Friday’s Fave Five

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Friday's Fave Five

The Fridays just keep coming faster and faster. I’m thankful Susanne at Living to Tell the Story encourages us to pause for a few minutes every week and focus on the good things that have happened. This practice reminds us that good things have happened, that we can be thankful for them, and helps them last a bit longer before we pass to the next week.

1. Dinner and game night. Last week, Mittu and Jason brought over dinner and Settlers of Cataan. They had taught Timothy to play while they were snowed in a couple of weeks ago. We had not played it often as a family the last few years because it’s a long game, and we didn’t want to leave Timothy out while the rest of us were playing. So it’s nice he can participate now.

2. Gas discount. This happened last week, but I forgot to mention it. Getting gas was among my errands one day. We shop at two different grocery stores, both of which have gas stations and gas reward points. I usually get gas at one, but this time decided to stop at the other. I didn’t know that I had enough points for $1.20 off per gallon. Plus they expired the next day! The other station only allows $1 off at a time, no matter how many reward points you have. But this one allowed for the whole $1.20. This amounted to about $18 savings for almost a full tank of gas.

3. Jesse’s house. I mentioned that my youngest, Jesse, has been house-hunting. He put an offer on one, and things have been falling into place. The inspection showed a few problems, but nothing major. The seller was willing to take care of the one thing we most wanted her to. Then the appraisal came in just a bit below the asking price, but the seller was willing to drop the price to the appraisal rate. So it looks like everything is a go!

4. Nice weather. We’ve been in the 50s most days, even the 60s some days. I know winter hasn’t had its last hurrah yet, but I am enjoying the moderate temperatures while we have them.

5. New routines. I don’t like a rigid schedule: it feels too pressured. But I operate best with some kind of routine. Since Jim retired at the end of last year, and with all the sickness of January, we’ve not known what to expect every day. But now we seem to be settling into something of a flexible pattern.

How was your week?

Review: When I Close My Eyes

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When I Close My Eyes, a novel by Elizabeth Musser

When I Close My Eyes by Elizabeth Musser is told from three different viewpoints.

Henry Hughes is ex-military with a wife and young son, Jace. Jace has had heart problems most of his young life and needs open-heart surgery. Henry doesn’t know how he’s going to pay the medical bills. His friend mentions he could get him a “job” with another friend–a job as a hit man. Henry is so desperate, he agrees to take on such a job just this once.

He stakes out the lady he has been hired to kill on a street in Asheville, NC, takes aim as she goes to her car—but she turns her head just as he fires. Consequently, the bullet that went through her brain puts her in a coma, but doesn’t kill her. He won’t get his money if she doesn’t die, but he can’t do anything else since people come running.

Henry hadn’t known anything about the woman he tried to assassinate, but when her name is splashed all over the news, he learns she is a best-selling author, Josephine Bourdillon. He begins to read her books and wonders if she really believes what she’s written about faith and forgiveness. He vacillates between wanting to ask her and needing to finish the job.

In her coma, Josephine remembers her past: society parents who kept up appearances despite fighting, alcoholism, and philandering behind the scenes, a rebellious, dramatic sister, and her own struggle with depression. She felt she had to be the perfect daughter to maintain the family myth and had to carry the weight of helping her sister, who, more often than not, didn’t want help.

Josephine’s daughter, Paige, has rejected the faith of her parents due to the hypocrisy of her grandfather and another family friend. Paige is a junior in high school but mature for her age. Her sister, Hannah, comes home from her year of studying in France to be with the family in the wake of Josephine’s shooting.

As police investigate, Paige is concerned that they’ll find out about what the family calls “the awful year.” Besides the death of her mother’s parents that year, there are hints of a secret that Paige doesn’t want to get out, a secret that might implicate someone in the family.

The “whodunnit” part of the story was handled well. Henry, of course, pulled the trigger, but once police find him, they want to know who hired him. I was sure it was one character—not the character the story points to at first—but I was wrong.

Depression is a big part of the book. Elizabeth said in a couple of interviews (here and here) that though her family was different from Josephine’s, her journey with depression was very similar. She wanted to bring light to that topic and show that even people of deep faith can struggle with depression. I would caution readers who might be sensitive to this that there is a suicide attempt in the book.

Other themes are hypocrisy and God’s grace.

I love that Elizabeth draws from her own experiences. She grew up in Atlanta, and she and her husband have been missionaries to France for several decades. Both Atlanta and France are featured in this book. The bulk of the story takes place in Asheville, NC. I’m not sure if Elizabeth has connections there, but that’s a city I love to visit. The drive some of the characters took on I-40 through the mountains is very familiar to me.

Some of my favorite quotes:

Mama always said that the painful things of life got redeemed in her stories.

The bad stuff hadn’t been able to snuff out the good stuff, or maybe it even happened because of the bad stuff.

My parents knew a lot about real, deep-down love. They knew it hurt. They knew it cost something valuable. They knew it was worth keeping.

There were just a couple of things I didn’t like. One was the use of a couple of words that aren’t profanity, but aren’t usually found in Christian books (though one is in the KJV. However, it’s not used there like it is used today). The other was bedroom scenes with Josephine and her husband, and mention of Henry’s wife in a see-through nightie. Nothing explicit was shown, but it was still more than I wanted to read. None of these things needed to be in the book. They only make up maybe half of one percent of the total book, but they still marred it a little.

Overall, however, the story was very good and the characters were well-developed.

I listened to the audiobook nicely read by three different narrators.

Review: Adorning the Dark

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Adorning the Dark by Andrew Peterson

My first encounter with Andrew Peterson’s music was when a friend put the music video for “Dancing in the Mine Fields” on Facebook. The song is sweet one about marriage, and the video features several older couple holding their wedding portraits.

Then when I read The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, I loved it so much I looked up some background information about it. I discovered another music video of Andrew’s called “The Ballad of Jody Baxter,” Jody being the main character in The Yearling.

Those songs are folksy, but many of you might be familiar with a contemporary song of Andrew’s titled “Is He Worthy?” We sing this at church sometimes.

I knew that Andrew had written a series of fantasy novels for children called The Wingfeaher Saga. I have not read them yet, but I want to. I’ve heard good things about them.

And somewhere along the way, I learned that Andrew was instrumental in forming The Rabbit Room, a site dedicated to “Cultivating and curating story, music, and art to nourish Christ-centered communities for the life of the world.” I have read a few articles there.

Even with that limited knowledge, I was interested when I saw Andrew’s Adorning the Dark: Thoughts on Community, Calling, and the Mystery of Making come up for a Kindle sale.

Andrew says he writes and speaks on this topic as “a practitioner, not an academic,” which means he “learned by doing, which is a nice way of saying that that I learned by doing it wrong half the time” (p. 4, Kindle version).

But not writing as an academic made the book extremely relatable. Andrew shares his journey, his testimony, and what he learned along he way.

Though he writes frequently of song-writing, many of of illustrations work for other kinds of writing and artistic expression as well.

In the first chapter, Andrew shares that many people know Bach wrote S. D. G., standing for Soli Deo Gloria (“glory to God alone”) on his manuscripts. But Andrew shares what few people know: that Bach also wrote “Jesu Juva,” Latin for “Jesus, help!” on his manuscripts as well. That’s an emphasis throughout the book. Andrew says is calling is “to use whatever gifts I’ve been given to tell the truth as beautifully as I can” (p. 4), and “to make known the heart of God” (p. 5).

He writes about battling self-doubt, creating as an act of worship, the fact that creating is work, not magic, that writing what we know doesn’t mean the polished end, but the struggle. He writes about humility, self-consciousness, and the fact that we don’t create to draw attention to ourselves even though “art is necessarily created by a Self” (p. 28). He references Lewis and Tolkien and others and talks about imagination, serving the work, and serving the audience.

One of the references to Lewis described his use of the word sehnsucht, an inconsolable longing which is evidence we were made for something more than we see and experience in this world.

One favorite section was about the tension between art and agenda and what makes Christian art Christian.

One great problem with much art that’s called “Christian” is agenda, which is to say that it’s either didactic, or manipulative, or merely pragmatic—in other words, the artistic purity of the work tends to take a back seat to the artist’s agenda (p. 47).

Art and agenda can and do coexist . . . Agenda is bad when it usurps the beauty. Christian art should strive for a marriage of the two, just as Christ is described as being “full of grace and truth” (John 1: 14). Truth without beauty can be a weapon; beauty without truth can be spineless. The two together are like lyric and melody (p. 47).

He describes revision, or selectivity, as “[pulling] the weeds before they choke the flowers” (p. 61) and being “able to discern what’s necessary to the aesthetic of the song and what isn’t. Then lose what isn’t” (p. 59). He points out that it takes forty gallon of maple sap to make one gallon of maple syrup. You wouldn’t put the sap on your pancakes. But once it’s boiled down, it’s perfect. On the other hand, “Revision is crucial . . . but it’s possible to monkey with something so much that the magic dies” (p. 99).

He writes that creating is not just inspiration, but also discernment and discipline—or dying to self.

He tells how art nourishes community and community nourishes art.

One of my favorite sections talks about how creativity isn’t just being “artsy.” We’re creative because we’re made in the Creator’s image. Andrew says the Rabbit Room’s conference, Hutchmoot, was meant to “encourage people to look for the glimmer of the gospel in all corners of life, that they would see their God-given creativity in both their artistic works and their front gardens, in their home repair and the making of their morning coffee, and that they would call out that glorious creativity in everyone they meet” (p. 89). His wife would “never claim to be an artist, but she’s one of the most creative people I know. Her song is our family” (p. 104).

I have multitudes of quotes marked besides what I’ve already shared. Here are a few:

Who do I think I am, anyway? We need not look anywhere but to the eyes of our Savior for our true identity, an identity which is profoundly complex, unfathomable, deep as the sea, and yet can be boiled down to one little word: beloved. That’s it. And that’s why it’s so silly (and perilous) to use your gifting to clothe yourself with meaning. Those clothes will never quite fit (p. 15).

Living as we do in dying bodies in a dying world, our best work always falls short of the initiating vision (p. 16).

If you wait until the conditions are perfect, you’ll never write a thing (p. 26).

Jesus, you’re the source of beauty: help us make something beautiful; Jesus, you’re the Word that was with God in the beginning, the Word that made all creation: give us words and be with us in this beginning of this creation; Jesus, you’re the light of the world: light our way into this mystery; Jesus, you love perfectly and with perfect humility: let this imperfect music bear your perfect love to every ear that hears it (p. 10).

The reintroduction of fairy tales to my redeemed imagination helped me to see the Maker, his Word, and the abounding human (but sometimes Spirit-commandeered) tales as interconnected. It was like holding the intricate crystal of Scripture up to the light, seeing it lovely and complete, then discovering on the sidewalk a spray of refracted colors. The colors aren’t Scripture, nor are they the light behind it. Rather, they’re an expression of the truth, born of the light beyond, framed by the prism of revelation, and given expression on solid ground (p. 41).

Somewhere out there, men and women with redeemed, integrated imaginations are sitting down to spin a tale that awakens, a tale that leaves the reader with a painful longing that points them home, a tale whose fictional beauty begets beauty in the present world and heralds the world to come. Someone out there is building a bridge so we can slip across to elf-land and smuggle back some of its light into this present darkness (p. 42).

The real flash of inspiration came not before they started working, but during the process (p. 47).

Keep working, keep straining toward a level of excellence that will most likely elude you forever, but it’s the only way your songs are ever going to move from bad to decent to good (p. 74)

Become a student of the craft. Have conversations with people whose insight dwarfs your own; they’ll teach you what to look for (p. 74).

Constraints are wonderful things, and lead you down paths you might not otherwise take (p. 99).

One holy way of mending the world is to sing, to write, to paint, to weave new worlds. Because the seed of your feeble-yet-faithful work fell to the ground, died, and rose again, what Christ has done through you will call forth praise from lonesome travelers long after your name is forgotten. They will know someone lived and loved here.

Whoever they were, they will think, they belonged to God. It’s clear that they believed the stories of Jesus were true, and it gave them a hope that made their lives beautiful in ways that will unfold for ages . . .

This is why the Enemy wants you to think you have no song to write, no story to tell, no painting to paint. He wants to quiet you. So sing. Let the Word by which the Creator made you fill your imagination, guide your pen, lead you from note to note until a melody is strung together like a glimmering constellation in the clear sky. Love the Lord your God, and love your neighbor, too, by making worlds and works of beauty that blanket the earth like flowers. Let your homesickness keep you always from spiritual slumber. Remember that it is in the fellowship of saints, of friends and family, that your gift will grow best, and will find its best expression (p. 98).

My only tiny quibble with the book is the title. Andrew speaks throughout the book of pushing back the darkness by shining light. To me, that sounds more accurate than adorning or decorating or enhancing the darkness.

Even though our tastes in music are different and I didn’t know many of the artists or songs Andrew referenced, I got so much from this book. I did add several of the books he mentioned to my want-to-read list. Parts of this book brought me to tears. But it also stirred my soul, fired my imagination, and left me with a burning desire to keep writing.

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

When Small Frustrations Boil Over

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When Small Frustrations Boil Over

Often it’s not the big issues of life that trip me up: it’s the little everyday irritations. Anger and frustration can go from 0 to 60 in seconds over some dumb little problem.

Recently I was working on a blog post when my mouse started sticking. Either it wouldn’t move on the screen, or it wouldn’t highlight what I needed. I tried to highlight a phrase, and the mouse jumped to another part other than what I was trying to work on.

I checked my battery: it was fine. I checked that the USB sensor was within range and moved it closer anyway. Nothing helped.

I’m sorry to say I was so frustrated that I banged the mouse on the desk several times and shouted at it.

I know that doesn’t help. But it felt good. For a few moments.

Then, of course, I was ashamed of myself. I thought, “I’m glad no one was around to see that.”

But someone was.

Proverbs 15:3 says, “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.” That’s a comfort, that He sees all that goes on, knows what is happening to us, will meet our needs, and provide grace for whatever He allows.

But it’s also a reminder that we don’t “get away with” anything.

I was reminded, too, of Ephesians 3:10: “Through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.” It’s odd to think of angels and creatures from Ezekiel looking down at God’s people on earth and learning about His wisdom. I have to wonder what they learned by seeing the temper tantrum of one of God’s children over such a minor issue.

I’m thankful that “with You there is forgiveness, so that You may be feared” (Psalm 130:4), that “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9), that “As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:13-14).

I’m rebuked by the fact that since I don’t act like that when other people are around, it shows I do have some measure of self-control even though it didn’t feel like it in the moment.

And I’m convicted by remembering that giving way to temper and frustration in a little thing makes it that much easier to give way in other situations.

I reasoned that if the testing of our faith by trials is supposed to produce steadfastness, as James says, and we’re to “let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:3-4), that’s true of small trials as well as large ones.

I thought of verses about anger, like Ecclesiastes 7:9: “Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart of fools.” I thought how God is “merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love” (Psalm 103:8; 145:8; 86:15). I remembered once again that as we “behold His glory,” we’re “transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another” (2 Corinthians 3:18). I need to behold Him more in His Word.

Practically, I was motivated to remember to tell my husband the problem with my mouse. If I had done that one of the last several times I had problems, it would’ve prevented my little blow-up.

As I thought through all these things, I considered writing a blog post. Then I thought, “Nah, lesson learned, pick up and go on.” But the next day or so, the Daily Light on the Daily Path reading for the day was filled with verses linked to and including the Proverb mentioned above about God seeing us. That seemed a confirming nudge to go ahead with this blog post.

How about you? Do you ever lose it over little things? What have you found to help? Do any of these thoughts resonate with you?

Proverbs 14:29

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

Laudable Linkage

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Laudable Linkage

Here are some of the good reads discovered this week:

Remember His Faithfulness. “When we look back at what God has done in the past, He fills us with hope for today and the days to come.”

Three Reasons Christians Should Oppose Abortion, HT to Challies. “We live in a highly charged political environment, and many Christians view abortion as more of a political issue than a theological and spiritual issue. This perspective often leads to prioritizing political solutions even at the expense of theological truth and spiritual power.”

Listening Well to Domestic Abuse Survivors, HT to Challies. “Domestic abuse (DA) is likely the most complex and difficult problem most counselors will ever face. Perhaps one reason for this is that these issues can be extremely counterintuitive.”

An Ordinary, Everyday Life, HT to Challies. We’re “Bought by His death and resurrection, yes. But also by His everyday, ordinary, sinless life.”

Lead Your Heart, HT to Challies. “We are to incline our hearts to God. I’m not sure if you know this, but your heart will not naturally incline itself that direction. We must posture our hearts towards God. And we must cry out to God for this inclination. Just as the Psalmist prays, ‘Incline my heart to your testimonies’” (Psa 119:36).”

Is ‘Gentle Parenting’ Biblical? HT to Challies. “If gentle parenting were just a mood board for solving parenting difficulties in nonconfrontational ways, I’d have nothing to say against it. But when you dig more deeply into the underlying concepts of gentle parenting, you find at least two that stand opposed to the Bible’s teaching about parenting.”

Confessions of a Secretly Introverted Mom, HT to The Story Warren.

Spurgeon quote about winter

Our winters shall not frown for ever; summer shall soon smile. The tide will not eternally ebb out; the floods retrace their march. The night shall not hang its darkness for ever over our souls; the sun shall yet arise with healing beneath his wings. – ‘The Lord turned again to the captivity of Job.’ Our sorrows shall have an end when God has gotten his end in them.
—C. H. Spurgeon

Friday’s Fave Five

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Friday's Fave Five

Yay for the first Friday in February! The weather is cold, but after single digits in January, 30+ degrees doesn’t feel so bad. I’m joining Susanne and friends at Living to Tell the Story in sharing five good things from the past week.

1. Bird feeders. I had been neglecting them, but my husband filled them the last couple of weeks. The birds are slowly finding them again, mainly chickadees and cardinals so far.

2. Getting back to church. I’m abundantly thankful church is available live online. We benefited from it through weeks of illness. But it was so good to be able to be there in person again.

3. An outing. I had a doctor’s appointment Tuesday, then went to Hobby Lobby to get some supplies for Valentine’s cards. I had a gift card, so I indulged in some pretties for the kitchen as well.

Kitchen decorations

4. A long overdue haircut does wonders in helping me feel put together rather than a mess.

5. A good visit with Timothy. I mentioned in my end-of-month wrap-up that our church held a parenting seminar last weekend. We watched Timothy so Jason and Mittu could go. Though he’s comfortable with us, he had never been with us quite that long before–one evening plus the next morning and early afternoon. But he did fine. He and his Granddad played games, including checkers–the standard way at first, then making up their own rules. 🙂

Playing checkers

How was your week?

Review: The Cost of Betrayal

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The Cost of Betrayal: three suspense novellas.

The Cost of Betrayal is a trio of romantic suspense novellas by Dee Henderson, Dani Pettrey, and Lynette Eason.

In Betrayed by Dee Henderson, Paul and Ann Falcon (from Full Disclosure) are at an auction just for fun. Ann buys a box of perfumes and scarves as inspiration for painting. But when Ann looks through the box at home, she discovers an engraved jewelry box with a ring stuck in it and an engraved pink pocketknife. A retired Midwest Homicide Investigator, Ann puts her skills to work to search for the owners to try to return those items. She discovers the knife belongs to a Janelle Roberts, imprisoned for killing her boyfriend after a bad breakup.

But the more Ann looks into the case, the more she thinks Janelle is innocent. Ann’s husband, Paul, is the head of the Chicago FBI office, and they pool their resources to look into Janelle’s case. They find enough to free Janelle, but not enough to convict the person they think is guilty.

They graciously provide for Janelle to hide out on an island with a friend and psychiatrist who can help her process what has happened to her and help her decide what to do with her future. Meanwhile, they watch the suspected guilty party, waiting for her reaction to Janelle’s release.

In Deadly Isle by Dani Pettrey, Tennyson (“Teni”) Kent’s fiance has just broken up with her. Joining her cousin, Julia, for their regular swim, Teni falls behind due to her emotions. When she gets to their usual stopping place, she doesn’t see her cousin. But she does see her boyfriend from years ago, Callum. He picks her up in his boat and joins the search for Julia. Sadly, they find her body.

Teni is an underwater investigator and Maryland NRP officer, so she sets about documenting the accident, not realizing at first that Julia’s death resulted from foul play.

Then, back at home, Teni’s house explodes due to a cut gas line. Teni happened to be out investigating a noise, so her life is mercifully spared. But she and Callum wonder—is someone out for her family? Or was Teni the target in Julia’s murder?

As a storm rolls in, landlines are down and Teni and Callum are on their own trying to figure out what happened and avoid getting killed.

In Code of Ethics by Lynette Eason, trauma surgeon Ruthie St. John works on Detective Isaac Martinez when he comes into the ER with a gunshot wound. Hours later, when she goes to check on him before leaving for vacation, she finds an unknown orderly attempting to put something in Martinez’ IV. After a scuffle, Ruthie learns that Isaac has been investigating some bad cops. He had reported one for stealing money and drugs from the evidence room. But the security footage was altered, and Isaac has no proof. Now many of the cops on the force have turned against him. He needs to look for evidence, but he’s in no shape to.

Ruthie is the only medical person in a family of cops. She sneaks Isaac out of the hospital and takes him to the cabin she had rented for her vacation. She calls her two brothers for help and reports to her mother, the chief of police. Ruthie helps Isaac track down his main lead, only to discover she isn’t who he though she was.

Of these three authors, I’ve only read Dee before (except for another trio of novellas by these ladies which I had forgotten about). I’ve read and loved most of Dee’s novels. If you love suspense, she’s your girl. It was fun to “visit” with characters Paul and Ann again. (As an aside, I have heard that some of Dee’s theology is somewhat wonky in her nonfiction and a couple of her novels. I’ve not read those, and I don’t remember seeing anything amiss in the novels of hers that I’ve read. But, with any author, exercise discernment.)

I’ve seen some of Dani’s posts on Inspired by Life and Fiction (a group blog where ten authors take turns posting) and Lynette’s on The Write Conversation and the Steve Laube Agency blog. But I have not read their books yet.

The main connection with each of the novellas is the fact of betrayal. Dani’s was the scariest to me, making me jump at creaks in the house and such. Lynette’s story appears to feature characters from other books as well.

I was a little frustrated that the case in one of the stories remained unsolved. But that would happen in real life. I’m not sure if the author plans any more stories on those particular characters.

I’ve had the book on hand for a while, but when I saw the audiobook for free through Audible’s Pus Catalog, I decided to get it. It was nicely read by Susan Bennett.

If you like suspense, I am sure you’d like this compilation. Collections of novellas are a nice way to try out new authors.

January Reflections

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January Reflections

January has never been my favorite month. But, over the years, I’ve come to appreciate it as a rest month after the busy December holiday activities.

This year, however, it seems like much of January was lost to sickness, being snowed in, and having no hot water for a couple of weeks. I wrote about all of that in a family update, so I won’t repeat it all here.

October is a similar rest month between our “birthday season” and the fall and winter holidays. But Jim’s surgery was schedule last October, so it seemed we missed out on that rest month as well.

We had to rest both months, but recovery rest is not the same as regular rest.

Nevertheless, I am glad those procedures and illnesses did happen during quiet months and not in the middle of Christmas or family celebrations.

The third week of January, we felt we were coming out of a fog and starting to get back to normal. We’ve been steadily improving.

With all of that, we haven’t really had many family activities or outings. Jesse, our youngest, is looking for a house since his apartment rent went up. He and Jim have had some house-hunting excursions. Until this last weekend, either the houses weren’t suitable or went under contract before Jesse could get an offer in. But it looks like we have a good possibility just now, pending inspection and such. We’re praying for God’s leading in this (and rejoicing that looking for a house here means not moving to Washington or Canada, as he had considered doing).

Our church held a parenting seminar last weekend. Thankfully, snow melted and illnesses abated so that Jason and Mittu could go while we watched Timothy. He’s comfortable with us, but had never been away from his parents that long before. But he did well.

Jim retired at the end of last year. But we’re not really sure what our new normal is yet. 🙂 It was nice, through all we dealt with in January, that he didn’t have work on top of everything else. As he has had time, he’s been cleaning out and organizing his office and the garage. At some point he’s going to finish painting the inside of the house. He had done one bathroom and two bedrooms before deciding to save the rest for retirement. When the weather gets warmer, but before it turns hot, we want to sort through our attic and shed and get rid of some things, hopefully sparing our children that task when we’re gone. There’s no shortage of projects, and it’s nice to take them at our own pace.

Watching

We’re very much enjoying the return of All Creatures Great and Small on PBS Masterpiece Theatre.

The only other thing we watched worth mentioning was the old movie Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey while Timothy was here. That was a family favorite as our boys were growing up, and it was fun not only to see it again but to share it with him.

I didn’t make any cards this month.

Reading

Since last time, I finished (linked to my reviews):

  • I Can Only Imagine by Bart Millard, nonfiction. The story behind the song of the change in an abusive father when he comes to know the Lord.
  • Being Elisabeth Elliot by Ellen Vaughn, the second of a two-part authorized biography.
  • How to Write a Sentence and How to Read One by Stanley Fish, nonfiction. I like to read a few writing books each year to keep learning and refining my own writing.
  • Beneath a Golden Veil by Melanie Dobson, fiction, audiobook. A slave-owner’s son cannot follow in his father’s footsteps as a plantation owner, and in fact helps a young slave escape. They end up in Sacramento during the gold rush era with a hotel owner who also surreptitiously helps slaves escape.Even though CA is a “free” state, they all still find themselves in danger. Very good.
  • By Way of the Moonlight by Elizabeth Musser, fiction, audiobook. A young woman’s plans to turn her grandmother’s estate into an equine therapy center fall through when a developer tricks her grandmother into selling the property. Following clues in a cryptic letter the woman learns about her grandmother’s first love and time with a coastal mounted patrol during WWII. Good.
  • The Lies of Saints by Sigmund Brouward, fiction. Third in the Nick Barrett series, Nick helps a detective friend with a mystery involving a two-decade old hazing and apparent suicide of a Citadel cadet and the disappearance of a debutante. Good.
  • The Cost of Betrayal by Dee Henderson, Dani Pettrey, and Lynette Eason, audiobook. Just finished yesterday; review coming tomorrow.

I’m currently reading:

  • Be Skillful (Proverbs): God’s Guidebook to Wise Living by Warren Wiersbe, nonfiction
  • Be Comforted (Isaiah): Feeling Secure in the Arms of God by Warren W. Wiersbe
  • Isaiah for You by Tim Chester
  • Proverbs for Life for Women
  • Adorning the Dark: Thoughts on Community, Calling, and the Mystery of Making by Andrew Peterson
  • Organizing for the Rest of Us by Dana K. White
  • The Winter Rose by Melanie Dobson
  • When I Close My Eyes by Elizabeth Musser

I don’t usually have two of Wiersbe’s “Be” commentaries going at the same time. I’m in Proverbs for my own devotions, and our Bible study group just started Isaiah using the Tim Chester book. I wasn’t going to use Wiersbe’s book on Isaiah since we’re using another. But Isaiah is so long that Wiersbe’s comments are shorter, so it looks like it will be doable.

Blogging

Besides the weekly Friday Fave Fives, Saturday Laudable Linkage, and book reviews, I’ve posted these since last time:

Writing

Our critique group resumed after taking an extended break. We thought, instead of starting a new round of critiques and then breaking for Christmas, we’d just wait to start again til January. I think we all appreciated having more time available to prepare for the holidays.

I happened to be the first one up this time. As always, the comments, corrections, and suggestions were very helpful and left me raring to go and get back into my book project.

I was just telling another friend that I want to be more regular in working on the book. But it would be difficult to just stake out certain times or days to write. We’re in a period of never knowing what a day will bring forth. 🙂 Usually in the afternoons, I read and comment on a few blogs before going to my own writing. But I’m thinking i need to switch that order.

We’ve added another feature to the critique group. We meet for an hour to discuss the presenter of the week’s work. But now we have an extra fifteen minutes for those who can stay to discuss or pick each other’s brains about some aspect of writing or publishing. That’s been both fun and informative.

Looking ahead

I’m eager to turn the calendar page to the next month and leave January behind. I love Valentine’s Day, and my daughter-in-law’s birthday comes in February as well. We’re discussing a possible outing for her birthday which will be fun. And if Jesse’s house offer goes through, we’ll be helping him move.

But one of the best things I like about a new month is we’re that much closer to spring. 🙂

How was your January? What are you looking forward to in February?

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

Review: The Lies of Saints

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The Lies of Saints novel by Sigmund Brouwer

The Lies of Saints is the third Nick Barrett novel by Sigmund Brouwer, the first two being Out of the Shadows and Crown of Thorns, linked to my reviews.

Nick was born into an elite Charleston family but was considered and outsider because his mother was. After his father’s death and his mother’s abandonment, he was raised in an uncle’s family, always aware he was not really a part of the family except by blood.

The first book had Nick coming back to Charleston after several years due to receiving a clue about his mother’s disappearance. He comes into an inheritance and the family home.

He’s not really a detective or investigator—he teaches astronomy. But a detective friend has been in a serious car accident, and Nick volunteers to help her.

It turns out that the hazing and apparent suicide of a Citadel cadet two decades ago is related to the disappearance of a debutante, both of which are also connected to a current case. As Nick asks questions, he’s repeatedly warned not to stir up this hornet’s nest. But as he continues unraveling surprising connections, he finds himself in danger.

Some favorite quotes:

Merely going through rites was a much easier task than following the spirit behind them (p. 40, Kindle app).

Without God, life was dust and had no meaning. With God, hope transformed life and its sorrows (p. 158).

“I understand,” I said. “I will tell this woman how you feel.”

Life burst into the old woman’s face. She pointed at me, still clutching the shawl. “You, young man, have no idea how I feel!”

It was a well-deserved rebuke. “No,” I said quietly. “I don’t” (p. 160).

Not so fast, my junior-grade sidekick (p. 201).

I don’t often read this kind of book, but it’s nice for a change. I like Brouwer’s breezy style of writing here. Though there are dark and scary turns, there’s a lot of underlying humor and banter as well as a few sweet moments.

You Can Throw Your Weight on God’s Testimony

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You can throw your weight on God's testimony.

Often I’ll turn the radio on while I make my breakfast, and usually Dr. Stephen Davey’s program, Wisdom for the Heart, is on at that time.

One day last week, Dr. Davey was speaking from Psalm 19. It’s a familiar passage to many of us. It starts with “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above [firmament in the KJV] proclaims his handiwork,” and then goes on to develop that theme for the next several verses.

The last half of the psalm talks about how God’s character is seen through His Word. Verse 7 starts off another familiar passage: “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. . . ” Perhaps you remember, as I do, a song made of these words.

The passage is so familiar, in fact, that it’s easy to zip right through it without stopping to take it in.

But Dr. Davey pointed out something that stopped me in my tracks.

The latter half of verse 7 says, “The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.”

Dr. Davey said:

This is legal language; whenever someone is called into court by the prosecution or defense, they give their testimony.  They testify to what they know – what they’ve seen – what they’ve heard.

David writes in legal terminology – God is testifying . . . and whatever and whenever He does, David writes here, The testimony of the Lord is sure.

In other words, you can count on it.  One author* wrote, “You can throw your weight on God’s testimony and it will hold up.”

You can throw your whole weight on God’s testimony.

Does that impact you like it does me?

It’s not that this truth was new to me. But hearing it put that way brought my understanding to a whole new level.

God’s Word is sure. It’s trustworthy. We can stake the whole weight of our souls on it.

BibleStudyTools.org says the Hebrew word translated “sure” here means “to support, confirm, be faithful; made firm, sure, lasting; verified; reliable, faithful, trusty .”

What God tells us about Himself, the world, and ourselves is dependable.

His promises won’t break when we lean on them. That doesn’t mean all our prayers will be answered just the way we hoped, or that life will have a fairy-tale ending. But when He tells us who He is and that He will be with us and take care of us, we can rely on His Word without worry.

I did not grow up in areas where ponds freeze over. But I am familiar with the concept of testing the ice to make sure it’s solid before walking or skating on it. And I have stepped on a bridge, fallen log, or even a piece of flooring and felt it give, wondering if it would hold my weight.

But we’ll never have that experience with God’s Word. It is sure.

Is there a passage you’re staking your soul on today?

Psalm 19:7: The testimony of the LORD is sure.

* Donald Williams, Mastering the Old Testament: Psalms 1-72 (Word Publishing, 1986), p. 153), quoted in Psalm 19:7-9) God’s Inspired Little Book by Stephen Davey on the Wisdom for the Heart Radio Broadcast, 1/22/2024.

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)