love to paint

My kids are all sick, so I can't write all that I had hoped to today. There were 2 main things that struck me today. The first is from my Bible study this morning. I just started Becoming a Woman of Faith by Cynthia Heald and it was interesting the connection that the passages I was to read helped me realize. The passages were from the Gospels and were about how Peter saw Jesus walking on the water and walked out to him, but then doubted when the wind came up, the second was about Thomas refusing to believe Jesus was alive unless he saw Him himself, and the third was when Jesus was in the boat sleeping and the disciples woke him because of the storm. The question about the passages was what did the disciples do and what was the consequence/result of that. I struggled with the consequence part, but then I realized as I reflected on the third passage that the disciples were putting their trust in Jesus--who they could see and not God. So, they cried out to Jesus to save them in...

My last post was a quote that I read in this book and one that I thought was really good. I've finished it now and I did enjoy the rest of the book... I enjoyed this book because it caused me to reflect on my own childhood and my responsibility for my decisions and who I am. But, let me back up a moment. This story is about Jade Fitzgerald who owns a vintage shop in a small town and is about to get married. She has significant baggage but is about getting married. She and her fiancee had decided that they would let the past be the past and not dig into each other's baggage or dredge up the past. But, Jade isn't able to avoid this because of several circumstances in the weeks leading up to her wedding. The story flows smoothly and easily. It is interesting and I enjoyed the characters. There was only one major flaw for me but it has to do with how little attention her fiancee received and his baggage. It seemed very disproportionate. I have noticed that in our soci...

I am reading a fiction book called the Sweet By and By by Sara Evans and Rachel Hauck . It easy for me to feel cynical when Hollywood folks write books, so I haven't looked up who Sara Evans is or anything about her. I just want to read the book. But, last night I came across this quote that I thought was interesting... The youngest daughter (shes about 19, I think) of a hippie mom (who is 59) says this to her mom: "For a generation who claimed to be all about peace, you sure started a lot of wars. Not with guns and bullets, but with words and ideology. With your parents, with your kids. Your generation didn't bring anything together. You tore everything apart." Hmm... I'm sure historians have said things like that before, but it's interesting to think about what happened with that generation. It made me think about our sinful nature and how we naturally want to rebel. The generation who were teens and young adults in the 60s outwardly rebelled again...

Just like a child, I want to cry out, "It's not fair!" Do you ever feel like that? I know that God is sovereign--I trust Him, but I still find myself sad tonight. I haven't seen my mom since last Christmas. She was supposed to fly in tonight, but then a snow storm decided to hit us which cancelled all flights. I hoped, but expected it to get cancelled. Still, I didn't expect her not to be able to come until Tuesday. Tuesday!!! I will only get to see her for 4 days before she has to head home. My heart is heavy and sad tonight. My mom means a lot to me--she is my very best friend and I have missed her and so have the girls. I trust God and His plan in all of this.

There are moments when I can feel the tender love of God's grace for me in my life because He knows exactly what I need. This week has been hard for me emotionally as I've sorted through some things in my heart and head. But, at the same time, I've been working my way through Becoming a Woman of Grace by Cynthia Heald (the Bible study I reviewed a few days ago). I saw God's grace for me in this study. It encouraged and blessed me as it drew me to God's Word. The quotes she included were thought provoking and wise. The study was filled with wisdom, rather than simply knowledge. And that wisdom was extended graciously without strings or criticism. If I had the chance to thank Ms. Heald for writing this study and seeking the Lord--and extending grace to me through this book, I would. I wish I could.

I have really enjoyed Sami's Cubbies book activities this year. This morning we walked out paces to see how big Noah's Ark really was. I think this was a great idea. I was blown away. First, I walked out 75 paces (the width) and then only could get to 125 at the end of the hallway at the high school (it was way too cold outside). To think that the ark would have been 3 1/2 times that length was pretty crazy to realize!

I've written several times before about how I've had a hard time finding Bible studies that I really feel I can trust (and not be cynical about). I am really thankful for the one I'm doing right now for that reason. I am only half way through this study and I felt compelled to leave this review even before finishing. Every day, I look forward to doing this Bible study for my quiet times. Every day it challenges me to dig into the scriptures. A few years ago, I tried to do one of Cynthia Heald's studies and I set it down. Honestly, I think I was young and I wanted to be spoon fed. I put more stock in feeling and dwelling on my feelings as a woman. I used to do a lot of studies that encouraged me to infer into the Word and only ask you to look up single verses. But, over the years, I've learned a few things about not taking verses out of context, not inferring into the Word, and not being misled by how an author tells a story (take it to the Word). =) Remembering...

My daughter Sami is a very picky eater. It's been hard over the past two years as we've gone back and forth with her trying to get her to eat fruits and vegetables. We finally realized that we really needed to back off. I'd started giving her vitamins even. Then two months ago, I was in BJ's when a man was demonstrating the VitaMix blender. I had never taken the time to talk with someone about it before that day. But, the kids and I tried 3 different smoothies (2 smoothies and 1 ice cream/sorbet). They had spinach in them and Sami drank them right up. It made me think about what was most important to me--whether Sami ate fruits and vegetables in their original form or that she ate them at all =) I was tired of fighting with her and feeling bad for her continual constipation. So, I brought it up to my husband. He was skeptical and I dropped it. A month later, he realized that we also needed to give Sami a break and so I brought up the Vita Mix again. He was ske...

I am so thankful for my friend's question about the ESV vs. NASB and NIV. I couldn't remember the difference so I went to look it up. I knew that John Piper and Tim Keller, both pastors and authors that I deeply respect have switched over to the ESV. All of the churches that we have attended over the past few years PCA or Reformed Baptist have also switched to the ESV. I did find a blog that explained the differences and that helped me ( http://thefoolishgalatian.wordpress.com/2007/10/22/niv-vs-esv-and-why-piper-switched/ ) I knew why I didn't like the KJV--it was written in the days when writers were paid by a patron and that often slanted the translation. The NKJV, from what I understand, is a revision of the KJV that uses more modern language. Most churches I have attended used the NIV until the ESV came out. The blog I found explained that the ESV is a more literal translation---like the NASB. The NASB is a very literal translation. The ESV has come to be consid...

Wow. It's been an interesting week for me in this regard. I have never before felt convinced that there was a certain toy I wanted for my kids. But, this year, I realized this week that I wanted to get them the Best Friends Club, Ink Dolls Addison and Kaitlyn. I started calling around on Tuesday and everyone told me they were out. So, I called a friend and asked if my girls could come over while I went to buy their last few Christmas gifts. I drove from her house to the nearby Target and they had 2 left--just the ones I wanted to get them. But, let me back up... As I was driving to the store, I sensed in myself a stress about this and I prayed. I realized how quickly I had gotten caught up in that feeling that I needed to f ind a certain toy for m y kids. And wow! It is a powerful consumption! After finding the dolls, I headed to Toys R Us because I knew they had the clothes. I found them and saw a sign that they were free with the dolls--if only they had the dolls. Aft...

A friend emailed me and asked what I thought of the Message as a Bible, and these are the thoughts I shared with her... I do have a copy of the Message. It is an interesting thing to me in our culture is that so often we want things to be easy for us. The Message is a paraphrase. When it first came out, everyone knew that and looked at as such. But, with the popularity of The Purpose Driven Life (which doesn't differentiate between translations and paraphrases, but says at the back of the book how good it is to read different versions so that we can understand it differently), the message came to be viewed (I think) in popular Christian culture as much more of a Bible that can be read as a primary Bible, essentially as a translation. That is disconcerting to me. I believe that it is God and the Holy Spirit that help us to understand the Word. I don't think the NIV or ESV are culturally irrelevant and hard to understand. But, I think it is easier to read and digest the mes...

The Best Books I've read this year as a Book Review Blogger... Most of these books have been from the programs I've been a part of this year. Last week, I realized that I've read and reviewed about 70 books this year. I realized that really has been my hobby this year. =) I wouldn't have read most of them on my own and have been so thankful that I did! I post my reviews on my blogs, but I was talking to my husband about my favorite books from the year and he encouraged me to write a list. So, here it is =) for me: Love in The Driest Season by Neely Tucker : Powerful memoir about his life, marriage, interracial marriage, Africa, foreign press reporting... I wish everyone would read it. It was that good and made that big an impact on my view of the world. Trusting God by Jerry Bridges : Jerry Bridges explains how and why we trust God and what that means to live that out and truly believe God is sovereign. He doesn't use Christianese. He explains the words he uses...

The kids and I bought the least expensive fake Christmas tree and decorated it yesterday and today. They have loved hanging the ornaments (and making them!). I have to be honest and say it's the first time that I've actually gotten a paper chain made long enough to decorate a tree! I can't imagine how much work it must be to string popcorn and cranberries the way my husband's family did every year growing up. I am so impressed! The chains were enough for me to tackle this year =)

At night time, we read a Bible story or devotional to our kids. Autumn is now 6 and Sami just turned 4. For several years, we read the stories from the Read Aloud Bible Stories (v.1-4) and the Tell Me Jesus Stories by Ella K. Lindvall. These are my very favorites for 2-5s. I can't wait to read them to Eli soon. After that, we tried a few books, but found they were too old for the girls. My favorite this year has been The Jesus Book and the Read and Share Bible. But, I really like the book we are using right now. It is Big Thoughts for Little People by Kenneth Taylor. It has new pictures (instead of the original ones from the 70s). It is perfect for Sami at 4 yrs old. She was just a little young for The Jesus Book. But, we will soon be done with Big Thoughts, so I'm always on the lookout for a new book for our devotional. I think we will likely go back and read through the whole Read and Share Bible. It is perfect for both girls right now and great for 4-6s. But, o...

This morning at breakfast Autumn asked me, "When is Thunder Cane season?" Thunder Cane? What's a Thunder Cane, sweetie? You know, like Tornadoes, Mommy. Oh, you mean Hurricanes. Yes, Hundercanes. No, sweetie, Hurricanes. Well, it's July-September or October. Oh. The funny thing is that Autumn is very well spoken and is great about pronouncing her words, but that made me laugh. I never knew Hurricane could sound like Thunder Cane! =)

I read the author's bio before I read this book and realized it is his first book. I have to say--I have read a lot of books this year and I have really come to appreciate how hard it must be to write a book. I've tried several times, but blogging is all I have time for right now. When I blog, I only write short entries. Undertaking an entire novel would be a very different thing. All that said, I think Dan Walsh does a great job his first time around the block! To read an excerpt from this story: http://www.revellbooks.com/Media/MediaManager/Excerpt_9780800719241.pdf The story is set in the 40s during World War II. I believe it is set in Baltimore (I don't know of any other town with a Baltimore Pike). It made sense to me in light of the details included, because Baltimore is just south of the Mason Dixon line--it's not exactly in the North and not exactly in the south--but somewhere in between. A young boy has just come to live with his grandfather. His mother has di...

I am still figuring out how to post images and for some reason this one gave me a bad time today. This is a picture of the book that the excerpt below is from! =) Sometimes it seems to come up and sometimes it doesn't!

http://www.revellbooks.com/Media/MediaManager/Excerpt_9780800719395.pdf I've heard so many people say--I want to remember Christ this Christmas season! I want to remember why we celebrate! If you have time, please read the excerpt above--just click on the link. It hit me hard this morning. The forward is so well written--at first, I thought it was going to be just a feel good collection of Christmas stories, but the forward is all about Christ. Then read the preface. You may be taken aback at the rudeness of the first few paragraphs, but soon you'll see the point. I don't want to give away the point, so please trust me and just read through to the very last paragraph--then it will make sense. I have not read this book in its entirety. But, I want to. And I want to pass on this excerpt because I think it reminds us of what really is important this Christmas Season--the joy of Christmas--that Jesus loves us and that He came for us!