Category Archives: Thoughts From Scripture

Book Review: Dawn’s Light

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Dawn’s Light is the fourth and, I believe, final installment of the Restoration series by Terri Blackstock which focuses on the effects of a global blackout on one community and particularly one family.

The subject matter of this series normally would not have drawn me to it, because I am afraid I like my creature comforts all too well, and I know how I am after even a few hours of no electricity. But, this is Terri Blackstock. And I love Terri Blackstock. I think I have read every novel she has written. So I knew it would be good, suspenseful, and convicting. And it was.

I am not going to say much about the plot beyond what you would find on the first few pages so as not to spoil it, but I can’t say the same for the comments. If you’ve read the book, let me know what you think — I’d love to discuss it.

In the previous books we’ve seen the struggle and growth of various members of the Branning family. Thirteen year old Beth has witnessed a lot of trauma which has caused her to be fearful of “The Next Big Thing.” So when she begins to exhibit even more fearful behavior, her family thinks she is just having further trouble handling everything that has happened emotionally. She won’t open up to them or to a counselor. What no one knows is that she has witnessed a double murder: she got away from the scene, but the killer saw her and threatened her and her family.

Meanwhile the pulses from a dying star which caused the blackout have finally stopped, and the massive effort to get electricity flowing again begins. Terri did a lot of research into the technology behind what this would mean and does a good job giving enough information to make it plausible yet not so much that the book gets bogged down.

Oldest daughter Deni had left her high-powered Washington career and fiance behind and fallen in love with a friend she had known for years, but her fiance comes back into town, not only to help with the electrical situation but to win Deni back.

One of the things I love best about Terri is that her characters are so real, so genuine, you feel like they are your personal friends, and they struggle with exactly the same issues I would in their place. When a family tragedy occurs, they wrestle with all the questions and issues almost any Christian would in the face of seemingly unanswered prayer.

A blurb on the front page says, “Terri Blackstock weaves a masterful what-if series in which global catastrophe reveals the darkness in human hearts — and lights the way to restoration for a self-centered world.” I am embarrassed to say that it wasn’t until I read that sentence that I “got” the symbolism of the darkness and the restoration — not just of electricity, but more importantly, in hearts. Though perhaps much of what I have said about it focuses on the “darkness,” the series ends with restoration and hope.

Book Review: The Listener

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The Listener is an older book by Terri Blackstock, and I had picked it up somewhere along the way, but somehow hadn’t read it yet. Terri is one of my favorite authors, and I have read almost everything she’s written, so I was glad to add this one to the collection.

The premise is that a somewhat indifferent Christian man named Sam, who is more interested in getting out of church early to get to a restaurant, suddenly is gifted with the ability to hear the needs of souls around him. At first it is maddening and disturbing. He goes to his pastor, who at first thinks he needs to see a counselor, until Sam remarks on what the pastor’s heart cry is. His pastor tells him he needs to use this gift to point people to the Lord, but Sam is filled with fear and has all the standard excuses most of us do: I can just be a witness for the Lord by my life; I don’t know how to bring it up; what if someone asks me a question I can’t answer? Sam’s reaction and development of his gift and the reactions of those he talks with as well as his family and friends comprise most of the rest of the book.

I don’t want to give away too much of the plot — it is a very short book, so if I disclose much more I’ll be giving the story away. But I will say I much appreciated the conclusion that we don’t need such a gift, nice as it would be, because we already know what people most need, and we have the Word of God and guidance of the Holy Spirit. But through the use of this gift as a plot device, Terri does an expert job at bringing out the problems and joys of our need to share our faith.

By the way, Semicolon hosts a weekly review of books on Saturdays: bloggers can link to book reviews on their site and/or read book reviews from others.

I’b gotda hed code

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Translation: I’ve got a head cold.

Which wouldn’t be too big of a deal…

Except that one of the out-of-my -comfort-zone opportunities I alluded to the other day is giving the devotional at a baby shower. Tomorrow night!

So I am going to lay low and rest today in hopes that the worst will be over by then and I won’t be hacking and dripping (and contaminating everyone in the same air pocket) while trying to say something helpful.

I did learn, after TM, that resting seems to be the best way to fight off these things. Right at first, any kind of illness or infection exacerbated the TM symptoms and wiped out my already-low stamina, and about all I could do was rest. But I discovered I got over colds a lot more quickly than when I felt I had to push myself to soldier through as I used to. Sometimes you just have to do that, but I’ve noticed that people who do that routinely seem to have lingering effects for a long time. I can’t take decongestants due to a propensity for SVTs. So, rest it is.

I was hoping to have some rare hours alone today to work out what I was going to say at the shower, but that seems to have fallen through. I’ve had several ideas running through my head, though — I just need to get them down in hopefully coherent fashion. And probably trim them. I tend to be wordy anyway, and after 23 years of being a mom, I could probably run on and on, but I’m sure that wouldn’t be beneficial.

Not that I am an expert on being a mom. One of my first reactions when asked to do this was to become acutely aware of my faults and my children’s. But…if God only used perfect people…nothing would ever get done. So I am trusting this opportunity is from Him and that He will enable it to be a blessing.

My initial reaction when asked to do this was…fear. I am much more comfortable writing, where there is more time to reflect, rewrite, delete — and no one is looking at you. 🙂  When I see that panic-stricken look on ladies’ faces when I ask them to share a testimony or give a devotional or serve on a panel at a ladies’ meeting, I encourage them that it’s a friendly audience, that no one is going to throw tomatoes, that people there want to hear what they have to say. I don’t always say this, but, as I said here, sometimes God wants to lure us out of our comfort zones (just ask Moses) to use us in some way and to demonstrate His power and ability and enabling. So…I figured I had better practice what I preach.

It seems like every effort at serving the Lord, though, is met with obstacles. Whether that’s “just the way life is” or whether it is the enemy’s efforts or further character-building from the Lord, I don’t know. I just know things always tend to come up at those times and usually at some point in the process I tell myself I am never doing this again. I have learned in other venues, like the ladies’ luncheons, to just know that that’s part of it and take it in stride. Or try to.

Meanwhile, I am reposting my “Ode to a Summer Cold” written and posted last June. It’s not summer yet…but it’s close enough.

To the tune of “Do Your Ears Hang Low?”

Oh, my nose, it runs
At most inconvenient times
Leaving overflowing trash cans
Filled with tissues full of slime.
It’s become a drip-o-matic.
My condition still is static!
Oh, my nose, it runs.

Oh, my head is filled
With such pressures in my sinus
And such fogginess of brain.
And my energy is minus.
Who’d have thought a simple head cold
Could cause scheduling to implode?
I’m ready for a nap.

Morning prayer

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All praise to Thee, who safe hast kept,
And hast refreshed me while I slept.
Grant, Lord, when I from death shall wake,
I may of endless light partake.

Direct, control, suggest, this day,
All I design, or do, or say;
That all my powers, with all their might,
In Thy sole glory may unite.

From “Awake My Soul and With the Sun” by Thomas Ken

Book Review: The Forbidden

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The Forbidden by Beverly Lewis is the second book in “The Courtship of Nellie Fisher” series. The local Amish church has split between two factions: the Old Order group who wants to keep to the strict rules they have always had and a new group who believe one can know they are saved and that they belong to God. There are some in the new group who are primarily interested in being able to use more modern conveniences like tractors and cars, but the core group began by reading the Bible on their own (something frowned on in the old order) and finding truths that they were never taught. They have found joy and peace in trusting Christ, but the old order folks believe it is prideful to feel sure of salvation.

Nellie is caught in the middle. Many in her family have become believers, and she can’t deny the changes in them. But her beau, Caleb, is very much Old Order and his father one of its strictest and most stubborn members. Caleb’s father has forbidden him to see Nellie, but they still manage to find ways to be together while hoping Nellie’s continuing to go to the Old Order church will convince Caleb’s father of her stand.

In one of the subplots, Nellie’s friend Rosanna, who has not been able to have children, has been given the gift of twins by another cousin, Kate, who already has several children. Yet it is obvious that Kate is having trouble letting go, and on top of that, the two women find themselves on opposite sides of the growing rift in the church.

In another subplot, Nellie’s sister Rhoda’s life shows that though every outward vestige of “the world” is removed from the life, worldliness is a matter of the heart.

I always enjoy Beverly Lewis. Her Amish grandmother’s influence and much research make these stories real, and it is easy to love these gentle, hardworking people and to long for their eyes to be opened to the truth of the gospel. Lewis also weaves many truths of life, character, Christianity, and family within her stories.

“You can’t say ‘no’ until you pray about it”

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I am “rerunning” this post because…I need it! Yesterday I received an e-mail asking me to do something way beyond my comfort zone, and then in the afternoon I got a phone call along the same lines but a bigger and scarier opportunity. My first inward response was panic and the thought, “Who, me?!” So many other people would do a better job. But the principle in this post had been instilled in me. Plus I have been somewhat dismayed when I’ve asked someone to do something ministry-related and received a panic-stricken “no” as an answer when I had hoped that they would give God a chance to help them and work through them.

This was originally posted Feb. 21, 2007, so some of my newer readers might not have seen it, and it is something I need to remind myself of often.

Any article or book you read or talk you hear about managing time will include this point: you have to be willing to say no to some activities. Especially in this day and age when opportunities to do things or have your kids involved in things abound on every hand, sometimes we just have to put our foot down and say “No” to maintain our sanity and keep some kind of reasonable schedule.

On the other hand……sometimes we say no without really considering what the Lord would have us do. All we know is that we can’t take on another thing.

Some years ago I was on a committee of ladies at church who took turns putting up bulletin boards to highlight 2-3 of our missionaries at a time each month. This committee was a part of the Ladies Missionary Prayer Group at that church. At that point in time they elected officers every year, and at one fall meeting, the president told us that that nominations had been made for the following year and the officers would be contacting those ladies who had been nominated to let them know and find out if they were willing and able to accept. She then said with a smile, “You can’t say no until you pray about it.”

Well, Debbie, the officer over that committee, told me I had been nominated for that office. My first response was, “But….I’ve been waiting all year to get off this committee!” That was not very encouraging to Debbie, I’m sure. ) But I just didn’t feel the liberty to say no, so I said yes. A week or two or so later Debbie came to me and told me that the other nominees had not accepted, and therefore I was “it.” She remarked that that must have been the Lord’s will. I responded, “No…the other ladies are out of the Lord’s will for not accepting the nomination.” I was so spiritually-minded, wasn’t I? I think she thought I was teasing, or else she would have rethought my nomination.

I did fulfill that year, and even though bulletin boards are not my forte, I really saw the Lord give some great ideas and some great people to help on the committee. I learned something about leadership. I learned to seek Him when frustrated because I couldn’t find help. I learned about the ups and downs of working with people. I don’t know if I can say I “enjoyed” that year, but I did learn a lot and I grew spiritually and as a person.

A few years later when an opportunity came along that was more scary and involved more work, I was able to face it with the confidence that if the Lord wanted me to do it, He would enable me. And He did, marvelously.

For a while I went too far the other way, thinking that anything that anyone in the church asked me to do must be from the Lord. ) We can get in over our heads really quickly that way.

Since then there have been times I have felt completely free to say no and have seen the Lord bring in someone else for that opportunity who did a wonderful job, much better than I would have done if I had taken it out of a sense of duty.

But the important thing is to pray over it first, before you decide it’s out of your comfort zone or that you don’t have the time or the skills. Sometimes the Lord delights in pulling out of our comfort zone and into dependence on Him for the abilities and the time. Sometimes He wants us to lay something else aside to do what He wants us to. Look in Scripture at people who were happily minding their own business when God came to them with something He wanted them to do (Moses, Noah, Peter, Paul) and think not only what history would be like, but what their lives would have been if they had said no.

While my heart is tender

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Savior, while my heart is tender,
I would yield that heart to Thee;
All my powers to Thee surrender,
Thine and only Thine to be.

Take me now, Lord Jesus, take me;
Let my youthful heart be Thine;
Thy devoted servant make me;
Fill my soul with love divine.

Send me, Lord, where Thou wilt send me,
Only do Thou guide my way;
May Thy grace through life attend me,
Gladly then shall I obey.

Let me do Thy will or bear it;
I would know no will but Thine;
Shouldst Thou take my life or spare it,
I that life to Thee resign.

May this solemn consecration
Never once forgotten be;
Let it know no revocation,
Registered and confirmed by Thee.

Thine I am, O Lord, for ever
To Thy service set apart;
Suffer me to leave Thee never,
Seal Thine image on my heart.

~ John Burton, 1850

A joyful end

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Many are the afflictions of the righteous. Thus are they made like Jesus their covenant head. Scripture does not flatter us like the story books with the idea that goodness will secure us from trouble; on the contrary, we are again and again warned to expect tribulation while we are in this body. But – blessed “but,” how it takes the sting out of the previous sentence! – But the Lord delivers him out of them all. Through troops of ills Jehovah will lead his redeemed scatheless and triumphant. There is an end to the believer’s affliction, and a joyful end too. — C. H. Spurgeon

Book Review: Uncharted

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When I went to the Christian bookstore to look for one of the books on my Spring Reading Challenge, it wasn’t in yet, but I caught sight of Uncharted by Angela Hunt. It wasn’t on my list for this spring, but it was on an ongoing list I keep of books recommended by others that I want to try out. I had seen this book recommended by many bloggers, so I bought it.

The basic premise is that there are six college friends whose lives have drifted apart. When one dies, the rest decide, for various reasons, to take up a mission he had planned to do, traveling to a remote island to build a Christian school. An unexpected storm capsizes the boat and the five find themselves on an uninhabited island. Conditions are fairly miserable, particularly the lack of fresh water. It’s not long until they begin to learn that this is no ordinary island…

Survivors on a mysterious island who have to face not only their past deeds, but also their heart motives — that all sounds close to the premise of the television show Lost. A blurb on the back of the book speaks of a biblical parable that this book parallels, but somehow I missed that. I am kind of glad, in a way, because it lent more mystery to the island. When the parallel does come up, though, it is very clear, as is the message of what the island is about. It’s very sobering and thought-provoking.

I liked the author’s emphasis that the regular church-goer and doer of good deeds yet without Christ is just as guilty as a murderer before God’s eyes. It’s only through Christ’s righteousness and God’s grace that we’re saved — all our righteousness is a filthy rag in comparison.

What I didn’t like was the ending. I suppose it lent weight to the theme that these people were stuck forever with the choices they had made in this life, and there is coming a day when that will be true. Yet a part of me wanted them to wake up and discover it was all a dream, yet have some of them learn from and profit by it.

Another thing that bothered me about this book were phrases such as the first line about someone’s seeking sex appeal and a line later where one character notes “the rhythmic tilt” of a woman’s bikini as she walked away. Perhaps this struck me with a little more force because I had just finished another Christian book that I decided not to review at all here because it had a very high degree of sensuality throughout plus was only “Christian” in the last several pages, and I had been stewing over that for a while before beginning this book. I know the characters here were not Christians, and non-Christians (and even Christians) would have such thoughts and make such observations. But it does bother me when Christian authors introduce sexuality into a story unnecessarily or in a way that brings up mental images that we should not want in our minds.

I think this is the first Angela Hunt book I have read. I did feel a lot more “in tune” with her in the question and answer section in the back of the book. Overall I do think the book is a worthy read despite the couple of disappointments.

This review is linked to Semicolon‘s Saturday Review of Books,where bloggers can link to book reviews on their sites. If you like checking out others’ thoughts on interesting books, you will find much to ponder there.

Sobering

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I’m reading through the OT book of Zechariah during my Bible reading, and these verses from chapter 7 really convicted me this morning. I underlined the parts that particularly jumped out at me.

4 Then came the word of the LORD of hosts unto me, saying,

5 Speak unto all the people of the land, and to the priests, saying, When ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh month, even those seventy years, did ye at all fast unto me, even to me?

6 And when ye did eat, and when ye did drink, did not ye eat for yourselves, and drink for yourselves?

8 And the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah, saying,

9 Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother:

10 And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.

11 But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear.

12 Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts.

13 Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith the LORD of hosts…

It’s so very easy to “refuse to hearken” in little everyday things — but every detour off the right path begins with a single step. I am so thankful God forgives and restores. I hope and pray to be more sensitive to His Spirit in my daily life.