Giving Thanks Challenge, Day 19

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It’s Day 19 of the Giving Thanks Challenge hosted by Leah at South Breeze Farm.

I am thankful for humor!

“Mirth is God’s medicine. Everybody ought to bathe in it. Grim care, moroseness, anxiety — all this rust of life ought to be scoured off by the oil of mirth. It is better than emery. Every man ought to rub himself with it. A man without mirth is like a wagon without springs, in which everyone is caused disagreeably to jolt by every pebble over which is runs.” ~ Henry Ward Beecher

We have to keep it in balance, of course — I’ve known a few who take it too far, who exhibit little reverence or respect because everything is a joke. But I do think God has a sense of humor. I can’t imagine creating one of these without one:

A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.
Proverbs 17:22a

 

Giving Thanks Challenge, Day 18

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It’s Day 18 of the Giving Thanks Challenge hosted by Leah at South Breeze Farm.

I am thankful for food! And for the availability and wide variety that we have in this country.

Giving Thanks Challenge, Day 17

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It’s Day 17 of the Giving Thanks Challenge hosted by Leah at South Breeze Farm.

I am thankful for shelter, and particularly for the wonderful home the Lord has provided.

Giving Thanks Challenge, Day 16

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It’s Day 16 of the Giving Thanks Challenge hosted by Leah at South Breeze Farm.

I am thankful for friends, old and new, near and far.

Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man’s friend by hearty counsel. Proverbs 27:9

Book Review: Here Burns My Candle

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Here Burns My Candle by Liz Curtis Higgs is set in Scotland in 1745 and drawn somewhat from the Biblical book of Ruth. What does Ruth have to do with 18th century Scotland, you ask? I’ll get to that in a moment.

Lady Marjory Kerr lives very happily with her two Lowland sons and Highland daughters-in-law in fine style, her only sorrow buried in Greyfriars Churchyard. But life is just on the verge of major changes. Bonnie Prince Charlie is heading their way, seeking to build up his army and coffers to take the city and eventually the crown. She would never dream that her loyal sons might some day follow the Prince, that the sordid rumors swirling about son Donald are true, or that daughter-in-law Elisabeth has secrets of her own. As one by one everything she trusts in is taken away, and her own faults and failures become all too clear, she senses a call from a voice she had long ago stopped listening to.

Elisabeth, meanwhile, keeps the auld ways of worship of the moon that her mother taught her, yet her soul is not satisfied and her prayers are not answered. Grieved and disillusioned in her faith, the words of the Buik begin to open her eyes and her heart to the unseen Holy One.

Marjory and Elisabeth, you may recognize, are based on Naomi, the mother in a pagan land who loses her husband and sons, and Ruth, the daughter-in-law who loses her husband and leaves her home and her god for her mother-in-law’s. I’ve mentioned before in other reviews that I am a bit wary of Biblical fiction because so often it takes the story too far afield from the Biblical narrative. I don’t think this story is meant to be an exact retelling or parallel, but rather, the characters and basic plot arc are just drawn from the Biblical story. If this kind of a parallel bothers you, you could probably enjoy the book on its own. I can see the value, though, in exercising the imagination this way to explore a little more what the characters were going through (sort of like if a pastor or Sunday School teacher were telling a Biblical story and then, trying to make it more understandable to hearers, said, “Now that would be like…” and relating it to something the readers might more readily identify with). Knowing that the story was based on Ruth helped to hold my interest in some points, anticipating what was to come and feeling with them what they might have felt in the face of their losses, wondering how Ruth came to be dissatisfied with her own rites and what brought her to faith even when she did not have the best of examples before her, experiencing and understanding Naomi’s bitterness and wondering how and when the Lord first began to call her not only back home to her country, but to Himself.

It took me a good third of the book to really get into it, however. I am not sure why: I enjoy historical fiction, and the details were pertinent to the plot. Liz Curtis Higgs’ actually having been in Scotland was evidenced in the rich details, and I found myself inclined to speak with a wee bit of brogue myself. But, as I said, knowing what was going to happen and wanting to see how it played out kept me reading, and after a while I was riveted and sorrowing along with Marjory and Elisabeth in their losses.

Some readers may be especially miffed at Donald’s character, especially as there is no hint of his particular besetting sin in his Biblical parallel, but Higgs explains in her notes at the end that both his and his brother’s characters were drawn from the meaning of their Biblical names.

Here Burns My Candle is drawn from Ruth 1:1-18. The rest of the story will be told in Mine Is the Night, due out next spring.

Here is a trailer for Here Burns My Candle:

(This review will be linked to Semicolon‘s Saturday review of books and the next 5 Minutes For Books I Read It column.)

 

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 that made me stop and think this week:

I have not read anything by John Piper except the occasional quote, but I agree with this, found on a friend’s Facebook:

We have thankful days and unthankful days. And even our thankful days are not as thankful as they should be. Just think of how joyful and thankful you would be if your heart responded to God himself and his ten thousand gifts with admiration and gratitude of which He is worthy. – John Piper

This was from another friend’s Facebook:

Fight for us, O God, that we not drift numb and blind and foolish into vain and empty excitements. Life is too short, too precious, too painful to waste on worldly bubbles that burst. Heaven is too great, hell is too horrible, eternity is too long that we should putter around on the porch of eternity. — John Piper

I have to admit I am struggling a bit with this one. I’d be interested to know the context from which it came. I don’t think he is calling for a life of asceticism: I don’t think there is anything wrong with playing word games on Facebook for relaxation and brain exercise or watching a video with the family. I think the latter, in fact, can enhance the spiritual — if everything we ever say to others is serious and spiritual, I think they’d turn us off after a while, but just relaxing and having some fun and fellowship can open the gateways for relationships and for other serious conversations. But, yes, by and large we do need to be careful to maintain focus and balance and not let “good” pursuits crowd out the “best.”

And from yet another friend’s Facebook:

In fear-based repentance, we don’t hate sin for itself, and it doesn’t lose its attractive power. We learn only to refrain from it for our own sake. Fear-based repentance makes us hate ourselves, but joy-based repentance makes us hate sin as we rejoice over God’s sacrificial love …& see what it cost him to save us. What most assures of God’s unconditional love is what most convicts us of the evil of sin. — Tim Keller

I am struggling a bit with this one, too. I think fear has its place and I’d like to understand more what he means by “joy-based repentance.” The Bible does talk about godly sorrow leading to repentance. But to me the value in the quote is the focus that our repentance shouldn’t be just about getting ourselves out of trouble or fearing consequences, but rather it is based on the offense of a holy God and yet His mercy and grace in making a way for us to be forgiven.

Finally, this from F. B. Meyer’s Our Daily Walk for November 10 on gentleness as a fruit of the Holy Spirit struck a chord with me:

It is not easy to cultivate this fruit of the Spirit because it has many counterfeits. Some people are naturally easy-going, devoid of energy and ambition, at heart cowardly, or in spirit mean. Many of us are characterized by a moral weakness and decrepitude that make it easy for us to yield rather than contest in the physical or intellectual arena.

But in gentleness there must be the consciousness of a considerable reserve of force. The gentleness of God is combined with omnipotence…It is the prerogative of great strength to be gentle.

The thought of gentleness as being strength under control rather than just being easy-going and yielding gave me much food for thought.

In that same devotional Meyer quotes Thomas a Kempis:

“If thou wilt be borne with, bear also with another. Endeavour to be patient in bearing with the defects and infirmities of others, what sort soever they be: for that thyself also hast many failings which must be borne by others.”

Amen.

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 in the comments. 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.

Note: The Mr. Linky site says: “System is currently down for emergency maintenance.” If it comes back up during the day, I’ll add your links: meanwhile, just leave them in the comments. Sorry about that!

Giving Thanks Challenge, Day 15

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It’s Day 15 of the Giving Thanks Challenge hosted by Leah at South Breeze Farm.

I am thankful that I can cool or warm my home at the touch of a button.

Giving Thanks Challenge, Day 14

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It’s Day 14 of the Giving Thanks Challenge hosted by Leah at South Breeze Farm.

I am thankful that I know Whom to thank.

Psalm 136:1O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

2O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever.

3O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever.

4To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth for ever.

5To him that by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Laudable Linkage

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Here’s my weekly round-up of riveting recommendations from ’round the Web. 😀

How to Encourage Missionaries During the Holiday Season.

From It was the best of NaNo; it was the worst of NaNo by Johnnie at Kindred Heart Writers I saw a link to the 100 Best First Lines from Novels as listed by the American Book Review. It was pretty interesting — I wonder how long some of these writers had to work to craft a compelling first sentence. Some of them, though, weren’t so compelling to me. Johnnie notes that eight of them start out with “It was…” — considered a major no-no these days because of its passivity, but to me, if what comes just after “It was…” captures your interest and attention, it’s fine. Most of the “It was..” openers were intensely more interesting than the first line to Robinson Crusoe and a few of the others.

Another on writing from Kindred Heart Writers: Self-Editing Tips from Jerry Jenkins.

I must try Chewy Peanut Butter Brownies, recommended by a friend on Facebook. Sounds right up my ally.

How to transfer an image to fabric with gel medium from How About Orange.

Some fall decorating ideas:

How to make leaf trivets from Martha Stewart

Leaf motifs for table linens from Martha Stewart

Maple leaf coasters by the long thread.

And for Christmas, awesomely cute Festive Felt Christmas Trees from allsorts.

And this was sent to me by my oldest son and made me smile for a long time. You can only use a play like this once, though!

Have a great Saturday! I have some mending and cleaning to do.

Giving Thanks Challenge, Day 13

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It’s Day 13 of the Giving Thanks Challenge hosted by Leah at South Breeze Farm.

I am thankful for Facebook, for the way it helped me reconnect with old friends, for a fun way to touch base with family and friends, and even a couple of its games which provide a little brain exercise and a fun way to relax.