here are just a few short ones that speak for themselves:

“Some people drink from the fountain of knowledge; others just gargle.”~ Dr. Robert Anthony, seen at Quoth She.

“Many men owe the grandeur of their lives to their tremendous difficulties.” ~ Charles H. Spurgeon, seen at Strength For Today.

“The strength of patience hangs on our capacity to believe that God is up to something good for us in all our delays and detours.”  ~ John Piper, seen at Wrestling With An Angel.

This comes from the May 1 reading of Our Daily Walk by F. B. Meyer:

“Have Faith in God” really means reckon on God’s faithfulness to you. Do not look at your faith. He who is ever considering his health will become an invalid; he who always looks down at his faith will cut the very roots from which faith grows, will shut out the beam by which faith lives. Look away to the character of God–the faithful God, who keepeth covenant and mercy for ever.

This final one comes from a work of fiction, The Telling by Beverly Lewis. One character Grace, is asking another, Heather, if she’d like a lady that she had previously talked with, a lady who had recovered from the same illness she has, to come and see her. Heather replies, “Only if she’s not too busy…” Grace answers:

I doubt that she’s ever that busy. Where’s Sally’s concerned, the best thing ’bout life is people and makin’ time for them. People and time, that’s her motto.

I have to confess that though I would agree with the priorities in theory, in real life I often chafe against interruptions or requests on my time. I’ve been convicted often about not being hospitable enough, and I am convinced that true hospitality begins in the heart, that openness to lay aside what I am doing when someone else needs attention. I do like to be with people and do for people — when I have them scheduled in. 🙂 When I am doing something else and then someone wants my attention right now — then I don’t feel hospitable. But while I am asking the Lord to help me with that, I also take heart in reading accounts of others who have felt the same way: they may resent being interrupted at first, but they do the right thing and God changes their heart in the process. More on that later. 🙂

For Mother’s Day…or any day

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ChurchWorksMedia.com is selling a neat little month-long devotional booklet called Gospel Meditations for Women, and with Priority Mail, there is still time to get copies for Mother’s Day to distribute to the ladies of your church or just to the special ladies in your life. But even if you can’t order it in time for Mother’s Day, it is a great resource any time.

It was first written by pastors Chris Anderson and Joe Tyrpak for the ladies of their congregation last year. Each page contains a verse of Scripture with the reference for the longer passage, then about a page-long meditation on the passage, ending with the line, “Let the gospel affect your ______,” the blank being filled with the topic of the day. You can find more information here and view a sample here.

I ordered a few copies for myself and received them a few days ago. I haven’t had a chance to read all 31 entries yet, but I have liked what I have read so far. I would normally read something completely before endorsing it and recommending it, but I did want to mention it in time for Mother’s Day. I have been reading Chris Anderson’s blog, My Two Cents, for some time now and have quoted from it or linked to it occasionally, and I have always appreciated his careful handling of Scripture and his gracious interaction with others. Some of you might be familiar with his hymn “My Jesus Fair” from the Galkins Team CD, Christ, Only Always.

Perfect Peace

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Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength. Isaiah 26:3-4.

Peace, perfect peace, in this dark world of sin?
The blood of Jesus whispers peace within.

Peace, perfect peace, by thronging duties pressed?
To do the will of Jesus, this is rest.

Peace, perfect peace, with sorrows surging round?
On Jesus’ bosom naught but calm is found.

Peace, perfect peace, with loved ones far away?
In Jesus’ keeping we are safe, and they.

Peace, perfect peace, our future all unknown?
Jesus we know, and he is on the throne.

Peace, perfect peace, death shadowing us and ours?
Jesus has vanquished death and all its powers.

It is enough: earth’s struggles soon shall cease,
and Jesus call us to heaven’s perfect peace.

~ Edward Henry Bickersteth, 1875

Friday’s Fave Five

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Susanne at Living to Tell the Story hosts a “Friday Fave Five” in which we share our five favorite things from the past week. Click on the button to read more of the details, and you can visit Susanne to see the list of others’ favorites or to join in.

As I thought about this post yesterday and this morning, my initial feeling was, “I ain’t got nothin’ this week.” It hasn’t been a bad week per se, but nothing really stood out to me as a favorite. And then the last day or so I’ve just been in a funk, as we used to say — irritable over several little petty annoyances and possibly hormones. But as I thought about it this morning while driving around on a couple of errands, a few things came to mind. So this will be a little different “Fave Five” post than usual for me.

1. I am glad that God still loves us and is patient with us even when we’re petty, selfish, irritable, or hormonal.

2. I accompanied a family member to an outpatient medical procedure as moral support and the designated driver afterward, and, though happy to do so, I thought at the time how much I hate hospitals and medical buildings. There is just the association with something at the very least unpleasant, possibly painful, and for some, devastating, at those places. But I’ve also been reading about pioneer missionaries in a primitive area on the Amazon River — 18 hours from a doctor, carrying a patient over jungle trails and hills, bouncing along the Amazon in a small boat, sometimes having to do limited medical procedures on their front porch. That makes me shudder. For all it flaws, I think we probably do have the best medical care available in the world here and now.

3. Our family is “on hold” in a couple of ways, waiting and praying for results of the above procedure and waiting and praying concerning a possible major change for us. And, of course, we’d much rather know than wait. But you can’t rush the process, not if you want the best results. I was reminded of the children of Israel in the book of Exodus traversing through the wilderness until the pillar of cloud that was leading them stopped, and then waiting for an unknown amount of time until it moved again. They didn’t know how long they were going to be there or where they were going next. But they could trust the One leading them and patiently and faithfully attend to the duties at hand until it was time for the next step.

4. Several incidents that led to my frustration and irritability had to do with thwarted plans and desires: nothing major, just small things over the course of a few days. It would take too long to list them and there’s no need to rehash them. But it was a painful reminder to me of just how selfish I am that I can get so irritated when things don’t work out my way. I have to remind myself often that I am not just here to do my own thing: I am here to do what God wants me to do and to be available to minister to my family. Even though I have always felt that a woman’s family is her first ministry, I often have to adjust my thinking to that perspective in practical everyday life. And once I do that, whatever changes I have to make are fine. It’s just that mental hurdle.

5. I think I have probably mentioned Christian music a time or two, but I was blessed by it again this morning while driving around running errands. Not only was the music calming and soothing, but the words helped me to set my affection on things above (Colossians 3:1-2).

I’ve Found a Friend

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I’ve found a Friend, O such a friend! He loved me ere I knew Him;
He drew me with the cords of love, and thus He bound me to Him;
And round my heart still closely twine those ties which naught can sever,
For I am His, and He is mine, forever and forever.

I’ve found a Friend, O such a friend! He bled, He died to save me;
And not alone the gift of life, but His own Self He gave me!
Naught that I have mine own I call, I’ll hold it for the Giver,
My heart, my strength, my life, my all are His, and His forever.

I’ve found a Friend, O such a friend! All pow’r to Him is given,
To guard me on my onward course, and bring me safe to heaven.
The eternal glories gleam afar, to nerve my faint endeavor;
So now to watch, to work, to war, and then to rest forever.

I’ve found a Friend, O such a friend! So kind and true and tender,
So wise a Counselor and Guide, so mighty a Defender!
From Him who loves me now so well what power my soul can sever?
Shall life or death, shall earth or hell? No! I am His forever.

~ James G. Small

The Hidden Flame

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The Hidden Flame by Janette Oke and Davis Bunn is the second in the Acts of Faith series set during the time of the early church in Acts. The first book, The Centurion’s Wife (reviewed here) took place just after the death and resurrection of Christ. The Hidden Flame picks up right where the action left off in the earlier book, but then there is a two-year gap before we see the early disciples in their new patterns of life.

The main character of this book is Abigail, a friend of Leah’s from the previous book. Abigail thought she had lost her entire family, but discovered her brother alive at the end of the first book. Now they have become integrated with the disciples, and despite Abigail’s previous injuries from a cauldron of boiling water spilling onto her, she is an active member, busy ministering in the kitchens and in distributing food to the poor. Two men are after her hand: one an older, wealthy Jewish merchant, the other a young Roman soldier. The problem, though, is that neither of them are believers, which is something she strongly desires in a mate, but women in that day had little say about whom they were given to in marriage.

I mentioned in my review of the first book that I approach Biblical fiction somewhat warily as too often the author’s imagination can take off and obscure or even supersede the facts. But David Bunn and Janette Oke are as careful as I think they can be. The reader has to understand  that the characters who are developed a little more than the Bible gives us information about are products of the author’s imagination and therefore not entirely Biblical, but I think the authors do a good job of fleshing out what they think the Biblical characters might have been like.

The main events from the book of Acts here are the way the church dealt with the persecuted or displaced early believers, the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira, the naming of the first deacons, and the stoning of Stephen. I especially appreciated the way the situation with Ananias and Sapphira was handled. We tend to breeze right through that passage on the way to the next, but this caused me to think for the first time how the incident must have impacted  both the community and the believers, who I imagine would have been very shaken. As the different believers in the story wrestle with what has happened and discuss it with each other, we hear varying views of possible reasons the Lord handled the situation in just that way without a one dogmatic, overriding view.

I am assuming there will be more books in the series: there were no loose ends at the conclusion, but there was a feel that there was more of the story to come. I look forward to it.

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

The Week In Words

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http://breathoflifeministries.blogspot.com/2010/01/announcing-week-in-words.html Melissa at Breath of Life hosts a weekly carnival called The Week In Words,which involves sharing something from your reading that inspires you, causes you to laugh, cry, or dream, or just resonates with you in some way.

Though I’ve read several things that spoke to me this week, the one I’ve spent the most thought on came from the devotional book I am going through with my youngest son, Quiet Moments with God Devotional Journal For Teens.* In this reading from April 10, an unnamed modern potter is quoted as saying:

Both my hands shaped this pot. And the place where it actually forms is a place of tension between the pressure applied from the outside and the pressure of the hand on the inside. That’s the way my life has been. Sadness and death and misfortune and the love of friends and all the things that happened to me that I didn’t even choose. All of that influenced my life. But, there are things I believe in about myself, my faith in God, and the love of some friends that worked on the inside of me. My life, like this pot, is the result of what happened on the outside and what was going on inside of me. Life, like this pot, comes to be in places of tension.

In all the sermon illustrations and object lessons I have heard and read concerning potters, somehow I have never gotten that point, that when pressure from the outside pushes against God’s sustenance and strength on the inside (if we know Him and are being sustained through His Word and His Holy Spirit), not only does His strength keep us from caving in, but the tension between the two sources of pressure actually forms us.

That point may have been made before, and I’ve experienced it, but I never quite got it in quite that way before, and it has given me much food for thought.

The base verse for that day’s reading was II Corinthians 4:16: “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day,” and the lesson, of course, was on the need to stay in close touch with God and feed on His Word so we have His resources to meet the needs of the day. Another quote I posted years ago was on “conditions for receiving strength” from a Bible study Rosalind Goforth had done, but I’ll just leave the link rather than requoting it here for the sake of space.

As I mentioned, there are multitudes of spiritual object lessons about potters and pottery: God’s ownership of His vessels and His right to form them as he will (Jeremiah 18:1-6, Romans 9:20-21), the need to be yielded to the potter’s hand, the problem a potter has when there is a resistant lump in the clay, or when the clay is not malleable and the potter has to take it off and knead it or take the lumps out or add water or clay to get it to the right texture before trying to rework it. But once when at our church we saw a demonstration of a Christian potter who actually brought his potter’s wheel and “threw” a pot, bringing out all the spiritual lessons, one thing stood out to me then: he brought out the intimacy of it, how the vessel he was working on was almost in his lap, how he was bent over it, arms around it, looking at it from all sides. That picture has stayed with me since then, of a God who is not aloof and insensitive, but rather bent over us, intensely interested and caring, actively and lovingly forming us.

(* Though I don’t want to take away from the precious truth here, I do feel compelled to say I cannot endorse this book completely. I’ll say more when I review it after we get back around to where we started in it, but though there are great nuggets in it, there are also places where the lesson either has nothing to do with the verse it is supposed to be taken from or is grossly misapplied.)