love to paint

The vitamins seemed to really help last month by the way, but tonight I'm weepy.   It's difficult sometimes to see the forest for the trees (is that the right phrase?) sometimes when things come up during times when I'm more emotional.  I wrote the previous post a few minutes ago. I know that there is a lesson God had for me--that indeed I am often a hard person for people to love.  But, that I am not to condemn myself for it.  I am to trust God that he will use this in my life and the lives of the people I come in contact with.  Isn't that an odd thing to say?  I realize that I might be a thorn in someone's side--I might be a "bug" to someone--without realizing it or meaning to.  (I would never mean to be!)  Yet, I have to trust that God created me this way and that God is working in all things.  Those are big things to trust God with and let go of!  I tend to dwell on my mistakes and faults.  I don't want to be imperfect. ...

I realized tonight that I am a hard person to love.  I am the person who interrupts and misspeaks and doesn't always listen very well.  I am the person who may be preoccupied and asks you to repeat yourself.  I am the person who misses the cues about what is said and what isn't said.   It feels horrible to be that person.  You know, I don't ever mean to be.   I try. I really genuinely try.  But, these things still happen.  I still misspeak and miss social and verbal cues. I was told once to think the best of someone and give them the benefit of the doubt.   Tonight, I was with a group of gals and one of the topics was how we would respond to someone who was hard to talk to.  The thought that was in my mind was that often we don't know what's in the other person's head and heart--where they've come from and what their day's been like.  And that God often gives us people in our lives that are not easy for us to love. ...

Mary Kassian’s book, Girls Gone Wise in a World Gone Wild , is a comparison of the woman gone wild in Proverbs 7 and the wise women of Proverbs 31 and other parts of the Bible. She looks at 20 character traits of the wild woman and what the traits of the wise woman would be. Normally, I wouldn’t have picked this book to read. The cover and title wouldn’t have appealed to me. I review books and was sent a complimentary copy of this book. I trust that the Lord works in all things and so I began reading it. He has used this book in my life four times in the past week since I began reading it. I have been amazed at the timely reading of this book in my own life. #1 The first day I read the first 50 pages of this book and puzzled as to why I was reading it. The chapters were about women having affairs and the temptation to be unfaithful. The next day a friend shared with me that she had been having an emotional affair with a man. God prepared my heart to hear her, not judge her, and ...

This afternoon I had a chance to look up the Larry King Live episode on Youtube with Jennifer Knapp.  The interview made a lot of things clear about what Jennifer Knapp believes about God, the Bible, and her right to be happy and be "herself".  It was a good, interesting interview.  The pastor, Bob Botsford, who was also interviewed did a good job in the interview, I thought.  I was proud of him for standing firm and speaking the truth in love. Derek Webb is touring with Jennifer Knapp, so I was curious where he stands on this issue and if he's made any public statements.  Officially, I gather that he hasn't.  If you're curious about some of the discussions going on about this, this blog had some interesting comments.   h ttp ://www.dennyburk.com/what-about-derek/   One of the comments that really struck me was when one of the people commented that many denominations have come to a "fuller and better understanding of what the Bible says abou...

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/article_print.html?id=87412 The link above is to an interview Christianity Today did with Jennifer Knapp and published last week.  I read a brief note about it in World Magazine and so I wanted to find out if it was true.  I came across this article.   http://online.worldmag.com/2010/04/13/jennifer-knapp-comes-out/ The second link is on World Magazine's website.  Some of the quotes they're including must come from the printed version of the magazine. It made me very sad. It has shocked me how many times in the past week since I began reading Girls Gone Wise in a World Gone Wild , the book has hit home in my life because of things that have come up with friends or that I've heard about in the news or on television. What are the implications of a Christian singer coming out as being gay?  Is it the same as Amy Grant getting a divorce or Sandi Patty committing adultery?  Sandi Patty has recognized her sin a...

I try to be very honest in my book reviews, so here is my first admission about this book.  I didn't like it--at first.  But, by the end, I was laughing and enjoying my time reading this book.  How Do You Tuck in a Superhero?   Is a collection of short stories (each about the length of a newspaper column).  Rachel Balducci is the mother of 5 boys (with another little one expected any day now) .  Her book is about raising boys--each story is about one of the joys or funny stories that she experienced as the mother of these boys. I am the mom of 2 girls--very girly girls and only 1 boy--who happens to be a boy's boy.  As I listen to friends who have all boys, I realize that it is a very different world than the one I live in.  My girls are pretty quiet, though high maintenance as girls tend to be.  My son is one of those that climbs on everything and gives me at least one heart attack a month.  I'm also a pretty structured mom.  We ...

In Harm's Way by Irene Hannon I'm going to cut to the chase with this book.   I read it in a day.   It drew me in and I was hooked... Writing:   I haven't read the previous two books in this series.   It is a stand alone book.   Irene Hannon is a gifted writer and I did enjoy this book. Story:   The plot drew me in and had great twists and turns--many predictable, but still good.   The story centers around a woman my age, 35, who finds a doll in a snow drift in the parking lot of a restaurant.   It gives her a physical reaction when she touches it.   She takes it to the FBI and meets a dashing FBI agent in the process.   Normally, I wouldn't include that description of the agent, but in this case it gives you just a taste of what this book is like. Plot:   A child is missing and the doll is linked.   Are there any other connections?   Of course!   There wouldn't be much of a story without them.   This is tru...

There are moments when children are just plain cute.  This morning there was one of those moments.  I have a lot of dirt to truck back around the house and dump from the wheelbarrow.  I came around to see Eli with his little green wagon.  He was pulling it around to the dirt pile and dumping out the dandelions he had picked--just like his mommy was doing.  It was one of those moments when I just stood in awe of how much he understood and how creative he was in imitating me. He turned 2 yesterday.  It didn't feel that much different from any other day except that we had cake and ice cream and that the girls sang Happy Birthday to him several times yesterday!   We gave him two Tonka Trucks--the "classic" ones that are made of metal.  It's amazing how hard it was to find something that felt like it was going to stand up to a 2 year old! I'll be honest.  Part of the reason I didn't feel especially joyful yesterday is that Eli still isn't...

Finding Contentment in a Facebook World   By: Debbie Lykins   I have to admit, I'm hooked on Facebook . Since  joining the Facebook family more than two years ago, I've  been roped into  training for  a  half-marathon  (whose idea exactly  was   this  anyway?),  had the secret pleasure of  chuckling at  a  picture of a high school  crush   ( he  once had  a nice head of hair... now,  not so much ), and received virtual "support" when my  preschooler  won the drawing to bring home the classroom hamster over Christmas break (she was thrilled ; I  silently panicked ).  And, of course, I've reconnected with many people from the past who I  ha ven't  heard from or seen in years. But,  as much as I enjoy   using  Facebook, I don't always l ike what it does to me. Or, more  to the point, what it brings out in me. You see, on Facebook, you...

The Sword Trailer from Crossway on Vimeo . I found this trailer for a book that I reviewed a few weeks ago called The Sword. I really did like this book, so I thought I'd post this video...

1 Corinthians 2:9-16 (English Standard Version) 9 But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen,  nor ear heard,  nor the heart of man imagined,  what God has prepared for those   who love him"—   10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.  11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.  12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.  13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.   14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he i...