The book looks very much like a gift book. It has a puffy hardback cover, lovely pages, and a ribbon bookmark. The size is a little under 6×7″.
There are about 46 readings grouped into several categories: the Righteous Woman, Virtuous Woman, Faithful Woman, Confident Woman, etc.
Each reading contains a verse from the book of Proverbs in the Bible, a story illustrating the proverb, a conclusion, a “Try this” action suggestion, and a few other proverbs or quotes.
This book mostly uses the Good News Translation of the Bible (formerly Good News or Modern Man, now often called Today’s English Version). This is not my favorite version, for a number of reasons. It translates the thought of a passage rather than the words. It succeeds in its goal of having an easily readable text, but it sacrifices some accuracy. I think a different Bible translation would have made this book a lot stronger.
Also, I wouldn’t endorse all the people the book quotes from.
Just about the time I thought this book seemed a little lightweight in content, I’d read a section that was particularly helpful and meaningful.
So, this book has a lot of good points, more good than bad. But it could have been much better with a little tweaking.
Often we want to get right to the happy part of Easter: springy clothes, family get-togethers, church services with songs of triumph and victory.
But we shouldn’t rush too quickly past the cross. Without the cross, there would be no redemption; without death, there would be no resurrection.
I thought I’d take a little time to look up verses that share what Jesus’ death on the cross accomplished for us. We know Jesus died for our sins, but we don’t often think of other things that happened as a result of the cross.
I’m sure there’s much, much more that could be said. But here is some of what I found:
Expression of God’s love
In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins (1 John 4:9-10).
The forgiveness of our sins
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. . . but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:6, 8
Reconciliation to God
For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life (Romans 5:10).
For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him (Colossians 1:19-22).
Opportunity to become God’s children through faith and repentance
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God (Galatians 4:4-7).
Opportunity for Gentiles to become part of God’s family
Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles . . . were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostilityby abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace,and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God (Ephesians 2:11-19).
Canceled our debt of sin
And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross (Colossians 2:13-14).
Fulfillment of God’s Law
For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit (Romans 8:3-4).
Our holiness
And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him (Colossians 1:21-22).
Change of life and focus
He died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised (2 Corinthians 5:15).
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Victory over death and its fear
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery (Hebrews 2:14-15).
The new covenant
Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant (Hebrews 9:15).
Assurance of His provision
He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32).
Opportunity to live with Him
Our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him (1 Thessalonians 5:1).
Eternal Life
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).
Crucifixion was one of the most painful and humiliating deaths possible. In that sense, it seems strange to be thankful for it, despite all it accomplished for us. I love how Chris Anderson captured this in his song, “My Jesus Fair”:
O love divine, O matchless grace— That God should die for men! With joyful grief I lift my praise, Abhorring all my sin, Adoring only Him.
As we contemplate the cross this week and beyond, may we respond like Chris wrote above and like Isaac Watts wrote in “Alas and Did My Savior Bleed“:
Thus might I hide my blushing face While His dear cross appears. Dissolve my heart in thankfulness, And melt mine eyes to tears.
But drops of grief can ne’er repay The debt of love I owe; Here, Lord, I give myself away, ’Tis all that I can do.
I have a fairly short list of good reads to share with you this week:
In What Way Is Jesus the Way? “Jesus is the Way to God. You can’t get there by being kind, by being the church lady with all the casseroles, or even by teaching Sunday school for fifty years (as good as all those things are!) He is the way because he is also the truth and the life.”
One of the Most Urgent Biblical Commands for Our Day. “One of the most urgent biblical commands for our day—and perhaps for any day—is to speak the truth in love. Different people at different times tend to overemphasize one of the two factors and underemphasize the other so that some lean away from truth while others lean away from love. But the Lord expects that we will do both without competition or contradiction.”
Valiant and Virtuous: Celebrating Single Women of the Bible. “Singleness can be a challenging yet rewarding season in life. Society often emphasizes marriage and relationships, and navigating this path can sometimes feel isolating. However, the Bible offers a powerful message of hope and purpose for single Christian women.”
In flight, HT to Challies. “We have a long flight ahead. Fourteen hours or so. Beforehand, I’ve asked for a heart attentive to His prompting. And for willing availability, boldness to share the gospel. It’s not my first thought on airplanes lately, to be honest. I’d rather chill in my own little world. Enjoy the extended “pause” from daily tasks. But as he’s seated, I pray for wisdom. To listen and obey.”
The Introvert, HT to Challies.. “We live in a noisy world, do we not? Deafening, in fact. A chaotic culture with throngs of people highly uncomfortable with silence. It is considered prestigious to fill up one’s time indiscriminately, often to the neglect of one’s soul.”
“The vulgarity of the cross is the vulgarity of the sin that erected it—but the cross flames with light, the light of the glory of the grace of God, Who took sin into His own heart and cancelled it by the shedding of blood.” —G. Campbell Morgan
I often remark how the week has flown by, but this one seemed faster than most. I often keep a running list of what to include in each week’s Friday’s Fave Fives. Somehow I didn’t this week, and I am scrambling to remember what actually happened. 🙂 That’s one of many things this exercise is good for: encouraging us to stop, consider, remember, and be thankful. I’m grateful for our hostess, Susanne, at Living to Tell the Story.
1. Strands, another once-a-day game from the NY Times in the same family as Wordle and Connections. It’s sort of like Boggle or Ruzzle in that you find words in a grid of several letters. But each letter is only used once, and all the words have a common theme. Jesse, my youngest son, introduced me to it. I like these things not only because they’re fun, but they’re good brain exercise.
2. Taco or pita holders. My husband made these with his 3-D printer. I told him he should make more and sell them on Etsy.
The one on the right holds two, or it can be turned over to hold three.
3. Another quiet week. Some of the spring-break-canceled activities were back this week, but otherwise, there were no events or appointments til this weekend. I enjoy activities once I’m actually there, but I *love* quiet weeks. I’ve got some medical appointments over the next three weeks and had several earlier this year, so it was nice to have a couple of appointment-free weeks.
4. Our writing critique group. I may have mentioned this before. We meet every other week via Zoom and take turns offering our edits and critiques on one person’s work each session. Then we added a fifteen minute free-time extension for those who could stay just to talk about writing or publishing, ask questions, etc. I’m so inspired by the discussions, no matter whose work we’re discussing.
5. Prayer. Some in our church are going through rough times. It’s such a blessing not only to pray for them, but to hear the care and concern as people ask about them.
Susan May Warren’s Christiansen family series centers on six fictional adult siblings and their parents and friends in the small town of Deep Haven, Minnesota. The family runs an old-fashioned resort (cabins but no Internet).
Though all the family plus several side characters appear in each book, each focuses mainly on the story of one sibling.
When I Fall in Love is the third in the series, about second-oldest sister Grace. Grace loves cooking and wants to go to culinary school. But she’s also a homebody who doesn’t like to venture out of her comfort zone.
When she caters her oldest brother’s wedding, the family thanks her by pitching in to surprise her with a three-week trip to a cooking school in Hawaii.
But Grace is not pleased. She’s terrified.
Her sister’s fiance, a hockey player on the professional team in Minneapolis, chose this particular school because his teammate, Max Sharp, is going there, too. He asks Max to keep an eye on Grace and help her out.
Max is less than thrilled. He goes on a cooking vacation each year somewhere where he’s not known. He gives the bulk of his year to hockey. For that one month, he just wants to get away by himself and do something different.
Grace is not happy, either. She doesn’t want Max to feel he has to baby-sit her.
But when they meet on the airplane, each not knowing who the other is at first—well, this is a romance novel, so you know they are going to be attracted.
The problem is, Max never planned to be attracted to anyone. He’s the carrier for a disease that killed his father early and will probably take his life as well. He can never ask a woman to be part of his life knowing what she will have to go through, only to end up alone.
Grace tests his resolve, though.
In the subplot, Grace’s friend and coworker, Raina, had helped cater Grace’s brother’s wedding. She’s fairly new to town and has had a hard background. Her only remaining family is her aunt Liza in Deep Haven. Raina is not religious, but she attends church because her aunt requires her to.
Grace’s brother, Owen, seeks Raina out after the wedding, making Raina feel special. But she doesn’t know that Owen is in a downward spiral. He was a rising hockey star, only to be sidelined by a devastating injury. The fame and money had gone to his head, and the injury and loss of his career has sent him further to the wild side. He only uses Raina for a one-night stand.
Raina is bitter against all the Christiansen men. But when she gets to know Casper, the college-aged brother home for a semester, she finds he is much different from Owen.
I liked the themes of getting out of one’s comfort zone and trusting God with the unknowns in life.
I didn’t like so much the family pushing Grace out of her comfort zone. Older sister Eden, in particular, comes across really pushy and bossy here. I hadn’t gotten that vibe from her in the book focusing on her (It Had to Be You). Not only does she propel Grace into the trip, she wants Grace to cater her wedding with Hawaiian food–as if cooking in Hawaii for three weeks makes Grace an expert. The fact that Eden didn’t listen to Grace and kept insisting really bothered me.
Plus, the author has God answering Grace directly several times when she prays about something.
Also, though we’re spared a bedroom scene with Owen’s indiscretion, we’re still shown more than I would have liked.
Even with those caveats, though, I found much to enjoy in this story. Just like in real life, we get ourselves in messes. But God offers healing and redemption.
I had listened to the audiobook, which unfortunately didn’t contain any of the author’s notes about what inspired this story. However, I did find a bit of background on Susan’s site here.
In Be Skillful (Proverbs): God’s Guidebook to Wise Living, pastor and Bible teacher Warren Wiersbe notes, “We are living in the information age, but we certainly are not living in the age of wisdom” (p. 11, Kindle version).
The book of Proverbs is one of the Bible’s wisdom books. Of course, we can gain wisdom all through the Bible, but Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon, are grouped together as wisdom books.
Wiersbe goes on to say, “It isn’t enough simply to be educated and have knowledge, as important as education is. We also need wisdom, which is the ability to use knowledge. Wise men and women have the competence to grasp the meaning of a situation and understand what to do and how to do it in the right way at the right time” (p. 16).
“Biblical wisdom has little if any relationship to a person’s IQ or education, because it is a matter of moral and spiritual understanding. It has to do with character and values; it means looking at the world through the grid of God’s truth” (p. 17).
“Biblical wisdom begins with a right relationship with the Lord. The wise person believes that there is a God, that He is the Creator and Ruler of all things, and that He has put within His creation a divine order that, if obeyed, leads ultimately to success” (p. 17).
“The first essential for an effective study of Proverbs is faith in Jesus Christ so that you can honestly call God your Father. You can’t make a life until you first have life, and this life comes through faith in Jesus Christ (John 3: 16, 36)” (p. 26).
The bulk of Proverbs is made up of individual sayings. “Proverbs are pithy statements that summarize in a few choice words practical truths relating to some aspect of everyday life. The Spanish novelist Cervantes defined a proverb as ‘a short sentence based on long experience'” (p. 20). But these proverbs are not just clever sayings: they are God’s inspired Word and profitable for doctrine, correction, reproof, and instruction just like the rest of the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
Normally, Dr. Wiersbe’s comments follow the chapters of the book of the Bible he is discussing. In this commentary, however, he groups his remarks as to the categories in Proverbs: the contrast between wisdom and foolishness, diligence and laziness, the virtuous woman and the “strange” woman, etc., and characters like the drunkard, glutton, the simple, scoffer, fool, king, parents and children, and so on.
As to why God directed the writers of Proverbs to lay out the book this way, Wiersbe has a couple of suggestions. Most people didn’t have their own copies of the Scriptures. Short, pictorial statements would have been easier to remember that a lecture. Plus, “Just as the Bible itself isn’t arranged like a systematic theology, neither is Proverbs. What Solomon wrote is more like a kaleidoscope than a stained-glass window: We never know what the next pattern will be” (p. 22). Some make a practice of reading a chapter of Proverbs each day of the month. They receive wisdom on a variety of topics to carry with them throughout the day.
It had been a while since I had read Proverbs. I enjoyed thinking through it again along with Dr. Wiersbe’s insights.
I used to sometimes hear a song titled “Farther Along.” The chorus said:
Farther along we’ll know all about it, Farther along we’ll understand why; Cheer up, don’t worry, live in the sunshine, We’ll understand it all by and by.
The stanzas talked about temptations, trials, toil, death of loved ones, and seeming injustices with the comfort that someday, when Jesus takes us home to heaven, we’ll understand it all.
The Bible does tell us to encourage and comfort one another with the truth that someday we’ll be with God in heaven where there is no sorrow, pain, or death. It also assures us that although we only know in part now, “then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known” (1 Corinthians 13:12). I’m sure a lot of things will make sense then that don’t now and we’ll know exponentially more than we do now.
But I don’t know if we’ll understand everything that God did and allowed while we were on earth. Because He will still be God and we still won’t be. He is omniscient, and we will never be.
This is just speculation, but I think we’ll experience something of what Job did. Throughout the book bearing his name, Job wished he could plead his case before God. When God finally spoke to Job, He really didn’t answer his questions or tell him why he suffered what he did. He pretty much just shared how He took care of creation.
If you’ve ever wondered, as I have, what God’s discussion of animals had to do with Job’s suffering, Layton Talbert suggests in Beyond Suffering: Discovering the Message of Job, “By belaboring this point with Job, God unveils one of His divine qualities. The Lord is powerful and majestic and wise beyond man’s comprehension, but He is also compassionate . . . even towards beasts. He talks as if He has intimate knowledge of their nature and needs because He does. That’s the point” (p. 206).
Somehow that was enough for Job. He responded, ““I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. . . . I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:2, 5-6).
Even though Job’s suffering wasn’t explained to him, his encounter with God humbled him, silenced his questions, and inspired his worship.
I think it might be much the same for us.
I’ve often wondered if God will show us in heaven some of the behind-the-scenes activities of our time on earth: how a frustrating delay kept us from a fatal accident, how a closed door to a seemingly perfect opportunity guided us towards God’s best. We see parts of such things now, the “edges of His ways,” as Job said (26:14), but I am sure there is much more to God’s working and guidance in our lives than we realize here.
We struggle to trust Him perfectly now. We know from His Word, from testimonies of others, and from our own experience that He is good, wise, kind, trustworthy and so much more.
But there is still much that doesn’t make sense to us. Why that venture failed. Why our loved one died so early. Why that nagging disease that took up so much time, thought, and energy was part of His plan. We trust that He really does work all things together for those that love Him (Romans 8:28). But we still wonder why certain things happen as they do.
Perhaps God doesn’t explain everything because He wants to increase our trust and dependence on Him. Perhaps we wouldn’t understand even if He did explain, just as a child won’t understand why he can’t have ice cream before dinner or why he has to stop playing and go to bed. I love what John Piper wrote in his poetic version of Job, The Misery of Job and the Mercy of God: “Beware, Jemimah, God is kind, In ways that will not fit your mind.”
Elisabeth Elliot wrote in On Asking God Why:
There are those who insist that it is a very bad thing to question God. To them, “why?” is a rude question. That depends, I believe, on whether it is an honest search, in faith, for his meaning, or whether it is a challenge of unbelief and rebellion. The psalmist often questioned God and so did Job. God did not answer the questions, but he answered the man–with the mystery of himself.
He has not left us entirely in the dark. We know a great deal more about his purposes than poor old Job did, yet Job trusted him. He is not only the Almighty–Job’s favorite name for him. He is also our Father, and what a father does is not by any means always understood by the child. If he loves the child, however, the child trusts him. It is the child’s ultimate good that the father has in mind. Terribly elementary. Yet I have to be reminded of this when, for example, my friend suffers, when a book I think I can’t possibly do without is lost, when a manuscript is worthless.
“God did not answer the questions, but he answered the man–with the mystery of himself.”
I don’t know if we’ll ever understand all the mystery of God, even in heaven. But when we see Him, we’ll be “lost in wonder, love, and praise,” as the hymn says.
When we see Him, whatever doesn’t make sense to us here won’t matter. Our faith will be sight. Our trust will be perfect.
May we be growing toward more perfect trust even now as we behold Him through His Word.
Here are some of the posts that caught my attention this week:
Hard-Pressed: The Soul Anguish of Christ. “Gethsemane. The word comes from a Hebrew term that means ‘oil press’—appropriately named, because that night, among the olive trees, the Son of God would be ‘pressed’ beyond anything we can fathom.”
How to Do an Inductive Bible Study, HT to Knowable Word. “Learning to read and study Scripture is an important part of the Christian life. And while pastors and teachers are essential gifts of Christ to his church, individual Christians should also be able to pick up any passage and read it with basic understanding and application. How do you do that? The inductive Bible study method is one reliable way.”
We Who Have Few Talents and Sparse Gifts. “The fact is, the God who used spit and dust to cure a man of his blindness can most certainly make use of you. And I assure you that if you had great talents, you would simply compare yourself to those who have more still.”
Six Simple Ways to Handle False Guilt. “God has given each of us a conscience, and this conscience guides us in doing right. When we become a child of God, we are gifted with the Holy Spirit, which fine tunes our consciences to align with the will and view of God. If we choose to ignore the promptings of the Holy Spirit, we’ll be chided. This is true guilt. . . . False guilt is the opposite. It’s what we feel for imagined wrongs or for past wrongs for which we’ve been forgiven.”
My Body Reminds Me. “Every day as I live within my body, care for it, and consider my reflection in the mirror, I am faced with a series of undeniable realities.”
Am I the Quarrelsome Wife? HT to Challies. “Rather than being a haven in the storm, the contentious woman is the storm. She is, herself, the poor weather conditions; her presence is an inhospitable place.”
Keep back nothing. Nothing that you have not given away will be really yours. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead. C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
It’s Friday once again, time to share the blessings of the week with Susanne and friends at Living to Tell the Story.
1. A clear week. Our church has a school which is out this week for spring break. So our usual Wednesday night activities were canceled this week, too–I guess because so many people travel this week. Plus our writing critique group meets every other week, and this was an off week. I enjoy all of those activities, but it’s also nice to have some extra time. And, for the first time in weeks, I haven’t had some type of appointment to get to. Lovely!
2. Free books. Our church’s school library was thinning out some books and left them on a table in the church lobby for browsers to pick up. I got three classics.
3. Pi Day. We had a pie potluck for Pi Day (3.14). I made hamburger pie and Mittu made a Chicago-style pizza for dinner. I made Chocolate Pretzel Pie and Mittu made banana cream pie for dessert. We had talked about going to Blaze Pizza that day, as they have their pizzas on sale for $3.14 then. But we figured they’d be swamped.
4. A clever and hard-working husband. I mentioned being the recipients of my youngest son’s fairly new washer and dryer last week when he bought a house with a stackable set. His dryer is electric, and our current one is gas. We talked about whether to sell his electric one and buy a gas one. I proposed the idea that it might help resale value to have an electric line for a dryer as well as a gas hook-up, so the laundry room could accommodate either one. I didn’t realize how involved that process would be. Jim had to run wire from the laundry room up to the attic and across to the breaker box, set aside a breaker especially for the dryer, install the outlet especially for the dryer, and change the plug on it to a four-pronged rather than a three-pronged one so it would be up to the current code standards. In one significant blessing, when Jim was at Home Depot, the worker there who asked if he needed help finding anything knew just what he needed, where it was, what the current code standards were, etc.
5. Getting rid of the old washer and dryer. I knew Jim wouldn’t want to just trash the old washer and dryer, since they still had some life in them. But we didn’t think it would be a good idea to donate them to the thrift store since there was no telling how long they’d last. So he listed them on the local sales page on Facebook with an honest description. We had a few offers right away. Someone bought them for $75 and came and picked them up. It was nice to have them taken away so quickly.
And that wraps up another week! It’s hard to believe we’re halfway through March already!
In It Had to Be You by Susan May Warren, Eden Christiansen feels like she’s forever on the sidelines. Her other siblings have stand-out talents. Eden always dreamed of being a reporter. She landed a job with the city newspaper, but she’s stuck as an obituary writer.
Since she lives in the same town as her younger hockey-player brother, Owen, and she’s the only family member there, she goes to his games and watches out for him. She sees that the fame, acclaim, and money has gone to his head. But he won’t listen to her admonitions. It doesn’t help that Owen idolizes his team captain, Jace, who has a bad-boy reputation on and off the ice.
When Jace and Eden meet, they clash immediately. She berates him for not being a better example to his team.
Jace, meanwhile, has his own problems. Several slams on the ice have resulted in too many concussions and regular migraines. He has nothing else but hockey, so he keeps going despite doctors’ warnings. When he tries to avoid fights during games, his value drops in the eyes of his team, agent, and the spectators.
And there is a side to Jace that others rarely see. He helps his best friend, Sam, run a restaurant and helps Sam take care of his daughter, a heart transplant patient.
Owen, in a moment of carelessness, sustains a devastating injury. While visiting him in the hospital, Jace and Eden accidentally discover a John Doe, an unidentified patient in a coma. They are thrown together to try to find John Doe’s family.
I don’t read romance novels very often. They can be somewhat silly and too focused on the physical. But Susan’s don’t seem to be that way so far.
I got a little irritated with both characters’ tendency to create a whole scenario of what they thought the other was thinking from a line or gesture or silence. It’s not usually good to assume motives no matter how well we know someone. But learning not to judge or assume is part of what they experienced here.
Another theme throughout the book is letting go of things we can’t and weren’t meant to control.
Overall, I enjoyed the story. A couple of my favorite quotes:
Minnesota grew hockey players like pine trees.
There’s always light . . . God’s love is too bright for the darkness to win.
This book is the second in the Christiansen family series. The first was Take a Chance on Me. Since the sequels were free in Audible’s Plus Catalog, I am listening to them before they are rotated out.
Stray Thoughts 