tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-363623372024-03-17T23:04:46.927-04:00Sweet Tea With Lemon.Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959946409918907667noreply@blogger.comBlogger1032125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36362337.post-67722075211150648572024-02-11T09:15:00.005-05:002024-02-11T09:30:38.523-05:00A Short Review of a Netflix Disappointment<p> My daughter and I both recently finished reading <i>All the Light We Cannot See</i> by Anthony Doerr, and we both loved it. She was reading it for school and kept saying I just had to read it, so I did, and we have had some wonderful discussions about it along the way. It is a great book, very beautifully written, heart-wrenching story, and it left us both feeling a bit melancholy at the end. The Pulitzer Prize it won is well-deserved. So, loving it as we did, we thought we'd try watching the miniseries Netflix recently released.</p><p>My advice if you loved the book: DO NOT BOTHER with the Netflix travesty. </p><p>My advice if you haven't read the book yet: Read the book, skip the Netflix mess. </p><p>It's too bad, really, because the casting for the miniseries was excellent, but the screenwriting for the adaptation was terrible, in my opinion. I understand that movie adaptations are difficult and they will necessarily have to leave some things out. But this was just quite bad. The book does a wonderful job going back and forth between flashbacks and the present day of the story to let the reader understand the characters and learn important plot reveals slowly and at the appropriate time to make for a beautiful, heartbreaking story. The miniseries changes important plot points and reveals things much too early that you didn't read until well into the book, such that in the miniseries they just don't make any sense without the background build up, and if you hadn't read the book, I'm not sure you'd even know what was going on or why it was all that significant. It just ends up being a confusing mess, and you don't really feel much of anything for the characters, whereas, in the book, you grow to love and understand them. Werner's character is especially flat in the miniseries, and that is just inexcusable. His character growth arc is one of THE major significant points of the book, and by episode 3, I am not seeing ANYTHING about him yet that hints that the show will be getting any better. Granted, we've only made it to episode 3, but I hate it enough that I just don't care. I am done with it. If it hasn't been able to win me over by this point, well, life is just too short to waste any more time on it, in my opinion.</p><p>Read the book. It is very much worth the time spent. The miniseries is really just NOT. And that is a shame. </p>Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959946409918907667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36362337.post-83830166223281274352024-01-02T14:36:00.002-05:002024-01-02T15:36:43.004-05:00Meditating on The Word - Navigating Our New Life Season<p> While reading Genesis 1-2 yesterday morning, I got to
thinking about Genesis 2:24, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and
mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.” It had never occurred to me before that this is <i>before</i>
the fall, before sin entered the world. Which is significant. This means that this concept of a man
leaving his father and mother and joining his wife is inherently good, good by design, which also means, if we think this through, that the so-called “empty nest” is a good and proper and expected thing, good and designed to be the way families work <i>before </i>the fall. It
means that this is something that is in how our Creator has designed us and our
relationships with each other. The thing is, though, that the fall and our now
sin nature taints <i>everything</i>. We tend to take something beautiful and
good and right and forget how to live in it as good and beautiful and right.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My husband and I are entering the phase of life where we are
about to be empty-nesters, with one son having gotten married last May, one son
who, having become recently engaged and will, Lord willing, most likely be
married before the end of this year, and our youngest daughter about to
graduate high school and, again, Lord willing, planning to leave for college in
the Fall. As I meditate on this biblical
thought here at the beginning of a new year and at the cusp of our new season
of life, I want to think and behave righteously. Also, as I meditate on this, I find myself
thinking about it from a different angle than I did as a newly wed just
starting out and learning how to start our new family together. Now I’m
thinking about it, not from the standpoint of the one leaving, but of the one
being left. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">How often do we see the “empty nest” concept as a negative
thing, as something to mourn and complain about, among our friends and on our
social media and in our entertainment?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> In our fallenness, we
are prone to a self-centered, selfish way of viewing life, and we often don’t
even realize it. I know for a fact, as I sit here at the beginning of this
season of life, that I did not consider my parents and in-laws enough in how
they might be experiencing our leaving and cleaving. I think, through the years, we have had a
pretty good relationship with our respective parents, and I am very grateful
for that. But there can sometimes be a tendency as we spread our wings to see
our parents more as adversaries as we break free rather than as allies to help
us fly. It can be especially hard for the in-law relationship if we, as young
people, forget that these people loved and raised our spouse, have sought the
best interests of our spouse, loved them as a tiny baby and loved them as they
grew to adulthood, and love them still now that they are leaving the nest to go
start their own nest. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">On the other hand, we parents can have just as much of a
tendency to be self-centered and selfish, because we, too, are sinners. Again, how
many times have you known people in real life and in our movies and TV shows
who cling too hard to their grown children or who meddle too much or make
demands/expectations or offer too much unsolicited/unwelcome comments or who
just make it difficult for adult children to leave their parents and cleave to
their spouses? There is a reason the meddling, difficult in-law joke is a common trope.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What I’m getting at is that as we navigate different life
seasons, we would do well to remember that this notion of children growing up
and leaving father and mother to form their own home and family is not an evil,
not a thing to mourn, but to embrace, celebrate, and handle wisely. It is good.
But as we remember this, we also need to remember that in our sinfulness, we
can ruin that good thing if we do not have the right attitude about it and
forget that all good things are meant to glorify our God and help us to enjoy
Him in this life. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">While pondering these things, I also read Proverbs 1
yesterday, where I came across verse 8-9, “Hear, my son, your father’s instruction
and do not forsake your mother’s teaching; indeed, they are a graceful wreath
to your head and ornaments about your neck.” So, I got to thinking about this
in light of the Genesis 2:24 verse, that leaving and cleaving doesn’t mean
forgetting all that came before. Our parents loved us, taught us, raised us,
and, hopefully, if done well, we still want them to be part of our lives. They don’t
stop loving us and wanting what’s best for us when we grow up and leave the
nest. The training and instruction they instilled in us during our growing up doesn’t
lose its importance when we leave their home. But the relationship does
change. Hopefully, if we are both wanting to seek God and honor Him, we can
move from having the authority relationship of parent to child to having more
of a friendship of parent to adult child. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So, as I follow the encouragement my pastor gave us on Sunday
to meditate on God’s Word, and as I enter this season of parent to adult
children, having once been that young adult child and now the parent of young
adult children, here are a few thoughts I would like to consider, for the young
just starting out and for me, the older person wanting to honor the Lord and
love my sons and daughter well (and the new daughters who love my sons and the,
hopefully one day, young man, who will love my daughter) as they learn to spread their
wings.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As a young person, try really hard not to start out viewing
your parents and in-laws as adversaries who you need to immediately set up
boundaries against. Try seeing them as
allies who love your spouse and want very much to love you. We parents will
make mistakes. We won’t want to, but we will. Please be patient with us as we
seek to be patient with you. Please choose to assume the very best motives you can, rather than assuming bad motives. How you choose to see your parents and in-laws will
very much color how you are able to hear, see, interact, and love them. This is
something I wish I had understood better when I was young. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As a parent, God helping me and looking to Jesus, my Savior, and trusting the Holy Spirit as He conforms me to the image of Christ, I intend to choose to treat my children and
their spouses as allies, not adversaries, and to try very hard not to give them
reason to feel we are adversaries rather than allies. Again, how we assume motives goes a long way to how we then interact with each other. I must always put the best construction on comments and actions that I possibly can, assume the best and choose never to hold a grudge. Our family is not shrinking
because our kids are flying from the nest, it is expanding. We get to love new
people who, though different, are very, very special and worth knowing well. I
intend to see the empty nest, not as a time to grieve what was when the kids
were little and life was very busy with all their activities, but as a new
season in which to find new interests and new traditions and new places and
people in which to serve God’s Kingdom. I
intend to encourage my kids in positive ways, and to try very hard not to put undue
expectations or burdens on them. Of course I hope in the years to come that they
will <i>want</i> to spend time with us, so I am praying often that I will invest
in being the kind of person they will want to spend time with. I don’t want to
hinder that for them or make it difficult to love us, and I also very much want
them to be free to start their lives together, with our blessing, not our
complaining. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">May we seek to honor God in how we love each other. May we
be loving, forgiving, full of grace and understanding as we navigate new
seasons of life together, because we have been forgiven so much by our loving Savior, Jesus Christ. <o:p></o:p></p>
<span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I am entering this new year of 2024 very
grateful for the people God has graciously brought into our lives through the
years. May we love them all well. </span>Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959946409918907667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36362337.post-15763843196731244862023-12-30T19:15:00.001-05:002023-12-30T19:15:53.999-05:00My 2023 in BooksIt seems that I've reached the end of the books I will be able to finish before midnight tomorrow night, so I am going to go ahead and share my year in books post today. It has been a good year for reading! <div><br /></div><div><b>January 2023</b><br /><ul><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Thursday Murder Club (Thursday Murder Club #1)</span></i> - Richard Osman. I loved this one. A nice way to start the new year reading this delightful, lighthearted murder mystery. Quirky, fun characters and funny in a thoroughly British sort of way. I look forward to reading more of this series.</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Tress of the Emerald Sea</span></i> - Brandon Sanderson (F). One of the best I've read from Sanderson.</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The 10 Greatest Conspiracies of All Time: Decoding History's Unsolved Mysteries</span></i> - Brad Meltzer (NF).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Great Gatsby</span></i> - F. Scott Fitzgerald (F). I read this again because my daughter is reading it for school and I wanted to remind myself about the story. The really weird thing is, while reading it, I realized I had completely forgotten most of the book, and it was like I was reading it for the first time almost, and I had totally forgotten the main plot of this story, like I didn't remember that Gatsby had known Daisy before and that's the whole point of the book, the whole you can't live in the past, can't go back to the past idea. I also, for some reason, had it in my head that Gatsby killed himself in the end. So, I kept asking myself, "Did I even read this thing before?" I know I somehow managed to get through school without reading it, but I am fairly certain I read it some time later because it's one of those "everyone needs to read this, it's part of our culture" books. But, wow. I certainly didn't read it very thoroughly that first time. </li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Fetching Raymond (A Ford County Story)</span></i> - John Grisham (F). I don't know if it's cheating on my Goodreads reading challenge to count this one since it's really more a novella, only 48 pages long. So I'll just have to read past my reading goal. :-) </li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Sixth of the Dusk</span></i> - Brandon Sanderson (F). Another short one, but these last two Sanderson shorter books I've read were really good. He's a good storyteller.</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Winners</span></i> - Fredrik Backman (F). This was a powerful finale to the <i>Beartown </i>trilogy. Backman did not disappoint, and has become one of my favorite authors. </li></ul><div><b>February 2023</b></div><div><ul><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Tenth Justice </span></i>- Brad Meltzer (F). This one was just ok. It is obviously his first book, and he definitely hones his craft in later books, but this one won't be on my favorites list. It wasn't bad, just not as good as his later work. </li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Harlem Shuffle</span></i> - Colson Whitehead (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith From Fear</span></i> - Jinger Duggar Vuolo (NF). Highly recommended. Hoping to write a blog post on this one soon.</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Man Who Died Twice (Thursday Murder Club, #2)</span></i> - Richard Osman. I enjoyed this second book in this delightful series. </li></ul><div><b>March 2023</b></div></div><div><ul><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Maid</span></i> - Nita Prose (F). I enjoyed this one. It was an interesting, quirky mystery, told from the point of view of a sweet, neurodivergent young woman, and I found it intriguing to experience her view of the world. The author did an excellent job showing, not telling, and as a reader you could often read between the lines and understand things in a way that the narrator could not, which really helped to see how difficult it was for her when she had trouble reading social cues and understanding people's motives. I love the message of friendship and loving people well enough to make room and compassion and understanding for what we may see as differences. Well written, enjoyable story.</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Bullet That Missed (Thursday Murder Club, #3) </span></i>- Richard Osman (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Simply Trinity: The Unmanipulated Father, Son, and Spirit </span></i>- Matthew Barrett (NF). Matthew Barrett is able to write about a complicated subject and make it accessible to the lay person, and I very much appreciated this book. Much to think about and remember. I love how he is able to clearly articulate what a biblical and Nicene understanding of the Trinity is, and I especially appreciated the discussion about EFS and how that subtly shifts away from a proper understanding and teaching of the Trinity, as I recognized a lot of what I have been taught through the years, especially regarding gender roles and submission, that I have been trying to disentangle as I seek to rightly understand these things in light of who God is and what the Bible really teaches. </li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Rose Code</span></i> - Kate Quinn (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Maid's Diary</span></i> - Loreth Anne White (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Saints and Scoundrels in the Story of Jesus</span></i> - Nancy Guthrie (NF).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Messy Grace</span></i> - Caleb Kaltenbach (NF).</li></ul><div><b>April 2023</b></div><div><ul><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">A Murder of Crows (Nell Ward Mystery, #1)</span></i> - Sarah Yarwood-Lovett (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">To Seek and to Save: Daily Reflections on the Road to the Cross</span></i> - Sinclair Ferguson (NF).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Body of Proof: The 7 Best Reasons to Believe in the Resurrection of Jesus - And Why it Matters Today</span></i> - Jeremiah J. Johnston, PhD. - (NF).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England</span></i> - Brandon Sanderson (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Why Does God Allow Evil: Compelling Answers for Life's Toughest Questions</span></i> - Clay Jones (NF).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">A Cast of Falcons (Nell Ward Mystery, #2)</span></i> - Sarah Yarwood-Lovett (F).</li></ul><div><b>May 2023</b></div><div><ul><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Pride: Identity and the Worship of Self</span></i> - Matthew Roberts (NF)</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Station Eleven</span></i> - Emily St. John Mandel - (F). This was really good. I chose to read it because I found a more recent book from this author that I thought looked interesting, but one review said that book is even better if one has read this and one other book first, so I immediately checked them out from the library for my Kindle. I enjoyed how she wove the story line all together, alternating between the current time and flashbacks, but not in a confusing way, and showing the reader how the characters' lives intersected, even when the characters may not have ever known it. This was one of those books I had a hard time putting down. Looking forward to reading more from this author. </li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Glass Hotel</span></i> - Emily St. John Mandel - (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">A Mischief of Rats (Nell Ward Mystery, #3)</span></i> - Sarah Yarwood-Lovett (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Sea of Tranquility</span></i> - Emily St. John Mandel - (F).</li></ul><div><b>June 2023</b></div></div><div><ul><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie</span></i> - Muriel Sparks (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Swan Light</span></i> - Phoebe Rowe (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Dead Even</span></i> - Brad Meltzer (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">A Thousand Splendid Suns</span></i> - Khaled Hosseini (F). Wow. This was such a good book. Stories about Afghanistan absolutely break your heart, and I loved the characters.</li></ul><div><b>July 2023</b></div></div><div><ul><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The First Counsel</span></i> - Brad Meltzer (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Hamnet</span></i> - Maggie O'Farrell (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">All the Forgivenenesses </span></i>- Elizabeth Hardinger (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The It Girl</span></i> - Ruth Ware (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Call the Canaries Home</span></i> - Laura Barrow (F).</li></ul><div><b>August 2023</b></div></div><div><ul><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Covenant of Water </span></i>- Abraham Verghese (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Nathan Coulter</span></i> - Wendell Berry (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Why God Makes Sense in a World That Doesn't: The Beauty of Christian Theism</span></i> - Gavin Ortlund (NF).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Blessed: Experiencing the Promise of Revelation</span></i> - Nancy Guthrie (NF). I loved this. Such a refreshing and beautiful study through Revelation. </li></ul><div><b>September 2023</b></div></div><div><ul><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">David Copperfield</span></i> - Charles Dickens (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Spanish Daughter</span></i> - Lorena Hughes (F).<br /></li></ul><div><b>October 2023</b></div></div><div><ul><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Christ from Beginning to End: how the Full Story of Scripture Reveals the Full Glory of Christ</span></i> - Trent Hunter and Stephen Wellum (NF). This was an absolutely beautiful walk through the Bible and the glorious revelation of Jesus. I loved this book and have much to continue thinking about. </li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Last Devil to Die (Thursday Murder Club, #4)</span></i> - Richard Osman (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Demon Copperhead </span></i>- Barbara Kingsolver (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Trust </span></i>- Hernan Diaz (F).</li></ul><div><b>November 2023</b></div></div><div><ul><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Spy Coast (The Martini Club #1)</span></i> - Tess Gerritsen (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Where the Light Fell</span></i> - Philip Yancey (NF).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Another Gospel?: A Lifelong Christian Seeks Truth in Response to Progressive Christianity</span></i> - Alisa Childers (NF).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking</span></i> - Malcolm Gladwell (NF).</li></ul><div><b>December 2023</b></div></div><div><ul><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">When We Were Enemies</span></i> - Emily Bleeker (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Berry Pickers</span></i> - Amanda Peters (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Stepping Heavenward</span></i> - Elizabeth Prentiss (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Hello Beautiful</span></i> - Ann Napolitano (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Christian Manifesto: Jesus' Life-Changing Words from the Sermon on the Plain</span></i> - Alistair Begg (NF).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Long Chills & Case Dough</span></i> - Brandon Sanderson (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Shutter </span></i>- Ramona Emerson (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Question Habit: The Art of Building Resilient Relationships With God and Others One Question at a Time </span></i>- Mandy Pallock (NF).</li></ul></div></div></div></div>Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959946409918907667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36362337.post-30372789263738095332023-11-03T10:14:00.000-04:002023-11-03T10:14:25.830-04:00Endings and Beginnings<p> "The Last Goodbye" came on my playlist this morning as I was dropping my daughter off at school, and it was kind of perfectly fitting somehow. I tend to have songs that fill out the background emotions of my life. Today is her last marching band competition, the last time she will ever march this show - or any show - in high school. Tomorrow is her last football game, and it is the Senior Game, so her dad and I get to escort her for the senior honor reception at half time. </p><p>Senior year is hard. It's a time of bittersweet endings, so many "last times," and for the senior it's sad, but also hopeful as they look forward to the exciting things to come. But those "last times" are so hard. Our director has this thing he always says to encourage them, "Last time, best time," and that's always bittersweet, but the truly last time is when it's hard to hold back the tears. Senior year is hard on the parents, too, especially having been through it twice before with our older boys. But this last child thing, oof. I'm struggling with it. </p><p>Band has been a big part of our lives for a really long time now, ever since our oldest son got to march with the high school band as an 8th grader in Kentucky, and then how excited he was when we moved to Texas and he got to march with the insanity of Texas marching band where truly the best marching bands in the country compete at the highest level. And now, with our youngest halfway through her senior year, finishing her last marching band season, it's coming to an end, and, y'all, I am not ok. She seemed excited this morning for today, but sad that it is the last. I am holding back tears as I type this. Band is fun for the students, but also great for the parents. I have met some very cool people along the way in the various schools' band programs we've been blessed to be part of through these past eleven years. My oldest son even met his (now) wife when they went to sister/rival high schools and their schools had a mixer event at a big national marching band contest. So, band has been a big part of our lives and I'm sad to see it coming to an end. </p><p>My daughter's band director invited her to participate in the full orchestra during concert season this year, so I'm really excited for her that while marching band may be ending this weekend, she still has lots of great music to look forward to this year. And of course, she is already looking forward to the exciting things the future holds for her. So, there is so much good to look forward to in the way of new beginnings, but goodbyes and endings are hard. </p><p>Parenting is so sweet. I have <i>enjoyed </i>being a mom with kids at home. And I will <i>miss </i>it incredibly. Every stage came with its own challenges, sure, but abundantly more so, so, so much joy and good things. I love these people I've gotten to watch grow to adulthood. What a blessing God gave my husband and me when He allowed us to be their parents. And, though I'm crying bittersweet tears right now, I am so excited to see how He continues to work in their lives into adulthood. So, I know I said I'm not ok, and right at this moment, I would be lying to say I'm not struggling with the sadness of "last things," but overall, yes, I am ok, and I am so extremely hopeful for the new beginnings on the horizon. God is so kind and so good, and I am grateful for these blessings. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/q8ir8rVl2Z4" width="320" youtube-src-id="q8ir8rVl2Z4"></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p>Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959946409918907667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36362337.post-29556711875636157152023-04-10T13:03:00.003-04:002023-04-10T13:03:34.140-04:00The Communion of Saints<p> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><i>“Christ
is risen!”<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><i>“He
is risen indeed!”<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">Social media has its downsides,
and they are many, but it also has some pretty cool upsides.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of my favorite things about social media happened
yesterday, as Christians all over my newsfeeds shared the traditional Easter
greeting with each other. One would post, “He is risen!” Then many would
respond, “He is risen indeed!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All day,
all over social media this was repeating, and it is glorious. That declaration expresses
our shared hope, joining myriad Christian brothers and sisters together in precious
communion and shared faith that has continued and been passed down across the
centuries, it joins us with the great cloud of witnesses who have gone before and
will join us with the generations of believers to come.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
is our hope.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Christ is risen! He is risen
indeed!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">One of my very favorite things
about Easter is joining with my fellow believers, my church family, my brothers
and sisters in the faith, as we sing with joy about the foundation of our faith
and rejoice in the Resurrection, which, honestly is what EVERY Sunday is celebrating,
but in a very focused way on Easter Sunday. Yesterday was no exception.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Singing songs that affirm our faith, praying
in expectant hope and faith, listening and responding to the Word faithfully
preached, Sundays are vitally necessary refreshment, and yesterday is still
singing in my heart.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">But I do have one, very gentle
thought I can’t help pondering today. I was raised in a Southern Baptist
Church, so I’m no stranger to it. We have not been members of an SBC church in
a long time, though, having joined other solid, Bible churches the past many
years, and, truth be told, I didn’t really ever expect to be a member of an SBC
church again. Lesson learned, never say never, and we found the right church
for us here where we live now is a precious Baptist church and we love our
family here, and are grateful to be members of this little church, thankful for
the rich community and faithful teaching and weekly refreshment we find here. However,
yesterday something happened that sort of reminded me how weird we Baptists
are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The worship leader welcomed the
congregation yesterday morning by declaring, “He is risen!” To which I and a
few others I’m guessing, though I didn’t hear them, said, “He is risen indeed!”
Mostly what I heard was a bunch of jumbled, “Amens,” and, “Yes,” and even a “Hallelujah,”
or two, all of which are definitely appropriate responses and heartfelt
emotions, but a part of me found it jarring that the congregation didn’t seem
to know the traditional response, the response that millions of Christians were
responding all over the world yesterday. I love my Baptist people. We love
Jesus, truly, deeply, we love His word and teach it well. But having been a
part of different biblical Christian traditions recently, I can’t help but feel
like we are poorer and we miss something by being so fiercely autonomous that many
of us are basically ignorant of ancient traditions and we seem to have an
almost allergic disdain for knowing anything about the rich beauty of the creeds,
which were a product of, sometimes quite literally, the blood, sweat, and tears
of earlier generations of believers to carefully set out and guard the right
understanding of the biblical doctrines of the faith. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">Part of the wonder of
Christianity is that we are the Body of Christ. When we read that wonderful
passage in Hebrews about the great cloud of witnesses who surround us, it’s a
reminder that we are joined with the great invisible church, the saints who
have loved Christ through the ages, those who have gone before us and passed the faith down to us and from whom we can learn so much, those faith filled brothers and sisters around
the world today, and those who will follow behind us in future generations until Jesus returns, the saints
from all ages with whom we will join around the throne with our gaze fixed on Christ,
our voices joining with the multitudes from every language, tribe, and tongue
in singing, “Worthy is the Lamb!” for eternity. We really need to be careful
not to be so autonomous in our church vision that we forget that the Body of
Christ is bigger than just our local church, we are part of something awesome
that spans the ages and the nations. Christ is building His Church, and we get
to be part of it, our little local congregation is a part of the multitude of living stones
that Jesus is raising up, and we do well to remember and appreciate all who
have gone before us, to appreciate the rich heritage we have in the faith, open
up our eyes and learn from those who have gone before us, appreciate what they
have contributed to the rich heritage of faith, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and turn our eyes to our Savior in wonder,
love, and praise.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">He is risen! He is risen indeed!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><i>“Therefore,
since we are surrounded, by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay
aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with
endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the founder and perfecter of our faith, who
for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and
is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” – Hebrews 12:1-2<o:p></o:p></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OX-Xt-vBYPc" width="320" youtube-src-id="OX-Xt-vBYPc"></iframe></div><br /><i><br /></i><p></p>Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959946409918907667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36362337.post-86226283949989007602023-02-12T20:39:00.005-05:002023-02-13T13:59:54.547-05:00Sharing Some Thoughts About the Book I Just Finished<p> For some time now, I've been ambivalent about this blog. Life is different than it was back in the day when blogging began, and I just haven't had the desire to write in the way I used to in this space. The blog has kind of become a place for me to keep a running list of books I'm reading, which, now that I'm on Goodreads, is somewhat redundant I guess. Anyway, I just finished reading a book that I would like to say a few words about, and the blog seems a good place to do so. I'm thinking that maybe revamping my blog to a place where I discuss books sometimes might be a good way to keep this space meaningful again. </p><p>Anyway, the book I just finished is <i>Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith From Fear</i> by Jinger Duggar Vuolo. First, an honest confession: I never watched any of the TV shows about the Duggars and wasn't really a fan, but I was aware of them and knew some of their story just by virtue of living through the years their lives were being broadcast on TLC and, being involved in the evangelical Christian subculture and social media world, I would hear things. Anyway, I recently heard Jinger Duggar Vuolo when she was a guest on the Allie Beth Stuckey podcast discussing her new book, and I was very intrigued, so I preordered the Kindle book, which I just finished reading tonight. </p><p>First of all, I very much appreciate how Jinger carefully explains that she has not "deconstructed" her faith in the way we've seen too much of recently where some well-known Christian basically leaves the faith altogether, but she has done what she beautifully calls "disentangled" unbiblical, unhelpful, or false teaching from what is biblical and true, and has emerged with genuine, sweet, freedom and faith in the Jesus who loves His people and has kindly led her out of deception into a vibrant, living, life-giving, biblically sound faith. </p><p>The Duggar family was very involved with the ministry of Bill Gothard, and what Jinger describes in her book is the way his mishandling of scripture led to bad teaching and fear and legalism, and this is what she has left behind, while coming to grips with the things that she believed that weren't biblical, while she learned to dig in and, like the Bereans, see what the Bible really teaches. And in that process, to find freedom from legalism and fear-filled rule following to a vibrant relationship with the living Christ, full of His forgiveness and grace.</p><p>I was surprised at how much I could relate to her journey. I realized that a lot of what I experienced, especially early on in my church experience, while not nearly as extreme in the legalism, was a lighter version of it. I even think I remember some Bill Gothard seminars being held at the church where I grew up when I was very young, or if not his ministry, it was something very similar. What I do remember struggling a lot with was the incessant teaching that I had to get the faith from my head to my heart, and I just never knew if I had really, truly, truly repented enough, and the suspicion that God wasn't ever really truly pleased with me. I remember the relief I felt when I finally realized that it isn't how well <i>I</i> repented, how strongly <i>I</i> believed, but rather it was WHO I was believing and trusting that made all the difference. My faith isn't in my ability to believe perfectly enough, my faith is in Jesus Himself and what He has done to redeem me! I realized as I read this book that, by God's grace, my "disentangling" has been a gentler process than Jinger has had to go through, because I think the entrenchment in legalistic teaching was much less profound for me, but I did have a lot disentangling that He has brought me through, and God has graciously brought me to that same place through years of good teaching and years of reading my Bible well, and I also realized how thankful I am for my parents. They were always skeptical of the legalistic teachings that were often interwoven in our church experience, and they taught me early on to examine the Scriptures and compare any teaching to what I knew of God's word. Add to that, in God's Providence I found Alistair Begg's <i>Truth for Life</i> broadcast many years ago, which also led me to other good, biblical resources, and listening to years of solid, biblical, grace-filled teaching made a huge impact on my understanding. God is so good. And I'm thankful for the way He worked in Jinger's life and allowed her to write this encouraging book, and I am thankful that I can look back on my life and see how God has protected me from deception and led me in the truth and allowed me to grow in my love for Jesus. He truly is worth it all. </p><p>This is one of my favorite quotes from the book: "My faith is as strong as it's ever been - not because Christianity tells me the right way to live or unlocks some 'key to success' but because I can find no one more compelling, more lovely, more hopeful than Jesus." </p><p>Amen. This is my testimony, too. </p><p>I really recommend this book. </p><p><br /></p>Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959946409918907667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36362337.post-14915168725280242672022-12-31T16:51:00.004-05:002022-12-31T16:51:59.913-05:00My Year in Books for 2022<p> I've been waiting to share my book list from 2022, thinking I might finish the book I'm currently reading, but I have begun to realize that I just don't have time, so it will go on the 2023 list. It is hard to believe we have arrived at the last day of 2022. Time flies. Time flies, and I haven't written much at all on my blog in a long time. I sure would like for next year to be different on that front, but I'm not making any kind of promises. Without further ado, here are the books I read this year, and as always, some I liked a lot, some not as much, and just because it's on this list doesn't mean it is necessarily an endorsement, just that I read it. </p><p><b>January 2022</b></p><ul><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Iron Lake </span></i>- William Kent Krueger (F). </li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don't Know</span></i> - Malcolm Gladwell (NF). This was fascinating, an important discussion that needs to be widely held in our contentious culture. He does a wonderful job explaining how and why interactions impressions about others that go very wrongly are much more complex than we often want to believe. Recommended.</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She's Sorry </span></i>- Fredrik Backman (F). A wonderful book by one of my favorite authors. I have truly loved every one of his books that I've read.</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">I</span><span style="color: #2b00fe;">n the Land of Blue Burqas</span></i> - Kate McCord (NF). This was a wonderful book and I learned a lot about the culture of Afghanistan and a greater appreciation for my Savior Jesus. It is beautiful hearing the American author's stories of her experience working in the country for an NGO helping Afghan women and her love for the people she met. </li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">A Drink Before the War</span></i> - Dennis Lehane (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Underground Railroad</span></i> - Colson Whitehead (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Lost Connections: Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression - and the Unexpected Solutions</span></i> - Johann Hari (NF). This was definitely a chew the meat but spit out the bones book for me. I appreciated the helpful insights as far as they go, but, as a Christian, I don't always agree with the interpretation or solution. However, as far as the insights themselves about some of the causes of depression and our need for connection, there is much that I find useful and worth considering here.</li></ul><div><b>February 2022</b></div><div><ul><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Boundary Waters </span></i>- William Kent Krueger (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The God of the Garden: Thoughts on Creation, Culture, and the Kingdom </span></i>- Andrew Peterson (NF). I loved this - another beautiful book by Andrew Peterson. I just love how he looks at the world and how he sees God's glory in creation, especially in trees (read the book, you will see what I mean). I especially appreciated his honest discussion about his struggle with melancholia and depression and how he grounds it all with his deep love for Jesus and the glory and beauty of His creation. As I read, I long for the beauty of a garden and a real sense of community. Highly recommended. </li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Yearling</span></i> - Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (F). I had not read this book before, even though it's a classic and it is referenced often in other books and in culture. I've thought through the years that I should read it, I mean, it takes place in Florida and Rawlings is famous for that, and when you grow up in Florida as I did, you hear A LOT about her, so I am a little confused about how I managed to get by my Florida upbringing without reading this, but I digress. Whenever I thought of it, it just didn't sound interesting to me - I knew that it's about a boy and a deer and the deer dies, how can you write a whole book about that, and besides, I still cry when I merely think of the end of <i>Ol' Yeller</i>, do I really need to read another coming of age book of sadness about the loss of a pet? ("He was my dog. I'll do it." That tears me up even now as I sit here typing this.) Well, I just finished reading <i>The God of the Garden </i>by Andrew Peterson, and in it he talks about having some of those same feelings about <i>The Yearling</i> - he also spent his middle school and high school years growing up in Florida and that book was often recommended and he wasn't interested, until his young son read it and told him it was the best book he'd ever read. This intrigued Peterson, and as I read his account, I, too, was intrigued. I loved this book. It is about so much more than just a boy and his deer (obviously, it won the Pulitzer, I should have known it would have more substance than I'd thought), and it is very well-written, and I found myself having a hard time putting it down. That is a big deal these days when I am trying to retrain myself to read and concentrate in our perpetually ADHD world. (Have you noticed how much harder it is to concentrate these days - I am convinced all of our screen time and the way we live is re-wiring our brains and making it harder to read, create, concentrate, sleep, you name it. I am not alone in observing this, as you'll see in a later book that will end up on this list soon). Another thought I had after finishing this book is that we would do well to read more things like this which show us how hard life can be, and how heroic the triumph of the human spirit can be as people bravely face adversity and manage to hang on to decency and kindness and generosity in the midst of deprivation and actual hardship, and to learn from earlier time periods. I was thinking about how fragile people are these days with being afraid of every minor little perceived offense and 'trigger words' and 'safe spaces' needed because we can't handle someone saying something we don't like. I heard someone say on a podcast that I was listening to recently that people who have actually had truly hard things happen to them don't need these manufactured outrages. Word. What wimps we've become. We truly need to learn to toughen up in this culture. I could say so much more on that, but I won't here. Anyway, I loved this book, and was pleasantly surprised by that. I'm glad I read it as an adult - I have a feeling I appreciated it much more now that I have lived a bit than I would have when I was younger. Then again, back to what I am processing as I mentioned a second ago, maybe if younger people would read more such things and think deeply about them, we'd be less likely to need 'safe spaces' for things that aren't truly hardships at all. But, factor in our ADHD world, and you see how much harder it is for anyone to think deeply about anything anymore. Just a thought. </li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention - and How to Think Deeply Again</span></i> - Johann Hari (NF).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Purgatory Ridge</span></i> - William Kent Krueger (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America</span></i> - Beth Macy (NF). Absolutely heartbreaking. </li></ul><div><b>March 2022</b></div><div><ul><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Door on Half-Bald Hill</span></i> - Helena Sornensen (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Talking About Race: Gospel Hope for Hard Conversations</span></i> - Isaac Adams (NF). Compassionately written, biblical, and a very timely, helpful word.</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Too Good to Be True </span></i>- Michael Horton (NF). Finding hope in a world of hype. This was biblical, Christ centered, and full of gospel encouragement. </li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, Book 1) </span></i>- Brandon Sanderson (F). I waited until I was pretty well into my reading goal for the year before taking on this first very long book in a series of very long books. I was hesitant to start this since it is still in the process of being written, and after WoT, I wasn't sure I wanted to dive into another long epic fantasy series, but at the insistence of my son, Michael, who has read the four books that have been written so far and wants to talk about them with me, I took the plunge. And I'm glad I did. This is much better than Wheel of Time. Much better. Very strange, as epic fantasy often is, definitely not a Christian worldview, but relatively clean compared to many books in this genre, and fascinating, immersive world building and excellent characterization. I enjoyed this first book and the conversations I'm already having with my son about it very much, and looking forward to reading more.</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, What It Doesn't, and Why It Matters</span></i> - Steven E. Kooning (NF). This was a bit technical, but very helpful and informative, aimed at helping the layperson understand better what the climate science tells us (and doesn't) and how to recognize red flags when reading or hearing reports and news stories and politicians, etc. discussing "The Science." I very much appreciated his passionate plea to move away from "The Science" back to science and learning to look more objectively at what the findings are and a more balanced approach to understanding and dealing with climate change.</li></ul><div><b>April 2022</b></div><ul><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive, Book 2) </span></i>- Brandon Sanderson (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Everything Sad is Untrue (a true story)</span></i> - Daniel Nayeri. I loved this book. Beautifully written, and a heart wrenching, endearing view into the life of a refugee in America. I found myself not ready to be finished when I reached the end and wanting to hear more of his story.</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Name Above All Names</span></i> - Alistair Begg, Sinclair B. Ferguson (NF).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Edgedancer (The Stormlight Archive #2.5) </span></i>- Brandon Sanderson (F).</li></ul><div><b>May 2022</b></div></div></div><div><ul><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Brave By Faith: God-Sized Confidence in a Post-Christian World</span></i> - Alistair Begg (NF).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Passport To Heaven: The True Story of a Zealous Mormon Missionary Who Discovers the Jesus He Never Knew</span></i> - Micah Wilder (NF).</li></ul><div><b>June 2022</b></div></div><div><ul><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Oathbringer (The Stormlight Archive, Book 3)</span></i> - Brandon Sanderson (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Why I Stand </span></i>- Jonathan Isaac (NF).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Sacred Bond: Covenant Theology Explored</span></i> - Michael G. Brown and Zach Keele (NF).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Dawnshard (The Stormlight Archive #3.5)</span></i> - Brandon Sanderson (F).</li></ul><div><b>July 2022</b></div></div><div><ul><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Peacemaker: A Biblical Guide to Resolving Personal Conflict</span></i> - Ken Sande (NF).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Rhythm of War (The Stormlight Archive, Book 4)</span></i> - Brandon Sanderson (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking</span></i> - Susan Cain (NF). I wish everyone who is in a position to teach or manage people, especially those who are more outgoing and don't understand quieter temperaments, could read this book and better understand how challenging it is to be an introvert in a culture that has so thoroughly embraced the "Extrovert Ideal." Susan Cain beautifully describes our experiences and the quiet strengths people with this temperament have. I cried while reading the last chapter of this book where she discusses "How to Cultivate Quiet Kids in a World That Can't Hear Them." I saw so much of myself and so much of my children in that chapter. More thoughts to come in a blog post I'm working on.</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Being the Bad Guys: How to Live for Jesus in a World That Says You Shouldn't</span></i> - Stephen McAlpine (NF).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Devil's Bed</span></i> - William Kent Krueger (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Who Do I Think I Am?: Stories of Chola Wishes and Caviar Dreams</span></i> - Anjelah Johnson-Reyes (NF).</li></ul><div><b>August 2022</b></div><div><ul><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Blood Hollow</span></i> - William Kent Krueger (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals that Protect Us From Violence</span></i> - Gavin De Becker (NF).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1)</span></i> - Brandon Sanderson (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Mercy Falls</span></i> - William Kent Krueger (F).</li></ul><div><b>September 2022</b></div></div><div><ul><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Netanyahus: An Account of a Minor and Ultimately Even Negligible Episode in the History of a Very Famous Family</span></i> - Joshua Cohen (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Living Life Backward: How Ecclesiastes Teaches Us to Live in Light of the End </span></i>- David Gibson (NF). This was very good. One of my favorite sermons I've ever heard was from the book of Ecclesiastes, and this book was equally as good. </li></ul><div><b>October 2022</b></div></div></div><div><ul><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Well of Ascension (Mistborn, #2)</span></i> - Brandon Sanderson (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Hero of Ages (Mistborn #3)</span></i> - Brandon Sanderson (F).</li></ul><div><b>November 2022</b></div></div><div><ul><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Making Room for Her: Biblical Wisdom for a Healthier Relationship with Your Mother-In-Law or Daughter-In-Law</span></i> - Barbara Reaoch and Stacy Reaoch (NF).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Small Things Like These</span></i> - Claire Keegan (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Thrill of Orthodoxy: Rediscovering the Adventure of Christian Faith</span></i> - Trevin Wax (NF)</li></ul><div><b>December 2022</b></div><div><ul><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Silmarillion</span></i> - J.R.R. Tolkein (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Dawn of Redeeming Grace: Daily Devotions for Advent</span></i> - Sinclair B. Ferguson (NF).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Great Alone </span></i>- Kristin Hannah (F). I very much liked this one.</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Giver of Stars</span></i> - JoJo Moyes (F).</li></ul></div><div><br /></div></div><p><br /></p>Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959946409918907667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36362337.post-72430071585645242842022-07-19T20:51:00.005-04:002022-07-19T22:01:33.712-04:00A Few Thoughts and a Book Recommendation<p> </p><p>A few weeks ago, my husband gently told me that his boss was having a drop-in open house, and knowing how uncomfortable these things are for me, he said that we didn't need to stay long but he felt we really needed to make an appearance. So, because I love him, I didn't follow my first panicky thought and beg him to go without me and we went, and I tried my best to put on my smile and make small talk with people I've never met before, something I really, really, really am not good at doing. Oh, how thankful I was for the kind woman there, who also didn't know many people at this particular gathering, who, whether she took pity on my discomfort or just saw me as a sympathetic ear, engaged me in conversation and kept that conversation going and seemed to enjoy carrying the burden of the conversation and drawing me in in spite of my own awkwardness. I told my husband later, nothing makes me feel quite so much like the most boring, dull person on the planet as these kinds of gatherings, where there is no structure and I don't know anyone well enough to not have my mind go completely blank. I am not good at small talk, no matter how much I try to make myself. I have to consciously remind myself not to cross my arms in self-protective posture that telegraphs discomfort and to smile and to relax. It is all I can do to not show all that on my face and try to make my brain come up with reasonably chatty things to talk about so I don't come off like a complete ninny. At least that's what the angsty agony feels like inside my head.</p><p>So, when I came across the book, <i>Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking</i> by Susan Cain, and I tried to remember where I heard about it and I'm not sure if maybe it was recommended on Goodreads, or a podcast, or where I saw it, but it intrigued me. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv8jsZnr9ul0Ng_VYe_VCQZwKrIWKjAIp83zHVVvnI2c-rCMDCbUXVkIYbUSJ2dMivA1HJ5kiyM1_f2asGY8CcxPbm-KhYMIfi70Gn4qhlWDicFGB2wfZDtdm2Jj1WH80pEktg5yTlrMplS0tasZESv5IeQqM30LZoDDZMJC6paUJRxmhY0w/s4032/IMG_7126.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv8jsZnr9ul0Ng_VYe_VCQZwKrIWKjAIp83zHVVvnI2c-rCMDCbUXVkIYbUSJ2dMivA1HJ5kiyM1_f2asGY8CcxPbm-KhYMIfi70Gn4qhlWDicFGB2wfZDtdm2Jj1WH80pEktg5yTlrMplS0tasZESv5IeQqM30LZoDDZMJC6paUJRxmhY0w/s320/IMG_7126.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>I love this book. I understand myself and my temperament and so many experiences from my past much better after reading it, and I understand my children better, too. We are a family of introverts, to one degree or another - and that is not a bad thing, not a thing that needs to be cured, contrary to the constant, and I think often unconscious and well-intentioned, messaging our culture subtly throws at us all the time. Managed, probably so when it manifests as social anxiety like I had at that gathering, learn how to appreciate the strengths and shore up the weaknesses, absolutely, but <i>cured</i> and <i>changed</i> and forced to be something we are not (an extrovert) altogether, no. I especially liked the exploration of whether innate temperament is necessarily destiny, and the investigation of how the different temperaments are wired to process new information in terms of sensitivity. I resonated with a lot of that discussion. I won't rewrite it all here, but read the book. It is fascinating. </p><p>In fact, I resonate with a whole lot of what the author explores in this book. I found myself crying in the last chapter where she discusses "How to Cultivate Quiet Kids in a World That Can't Hear Them," especially in the look at how school is overwhelmingly geared and designed for the more extroverted person and how difficult it is for the introverted to shine under that structure and how often their special and unique strengths are overlooked and overshadowed by their louder, more outgoing peers. I cried a little for how deeply I resonated with her scenarios from my own experiences, and a lot for how close to home it hits from things my own children have experienced. I am still struggling with anger towards a certain teacher my daughter had last year and how her preference for the popular, more extroverted students led to my quiet, sweet, sensitive, intelligent daughter by the end of the year describing her struggle with the class participation part of that class and through heartbroken tears describing how hard she was trying to perform to the expectations and how demoralized she felt everyday and how she hated to go to that class and telling me she hates a subject that usually is a favorite one for her. Class participation grade was more about personality than about actual contribution, and that was obvious from several examples she shared with me. I found myself wishing I could hand this book to that teacher and plead with her to read it and have compassion and understanding for students like my daughter. In that last chapter, the author gives some practical advice for parents and for educators in how to nurture both temperament types rather than defaulting to the pervasive "Extrovert Ideal" which so defines our culture. This quote, from the thoughts for teachers that she lists, "Don't think of introversion as something that needs to be cured. If an introverted child needs help with social skills, teach her or recommend training outside of class, just as you'd do for a student who needs extra attention in math or reading. But celebrate these kids for who they are," had me ready to jump out of my seat yelling, "YES!" She shared that the typical comment on report cards is how they wish the student would talk more in class, and that is so frustrating to me. They always want more, but don't recognize when that introspective, quiet kid is trying to be more, it's never good enough. You can see this is a sore spot for me. Enough on that from me. I appreciated this chapter very much, and I appreciated that the author's tone is much more positive and helpful than my little almost rant here. </p><p>And the conclusion of the book was beautifully written, also making me cry. Overall, though I may not agree with every single jot and tittle, I resonated with almost all of this book. I highly recommend it. I really wish everyone who teaches or manages or spends time with people at all would read this and understand that both extroverts AND introverts have beautiful strengths and weakness that are worth cultivating, understanding, and nurturing, not seen as a detriment to be fixed. We need each other, we need the varied ways of looking at the world. A balance of both temperaments is necessary and we need to be better at understanding each other, learning from each other, and giving each other space to be. This very positive, well-researched and wonderfully readable book is a gift, and I recommend it. </p><p><br /></p>Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959946409918907667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36362337.post-85074229135503621212022-02-25T15:02:00.006-05:002022-02-26T10:21:41.138-05:00Lord, Have Mercy<p> One of the things I hate about social media as it exists at this moment in our cultural context is that when something Big happens in our country or in the world, those of us who are on Facebook, Twitter, etc. feel a compulsion, almost an obligation, to respond, and to respond on our personal timelines immediately. You start to feel that if something Big is happening, and you choose not to post about it then you aren't Doing Something or you aren't Caring enough. Unfortunately, what you see from many who post their support, chagrin, grief, whatever the response, is that they tend to come off seeming like they are jumping on the bandwagon, but often people don't really understand the issues, but, hey, posting about it is Doing Something. Because to not post anything will be interpreted by all the followers that we Don't Care. </p><p>Here is the thing, though, I think we need to be careful not to assume that just because someone who is active on social media isn't posting about the Big Thing, does NOT mean we aren't at home praying, watching the news, caring a great deal - we just choose not to jump too quickly to share an opinion or stance on the bandwagon of social media until we can suss out all the nuances and complexities. And even then, sometimes social media IS NOT THE PLACE for all of our reactions to be shared. </p><p>The longer I'm on Facebook and Twitter, the more I'm realizing they are hurting our ability to think deeply about serious issues. Most Big Things are not summed up in pithy soundbites. Most Big Things have many complexities and angles to them, and in order to understand them sometimes we have to move away from black and white, stark right and wrong snap judgments, to a place where we can hold two or more thoughts in tension at once. There usually isn't one totally good actor vs. one totally bad actor. Very often there are complex issues. And social media is tending to lead us to think we can soundbite our way through understanding and it is narrowing our abilities to have nuanced discussions, and that is also polarizing us into various camps that end up unable to understand each other or even able to assume the best of each other or find common ground with each other anymore. </p><p>That was all very vague, I know. the first part of this post isn't about one specific instance, but more my view from the perimeter as I have been on social media for more than 10 years now and as I've been watching how these things play out. </p><p>But now, more specifically, I am thinking about this most recent Big Thing, the Russia invading Ukraine thing, that we are all watching unfold before the world stage. Early on, I saw some amazingly stupid reactions on Twitter and Facebook and saw some colossally stupid hashtags in response to it all. My daughter was bemoaning how frustrating it is when the teenagers and influencers she sees on Instagram start hashtagging and posting and it's obvious they think they are so morally superior and Doing Something with their posts, yet they obviously don't really know what they are talking about at all. I agreed. Frustrating for real. And the sad thing to me is that people don't seem to <i>want</i> to go beyond the initial Do Something kind of reaction to think deeply and start to really understand the issues - of this or of whatever the next Big Thing may be. It is Enough to have made a post, preferably one that goes along with the popular narrative. Allie Beth Stuckey said the other day something along the lines of how liberal progressive white girl social media is the worst. I tend to agree with that - most of the stupidest of the stupid hashtags and responses I saw were from that quadrant, two of which left me just gobsmacked at how embarrassingly naive and ignorant they were, and I'm being vague on purpose. My point isn't to call out anyone, just to make an observation. And I am acutely aware that it is a bit hypocritical of me to post my qualms about the nature of social media discussion on....social media. </p><p>Anyway, now that I've got my rant out of the way, I did have some thoughts about the whole Russia invading Ukraine thing, but I'm not going to make the mistake of thinking my sharing this is Doing Anything, except that it helps me to hash out my thoughts in this space, and I am not going to assume I have any kind of solid grasp on what is a fluid and evolving situation. My son is pursuing a double major in Russian Language and Culture and History - where he tends to focus on European History, and he has been really helpful to me in trying to get some understanding of what is happening in our world. The thing is, that help is coming in the form of very long and complex conversations, because these things are not easily understood, and not easily explained in a sentence or two, and certainly not in a hashtag or soundbite. </p><p>I tend to process heavy things with music, and there are two songs that often come to mind when Big Things come across our attention and I'm trying to process them. The first one is this:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4iwF7tNS3O4" width="320" youtube-src-id="4iwF7tNS3O4"></iframe></div><p><br /></p><p>I like this one because, honestly, when I go to pray about things - and though right now it is Russia and Ukraine that are weighing heavily on my heart at the moment, there are also many other things going on in the world that I'm feeling heavy about as well (like what's been going in Canada, for one, wowza, and many other things, too) - often I just do not know how to pray, and my most urgent prayer is often, "Lord, have mercy." I am thankful that the Holy Spirit groans with groanings that are too deep for words and when I do not know how I ought to pray, He intercedes for me. The greatest comfort that exists is to know that God is sovereign, He knows what the need is and what the desired outcome is much better than I could ever imagine or put into words, and if He allows even this, He has a purpose in it, and I can pray for His mercy, and I especially pray for His people who are in the midst of turmoil today.</p><p>Next is this one:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/r9x6hSdRAvI" width="320" youtube-src-id="r9x6hSdRAvI"></iframe></div><p><br /></p><p>I can't listen to this one without tears, because whenever there is turmoil in the world, children and the vulnerable will suffer most grievously. We are already seeing heartbreaking things from Ukraine, and it should hurt all of us who hate tyranny and the immorality of what is transpiring there. </p><p>So, I guess my thoughts I'm processing today, if I sum them up are:</p><p>1.) Maybe we would all be wise to be slow to hashtag respond and quicker to seek to understand the issues.</p><p>2.) For myself, I need to be slow to judge those who are quick to respond and assume the best - we really do care, maybe it isn't just for show.</p><p>3.) For all of us, don't assume that just because someone doesn't post about Important Things on Facebook that they Don't Care. Many of us are watching the news and caring and praying deeply, but, I know for me, I just don't choose to use my Facebook for it most of the time.</p><p>4.) Learn to think deeply about things. Don't just listen to the headlines of one news source or the hastags of so-called influencers. Look at complexities and realize people and motives are more complex and nuanced than hashtags, and ALL media outlets have biases, I do not know of any neutral sources, and, to be honest, there are very few trustworthy voices left these days. Learn to weed through bias and seek to understand. It will take work and time. </p><p>5.) Pray for Ukraine. That's never wrong to say, and for most of us it is very much the right and best thing we can do today.</p><p><br /></p>Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959946409918907667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36362337.post-39364145576862096862022-01-15T14:50:00.009-05:002022-01-15T14:52:13.654-05:00Time is Weird, Sing for Joy <p><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">I was on my way home from dropping my daughter off at high school the other day and I saw a sign advertising for a local flag football team.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">Out of the blue tears threatened and I thought, “We don’t have anyone in our house that can apply to anymore, and we haven’t for a while now.”</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">Here’s the weird part, do I </span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">want</i><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;"> right now to be running kids around to flag football, upward basketball, and all the other stuff we were busy doing when they were little? Not really. But sometimes I am hit with a kind of wistfulness that we are past having kids that age now.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;"> </span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">Time is so weird. When I started this blog, my youngest was not even a year old. That little one is the 15-year-old high school student I was dropping off the other day, and her brothers are basically mostly out of the nest, away at college, the oldest just starting grad school this semester. In some ways the me I was when, with trepidation and trembling fingers, I hit “post” on that very first tentative venture into the great unknown of sharing my thoughts from my little corner of the internet and I started this blog seems a lifetime ago - so much growing, maturing, and so many moves and packings and unpackings and joys and sorrows and more great unknowns and just <i>living</i> were still ahead of us then. And even blogging was a whole different thing back then. The lonely mom with three busy littles at home needed that little blog community we had back in the day. That kind of blogging doesn’t really exist anymore, and sometimes I miss it a little. </span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">This song came on my play list yesterday</span> and it took me back to when my middle boy was about 4 years old and he would sing this thing with joy while strapped in his carseat in the back of the minivan. I would be lying if I said there weren’t moments when I miss that little guy singing in the back of the minivan. One of the weird things about time is that when I get these wistful feelings I can sometimes spiral into wondering, did I make the most of those years? Did I enjoy them enough? Was I too serious about things I should have been able to laugh about more? Did I do all I should have done to train up my children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord? But those wistful moments don’t last long. They don’t last long because I look at the young man that little guy has become and the young man his older brother has become and the sweet young lady their little sister is becoming, and I realize that these precious people have moved from being my littles who I got to raise to being friends I get to enjoy and to enjoy watching them spread their wings and shine, and I’m thankful. So incredibly thankful.</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/h-FJZmJEjGQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="h-FJZmJEjGQ"></iframe></div><br /><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">Time is weird because in some ways it goes so slowly when we are in the moments, but when we look back it almost takes our breath away to see where we’ve come and how quickly it seems to have gotten here, and how different we are today from yesterday. I really can’t wrap my head around the fact that this little blog has existed on this little corner of the web for 15 years. I really can’t even wrap my head around how fast those 15 years seem to have gone. And I can't really wrap my head around how different I am from the me I was in those yesterday years. The days are long, but the years are swift. </span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">As I’m thinking about these things, I am also remembering a dear friend who went home to be with the Lord this week. She was one of the most joy-filled people I’ve ever known. She loved Jesus so deeply, and she took her walk with Him very seriously, and man, she knew how to live. She just overflowed with the fragrance of Christ and she lived and loved and laughed so well. I want to remember my friend and I want to be more like her. </span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><a href="https://vimeo.com/271000176?fbclid=IwAR1hEQj3K0cLdKIUIa2kHlBjy8IoO220fcawMFfFM23cJUw9WJLuLXftmWE">I heard a sermon several years ago </a>that very much has stuck with me, from Ecclesiastes talking about how we can enjoy the portion God has given us. My friend did that so well. </span></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">When I was younger, I struggled a lot with some not great teaching from certain Christian circles about how we need to do big things for God, do more, try harder, do better. I wasted much time worrying about missing my calling and that I didn’t know what big thing I was supposed to be doing and I felt so much pressure about that. Then one day I realized, my big thing was right here, raising my littles, being the wife my husband needed, taking care of our home so he was freed to do the things he needed to do to take care of us, and I realized, the big thing I need to be doing is to honor God in all I do, to live full out for Jesus right where He has planted me. As I look at my kids who aren’t littles anymore and who have become treasured friends, I realize this is has been, and still is, a good portion. </span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">So, as I’m thinking about the weirdness of time and that weird wistfulness I feel sometimes, I’m reminded again of the joy of knowing that I can find joy and glorify God with the portion He has given me <i>today</i>. I can live this life with joy and fullness, loving Jesus every step of the way, and in every season and twist and turn of life. What abundance His joy and grace and new mercies are every single day. And I’m so very thankful. </span></p>Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959946409918907667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36362337.post-1781517497545069572022-01-02T15:23:00.007-05:002022-01-03T07:27:26.765-05:00Singing With Thankfulness in Our Hearts <p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="font-size: 11px;"><i>Colossians</i></span></span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;"> 3:16</i></span></p><p style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.</i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">After opening with singing Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee and prayer, we got to sing this song today in church. What a wonderful way open worship on this first Sunday of a new year! We were introduced to CityAlight at our last church and we have loved adding their songs into our repertoire of the newer hymns that are being written in recent years. I’m thankful for the wealth of newer hymns that are rich in biblical language that we can add to our library of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs we can sing with thankfulness in our hearts to God.</span></p>
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<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zundjUFazfg" width="320" youtube-src-id="zundjUFazfg"></iframe></div><br />
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">I recently went through a bout of the blues where I felt low and couldn’t really explain it. 2021 was a year with a lot of challenges and griefs one on top of another that felt overwhelming at times. I have found that when that kind of pressure starts building and I may have trouble focusing on reading my Bible deeply and well in some of those moments, one of the best comforts I’ve found is to put good music with Christ-exalting lyrics and thoughts on repeat and fill my heart and mind with them. I am extremely thankful for the gift of music. Often these rich spiritual songs minister to my soul in a deep and resonant way. I am thankful that God is bringing new hymn writers to us, people like Keith and Kristyn Getty, Stuart Townend, Matt Papa, Andrew Peterson, CityAlight, Sovereign Grace and many others who are writing music we can sing, even when our hearts are broken, which take us out of ourselves and to the very throne of God, bringing light to adorn the darkness and lifting the sprit in times of trouble. </span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">Today was a good day to start this new year, also, because we were finally able to formally join our new church. We have known for a while now that this church is to be our new home and church family, but life circumstances kept happening that hindered us from going forward. Today we finally got to make it public that we want Northwest Hills Baptist Church to be our new church family here. We are excited to join in the life and work of this little body of believers and we are thankful for the deep and solid teaching, gospel and grace-centered encouragement, and rich friendships we are already developing here. </span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">God is so kind to us. And I am grateful. </span></p>Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959946409918907667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36362337.post-34814567052970010392021-12-30T17:42:00.001-05:002021-12-30T17:42:26.937-05:00My Year in Books - 2021<p> As we are winding down 2021, a year which has admittedly held a lot of challenges for my family and me, I am ending one of my slowest blogging years, also, with only nine posts counting this one, with my traditional book list rounding it out for the year. I barely made my Goodreads goal of 50, and didn't think until today that I would (There are only 49 on this list because I read <i>Delighting in the Trinity</i> a second time to prepare for a book club at our new church). With all the challenges this year held, and with deciding to read ten of the <i>Wheel of Time</i> books, all of which had over 1,000 pages each, I almost didn't reach my arbitrary goal. As it is my kids think I'm cheating to add the Christmas devotional I read each morning this month, but it is a book(let), and I did read it, so, in my opinion it counts. I could count the Bible, too, since I read it entirely again this year, but I don't typically include it in my list, since it is a given that I'll be reading it each year. Anyway, some of these I liked, some I loved, some I didn't like all that much. Here is my list, with commentary on a few of them. As always, just because I read a book and listed it here doesn't necessarily mean I would recommend it. Some I would, some I wouldn't. I will say I LOVED the Andrew Peterson book, <i>Adorning the Dark</i> very much. And I really do hope for the coming year to take some of his advice about not waiting until I feel like it or until everything is just right before writing but to just write. Looking at the sad state of my blog and the fact that I've wanted to write that fiction story since high school, I really do need to take his advice and attempt to adorn the dark in my little corner of the world and just write. May it be so. So, without further ado, here is what I was reading in 2021. Happy reading, friends. </p><p>J<b>anuary 2021</b></p><ul><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Faith Alone</span></i> - R.C. Sproul (NF).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Fires of Heaven (The Wheel of Time Series, #5)</span></i> - Robert Jordan (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Simple Genius</span></i> - David Baldacci (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything about Race, Gender, and Identity - and Why This Harms Everybody </span></i>- Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay (NF). Overall, I found this a helpful and critical look at Critical Theory and Postmodernism. Aside from the authors' rather obvious bias against deeply held religious belief, I even found much to appreciate in their proposed solution of a more liberal (in the classical sense of liberalism) approach to scholarship and discourse. I wouldn't have lumped all people who hold a strong religious faith quite as solidly with other ideas they attribute to the far right (like white supremacy, for example), but I can overlook the bias and appreciate such a sentiment very well could stem from their own experiences, and I appreciate the intent, knowing my own beliefs and community as I do. And I have to think liberal-minded authors like these would appreciate the nuance and willingness to discuss and accept discussion on that. Overall I would recommend this book. </li></ul><div><b>February 2021</b></div><div><ul><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Power and the Glory</span></i> - Graham Greene (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Green Embe</span></i>r - S.D. Smith. Another great middle/high school book find! This was recommended by our pastor on The Cripplegate blog, the first of a four book series, and once again, I loved this. Pretty much if Pastor Jesse recommends a book, I usually find that it's one I want to read. We've found several good new book series in the past year that my daughter and I have thoroughly enjoyed, and I had bought this one for her for Christmas upon reading the recommendation. She has been so busy reading for school she hasn't had a chance yet to read it, but having just finished the first book, I know she's going to love this. I bought the second in the series last night at the church bookstore before choir practice, and I'll probably get the next two as well. I was hesitant at first, because it's about rabbits and I wasn't so sure about that, but, as I've heard it described it's not so much like Watership Down, but more like the Narnia books or the Wingfeather Saga, which I'm still emotional about. Definitely an engaging adventure story and I'm looking forward to finding out what is next in the ongoing adventure with Picket and Heather. </li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">This Tender Land</span></i> - William Kent Krueger (F). This is one of those novels that is so well-written you kind of lose yourself in the story. I liked this very much.</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution </span></i>- Carl Truman (NF).</li></ul><div><b>March 2021</b></div></div><div><ul><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Lord of Chaos (The Wheel of Time, Book #6) </span></i>- Robert Jordan (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">A Children's Bible</span></i> - Lydia Millet (F). After waiting quite a few weeks for this on library hold, it was disappointing, but I really did not like this one. At least it didn't take long to read, so I didn't waste too much time with it.</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Madness of Crowds: Gender, Race and Identity</span></i> - Douglas Murray (NF).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Cost of Discipleship</span></i> - Dietrich Bonhoeffer (NF).</li></ul><div><b>April 2021</b></div></div><div><ul><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">A Crown of Swords (The Wheel of Time, Book #7)</span></i> - Robert Jordan (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Unmasked: Inside Antifa's Radical Plan to Destroy Democracy</span></i> - Andy Ngo (NF).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Path of Daggers (The Wheel of Time, Book #8)</span></i> - Robert Jordan (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Delighting in the Trinity: An Introduction to the Christian Faith</span></i> - Michael Reeves (NF). I loved this book. I am so glad one of our pastors recommended it. I needed to read this today, and it is really good. I will be pondering and leaning into the love of God for a long time after reading this.</li></ul><div><b>May 2021</b></div></div><div><ul><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Whole Truth</span></i> - David Baldacci (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Anxious People</span></i> - Fredrik Backman (F). This is the third book I've read by this author and I just really like the way he writes. He has so much insight into the anxieties and insecurities we all can struggle with and such a compelling way of depicting relationships and friendship and the kindnesses that follow when we attempt to look beyond the surface to the things we want to say but can't always express, and start attempting to see people for who they really are, in the way he spins out the story. I'm looking forward to reading more of his novels. </li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Winter's Heart (The Wheel of Time, Book #9)</span></i> - Robert Jordan (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The New Reformation: Finding Hope in the Fight for Ethnic Unity</span></i> - Shai Linne (NF).</li></ul><div><b>June 2021</b></div></div><div><ul><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Panic Attack: Playing Politics With Science in the Fights Against COVID-19</span></i> - Nicole Saphier, MD (NF).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Crossroads of Twilight (The Wheel of Time, Book #10)</span></i> - Robert Jordan (F). The last couple of books in the series I've only given 3 stars (and the last one I almost gave 2 stars it was that boring and frustrating) because they've just been so slow-going in terms of moving the plot forward. These really could have stood for some editing and making them move along a bit faster with less words, and in the last book there was a major character and plot development I really don't like and which has made me not like certain characters nearly as much as I would have, but I've read far enough into the series that I want to know how it will end, so I guess I'm committed at this point. The last half of this one did pick up the pace a bit to where I actually wanted to start the next book right away when I finished it (though I need to read a library book that I've had on hold for weeks and which finally came available first), and from reviews I've read, it seems that the next books will be better, especially the last three when Brandon Sanderson took over to finish the series after Robert Jordan passed away, so I'm not giving up yet. </li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Ordinary Grace</span></i> - William Kent Krueger (F). Beautifully written. I very much liked this one.</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Ember Falls (The Green Ember, Book 2)</span></i> - S. D. Smith (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Ember Rising (The Green Ember, Book 3)</span></i> - S. D. Smith (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Ember's End (The Green Ember, Book 4)</span></i> - S.D. Smith (F). I loved this series. To think I would cry real tears over rabbits. It's a beautiful story and truly engaging. I would highly recommend these books. </li></ul><div><b>July 2021</b></div></div><div><ul><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">How Lucky</span></i> - Will Leitch (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">A Man Called Ove</span></i> - Fredrik Backman (F). Backman is quickly becoming a favorite author of mine. Another good one.</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Hope…the Best of Things </span></i>- Joni Eareckson Tada (NF).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Nightwatchman</span></i> - Louise Erdrich (F).</li></ul><div><b>August 2021</b></div></div><div><ul><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Knife of Dreams (The Wheel of Time, Book #11)</span></i> - Robert Jordan (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Gathering Storm (The Wheel of Time, Book #12)</span></i> - Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson (F). As I've read in many reviews, this was indeed better than the last several books in the series as Brandon Sanderson took over the writing. He seems to focus less on the minutiae and unimportant details that took up too much of those last few books and gets down to moving the story along better, and I'm looking forward to reading the last several books in the series to see how it all wraps up. One of my sons keeps asking if it's worth starting the series, and I'm conflicted on how to answer. On the one hand, I've enjoyed the story, but it's a pretty big time investment - the books are all very long and there are 14 of them, and those middle books do drag quite a bit and all the other things I've not liked about the treatment of women, along with the disturbing overall worldview. However, Sanderson does a better job of toning some of the things I hated in the last book down and actually succeeds in subtly making a character I knew we were supposed to like but who I had a hard time liking as written by Jordan much more likable without drastically changing her character finally, and I'm glad for that. So, yeah, if you're willing to spend as much time as it takes and wade through several books that needed better editing to get to the good part, it's worth it, but not if you don't want to spend all that time on one series. There are so many good books out there to read - it's hard to justify it, in a way. As my other son and I were discussing, the problem with these epic fantasy series is that while the world-building and story may be interesting, they're just so long and there is so much else out there to read besides fantasy that it would be sad to limit yourself just to this genre. You miss out on so much other very beautiful and well-written literature if all you read are these long, epic fantasies. That's why I'm hesitating to read the next one he keeps telling me to read. I'll finish this series and then take a break to read some other things for a bit, I think, before I decide to take on another long fantasy series. </li></ul><div><b>September 2021</b></div></div><div><ul><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Plot</span></i> - Jean Hanff Korelitz (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Towers of Midnight (The Wheel of Time, Book #13)</span></i> - Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson (F).</li></ul><div><b>October 2021</b></div></div><div><ul><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">A Memory of Light (The Wheel of Time, Book #14) </span></i>- Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson (F). I think overall I liked this series ok, but it was just so long and drawn out that by the end I was too exhausted by it to be as emotionally impacted as I usually am at the end of a good series. It was a satisfying ending for the world that the author created, but the overarching worldview of that world was one I didn't care for - too much like Eastern philosophy for my taste, with the idea of the need for the darkness balanced with the light and the idea that mankind will ultimately choose honor and light and good. The Creator/Light was much too impersonal and uninvolved with the outcome for the creation, though characters would often pray for the Light or the Creator to shelter someone, there was NO indication that there was any sort of loving or even involved creator to do that. It all hinged on the relentless turning of the Wheel of Time and endless cycles of rebirth similar to the concept of reincarnation and Eastern thought, and blind spinning of the pattern by the wheel, kind of like the impersonal idea of fate, and the hope that people would choose the light over the darkness. Anyway. I'm glad to have finished it. Not sure I'd give it a hearty recommendation since I don't really feel all that much enduring love for any of the characters or the story now that I've spent all this time reading it. So that's that. </li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Britt-Marie Was Here</span></i> - Fredrik Backman (F).</li></ul><div><b>November 2021</b></div><ul><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death (The Grantchester Mysteries, Book 1)</span></i> - James Runcie (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Unsaved Christian: Reaching Cultural Christianity With the Gospel</span></i> - Dean Inserra (NF). Of the books I've read so far this year, this is one I very much recommend. It's an important message, convicting and challenging and necessary, especially as someone who lives and grew up in the so-called Bible-belt. Highly recommended.</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Means </span></i>- Douglas Brunt (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Pathway to Freedom: How God's Laws Guide Our Lives</span></i> - Alistair Begg (NF).</li></ul><div>December 2021</div></div><div><ul><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">One Faith No Longer: The Transformation of Christianity in Red and Blue America</span></i> - George Yancey and Ashlee Quosigk (NF). In his book <i>Christianity and Liberalism</i>, J. Gresham Machen made the argument that liberalism and Christianity are actually two different religions. This study pretty well bears that out, making a convincing case that the differences in Progressive Christianity and Conservative Christianity are so profound that we are probably witnessing the divergence of the two into separate religious categories. Interesting read, though if we have been paying attention in recent years, sadly it is not terribly surprising in its findings, to be honest.</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Mystic River</span></i> - Dennis Lehane (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">My Last Name</span></i> - Eric Schumacher (F). This was a beautiful little story. I finished it in one afternoon, but it left me in sweet tears. </li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Jack</span></i> - Marilynne Robinson (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Cry, The Beloved Country</span></i> - Alan Paton (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Shutter Island</span></i> - Dennis Lehane (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Christians Get Depressed Too</span></i> - David P. Murray (NF). Recommended. This should probably be recommended reading for all Christians, especially if you know someone struggling with depression, or you are experiencing it yourself. This short book is easy to read and very compassionate and practical, a realistic and helpful look at the complexity of depression.</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Adorning the Dark: Thoughts on Community, Calling, and the Mystery of Making</span></i> - Andrew Peterson (NF). I really loved this book. Andrew Peterson is one of my very favorite singer/songwriter/authors, and this book is beautiful. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Gospel Meditations for Christmas </span></i>- Chris Anderson, Joe Tyrpak, & Michael Barrett (NF).</li></ul></div>Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959946409918907667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36362337.post-88430510007905601562021-09-23T09:20:00.004-04:002021-09-23T09:21:17.227-04:00Feel Good Songs<p> Do you have any songs that whenever they come on your playlist, they just make you feel good or transport you back to another time? For me, one of those songs is Rod Stewart's "Forever Young." </p><p>For me, whenever I hear this song, it's senior year in high school, band friends meeting at my house after football games so we could change out of those impossibly hot wool uniforms (wool uniforms in Florida, what were they thinking?) and go meet our friends at Jungle Jim's for a late football Friday night dinner, boombox on the beach or by the pool, windows down freedom enjoying my new drivers license, tables pushed together at Pizza Hut with lots of friends and laughter after church on a Sunday night, the excitement of the acceptance letter from the University of Florida, endless sunshine and a simpler time, and all the good memories and emotions that go with that season of life. </p><p>It's funny how songs can convey so much emotion, and though this certainly isn't the only one like that for me, it is one of my favorites. Whenever I hear it in the car, I just want to play it loud with windows down and drive. It's such a feel good song and when it played on my way home from taking my daughter to band practice on this crisp cool morning, that's what I was thinking about.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mwG6g5boyF4" width="320" youtube-src-id="mwG6g5boyF4"></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959946409918907667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36362337.post-89296908736004162772021-08-24T21:33:00.000-04:002021-08-24T21:33:17.716-04:00The Memory of a Smile<p><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">One of the most perfect movie moments I’ve ever seen is near the end of </span><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King </i><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">when Frodo boards the ship to sail to the Gray Havens after his tearful farewell with Merry, Pippin, and most of all, Sam.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">That moment when he pauses and then he turns and smiles at them and his face is truly happy and he all of sudden has color in his cheeks and you realize that you hadn’t noticed how pale and sad and wan he had become and how tinged with sadness and weariness his smiles had been until right at that moment when he suddenly looks like the sweet, carefree Frodo he had been at the beginning, and you sigh as the tears are streaming and think, “Oh. He’s whole again.”</span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">This evening I was making grilled cheese sandwiches and thinking about my mom, specifically thinking about one of the last times I saw her and how she smiled at me while I was making a grilled cheese sandwich for her when she asked for one after she came home from the hospital when we were there in January. Grief is a strange thing, how it hits at unexpected times, but tonight I got to thinking about that scene from <i>The Lord of the Rings</i> and how sweet that unguarded, loving smile from my mom was, and how sick she actually was then and how sick and exhausted she’d really been for a long time even though we didn't realize it and she faithfully kept on and kept on, and I thought how if I were to be able to see her today and she were to smile at me, she would be whole in a way I’ve never known her. </span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">I know Tolkien didn't mean <i>The Lord of the Rings</i> to be an allegory or anything, but I think that scene and how Peter Jackson chose to portray it in the movie perfectly captures the emotions surrounding the death of the believer in Christ. There is the grief those who are left behind feel so tangibly, there is the sadness the one who is dying feels at leaving, yet there is that sense of relief and joy and wholeness in knowing they go to be with the Lord and enter into a joy that this world can only hint at. And there is also that sense of letting go and moving forward for those who now have to live with the grief of the separation from their loved one and that emptiness we feel when we miss seeing their smile, but also to live the life we still have to live and to live it in joy, even while we often ache with the missing of our loved one and are so often reminded by little things - even things as ordinary and simple as a grilled cheese sandwich. </span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qTstBMkeAH8" width="320" youtube-src-id="qTstBMkeAH8"></iframe></div><br /><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><br /></p>Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959946409918907667noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36362337.post-78328638527923303282021-08-03T15:16:00.000-04:002021-08-03T15:16:00.447-04:00Homesick<p style="text-align: center;"> <i style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; text-align: center;"></i></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: center;"><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Romans 8:18-25</span></i></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;">“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”</span></i></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: center;"><i style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"></span></i></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><i></i></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;"></span></i></span></p><blockquote><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Proverbs 14:13</span></i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">“Even in laughter the heart may ache,</span></i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">and the end of joy may be grief.”</span></i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="color: #800180;">“The books or the music in which we thought the beauty was located will betray us if we trust to them; it was not in them, it only came through them, and what came through them was longing. These things - the beauty, the memory of our own past - are good images of what we really desire; but if they are mistaken for the thing itself they turn into dumb idols, breaking the hearts of their worshipers, For they are not the thing itself; they are only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never yet visited.” - C.S. Lewis</span></span></p></blockquote><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">I’ve been thinking quite a bit lately about how in this fallen world how tangled and intertwined joy and grief, contentment and longing, laughing and weeping are in just about everything we do and all that we hold dear. With my mom passing into glory earlier this year, I’ve been thinking a lot about the strange mingling of joy and grief. On the one hand there is the joy of knowing her, having gotten to be her daughter and have her in my life for as long as I did, and also the ache in knowing how many of the years of her life were marked by some form of suffering through which she grew mightily in her faith, but it wasn’t an easy walk. Even in death there is the grief of separation, those moments when I think, “I wish I could talk to Mom about this, I wish she could have seen or heard this, I wish I could ask what she would think about this,” but then there is the sweet joy of knowing her physical exhaustion and pain are over, her faith is sight, she is in the presence of the Lord.</span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Another way I’ve been pondering some of these deep thoughts is in the very nature of friendships and relationships. When you have to move as often as we do, you come face to face with the grief of goodbyes. You also come face to face with both the joys and the difficulties of new hellos. It takes time to build up the kind of closeness that breeds deep and intimate friendships. It seems that for many of my adult years I have found myself finally finding people I could grow to have that kind of friendship with, only to have to pack up and move and say goodbye before really getting the chance to let those friendships fully blossom further. It seems that most of my adult life I’ve been torn between missing people we have known, looking forward to knowing new people, and learning to plant quickly in the place where we are at the moment. I told my husband the other day, I haven’t really, truly felt like we are ‘home’ in a long time. Even when we are settled, in the backs of our minds, we know we most likely will be moving again in a few years, and though we try to plug in and form bonds and bloom where we’re planted, blooming and blossoming takes time, forming real community and trust and friendship doesn’t happen overnight.</span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Even when we have time, I find that real, deep friendship is a hard thing to come by. I think part of what we lost in the Fall back in Genesis is the ability to truly be open and truly vulnerable with others. Even in the best of friendships, often we are holding ourselves back, there is just something missing. This is why marriage and family are such a unique and beautiful blessing. On earth in our fallenness, marriage and family should be the relationships that come closest to being able to truly just be ourselves. This is also why brokenness in marriages and families hurt so very deeply. When the people who should be the most able to be open and vulnerable and know everything about us are a safe place, it is a glorious glimpse of some of what we lost in the fall, but when they are not a safe place, it mars the gospel picture in a really ugly and deeply painful way. </span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Another place where we ought to be able to find a glimpse of what is being restored for those who trust in Christ and have been joined to Him is in the Church. When people genuinely love Jesus and are seeking Him and His brilliant beauty above all else, it ought to bond them to others who also genuinely love and belong to Jesus. And I have found in all of our moving that if I’m going to find those kindred spirit kinds of friendships that I think we all desperately long for, it is within the local church families we’ve joined. </span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">But part of the cost of living on this side of eternity is that in loving well, we are also at risk of grieving hard. When a loved one passes away, or we have to pack up and leave cherished friends or friends who would have been kindred spirits had we had more time to develop the friendship, it hurts deeply. Life is hard. There is so much wrong in the world that we long to see restored and made right. And the real hope for the believer in Christ is the knowing that He is making all things new. He is sovereign and wrong will not win. Jesus wins. He has conquered sin and death and He is where our hope finds rest, even as we live with the tension of the now and the not yet of that fulfillment on this side of eternity.</span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">As I told a friend recently when we were expressing sadness that we hadn’t had time to know each other better, one day we will have all of eternity to develop friendships that won’t ever have to end as we worship Jesus together, no more marred by the sin that entangles us here. </span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Something else that feeds these thoughts is that as I see the news and how divided people are, how much we can’t trust the voices we should be able to trust, how bad things seem to be in the world, I just feel a sense of homesickness, even when we are settled somewhere. It’s not like I’m wanting to be in some specific place that I’m missing, it’s more that I just don’t feel like it’s home in the deepest sense. I think what I’m longing for is not so much a place, but a Person. I’m longing to know Christ more and to find my security and rest and HOME in Him. This desire grows the longer I walk with Him and realize that the only hope for all of these things I’m pondering about is Jesus. He is the something better which my heart yearns for. It is in Him that we can be freed from the sin and discontent and lack of ability to let go of my self-centeredness and rest in Him and be free to love others and truly enjoy the portion He has granted with all its joys and sorrows combined. </span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">So, while we sojourn here on this side of eternity, let us seek to pursue Christ wholeheartedly, love others deeply and hold back less and less so we can give more and more of ourselves and make the best use of the time we’ve been given to share glimpses of eternity with others and moments of light in the darkness as we love well. I feel like I’m rambling a bit and not adequately saying what I’m trying to say here, but it’s a start. I’m speaking to myself. I have such a tendency to hold back, to be shy, to live like a hermit, and then complain because of the ache of loneliness that I often don’t know how to break. Whatever the circumstances, I want to see Jesus for how precious and beautiful He is, and I want to live so full of that grace that I can reach out to kindred spirits and point them to His glory and together to live the life He has given us and enjoy the portion He has for us well, to purpose to fully enjoy the joys while not hiding from the griefs, to join in fully rejoicing with those who rejoice and weeping with those who weep until He calls us home.</span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span></p><blockquote><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><span style="color: #800180;">“The term is over; the holidays have begun. The dream is ended; this is the morning. “ - C.S. Lewis, <i>The Last Battle</i></span></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Revelation 21:1-8</span></i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall here be mourning, nor crying, or pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.’ And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ And he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolators, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.’”</span></i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><i></i></span><br /></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Revelation 22:1-5</span></i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.”</span></i></span></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YK89oSiTrxE" width="320" youtube-src-id="YK89oSiTrxE"></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vHwF5a9MSe4" width="320" youtube-src-id="vHwF5a9MSe4"></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p><p> </p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><i></i></span></p>Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959946409918907667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36362337.post-42485487751845160552021-04-08T10:38:00.001-04:002021-04-08T10:42:08.313-04:00Music and Prayer<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj6G1X3cXaa4-A7o0WYsTFyvjLY6hJwdeQe_t5WkZ9_F4XYeJlQZt0-NUCRE6pZ54MrftSB2dRzHwhErN1Opgumk77WmxvZdBmaaI-20RIK5dPIO6O_SpqcCQngmZfGCn4CXtH/s2048/IMG_5871.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj6G1X3cXaa4-A7o0WYsTFyvjLY6hJwdeQe_t5WkZ9_F4XYeJlQZt0-NUCRE6pZ54MrftSB2dRzHwhErN1Opgumk77WmxvZdBmaaI-20RIK5dPIO6O_SpqcCQngmZfGCn4CXtH/s320/IMG_5871.JPG" /></a></div>Sometimes I find myself struggling to focus my thoughts and settle down enough to really pray. Often in our Wednesday small group Bible study we will end the study by singing a hymn together, so today I thought, why not try singing to get my heart tuned to pray this morning? <p></p><p>Recently our church produced a hymnal just for our congregation, full of old and new hymns that our congregation use for worship. It's divided into four sections: Call to Worship, Confession, Christ, and Gospel Response. This morning I took one from each section and sang through them and between that and my morning Bible reading I found it a refreshing way to spur me on to pray richly. </p><p>I was struck this morning by how many of our hymns point us toward the fact that death has lost its victory and sting, how many of them talk about how life will not end our song, we will get to sing for eternity, singing forevermore. That, my friends, was a beautiful thought, especially as I'm missing my mother but finding joy in thinking about the fact that she's getting to hear the music of Heaven now. </p><p>There is something deeply powerful about music, don't you think? It moves us on a level much deeper than merely our intellect, but down in the depths of us. When coupled with beautiful words that point us toward Christ and are full of biblical truth, there is something truly mysterious and wonderful about music. </p><p>When I think about beauty, I am mindful of just how beautiful our God is. He could have given us a world that was merely functional, but he didn't stop at that. He made a world that is gloriously beautiful, full of light, and brilliance, and color, and music, that help us to contemplate the immense greatness of the God who would create such beauty. And all the beauty we behold is shadow, seen through a glass dimly for now. Imagine the beauty of the new heaven and new earth and the music that will be there. I don't think we can even comprehend it….yet. </p><p>So, today I'm thankful for rich hymns. Even sung alone, a cappella, they drew my attention to my Savior and helped me to pray, at a time when I'm feeling so mentally scattered. What a gift music is, and what a gift godly hymn writers have been to the Church through the ages. God is abundantly good to His people. </p>Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959946409918907667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36362337.post-6706225573849927412021-03-31T12:28:00.003-04:002021-03-31T13:24:48.274-04:00A Life Well Lived<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i>“Precious in the sight of the LORD</i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i>is the death of his saints.”</i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i>Psalm 116:15</i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i></i></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i>“Therefore they are before the throne of God,</i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i>and serve him day and night in his temple;</i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i>and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.</i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i>They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;</i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i>the sun shall not strike them,</i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i>nor any scorching heat.</i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i>For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,</i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i>and he will guide them to springs of living water,</i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i>and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”</i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i>Revelation 7:15-17</i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i></i></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i>“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.</i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i>He makes me lie down in green pastures.</i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i>He leads me beside still waters.</i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i>He restores my soul.</i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i>He leads me in paths of righteousness</i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i>for his name’s sake.</i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i></i></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i>Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,</i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i>I will fear no evil,</i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i>for you are with me;</i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i>your rod and your staff,</i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i>they comfort me.</i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i></i></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i>You prepare a table before me </i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i>in the presence of my enemies;</i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i>you anoint my head with oil;</i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i>my cup overflows.</i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i>Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me</i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i>all the days of my life,</i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i>and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”</i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i>Psalm 23:1-6</i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i></i></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i>“For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.” </i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i>1 Corinthians 13:12</i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i></i></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i>“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”</i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i>Philippians 1:21</i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">My dear mother went home to be with the LORD yesterday. I cannot quite wrap my mind around it yet. I am thankful my dad was with her, and I am thankful her suffering is now complete and her faith is sight as she gets to see Jesus face to face. One moment she was having devotions with my dad in her hospital room, and the next she was opening her eyes in Heaven. As I type this my eyes are filling again with tears, but in all that transpired over the past few days, my dad and brother and I can see the merciful hand of God’s Providence and care for my mom and for us. I cannot even comprehend how much we are going to miss her, but I rejoice in knowing her faith is now sight and we will see her again, whole and rejoicing. As a friend of mine said, what a special week for her to run into the arms of Jesus, as we who are still here are celebrating the Resurrection. </span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><br /></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;">She is one of the strongest women I know. Her faith grew ever stronger even as she faced severe health challenges for many years. As a tribute to the legacy she leaves, I’m sharing what I wrote in the forward to the books my brother compiled for my parents’ 50th anniversary a couple of years ago. I love my Mom, and I’m grateful for our family. <span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><br /></p>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); color: #666666; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>The righteous who walks in his integrity - </i></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); color: #666666; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>blessed are his children after Him!</i></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); color: #666666; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>Proverbs 20:7 </i></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); color: #666666; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; min-height: 13px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i></i></span><br /></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); color: #666666; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>When my brother, Tim, first suggested this project as we were discussing our parents’ upcoming 50th wedding anniversary and what we could do to honor them, it seemed like a great idea. As I’ve thought about it, what could be more fitting a tribute to what has been a driving and most important theme throughout their marriage than to honor their love for learning and teaching God’s Word? Yes, this project is my dad’s notes from the many months (years!) he spent teaching through the book of John with his adult Sunday School class at Faith Presbyterian Church. We have these notes because of his love for my brother and me and his wanting to share the truths he was learning and teaching with us, but the legacy of my and my brother’s lives is to have grown up with TWO gifted Bible teachers for parents. </i></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); color: #666666; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; min-height: 13px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i></i></span><br /></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); color: #666666; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>When my parents were a young married couple, they moved to the Space Coast of Florida as my dad began working at the Kennedy Space Center (my husband likes to tell people that his father-in-law is a real rocket scientist). Not only did that begin my dad’s professional career, but they quickly found First Baptist Church of Merritt Island, FL, where a dynamic preacher by the name of Adrian Rogers taught the Bible every week in a way my parents had never heard before. They loved it. They began growing spiritually and learning to study God’s Word and understand it better, and eventually to teach it. I remember my mom teaching children’s Sunday School and VBS for many years, and some of my earliest memories of that church were going over to the old Job building where my dad taught a couples class, and if I close my eyes, I can still smell that building and see some of those faces that I haven’t seen in years. My mom’s love for GA’s led her to teach it for a while when I was at the age to be in her group, and summer GA camp gave me some of my very first tastes of what it means to study the Bible and have my own quiet time in the Word. Later my mom went on to teach a women’s class, and even when I would come home on college breaks, I preferred going to her class than back to the youth and college class. I still remember her taking one lesson to diagram the first sentence of the book of Hebrews - ever the English teacher, as well.</i></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); color: #666666; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; min-height: 13px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i></i></span><br /></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); color: #666666; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>Growing up in our home, my brother and I knew how important the Bible was to my parents because they talked about what they were learning all the time. I used to like to say it was part of the warp and woof of our life. It’s not so much that we had tons of ‘formal’ Bible training times, but that as they learned and grew, they talked about it - either to each other and around us, or directly to us, but always we knew how precious the truths of God’s Word were to them. So much of what I know about the Bible was caught just by growing up in a home where these things were not just something we heard on Sunday then put up on a shelf until the next week, but they were life to my parents. And believe, me, children notice these things. For my mom and dad, the Christian faith is everything. They love Jesus and they love His word, and they talk about what matters. </i></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); color: #666666; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; min-height: 13px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i></i></span><br /></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); color: #666666; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>When my parents discovered the doctrines of grace as they studied the Bible and prepared to teach, it brought them, eventually, great peace. Though the journey eventually led them away from the church that had been home for so many years, God graciously brought them to a new home at Faith Presbyterian, where my brother and I have watched them bloom. As my mom said, finally the pieces fit and she had been given the key for which she had been looking. God is so kind to His people! </i></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); color: #666666; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; min-height: 13px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i></i></span><br /></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); color: #666666; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>How thankful I am to have that legacy. The older I get, the more people I meet, the more thankful I am that God placed me in a home where my parents were real. They are not perfect people, there are no perfect families, but they are real and they love the Lord and His Word, and He has granted them both the gift to teach it well, and they have loved my brother and me through all of our ups and downs, and I’m so grateful God gave us these parents and this family. How thankful I am to have heard the gospel early and young and to have the example of two people who weren’t merely nominally interested, but invested in His Word. It is an immense blessing to a child to grow up in a home where Jesus is Lord and her parents are seeking to honor Him, where the faith is a part of who we are, not just an add on or something we do on Sundays. To this day, when I have biblical questions, I know I can go to my mom and dad and they will either be able to answer them or know how to search it out. They have modeled this since we were children, and their counsel and advice was biblical and practical. For this I am grateful.</i></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); color: #666666; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; min-height: 13px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i></i></span><br /></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); color: #666666; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>With these volumes we get to share the notes my dad shared with my brother and me as he was teaching the rich book of John. John is the book we often counsel new believers to read first, as it is so rich and such a glorious portrait of the Deity and majesty of Christ. My dad was excited to share his notes with us since we were far away raising our own families and couldn’t sit in on his classes except for the rare times we got to visit, and now, my brother has labored in love to set them into a bound series of volumes that we can present as a gift to honor my parents as they celebrate 50 years of marriage. We also felt that a fitting tribute would be to print some of my mother’s paintings on the bindings of these volumes, and for that we chose three that seemed fitting for John, “The Word” with the Greek LOGOS, “The Last Trumpet,” and “Faith Station Church” from her series of church paintings. </i></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); color: #666666; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; min-height: 13px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i></i></span><br /></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); color: #666666; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><i>Mom and Dad, from both Tim and me, thank you for loving us and always being ‘on our side,’ and for modeling faithfulness in marriage, and most importantly, thank you for pointing us to Jesus. That is the greatest gift any parent can give their children, and you have done it well, continuing on to your grandchildren, who share in this wonderful legacy.</i></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); color: #666666; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; min-height: 13px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></div><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br style="caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.199999809265137px;" /></p><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); color: #666666; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;"><br /></span></div>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959946409918907667noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36362337.post-29832736670075458332021-03-29T17:23:00.001-04:002021-03-29T17:27:03.080-04:00Long Days, Short Years<p> When I started this blog in 2006, I had three littles running around, our youngest not even a year old yet. Back in those early days of blogging I wrote more about my kids, but as they grew older, I wrote about them less and less, beginning to come to understand that the older they grew, the more their stories weren't mine to tell on my blog. The focus of the blog, such as it is, changed over the years. Back when blogging was a new thing, we formed little communities of similar interests and we shared each others' posts and encouraged each other, 'meeting' people in our blogging communities we might never have otherwise known. Sometimes I kind of miss those days, but you really can't "go home again." Things changed, we changed, the world changed, our kids grew up, the nature of blogging drifted into more of developing your brand and specific focuses rather than the lonely musings of Christian moms seeking community and connection, we drifted away to more personal social media platforms or left the blogging world all together and let the younger, hipper, more brand-conscious influencers have at it. </p><p>I've kept my little blog-journal open through the years, not because I think anyone is still reading, and not that I even want to build that kind of platform anymore, but because I still find it a useful place to hash out thoughts, and share them, just not as often, and not for nearly as many people - if anyone besides my parents and a few Facebook friends even see it anymore. That's been freeing, too. No pressure to post often, and now it's mostly a place for me to keep track of what I'm reading. The downside is that with the change in the way we blog, I've also dropped off from making very interesting content, hardly ever. </p><p>Anyway, the thing I got to thinking about today is that in a few days one of those children who was little when I started this blog, what doesn't feel all that long ago, but when you look at the dates is longer ago than I can wrap my head around, is turning 20. As of Friday, I will have two who are no longer teenagers.</p><p>That little cliche you hear all the time has truth to it: The days are long, but the years are short. Back when I was a lonely stay-home mom starting this blog, there were plenty of days I couldn't imagine anything other than those long days, and I even got a little bit irritated with people who constantly said things like, "Enjoy every day, every moment, they just go so fast." I knew that was true, but it felt burdensome to be constantly asking, "Am I really enjoying this moment as much as I should? Will I regret that I didn't do more?" And yes, there are things I regret. There are many more things I'm thankful for, though. I've learned through the years not to beat myself up about wondering if I'm making the most of every little thing, and just learning to live and to love Jesus and know Him more, whatever comes that day. And most of all, I'm thankful for the grace God has lavished on our life as I look back and see how He guided me through all those long days and short years. </p><p>I can honestly say that I've enjoyed my kids, all along the way. And I really and truly enjoy them immensely today, now that two of them are adults and the youngest is quickly catching up to them. I may look back and lose my breath at how quickly these years have slipped away, but I will never say they weren't full. And what a blessing it is to have children who are growing into really cool adults, who are just plain fun to talk to now. </p><p>I've shared this song before, but I just love it. I think of it whenever I think of my boys who are no longer my littles, but who have grown to be my friends. </p><p>God has been so very kind, and I am grateful. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NMn3ThuvGMo" width="320" youtube-src-id="NMn3ThuvGMo"></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959946409918907667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36362337.post-55873265433241593852021-02-12T14:54:00.001-05:002021-02-12T15:23:37.610-05:00Perspective and Hope<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyFZ5iGPT0hoLg31yfCsOF1VQI5oHQD_nAvLah8xLPKoPGr4v2OPQ6e4Tm66pjy0V_rcHVEdq2GAWNPufnDSZsZExrT8sZiMLmTT2SbiF4jG0YkFG7ycVTHSWr5mHZcNFVsQ9K/s320/IMG_5695.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyFZ5iGPT0hoLg31yfCsOF1VQI5oHQD_nAvLah8xLPKoPGr4v2OPQ6e4Tm66pjy0V_rcHVEdq2GAWNPufnDSZsZExrT8sZiMLmTT2SbiF4jG0YkFG7ycVTHSWr5mHZcNFVsQ9K/s0/IMG_5695.jpg" /></a></div><br /> This poster hangs in our basement. Today while exercising and facing this poster, a thought hovered and landed, "I wish this were true." I wish I didn't have this pessimism, but lately and increasingly, I'm sad to say sometimes I do. In this day when an aggressive and vicious from of cancel culture is rising, people seem so prone to view others who think differently and have different opinions as 'the enemy' rather than 'my neighbor.' It seems that with the rise of social media culture, we are becoming people who are so quick to assume the worst rather than the best, to put the worst construction on others' actions rather than trying to assume the best construction, with a growing unwillingness to put ourselves in others' shoes and try to see other perspectives. Take a moment to read through the shaming posts on your local Next Door app and you see so much of this thinking the worst, assuming the worst. These tools that supposedly are meant to bring us together are doing more to divide and isolate, in my opinion. <p></p><p>It is a sad day when a neighbor can do something kind and helpful for another neighbor, but that neighbor cannot see beyond the first neighbor's politics and chooses to spurn the kindness and see it as a cynical move for false unity rather than simply a neighborly kindness. How sad we become as a people, as a culture, if we are going to reduce everyone down to identity politics, and because of that choose to view anyone who doesn't toe the line we set for what is acceptable politically as, not just someone I disagree with, but as a dangerous and immoral enemy I can't cross the aisle to find any common ground with at all. We are so ugly when we worship at the altar of politics. How is a community supposed to function in this way? How are we supposed to function as a community when we lump people together and make broad assumptions based on who they vote for, or what they look like, or where they are from and refuse to look at people as valuable individuals who have varying and valuable opinions, beliefs, talents, etc.? We have lost the ability to hear an opinion we dislike and just agree to disagree. Instead of saying, "I don't like what you think, so therefore I don't like you, so you're cancelled and I cannot have any common ground or empathy for you at all," why can't we say, "I don't like your opinion, but could you help me to understand why you think that way and where you're coming from, and we can be friends, or at the least friendly, even if we don't end up agreeing?" Is this the culture we want to promote? </p><p>There is so much more I could say on this topic and a blog post isn't really the format for filling in all the gaps, but that's where my thoughts went as I stared at that poster this morning. </p><p>But that isn't where my thoughts stopped. You see, I'm not really a pessimist at heart, ultimately. I love America, don't get me wrong. Healthy patriotism is ok when kept in proper perspective, and I am thankful for the good things we've had in our country. It is true that the founding fathers who wrote the constitution and formed our union were flawed men. I have to admit the discomfort and even anger I have felt when I've toured the homes of Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, George Mason, and the various sites around Washington, D.C. as we've lived here this past year and a half and contemplated the complexities of those flaws mingled with the brilliance of the government they dreamed up. For all its flaws, however, this country had and has so much potential. We have seen progress over the years of our existence as a nation, and I hope we refuse to squander that, and I hope we can celebrate it and continue to hope for better. </p><p>But all that said, I have to continue and say that ultimately, my hope is not in America. When our leaders do what is just and righteous and generally good for the people, I pray they succeed, and when they govern wickedly, I pray for God's mercy. America is one of the nations, special in its way, yes, but finally just another of the nations, of whom Psalm 46:6 says, "The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts." Ultimately my citizenship is in Heaven. I am a Christian first and foremost. No matter what happens to America, whether it stands or falls, my hope is in Christ. No matter what I see around me, no matter how many difficult days I suspect may lie ahead, my hope, my joy, my stability, security, and peace come from Christ. I will not fret when the wicked act wickedly. Though I may feel great sadness in seeing what looks to me like a spiral into foolish thinking all around me, I do not fret myself because of evildoers. (Psalm 37) I trust in the LORD, delight myself in Him. He is sovereign over the nations. He is not surprised when sinners act like sinners. They act they way they do because they are lost. And this causes me to respond in compassion and to pray for those who would see themselves as my enemy, and to go ahead and do good, act kindly, even when I know it won't be received well or appreciated or even understood.</p><p>Anyway, this is where my thoughts went as I stared at that poster this morning. As Kingdom citizens, living as ambassadors for Christ in the country where we've been placed, let us remember to love our neighbors, even when they seem to be unable to love us back or to assume the best of us, and let us live justly and do mercy, pray for them, pray for our leaders, and then resolve ourselves to rejoice in the Lord always, be anxious about nothing, praying with thanksgiving, and may the peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:4-7) Let us resolve to focus our attention on what is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, let us think about these things. (Philippians 4:8) And keep in mind, too, that our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, that enables Him even to subject all things to Himself. (Philippians 3:20-21) Let us resolve to make sure that we take every thought captive to Christ, walk in Him, and guard our hearts and minds so as not to be captivated by worldly philosophies and empty deceits, but rooted and established in Christ and view the world through that lens as we choose to love our neighbors well. Let us remember that we who have trusted in Christ are His ambassadors, ambassadors of His light in the midst of a dark and crooked generation and let us so live that the fragrance of Christ is evident in our thoughts, speech, and actions. </p><p><br /></p><p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959946409918907667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36362337.post-43520513655404950342021-01-29T12:25:00.005-05:002021-01-29T15:49:46.084-05:00Epic <p> <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">I can’t believe I will be turning 50 in a few months.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">That just doesn’t seem real. I don’t feel like an almost 50-year-old. In my head I think I sort of stopped aging at around 30-35 or so, so it’s surreal to all of a sudden think about attaching the number 50 to myself. I’m not upset about it, mind you, I’m just trying to explain how weird it is to think of myself as middle aged. Whoa.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">I should not have typed that.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">That is too weird.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;"> Side note: we've been watching <i>Cobra Kai</i> on Netflix, and it is so weird seeing these guys who were total teen heartthrobs when I was a teenager looking like middle aged men. We like the show for the most part, and they've definitely aged well, but still. This is what I'm saying. </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">Ok. This isn’t what I meant to be writing about in this post at all. Moving on.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;"> </span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">So, with being in the last few months of my 40’s, I’ve realized that strange things are going on with my metabolism. I’ve always been a little sluggish there, but I’m finding lately that losing weight is way more difficult than it used to be. Like almost impossible. It doesn’t seem to matter what I do or what I eat or don’t eat, it just doesn’t budge much. However, I’m trying to rethink how I look at this. It’s not really the number on the scale I need to worry about, it’s healthy choices and lifestyle I need to aim for. So, I’m trying to make healthier choices and get into better shape. A few months ago, when I realized I probably wouldn’t keep walking as much as I should when the weather was bad or turned colder, we bought an elliptical for the basement. I’ve been using it, trying to be more regular about it. Also, I’ve started doing the 16:8 goal for intermittent fasting most days of the week. What I like about it is it has effectively made us more aware of the bad habit of evening snacking that we’d slipped into, and with this app I’m using, I basically tell it to start my fast not too long after dinner - no later than 7:30 pm, but earlier most days - and then I don’t end the fast until at least 11:30am the next day, pretty much nixing evening snacks and that oh, so tempting bowl of ice cream while we watch TV. This isn’t for everyone, I know, but it’s working for me. The key, however, is not to overdo it during the time you can eat - that defeats the purpose.</span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">Anyway, with all that, I’ve been a little discouraged that the weight isn’t just melting off, but I have noticed some subtle changes, even if my scale isn’t budging much yet. I have started feeling a lot better, more energy, somewhat, and I’m looking forward to the day when my clothes really feel like they're fitting better, knees and joints feel a bit better, and, hopefully, the scale will move the correct direction, too. </span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">And now to get to the point I meant to be writing about when I started this post. I find the elliptical to be a great source of cardiovascular exercise, but, frankly, it’s boring down there in the basement. For a while, I would listen to podcasts, which are quite entertaining when I take walks outside, but for some reason in the basement on the elliptical, they seem less engaging and I’m watching that timer and it’s super slow going. So, I’ve been looking for something else. And, y’all, I found it. </span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">Here’s where I share my nerdliness with you. My daughter and I often find ourselves bonding over certain pieces of music when they come on the playlist. I’m talking epic movie music, for lack of a better way of describing it. When we’re in the kitchen together making dinner and The Chronicles of Narnia music, the Theme from Jurassic Park, music from The Lion King, the Halo theme (yeah, I know, it’s a video game, not a movie, work with me here), or ANYTHING from The Greatest Showman comes on, we geek out and have a music moment together. So, I was looking for something like that to pump up my workout playlist, and I remembered a friend when we lived in San Antonio had mentioned a group her girls were enjoying. She was so funny, too, when she told me you have to kind of ignore that the name of the group is Two Steps From Hell, which she almost didn’t even want to say, but the music is like movie music and it’s really good. And I get that, it feels weird linking to a band with that name. When you look them up, they've written trailer music for a whole bunch of movies and video games you have probably heard of. </span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">Anyway, I looked them up and found some of their most popular downloads and I LOVE this music. We were joking yesterday when I was listening to some of it in the kitchen after dinner. My husband said, “Man even washing dishes is epic when you’ve got that in the background.” Haha. Truth. Have you ever thought you’d like to have a movie soundtrack for your life? This stuff would be good. </span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">So, today I made myself a new playlist and called it “Epic” after I worked out this morning and listened to some of my new music. What I’ve found works for me is to cover up the timer on the elliptical with a towel so I’m not tempted to look at it, pump up the volume with some good music and before you know it, I’ve done a pretty decent workout and enjoyed it, too. I started with the Epic music and ended with some Worship music at the end and I think I’ve found the push-through-it formula for doing something I have traditionally hated to do. </span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">Ok. That’s it for this post. No serious thoughts today, just writing to keep the blog alive.</span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">Here’s a sample of my new find: </span></p>
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<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">Happy Friday!</span></p>Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959946409918907667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36362337.post-21231379912012754832020-12-26T19:39:00.001-05:002020-12-26T21:56:28.611-05:00My Annual Book List<p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMjEZDI6WGrUJmT02WCqADRmQa3pQkprzTjzk8KoCUEsFb7_jpDArR8Wrg2H-_z13DdxCe0cs6qgRHC85PEnA8tBRUhxl9ALMnLS_RbDeVnbCS7mw4-gyJ8HCa19XS5HVULv63/s2048/IMG_5528.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMjEZDI6WGrUJmT02WCqADRmQa3pQkprzTjzk8KoCUEsFb7_jpDArR8Wrg2H-_z13DdxCe0cs6qgRHC85PEnA8tBRUhxl9ALMnLS_RbDeVnbCS7mw4-gyJ8HCa19XS5HVULv63/w240-h320/IMG_5528.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />For the past several years, I've made it a habit to share my list of books I read for the year. Once again, I'll add the caveat that just because it's on this list, doesn't necessarily mean I recommend it, just that I read it. For many I jotted down some impressions, but not for all. Now that we have only five days left in the year, and the next book I'm about to start is a long one, I'm pretty sure I won't finish anymore for this year's list. So, if by some chance I do finish it, I'll add it to this post, otherwise, here is the list for 2020, and I say, welcome to 2021…...<p></p><p> And this is Jags, who was a fairly constant reading buddy this year. There is something so comforting about a cat who snuggles in your lap while you read a good book. </p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b>January 2020</b></p><ul><li><i><span style="color: blue;">In Christ Alone: Living the Gospel Centered Life</span></i> - Sinclair B. Ferguson (NF).</li><li><i><span style="color: blue;">Land of Wolves</span></i> (Walt Longmire) - Craig Johnson (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: blue;">Long Before Luther: Tracing the Heart of the Gospel From Christ to the Reformation</span></i> - Nathan Busenitz (NF). On Sunday evenings, our pastor will often recommend books to us, and this is one of them. In discussions with Catholics about the Reformation you often hear it said that the reformers were teaching something new when they insisted upon the doctrine of justification by faith alone. Busenitz does an excellent job of tracing the doctine all the way from Christ to the writings of early church fathers and on to thinkers in the medieval church. Where those thinkers were basing their writing in scripture, this doctrine was clearly not an innovation at the time of Martin Luther. My favorite part of the book is the appendix where he shares "100 selected quotes from church history highlighting salvation by grace alone and the truth that believers are justified solely through faith in Christ, apart from works."</li><li><i><span style="color: blue;">The Falcon and the Snowman: A True Story of Friendship and Espionage</span></i> - Robert Lindsey (NF).</li><li><i><span style="color: blue;">The Cyber Effect: An Expert in Cyberpsychology Explains How Technology Is Shaping Our Children, Our Behavior, and Our Values - and What We Can Do About it</span></i> - Mary Aiken (NF). I have to admit, this one disturbed me a bit. The author highlights some very necessary conversations we, as a society, need to be having about technology. I found myself feeling a bit overwhelmed and kind of discouraged at the magnitude of the unregulated social experiment we are effectively performing with all our smartphones and internet saturation. I'd say this is an important read for anyone who spends any time at all navigating social media and cyberspace, and especially for those of us raising children in this new and sometimes terrifying environment. Sometimes I find myself wishing we could turn back time and go offline, but that's unrealistic - the ship has sailed and now we need to take some long and hard looks at how to navigate this world we're in and protect our kids and arm them with wisdom as best we can. Cyber technology IS affecting us, whether we want to admit it or not. </li><li><i><span style="color: blue;">Wish You Well</span></i> - David Baldacci (F). I loved this one.</li><li><i><span style="color: blue;">The Names of the Dead</span></i> - Kevin Wignall (F).</li></ul><div><b>February 2020</b></div><div><ul><li><strike><i><span style="color: blue;">The Pact - Robert Patrick Lewis</span></i></strike> (F). I borrowed this for free with my Amazon Prime account because my Kindle kept offering it as a suggestion and it had reviews that made it sound exciting. I didn't finish or even get real far with this one. I didn't hate it, per se, I just wasn't ever drawn in enough to care much about the people or what was about to happen to them. For such an exciting premise, the writing was kind of bland. It's pretty obviously a self-published sort of thing and really could have benefited from a good editor. Annoying grammatical errors and plot devices and such that a good editor would have helped the author to tighten up. Characters were flat and unrealistic scenarios (like why did he just drive off and leave the nanny who obviously understood his need for preparedness and took care of his kids and the supplies and was worried herself, never to be mentioned again? Why not take her with them? Did he not care about her? Besides, then she would have been there to help watch the young kids who he kind of just leaves alone in their room for extended periods of time. Sure. Where is the ex-wife, why are they divorced, how did he get custody of these young children, does he care nothing about the mother of his children that she's not mentioned as a fleshed-out person, and he just leaves the nanny and apparently the ex-wife behind to face the horrors that are coming? How in the world did he get out of Los Angeles with no traffic, no mass panic ensuing if internet and phones are out and they're under mysterious attack?) Maybe it would have gotten better if I had kept on, but after about 20% into the book, I just didn't buy into it, got tired of all the "brother, bro" special forces blah, blah, blah telling, telling, telling about family and brotherhood ("show, don't tell!"), and while it has the makings of an interesting story, it just isn't written in a compelling enough way for me to want to spend the time reading it. </li><li><i><span style="color: blue;">The Pursuit of Holiness</span></i> - Jerry Bridges (NF).</li><li><i><span style="color: blue;">Last Man Standing</span></i> - David Baldacci (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: blue;">The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe</span></i> - C.S. Lewis (F). I've read this more times than I can remember, but I love the series. My daughter and I are reading them together in the evenings. I love that she still enjoys spending time together to read aloud - you never get too old to enjoy sharing stories together like that. </li><li><i><span style="color: blue;">Death of Kings (The Saxon Stories, #6)</span></i> - Bernard Cornwell (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: blue;">Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI</span></i> - David Grann (NF). This was very interesting and, like most stories about our country's history with the Native American tribes, tragic, parts just downright evil, sad, and hard to read. But, though hard to read, I think it's important that these stories be told and not forgotten. </li><li><i><span style="color: blue;">Stepping Heavenward</span></i> - Elizabeth Prentiss (F). This is one of my very favorite books, I don't know how many times I've read it, but I love it more each time. I read it again every so often just because I like it so much.</li><li><i><span style="color: blue;">Unveiling Grace: The Story of How We Found Our Way Out of the Mormon Church</span></i> - Lynn K. Wilder (NF).</li></ul><div><b>March 2020</b></div><div><ul><li><i><span style="color: blue;">Split Second</span></i> - David Baldacci (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: blue;">The Turn of the Key</span></i> - Ruth Ware (F). Intense. I couldn't put it down. </li><li><i><span style="color: blue;">The Faith of America's Presidents</span></i> - Daniel J. Mount (NF).</li><li><i><span style="color: blue;">The Black Echo</span></i> - Michael Connelly (F). </li><li><i><span style="color: blue;">The Grapes of Wrath</span></i> - John Steinbeck (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: blue;">Prince Caspian</span></i> - C. S. Lewis (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: blue;">Mrs. Sherlock Holmes: The True Story of New York City's Greatest Female Detective and the 1917 Missing Girl Case That Captivated a Nation</span></i> - Brad Ricca (NF).</li><li><i><span style="color: blue;">The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek</span></i> - Kim Michele Richardson (F). This was really good. Made me cry several times. Very interesting, historical fiction, and well-written - I cared very much about the characters.</li></ul><div><b>April 2020</b></div></div><div><ul><li><i><span style="color: blue;">Code Talker: The first and only memoir by one of the original Navajo code talkers of WWII</span></i> - Chester Nez, Judith Schiess Avila (NF).</li><li><i><span style="color: blue;">The Dutch House</span></i> - Ann Patchett (F). </li><li><i><span style="color: blue;">The Voyage of the Dawn Treader</span></i> - C. S. Lewis (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: blue;">Need to Know: Your Guide to the Christian Life</span></i> - Gary Millar (NF).</li><li><i><span style="color: blue;">Hour Game</span></i> - David Baldacci (F). </li><li><i><span style="color: blue;">The Silver Chair</span></i> - C. S. Lewis (F). I'm reading these out loud to my daughter, and it's been so much fun. There have been several times I had to stop reading for the tears. I just love these books so much. </li><li><i><span style="color: blue;">The Letter for the King</span></i> - Tonke Dragt (F). This was a serendipitous find. We were introduced to it when we stumbled across the Netflix Original series loosely based on it. We liked the series ok except for the obligatory plot device Netflix seems to always throw in that we don't care for, but when we saw it was based on a book we'd never heard of, we were intrigued. It turns out that this book was originally published in the Netherlands in 1962 and translated from the Dutch into English in 2013. The Netflix story line veers pretty significantly from the book - basically it turns into a different story. They basically used the very first part of the book, kept the names and places the same and changed the story fairly significantly. The book is delightful - definitely written as an older children's book, though as an adult I was able to enjoy it very much (which, according to a C. S. Lewis quote I love would make it a very good children's book indeed), and as a translation sometimes the language is a little stilted, but overall it is a good, clean story of chivalry, knights, honor, adventure, and friendship. I enjoyed it enough I went ahead and bought the sequel to read also. And, another serendipity is that now I've been introduced to Pushkin Children's Books, which has this on its About page on its website: "Pushkin Press was founded in 1997, and publishes novels, essays, memoirs, children's books - everything from timeless classics to the urgent and contemporary. Our books represent exciting, high-quality writing from around the world: <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333;">we publish some of the twentieth century’s most widely acclaimed, brilliant authors such as Stefan Zweig, Marcel Aymé, Teffi, Antal Szerb, Gaito Gazdanov and Yasushi Inoue, as well as compelling and award-winning contemporary writers, including Andrés Neuman, Edith Pearlman, Eka Kurniawan and Ayelet Gundar-Goshen.</span> P</span>ushkin Press publishes the world's best stories, to be read and read again." That sounds interesting enough to investigate, I think. </li><li><i><span style="color: blue;">Behold the King of Glory: A Narrative of the Life, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ</span></i> - Russ Ramsey (NF). I liked this very much, and I'm keeping it to read again in the future.</li><li><i><span style="color: blue;">The Horse and His Boy</span></i> - C. S. Lewis (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: blue;">The Camel Club</span></i> - David Baldacci (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: blue;">The Magician's Nephew</span></i> - C. S. Lewis (F).</li></ul><b>May 2020</b></div><div><ul><li><i><span style="color: blue;">All Things For Good</span></i> - Thomas Watson (NF).</li><li><i><span style="color: blue;">The Last Battle</span></i> - C. S. Lewis (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: blue;">The Guardians</span></i> - John Grisham (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: blue;">Recovering From Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: How the Church Needs to Rediscover Her Purpose</span></i> - Aimee Byrd (NF).</li><li><i><span style="color: blue;">The Eye of the World (The Wheel of Time series, #1)</span></i> - Robert Jordan (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: blue;">The Secrets of the Wild Wood</span></i> - Tonke Dragt (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: blue;">The Magician's Twin: C. S. Lewis on Science, Scientism, and Society</span></i> - edited by John G. West (NF). This was very good. Some was a bit philosophical and a little hard for me to follow, but overall very interesting. I especially appreciated the last section on society, and I found the last chapter eye-opening, helping me to grasp why there seems to be such a polarization and disconnect with people today and why it is almost impossible to have a rational, calm discussion when we have differing views. We truly are dealing with a vast difference in how we view the world, and it's rather frightening. </li><li><i><span style="color: blue;">An Unequal Defense</span></i> - Chad Zunker (F).</li></ul><div><b>June 2020</b></div><ul><li><i><span style="color: blue;">The Collectors (The Camel Club, Book #2)</span></i> - David Baldacci (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: blue;">Where the Crawdads Sing</span></i> - Delia Owens (F). I enjoyed this one. It's rare these days that I find a book I have a hard time putting down. This was so well-written.</li><li><i><font color="#2b00fe">The Great Hunt (The Wheel of Time Series, #2)</font></i> - Robert Jordan (F).</li><li><i><font color="#2b00fe">Out of the Silent Planet</font></i> - C. S. Lewis (F).</li></ul><div><b>July 2020</b></div><div><ul><li><i><font color="#2b00fe">Mere Christianity</font></i> - C. S. Lewis (NF).</li><li><i><font color="#2b00fe">Perelandra</font></i> - C. S Lewis (F).</li><li><i><font color="#2b00fe">Just Mercy:A Story Justice and Redemptio</font><font color="#3367d6">n</font></i> - Bryan Stevenson (NF). Recommended.</li><li><i><font color="#2b00fe">The Screwtape Letters</font></i> - C. S. Lewis (F).</li><li><i><font color="#2b00fe">Beartown</font></i> - Fredrik Backman (F).</li><li><i><font color="#2b00fe">The Nickel Boys</font></i> - Colson Whitehead (F). This was heart-wrenching to read, and so well-written, one of those books that will stick with me for a long time. Recommended. </li><li><i><font color="#2b00fe">That Hideous Strength </font></i>- C. S. Lewis (F).</li><li><i><font color="#2b00fe">The Holiness of God</font></i> - R.C. Sproul (NF). Highly recommended. </li><li><i><font color="#2b00fe">Us Against You</font></i> - Fredrik Backman (F).</li></ul><div><b>August 2020</b></div></div><div><ul><li><i><font color="#2b00fe">The Bark of the Bog Owl (The Wilderking Trilogy, Book 1)</font></i> - Jonathan Rogers (F). I loved this! I can't wait to share it with my daughter. I know she will love it too. I found this when our pastor wrote about it on the Cripplegate blog. You can read his recommendation <a href="https://thecripplegate.com/summer-reading-for-middle-school-students-the-wilderking/">here</a>. </li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">1984</span></i> - George Orwell (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">God, Greed, and the (Prosperity) Gospel: How Truth Overwhelms a Life Built on Lies</span></i> - Costi W. Hinn (NF). This was good.</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom</span></i> - David W. Blight (NF)</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Ann Judson: A Missionary Life for Burma: A Biography, Including Selections From Her memoir and Letters </span></i>- Sharon James (NF). This was a beautiful account of a remarkable woman and a life well lived for the glory of Christ. </li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Secret of the Swamp King (The Wilderking Trilogy, Book 2)</span></i> - Jonathan Rogers (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Way of the Wilderking (The Wilderking Trilogy, Book 3)</span></i> - Jonathan Rogers (F).</li></ul><div><b>September 2020</b></div></div><div><br /></div><ul><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Little Fires Everywhere</span></i> - Celeste Ng (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Song of Seven</span></i> - Tonke Dragt (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters</span></i> - Abigail Shrier (NF).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">You're Not Enough (And That's Okay): Escaping the Toxic Culture of Self-Love</span></i> - Allie Beth Stuckey (NF).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness (The Wingfeather Saga, Book 1)</span></i> - Andrew Peterson (F). This was so good! I love Andrew Peterson's music, and some time ago I learned that he had written these books for middle school aged kids, and I wanted to try them. A few years ago, I bought the first one for my daughter for Christmas, but she didn't really get into it at the time and I got busy with other things and forgot about it. Then I saw that he was announcing that he had republished the series with new, beautiful illustrations and I remembered that I had wanted to read them, and I ordered the new version of the first book. My daughter snatched it up first and LOVED it, so I ordered the second book and books three and four are also preordered for when they release in October. I very much enjoyed this first book and can't wait to read the second one when my daughter finishes it. I love it when we find books we can read together and enjoy together like this. </li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Blackout: How Black America Can Make Its Second Escape From the Democrat Plantation</span></i> - Candace Owens (NF).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Ichthus: Jesus Christ, God's Son, the Saviour</span></i> - Sinclair B. Ferguson and Derek W. H. Thomas (NF).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">North! Or Be Eaten (The Wingfeather Saga, Book 2)</span></i> - Andrew Peterson (F).</li></ul><div><b>October 2020</b></div><div><ul><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Monster in the Hollows (The Wingfeather Saga, Book 3)</span></i> - Andrew Peterson (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Warden and the Wolf King (The Wingfeather Saga, Book 4)</span></i> - Andrew Peterson (F). Wow. This series was so good.</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Juvenilization of American Christianity</span></i> - Thomas Bergler (NF). </li></ul><div><b>November 2020</b></div></div><div><ul><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Dragon Reborn (The Wheel of Time Series, #3)</span></i> - Robert Jordan (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Beekeeper's Promise</span></i> - Fiona Valpy (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time</span></i> - Mark Haddon (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Brave New World</span></i> - Aldous Huxley (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Show Me Your Glory: Understanding the Majestic Splendor of God</span></i> - Steven J. Lawson (NF).</li></ul><div><b>December 2020</b></div></div><div><ul><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Shadow Rising (The Wheel of Time Series, #4)</span></i> - Robert Jordan (F). </li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Echo Island </span></i>- Jared C. Wilson (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Christmas Train</span></i> - David Baldacci (F).</li><li><i><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Live Not By Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents</span></i> - Rod Dreher (NF). This was quite sobering and eye-opening, and I recommend it. </li></ul></div></div></div>Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959946409918907667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36362337.post-27676510325941322392020-11-10T12:50:00.007-05:002020-11-11T07:54:45.035-05:00Words Have Meaning<p> <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">I do not often post about politics, and, in fact, just today I shared two blog posts discussing why Christians should be hesitant to post much about politics on social media.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">However, once in a while something disturbs me enough I need to hash out some thoughts here, and this is one of those times.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">First of all, before I get to my point, this post isn’t about one party or another, and whenever this interminable election is finally certified I will accept the results and whoever has won this thing will be my president, even if I don’t like it.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">To be honest, I didn’t really like either choice this time around, but one had policies I can endorse and one clearly did not, so I made my choice. Also, for the record, I think there is benefit to bipartisan government.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">It’s a good thing to have different voices at the table and to compromise and check each other civilly in government. </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;"> </span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">That said, there is some rumbling going on among the most leftward of the crowd that I find disturbing in the extreme. <a href="https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/nov/8/biden-backers-blacklist-trump-loyalists-trump-acco/">This article</a> reports about how certain loud voices are saying they want to blacklist anyone who supported or worked for President Trump and to give them no place in polite society, as one of them said. They are saying that anyone who supported or worked for Trump should basically be denied a job and punished for daring to think differently than they do politically. I'm not just taking this one article's word, and I'm aware it's hard to find unbiased news sources these days and we need to take everything we read from them with with a healthy sense of skepticism, but I have seen the tweets from the actual people, and I've seen this reported on from several sources, so I feel pretty confident it's worth taking seriously. </span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">I do not care where you fall on the political spectrum, if it is true that elected officials and people of influence are spouting this kind of rhetoric, this should concern you, whether you’re on the left, right, or center. And it should scare us no matter which direction it's coming from, whether it is someone on the left or right advocating for this. This is not the American way. Have we learned <i>nothing</i> from the history of the 20th century? </span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">I thought “Hate has no home here,” and “In this house we believe kindness is everything.” I mean, I’ve been walking past the yard signs virtue signaling this for months, so……do the words mean anything at all? Does this sound like kindness? Does this sound like not hate? Or are those sentiments only for those with whom you agree? Kindness is easy when someone agrees with you. It’s a whole lot harder, and just as important, and even more meaningful, when it’s someone who differs. </span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">We get the word tolerance thrown around at us all the time. I don’t think it means what a lot of people want it to mean. The very nature of tolerance is being able to get along with people who have different beliefs, opinions, thoughts than yours. The very idea that we need tolerance implies that we have differences. Tolerance does not mean we have to accept and affirm and celebrate any and every thing, it means we can agree to disagree and even allow for differences. Kindness means we don’t bully others for disagreeing, but we allow for disagreement in a civil way. Kindness means we can love and respect each other even when we don't agree about everything, sometimes even agreeing to disagree, and sometimes that might even mean agreeing not to talk about some things with each other to spare the relationship, if necessary. Kindness also can mean learning to 'read the room' and know when it's worthwhile to die on a hill, and when it's worthwhile to be quiet. Just because your feelings get hurt, doesn’t mean the other person was actually being unkind or intolerant. You can choose to take offense or not. If the other person is truly hurtful in how they express differences, then, sure, they bear some blame, but simply <i>that</i> someone disagrees, it does not mean that person is being unkind or intolerant. We simply see things differently, and we need to grow up and embrace the diversity that makes for a truly interesting society. That’s another word that gets thrown around but which is used incorrectly. It is not unkind to disagree. It is not intolerant to hold a differing opinion. True diversity goes beyond what people look like. It is also richly displayed in allowing people to come to their own conclusions and opinions based on how they see the world. </span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"><i>How</i> we voice or act on our disagreement can be unkind or intolerant at times, surely, but <i>that</i> we disagree is not, in itself, an unkindness or intolerance. It <i>is</i> unkind <i>and</i> intolerant to insist that everyone think exactly like I do and to blacklist anyone who does not. We seem to have come to a point in our society where words have come to mean the exact opposite of what they actually mean. </span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">I have grown so tired of being called all kinds of unfair and untrue things just because I do not buy into the leftist agenda and mindset. As I see calls on Twitter for lists and retribution against people solely based on their political beliefs, remind me again who you think the fascists are? Have you ever read <i>1984</i>? </span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">And I don’t think the queasiness I feel over this kind of rhetoric is unfounded. Have you been watching the growth of cancel culture over the past several years? </span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;">But, in spite of the queasiness and unease I feel over this, I do know that God is sovereign, even over this kind of frightening rhetoric. I am not despairing. I do find it concerning, but I also, ultimately, can rest, knowing that I belong to Christ, and whatever happens in this country, ultimately, as my pastor in Texas used to say, “No matter what, I’m going to Heaven.” I pray for my country, I pray for cooler heads to prevail, and whoever is elected to government office, I pray for them to lead with honesty and integrity, and no matter what the final outcome of this election is determined to be, I will pray and be the best citizen I can be, and I will moderate my speech and try to live by the true definitions of kindness and tolerance and place my focus on what is true and beautiful and holy. </span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959946409918907667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36362337.post-34102322488331533102020-09-21T16:02:00.005-04:002020-09-21T16:20:15.878-04:00Hymns and Transcendence<p> <span style="font-family: Cambria;">I’m thankful we get to worship in person at our church again. The months we couldn’t were hard, I’ve already written about that elsewhere. Our pastor preached yesterday morning from Ephesians and he talked about what a privilege we have to meet corporately for worship and how incredibly special that is.</span><span style="font-family: Cambria;"> </span><span style="font-family: Cambria;"> </span><span style="font-family: Cambria;">I agree wholeheartedly.</span><span style="font-family: Cambria;"> </span><span style="font-family: Cambria;"> </span><span style="font-family: Cambria;">I shared in my last post a good bit about how much I appreciate being able to meet together with my church family and how much richer, deeper, and more intense our worship is when we multiply it together.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">What I wanted to focus on in this post though, is the sermon our pastor preached last night. Yes, we get to have Sunday evening services again! I have missed those so much! Last night our pastor preached on Why We Sing Hymns, and I’ll link the message here:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nA_-ErvJve8" width="320" youtube-src-id="nA_-ErvJve8"></iframe></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">I deeply appreciated what he said about the transcendence of what we do when we gather together to worship and how important it is that we sing songs that are true, songs that are thoughtful, songs that are teaching and increasing our understanding of theology, and sing different songs. What we do in the church transcends culture and transcends preferences and leads us to the throne of God. Music helps us in this when it is true. As Pastor Jesse said, “God is only truly worshiped when we sing true things about Him.” This resonated with me – I have been bothered for years by worship music that contains error, and I’m thankful for careful worship leaders who choose the songs we sing thoughtfully and purposefully. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">As I listened to the sermon, I was thinking about how amazed and humbled I am when I look back over my life at how God has constantly spared me and rescued me from error and shallow thinking that permeates much of the evangelical subculture. He has kept me through the years when confronted with things that just didn’t sound right, even when I didn’t have the maturity yet to quite know why. He instilled in me a love for His word, and from early days, a love for hymns. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">When I was young my family had a Baptist Hymnal on the piano, and that was a well-worn “go-to” for me when I was depressed, sad, lonely, bored, etc. I would pull out the hymnal and play though them and my mood would lift as my heart was drawn to the truths I was singing. I spent much time leafing through that hymnal, and even now many of those songs are a source of deep comfort for me. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">What I realized last night is that God graciously used those hours spent singing through the hymnal to drill truth deep into my heart, when I didn’t even realize it. He used that heart level truth to preserve me when things that weren’t quite right were preached or told me by Christian friends or when I stumbled across them in the evangelical subculture. The reason things seemed off was because they didn’t mesh with the truths I’d hidden in my heart through the doctrines I’d spent my lifetime singing. It gave me a longing for more than shallow sentimentality in my Christian thought life, and taught me a deep longing for the transcendent. These songs are rich because they bond believers together with shared experience and language. We resonate with them because they are true, and true for all believers together. I’m grateful for that heritage. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">This allows me to love the old hymns and to also love newer hymns that are still being written today – those that sing the transcendent truths of the gospel and God’s word, the doctrines that join together all believers and transcends cultures and languages. We long for rich, deep theology in our songs, not shallow sentimentality. We need songs and hymns that teach us to look outward from ourselves and look up to our Savior. We need the deeper truths driven into our hearts that satisfy us and join us together in ways that a steady diet of only shallow repeated choruses just cannot do. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">Happy Monday, still thinking on the joys of Sunday today.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p>Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959946409918907667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36362337.post-23701535349037742592020-07-25T20:01:00.001-04:002020-07-25T20:01:18.328-04:00Holy Space and Holy Time: A Few Thoughts After Reading "The Holiness of God"<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">I just finished reading <i>The Holiness of God</i> by R.C. Sproul. This is not the first time I’ve read it, but it is one I find it is beneficial to revisit every so often, and it’s a book I highly recommend. As he says in the book, “People in awe never complain that church is boring.” Neither will they find taking time to think deeply about God’s holiness boring. </span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">I am not going to write a full review, but I did have some thoughts I wanted to share that I pondered as I was reading the last chapter today, which is titled, “Holy Space and Holy Time.” First, some quotes from that last chapter: </span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>“The consecration of sacred space does not end with the close of the Old Testament. It is rooted and grounded in the act of creation itself, and something profoundly important to the human spirit is lost when it is neglected.”</i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>“Each Sabbath day, believers observe sacred time in the context of worship. It is the keeping holy of the Sabbath day that marks the regular sacred time for the Christian. The worship service is a marking of a special liturgical time.”</i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>“In sacred space and sacred time Christians find the presence of the holy. The bars that seek to shut out the transcendent are shattered, and the present time becomes defined by the intrusion of the holy. When we erect barriers to these intrusions, dikes to keep them from flooding our souls, we exchange the holy for the profane and rob both God of His glory and ourselves of His grace.”</i></span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Here’s what I got to thinking about. During the time when our church could not meet because of the COVID restrictions, we were blessed to be able to have the option to stream the service online. I am so thankful for the technology that allowed us to do this and for the care of our pastors, elders, and teachers who did their best to stay connected with the church family during that time. It wasn’t ideal, but it was the best we could do at the time. I understand the necessity for that time, and I completely understand the necessity for those who are at greater risk to continue to use that option now that we are able to cautiously and in a socially distanced way begin to meet together again physically. So, please don’t take what I’m about to say wrongly. Also, PLEASE do not come at me with the argument, “the church is not the building.” Seriously, that is NOT what I’m about to say, so don’t hear that, and don’t come at me with it. I got SO, SO tired of reading that on social media. It MISSES THE POINT of what those of us who were sad about not meeting together were trying to express. </span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">During the time when we only had the online version of worship services, our family did our best to make that time special. We got up on time, got dressed, and set that time aside to watch and engage as best we could with the service on screen. But there was just something missing. It is just not the same. I couldn’t adequately describe what made it so very different, exactly, but this last chapter of <i>The Holiness of God</i> and the discussion of sacred space spoke to me deeply in light of what we’ve just gone through. That is what is missing. There is something profound and indescribably powerful about physically meeting together with the church that is deeper than merely keeping the elements of the service but watching on a disembodied screen. No, the church is not the building, it’s not that the bricks and mortar of the building itself are inherently sacred, but it is what we do when we gather there that makes it sacred space. And of course, even worshipping by screen when that’s the only option we have can be sacred, too, but the church is the people - specifically the people gathered together. And yes, when we neglect that setting aside of sacred time to worship together, there IS something profoundly important to the human spirit that is lost. Though I understand and support why we had to forego the gathering for a time, we DID miss something profound. The first Sunday we got to go back, even with masks and social distancing and much fewer people in the building, it was like a breath of fresh air and that profound something that we have when we gather together in that set apart, sacred time and space was rich. The holy just felt nearer.</span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">No matter how much we tried to make the online Sundays sacred, the profane was somehow just still so near. The distractions were many, and it was just not the same. </span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">There is something deep and profound that we gain when we are able to gather together and sense the energy of our church family all worshipping Jesus together. There is something deeply sacred that points us to our holy God in a way that we lose when we are denied the opportunity to set aside time and space for the sacred. We are embodied people and we experience this life with our physical bodies. There is just something <i>other</i> about setting aside time and space to focus our attention together on the Holy and sacred. We are bombarded all week with the temporal and profane, we need that set apart space and time to put away those distractions and be reminded physically and through our senses with singing and praying and hearing the Word preached to focus our attention on our Savior. </span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 13px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"></span><br /></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">I’m not at all sure I adequately expressed what I’m pondering in this post. Boiled down, I am reminded to think carefully and prepare myself before I go to worship and remember that we are on holy ground because we are gathering to worship a holy God. I am greatly looking forward to getting to meet with my church family tomorrow morning, even if we have to wear masks and sit apart to make it happen. How thankful I am for the grace of God that sustained us during the months we had to be apart, and how very thankful I am now that we can meet together again. </span></p>Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959946409918907667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36362337.post-30843996448723536422020-07-11T11:00:00.003-04:002020-07-11T11:00:48.893-04:00The Mysterious Power of Music<div class="p1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
Every once in a while I’m reminded how mysteriously powerful music can be. Whether it’s hearing an instrumental piece of music that gives you chills and makes you just want to sit and submerse yourself in the music to enjoy a glorious music moment, or maybe it is a song that comes on and immediately transports you to another time in your life, complete with all the emotions and senses that go with those memories, music has a deep and rich power that is hard to describe.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I think God gave us a wonderful gift in music, and I think music must be special to Him, too. Think about it, the entire book of Psalms is a song book. There is music and singing throughout the Bible. There is even music and singing in Heaven, can you imagine how glorious it must be? (Revelation 5:9-10, for example)<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Yesterday I found myself alone in my car, for one very rare instance these days, and I had my playlist going. A song came on that brought me right back to the early ’80’s and a flood of emotions filled my car - the awkwardness of junior high, the expectation and hope of youth, the joys of driving to the beach with friends, the painfulness of feeling lonely and awkward and ignored, the joys of cherished friendships, and all kinds of other wordless emotions all wrapped up in a <i>Chicago</i> song. Followed by other songs, all with their own beautiful, jumbled, complex mix of memories and emotions.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">Then this morning, I was listening to another playlist and several songs in a row came on that brought back vividly that year in Ohio, especially the ray of light our membership at Parkside Church was in that otherwise dark and lonely year. Again, a flood of complex and varied memories and emotions filled me. Parkside introduced us to so much really good congregational worship music, and modeled for us such beautiful and rich prayers, and so much of my memory of that time is wrapped up in memories of the beautiful, scripture-saturated, corporate prayers we prayed from sources like <i>The Valley of Vision,</i> among others, and worship music that was rich and deep. One of my most profound memories comes from an evening service during that cold Ohio winter.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Our pastor had just preached a sermon on our hope in Christ, and the closing hymn was <i>It is Well With My Soul</i>. There is something deeply moving and encouraging about standing in a room of people who deeply and truly believe with all their heart what they are singing, and sensing the genuine hope and longing mingled up in the heartfelt voices being raised together to worship our Savior. I hope I never forget how profound that is, though words cannot adequately describe it.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">That year we lived in Shaker Heights was a difficult one for our whole family.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I don’t think I’ve ever been as lonely or depressed as I was by the end of that winter. I was talking a while back with one of my sons about that year and he told me some things about how lonely that year in middle school was for him. I cried. I had known it was hard on the kids, but I had not known that he ate by himself almost every day at lunch that year. My older two children both told me they never really fit in with the kids at their schools that year. It broke my heart all over again to hear that they were as lonely as I was there. And the winter. Oh, the bitter, bitter cold of that winter. These, sadly, are some of the complex memories and emotions that music also dredges up.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">This, too, is why it is important to expose ourselves to good music. Though we did not live there long enough for it to come even close to ever feeling like home or to really get to know anyone well at all, though we did meet wonderfully kind and caring brothers and sisters in Christ I wish we had had the time to get to know better, had we not had the light of that church, it would have been much darker that year. This morning several songs came on that, to this day, lift my soul and remind me that there is so much more to life than what my circumstances scream at me. It is songs that are rich and doctrinal that will stand the test of time, and they bring a deep comfort to me even today because of the deep comfort they brought me in one of the most difficult years we’ve had. Songs that point me beyond my selfish depression to my glorious Jesus, who has never left me and never forsaken me. For all the darkness and loneliness, God used that time (as He has used many other times) to grow us close as a family, to introduce me to the treasure that is <i>The Valley of Vision, </i>to allow us to sit under truly excellent teaching and preaching, to<i> </i>grow me in learning how to pray deeper and to sing better and to draw me nearer to Him.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>I wouldn’t trade it. And, talking with my boys in the years since, they, too have grown and learned, and in time, the next years in Texas allowed us to develop friendships and a loving church family that mended much of the loneliness we left behind. God is so kind.</span></div>
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<span class="s1" style="font-kerning: none;">I’m thankful for God’s good gift of music - all kinds of music, and the way it has a language of its own that often goes deeper than mere words. That’s why band kids can tell you that each year there’s always at least one piece among all the others that they all agree that all of them just LOVE to play. Music stirs us in a way little else can.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>But, even more glorious, when beautiful music is combined with rich and Christ-exalting words, it can drive rich truth deep into our very soul in a way that words alone may not.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Can you even imagine, if music here is so mysteriously powerful, what the music of Heaven will be like?</span></div>
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Rebekahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14959946409918907667noreply@blogger.com0