Skip to main content

Unexpected

It was very ironic to me that as I was reading the book I'm reading for my devotions in the morning, the author mentioned Victor Frankl. The Noticer also mentioned Frankl. I've been trying to articulate why the Noticer is so unsettling to me for 2 days now. I'm going to try once more =)

In the book I'm reading as part of my devotions (the 7 hardest things God asks a woman to do), the author relates how Dr. Frankl observed that it was hope that sustained people who seemed likely to die more than physical strength. It was hope that portended what would happen to them in the future. He also observed that the last human freedom that is left when a man has nothing else is the ability to choose how we will react to his life and situation. This is very much in line with the whole point of the Noticer--that you choose your perspective and that changes your life.

But, in the 7 hardest things, the author juxtaposes Frankl with the Biblical truth---
That the Bible reveals the truth that we must have hope. We need to choose to give thanks and be grateful in everything. But, the most important point, I believe, that the author makes is that we make the decision, but God gives us the ability to do this--to be grateful in all things.

That very last part in parentheses is what is missing in the Noticer. It only reminds people about the decisions we make and doesn't acknowledge the fact that God enables. There is a truth that hope and a good perspective can and will change our lives. But, it will not last unless that hope is truly because of what is important: The Lord above all else, the people he's brought into our lives, and the lives of others that he uses us in.

There is a tone about the whole book, The Noticer, that unsettled me from the beginning. It is that tone of self-sufficiency--that I can do this on my own--I can change my life--I can be anybody I want to be. The idea that the secret of life is to be positive and encouraging (since those are the people like), so that people will like you and want to be around you makes my heart fill with heaviness by the false teaching. That is not the secret of life.

The secret of life is the Truth--that God sent his one and only son...
For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16

I humbly and in tears thank you Lord for your son. This life is not about me, as I forget every day when I get upset and complain or grumble, but about You. Please use me this day to love my children and the people in my life well. Please guide my heart, my words, and my deeds. Amen.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Missing Pieces

The other day I was discussing a book with my mom and explaining to her my concern about how "blame" is cast upon the child in the story.  My mom commented about how deeply I read and consider what is written. Sometimes I wonder if I go overboard.  Am I questioning too much?  Am I overreacting? Why am I reacting this way? I come back to knowing that God wired me this way.  But, I also reflect on how God has guided my path through the maze of books I've read over the past few years and what I've learned from the books themselves and from reading them.   Recently, I read a book that troubled me.  The book I finished reading was  Guiltless Living  by Ginger Hubbard.  When I began reading it, I found myself puzzled and then disconcerted. And in the end, I cried. But, I cried for a different reason than one might suspect. I'd like to explain. I did not read Ms. Hubbard's previous book “ Don't Make Me Count to Three ”, but I knew from f...
Post a Comment
Read more

listening or rather not listening to directions...

This week has been very eye opening. I am observing and noticing what I need to learn in order to be a better homeschooling mom and teacher and what my daughter needs to learn to be a good homeschooling student. My weakness when I was a teacher in a first grade classroom was not understanding how small concepts had to be broken down--and I lost my patience very quickly. This week, in particular today, I am seeing how detailed my directions need to be. I am going to be working very consciously and deliberately on this. On the other hand, I realized that my daughter does not listen! Wowsers! In a classroom, Autumn listens very well. She is a compliant child and very influenced by peer pressure and conformity. So, she listens along with everyone else and follows directions. But, at home, it's just Autumn and maybe Sami and Mommy. Very, very different! I had forgotten that most of kindergarten in the public schools is not focused on teaching students academic and learning co...
1 comment
Read more

Listening to the Bible

The Word of Promise (Bible on CD) I have been reading the Bible for as long as I can remember. I remember being given a Good News Bible when I was in third grade. When I was 14, my great grandmother gave me a copy of the Living Bible. When I went to college, I began to read the NIV and held onto a thin paperback copy for 4 years that I wrote all over. After I graduated from college, I really wanted a nice NIV study Bible and I saved up to buy one. I have held onto it ever since. Last year, I found a tiny ESV leatherbound Bible on clearance and it is now the one I carry with me in my purse. Interestingly enough, after all these years of reading the Bible, I have never listened to it on CD. I've often considered it. I've listened to lots of teaching on CD from Ravi Zacharias, John Piper, and others, but I've never actually listened to the Word on CD. Two weeks ago, I received a copy of the Word of Promise Bible on CD. I opened it up with excitement ...
Post a Comment
Read more