The Week In Words

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

Here are a few thought-provoking quotes that caught my eye this week:

From Robin Lee Hatcher‘s Facebook:

“Can an acorn become a rose, a whale fly like a bird, or lead become gold? Absolutely not. You cannot be anything you want to be. But you can be everything God wants you to be.” ~ Max Lucado

Is anyone else as tired as I am of sayings like “You can do or be anything you want” and “If you can think it, you can do it”? This was a wonderful answer to those philosophies.

And another from Robin:

“As we grow in Christ, we will learn how to appreciate peace over personal preferences. Remember, Christ is the Prince of Peace.” ~ Beth Moore

Though a little different, this reminded me of a quote from a forgotten source that it is not surrender to the Lord that causes us problems and anguish, it is the struggle against surrender. As long as we cling to our own preferences, our own way and will, we won’t have that peace of fully yielding to Christ. So why, then, do we keep doing it?!

See at Chrysalis:

“The arts are the John the Baptist of the heart, preparing the affections for Christ.” ~ Jacques Maritain

And finally, from another friend’s Facebook:

“Revivals should not be necessary. God intended that His people should grow in grace & holiness without periodic spells of backsliding & repenting. But so long as we have such a malarial brand of Christianity, a fever & a chill, a fever & a chill, we shall need revivals.” ~ Vance Havner

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

I hope you’ll visit some of the other participants as well and glean some great thoughts to ponder. And don’t forget to leave a comment here, even if you don’t have any quotes to share! 🙂

Happy Birthday to me!

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I’ve posted this for New Year’s Day before, but it is appropriate for a birthday, too, I think:

O Lord,
Length of days does not profit me
except the days are passed in Thy presence,
in Thy service, to Thy glory.
Give me a grace that precedes, follows, guides,
sustains, sanctifies, aids every hour,
that I may not be one moment apart from Thee,
but may rely on Thy Spirit
to supply every thought,
speak in every word,
direct every step,
prosper every work,
build up every mote of faith,
and give me a desire
to show forth Thy praise;
testify Thy love,
advance Thy kingdom.

I launch my bark on the unknown waters of this year,
with Thee, O Father as my harbour,
Thee, O Son, at my helm,
Thee O Holy Spirit, filling my sails.
Guide me to heaven with my loins girt,
my lamp burning,
my ear open to Thy calls,
my heart full of love,
my soul free.

Give me Thy grace to sanctify me,
Thy comforts to cheer,
Thy wisdom to teach,
Thy right hand to guide,
Thy counsel to instruct,
Thy law to judge,
Thy presence to stabilize.
May Thy fear by my awe,
Thy triumphs my joy.

From The Valley of Vision

Laudable Linkage

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Here are some of the interesting reads that stood out to me this week:

10 Ways Writers Lose Blog Traffic and Alienate Readers. I can add an 11th: too many ads or ads that are annoying.

37 Ways to Love One Another, HT to Challies.

When You Feel Inadequate. Revive Our Hearts has had Sharon Jaymes on this week for a series on lies women tell themselves.

She Will Come – For the Single Missionary. Sweet, poignant poem about finding contentment in Christ alone written by missionary Dave Hosaflook in his single days. Good for non-missionaries as well. 🙂

As You Leave the Field For Furlough, a note from a veteran missionary to a coworker.

Life Beyond the Empty Nest, HT to Chrysalis.

Book Filtering. I haven’t read the book this is promoting, but I love the introductory thoughts, pertinent to anyone who has lamented over “too many books, not enough time.”

Speaking of books, e-Mom is selling some.

Women’s Ministry ideas, HT to Creative Ladies’ Ministry Facebook page.

How to Make Cake Stands — that hold multitudes of things beyond cakes. Really neat idea for receptions, luncheons, etc. More are here (giveaway is closed, I am just linking for the photos and ideas).

Some of you might have been following and praying for Amy Bixby‘s battle with cancer. She just went Home to heaven yesterday, and a friend posted this rendition of the precious promise of No More Night. I hope you’ll pray for the family left behind, a father and seven children, plus the father’s father just had a heart attack a few days ago.

Friday’s Fave Five

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

Here are a few favorites from the past week:

1. Jeremy’s birthday and visit. My oldest son came down from RI last Thursday through Tuesday and we celebrated his birthday over several days. Though technology has greatly helped span the gap, there’s still nothing like having a loved one actually here.

2. A computer fix. My last Firefox update created some annoying problems — not major, but bothersome. Jeremy was able to fix those and it has made my computer time so much nicer.

3. Aussie Sydney Smooth No Frizz hair gel. My hair is a mess without it.

4. Jesse’s getting his driver’s license. Earlier this week I confessed I had mixed emotions about this, but it has been nice already that he can take himself to and from school.

5. Getting up earlier. I never thought I’d say that — not setting my alarm clock is one of the best parts of summer. But over the summer I tend to stay up later and later and then get up later — I don’t sleep more than usual, just at different times. Yet I do feel I get more accomplished when I get up earlier even if I do need a nap during the day. So school starting this week and the change in schedule is a good thing, but it is taking me a few days to adjust.

Bonus: I got word just this morning that an article I submitted to a magazine was accepted. 😀 I’ll let you know when it comes out, which may be any time within the next two years.

Have a great weekend! My birthday is on Sunday, and since that’s a busy day, we’re doing some celebrating Saturday and then having cake on Sunday after church. I’m not at the age yet that I don’t enjoy birthdays — I think I always will!

Book Review: Blue Skies Tomorrow

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Blue Skies Tomorrow is the third of Sarah Sundin‘s Wings of Glory series about three brothers during WWII, and Sarah has managed to hit it out of the ball park once again. A Distant Melody, the first in the series, was one of my top ten favorite books of 2010 and its sequel, A Memory Between Us, is one of my favorites of 2011 so far.

Each book focuses on one Novak brother: in this book, Ray is the peacemaker of the family, and his aversion to having to kill someone has kept him Stateside as a flight instructor. But he wrestles with whether he wants to avoid combat for those reasons or cowardice. A series of events lead him to the desire to prove himself in actual combat.

Helen Carlisle is a war widow actively involved in several volunteer projects with her church and the war effort. Though she puts up a brave front, a dreadful secret she tries to keep hidden threatens to undo her and her blossoming interest in Ray.

The main characters here as in the previous novels are realistically flawed yet sympathetic and very likeable. I was conflicted between wanting to rush to finish the book and see what happened and wanting to slow down and make it last longer so the story wouldn’t be over so quickly. I’ve so enjoyed getting to know the Novaks and I’m a little sad to see the series end!

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

Ups and Downs

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I’m borrowing this format from Bet.

UP: We had a great weekend celebrating Jeremy’s birthday. We went to Gatlinburg on Saturday and visited Ripley’s Believe It Or Not Museum, something the kids have wanted to do for a long time.

DOWN: I got stung or bitten by something while walking around Gatlinburg. I became aware of a piercing pain in my back and tried to shake whatever it was out of my dress (how it got from my past-knee-length dress to mid-back, I don’t know). It was red and painful for a while and then itched for several days, but it seems to be early gone now.

UP: I think we had a good blend of doing things and then just hanging around, relaxing and talking while Jeremy was here.

DOWN: Jeremy went back to RI yesterday.

I DON’T KNOW HOW TO CLASSIFY THIS ONE: Jesse passed his driving test yesterday, got his license, and took his first solo drive this morning, to school. UP, that he passed, that he’s taking another step toward independence and adulthood, that he can drive himself to school and activities, that he can run errands for me. 🙂 DOWN, that it’s scary, at least at first, and that he’s taking another step toward independence and adulthood because that’s another step towards leaving home.

UP: I resisted the urge to follow him and make sure he got to school okay.

I DON’T KNOW HOW TO CLASSIFY THIS ONE, EITHER: Today is the first day of the last year of high school of my last child at home. Senior year is exciting….but it’s the first of a year of lasts…

 

Happy Birthday to Jeremy…a day late!

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Jeremy's first birthday

 

Jeremy's first birthday cake

 

Jeremy's 27th birthday

Yesterday was Jeremy’s birthday, but we kind of celebrated the whole weekend. 🙂 I’m so glad he could be here for his birthday.

Hope it was a very happy one, Jeremy! I am so glad God sent you to us 27 years ago! You’ve been a wonderful blessing to us!

The Week In Words

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

This was from Robin Lee Hatcher’s Facebook page:

“Fear of trials sometimes depletes more energy than facing trials!” Beth Moore

Isn’t that the truth?! I can waste so much time and energy on something that turns out not to be a problem after all.

And from John Piper’s Twitter feed:

After calming the sea [Jesus] said, “Why are you afraid?” Not because Christians never drown. But they are safe in drowning.

I’ve often thought that if ever there were a legitimate fear, being at sea in a storm was one, and yet Jesus questioned the disciples’ fear there. This gives insight as to why. Even if “the worst” happens — they would still be safe, as will we if we’re trusting in Jesus as Savior.

I shared this among my links on Saturday, but it was so good I wanted to mention it again in case anyone missed it. From the article We Need Boring Christians:

Many of us want to do something awesome, something epic. We tend to think that the more normal, the less ‘spiritual.’ So it is quite possible that our aspirations to be radical stem from dangerous ambitions to perform biography-worthy feats of global glory.

God does call some people some times to do something radical, something “epic,” but He also calls each of us to be faithful in everyday, “ordinary” life.

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

I hope you’ll visit some of the other participants as well and glean some great thoughts to ponder. And don’t forget to leave a comment here, even if you don’t have any quotes to share! :)

Laudable Linkage

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A small but excellent list today of interesting reads ’round the Web this week:

Figuring out how to forgive {your parents}. The principles are good for anyone, though, not just parents. This brought tears to my eyes. It’s odd that I have had more trouble with my feelings for my dad since his death — you’d think that would be all over now. But this post is very helpful.

If you hold a grudge by Lisa Notes.

We Need Boring Christians. Excellent article. Quote: “Many of us want to do something awesome, something epic. We tend to think that the more normal, the less ‘spiritual.’ So it is quite possible that our aspirations to be radical stem from dangerous ambitions to perform biography-worthy feats of global glory.”

Preparing to Be an Amazing Old Man or Woman. Hint: start now, whatever age you are.

Mexican Skillet Rice. I want to try this soon.

Getting Good Info. My son, Jason, started this blog to share what he’s learned about best ways to research online.

And a special thanks to Cheryl at The Bz House That Love Built for listing my Week In Words meme among her massive list of regular memes, blog parties, carnivals,  etc., here. I met some of my best blogging buddies through memes, so if you’re feeling all alone in the blogosphere and want to make new friends online, participating in a meme is a great help. Cheryl lists tons of them, so you’re sure to find one that interests you!

This is pretty cool: an eagle owl (I didn’t know there was such a creature) landing in slow motion:

Hope you have a great weekend. We’ve got some fun stuff planned — celebrating Jeremy’s birthday over the whole weekend.

Friday’s Fave Five

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

Last week I had to search a little for five faves — not this week!

1. Jeremy (my oldest son) is home! His flight was delayed and didn’t get in til 1:30 this morning, so we’re all a little bleary-eyed, but happy.

2. Surprising friends at a wedding. The daughter of some of our oldest and dearest friends was getting married, not in her home town about three hours from us, but way up in northern Ohio. We were so sad that we couldn’t go…but then the week before my husband looked on the map, saw it was only eight hours away, and as we didn’t have anything else planned for the weekend — we decided to go and surprise them. We left early Saturday morning, got to the hotel with a little time to rest and eat, went to the wedding, slept, and then zipped (ha!) back here Sunday. You have to understand, I am not very spontaneous and I don’t usually travel well, but I thoroughly enjoyed this trip! My “travel issues” were at a minimum, and it was such a joy to see our friends and celebrate this special time of the first wedding among their children. The change in routine was very refreshing instead of stressful (for me — my poor dear hubby had to drive another six hours the next day). And I got two books read during the drive! (I could just about have made a whole FFF just from this trip!)

3. Seeing old friends. Besides the friends I mentioned, about seven other friends from early married days in SC were there whom we hadn’t known were coming, and it was fun to catch up with them.

4. French Silk Pie at Perkins, not a place we go often, but I love that place! We stopped there for lunch on our way home as a break from fast food. I couldn’t eat it at lunch time, but we had a cooler to keep on the way home. Not so good for the diet, but a wonderful occasional splurge.

5. A master packing list. I created one on the computer some time ago, and that helps so much!

We’re looking forward to a weekend with the whole family together and celebrating Jeremy’s birthday on Monday. Hope you have a great weekend, too!