love to paint

Recently, I received the CBD catalogue arrived in the mail and I saw a book by R.C. Sproul called The Lightlings on th e front.  I haven't read any of R.C. Sproul's books actually, but I know that I would feel comfortable reading one of his books.  I was curious about this book, because the description said that it was for children and that it is an allegorical tale about the fall and the birth of Christ. Typically, when I review books, the publisher sends me a hard copy of the book.  I like this because I am one of those people that writes in their books (actually all over them!).  I also like being able to pick up a book and not having to turn on the computer to read it when I can catch a few quiet minutes in my house.  It is also far easier to share a book with my children if I have the book in my hands.  It doesn't work so well for all of us to try and look at a computer screen. In this case, that was my option for reading this book.  I contacte...

One of the things that reading so many books this year has made me do is to look closer at what I read and what messages it sends people about the culture we live in.  I read a book in which everyone in the book lived with other people before marriage and it was inferred that they had sex outside of marriage.  But, all of the characters went to church and it was never stated in the book that it wasn't a good idea to live with people or have sex outside of marriage.  Does this book send a message to people that it's okay?  Yes.  Do we all sin?  Yes and I didn't expect the characters to be perfect. But, in a Christian fiction book, I do expect for there to be lessons learned.  And to not address that particular issue at all made me very sad about what it would convey to readers.  When we see something in the culture around us over and over, we begin to think that it is normal and okay. When Jennifer Knapp was interviewed by Larry King, I remember ...

I wrote this entry a month ago and then didn't publish it.  A comment was posted on my last entry asking what I think about the Emergent Church movement.  I hope this entry will explain what I think--please forgive that it is quite so long!... ********** Please forgive this first paragraph, but I think it will help you understand where the concerns of my heart have come from... Over the past two weeks or so, I have been reading Deep Church by Jim Belcher.  Last week, I finished up Ashamed of the Gospel by John MacArthur and Intimacy Ignited .  I'm almost done with Prayer Saturated Children and part way through Practical Theology for Women .  Then, yesterday, I opened up Doctrine by Mark Driscoll.  Heavy books.   I am going to set Deep Church down.  I have just a little more of Prayer Saturated Children (which I'm going to go finish after this entry) and then I'm going to step away from Doctrine (after writing a pre-review of i...

As women, our lives get busy and our attention has to be on so many different things that it is often difficult to slow down and articulate what we believe and be intentional about how we live our lives.  It is easy to get overwhelmed by the pressings and priorities of now and lose sight of the big picture.  I have had several women say to me that they don't want to read books that make them think.  They would like to read easy to read books.  They don't want to sort through theology and what they believe if it isn't easily decipherable.  At first, I was surprised by these comments and honestly shocked.  And then, of course, God put me in their shoes!! A few weeks ago, I said to a gal at church, that I just couldn't read any more heavy books about theology and living out the Gospel-centered life.  I was reading a book about the Emergent Church , Doctrine by Mark Driscoll, and another book at the time.  I was overwhelmed because I don't always h...

A few days ago,  friend posted a copied message as her status on Facebook.  It had to do with what Facebook was sharing with third parties without our knowledge. This was the status message: "As of today, there is a NEWPRIVACY setting called "Instant Personalization" that shares data with non-Facebook websites and it is automatically set to "Allow." Go toAccount > Privacy Settings > Applications and Websites . and then uncheck the box." Basically, they had chosen to automatically check a box in the privacy settings that information could be shared about you with third parties when you visit their sites.  Scary!!   I'll be honest, after Facebook changed the policy about what information belonged to them without telling people last year, I have been wary and cautious about what I post.  I do not go to any applications.  I do not play any games.  The email posted on my page is not my primary email. Then, this afternoon I read an article...

When I was in college and for the past decade, their has been a strong emphasis in the Christian community on apologetics.  We felt we needed to defend our faith against attacks and prove it to people who didn't believe, so that they might come to believe in God.  It was the whole premise of Modern Thought--that everything can and should be explained.  There was a flaw in this.  God cannot be fully explained.  God is far bigger and greater than any of us can fathom. Now, I think the world is using another age-old tactic to keeping people from believing--it's blatant and dangerous in my eyes.   There are three sources of temptation--the world, Satan, and our selves.  The world and Satan blur together and it isn't really all that important to distinguish the two.  The tactic I'm concerned about this morning is one that is employed by the world, but that the self jumps on board with and runs with it.   It is the idea that one must...

God has been connecting the dots in my head today. The dots began with my Bible study this morning.  I'm working my way through the study Becoming a Woman of Prayer by Cynthia Heald.  The question that really struck me this morning was about several verses that said we need to pray with thanksgiving (one of them being Philipians 4:6-7).  The question was--why do we need to pray with a thankful heart?  I immediately thought about what a wise question it was.  I think we need to pray with a thankful heart because it helps us see God not with the eyes of a taker (I deserve/need such and such), but as a giver (one who does not expect or demand of others).  When we come with a thankful heart, we have no sense of entitlement.  Rather, we have a sense of how much we do not deserve and have been blessed with. Next, I read the forward and first chapter of Growing Grateful Kids .  Gary Chapman wrote the forward and he wrote something that blew me a...

I remember when I was in high school, my dad once told me that he could tell me who to be friends with and who I couldn't be friends with.  As you can imagine, that didn't sit with me very well.  Not very well at all.  At that point, I was a teenager who's father hadn't been around until high school.  It felt like a little too late most of the time.  He wanted to know every detail, but he hadn't been around.  He wanted to know what was going on in my life when it was things that he could brag about.  Even though I grew up in the 70s and 80s, I was a child in many ways who was to be seen and not heard. I don't want that for my children.  But, I find more and more that I want to influence my children from the beginning in how they relate to other children and become friends.  I remember a mom telling me when Autumn was 6 months old that sharing is the hardest thing to teach a child.  It turned out that Autumn was a natural one for sharin...

Whenever I begin writing a book review, one of the first questions I ask myself, "Would I buy this book myself?"  The answer usually tells me a lot about what I think of a book. The answer this time is, "no." I think it was in college when I bought a book of "Bible Promises".  Essentially, it was a collection of Bible verses on various subjects taken out of context.  When I requested this book, I knew that this book was going to be such a book, but I was hoping that the verses would be really good ones and on target for the various subjects I expect to have to tackle with my son in the years to come. What I found was a book with 3 or 4 rhyming lines about the topic and then 3-4 verses.  Sometimes the verses made logical sense to me and then other times not.  I don't think it would be a very good devotional because it would be too quick.  If you just want to check the box, I suppose you could use this book, but there are so many books out the...

I was struck by a thought last night as I was pushing hard to get dinner on the table.  Often, I have a wrong attitude about the work I have before me each day. Often.  I may not always verbalize it,  but the feelings are there in my heart.  Unfortunately I do say something about how I'm feeling more often than I'd like to my kids.  I thought about what it would be like if I didn't do the work before me in the day.  What if I didn't do the laundry, pick up, do the dishes, and cook dinner?  What would our lives be like?  Is that the way I'd want things to be?  And then I realized that no.  I wouldn't want things that way.  I want my kids to get to wear clean clothes.  I want to be able to find things (like the bracket for the front door that my husband asked for yesterday from the garage).  I want to eat yummy food.   I realized that just as I prayed and asked God to change my heart about painting my house eig...

Today I went to the girls' P.E. class and was talking with a new friend just as the class was letting out.  I was struck by several things as she shared with me about her week. I often think that I am alone in my struggles.  I was reminded that I'm not the only one to walk through struggles like mine.  I totally understood about her week--without her saying very much.  I understood--because that's been my week, or should I say past few week s . I drove home desiring to pray for this friend--this kindred spirit-- this week.  I want to pray a verse each day for her and me.  I thought I might share them here.  I don't know if they might encourage you, but maybe they will. So, here's verse #1... Psalm 23:1-3 ESV 1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.   2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.   3 He restores my soul. I often want--I miss things from my past that...

Today we were out and about and we decided to go to Chinese food at our favorite place for lunch.  I discovered from Autumn that this is where we went last year.  I did not remember at all. We told the girls we were going to Chinese food and she said, "Oh, so, you'll get a chocolate strawberry, Mommy." I was very confused.  I asked Chris why she thought that and he didn't know.  So, I asked her. Her answer was because I did last year. What a memory! We love to go to the Chinese restaurant because our kids behave and they all like to eat the food--no complaints.  That's a wonderful thing not to hear =) At the end of the meal, we each got our fortune cookies--and I did get a chocolate strawberry =) Sami's fortune was this: You are a bundle of energy always on the go. I'm not kidding.  It really was her fortune!  I think that sentence perfectly sums up Sami. I am thankful for my kids and for my husband.  Life may not always go the...

Last week, we watched Avatar.  I had very low expectations of the film.  Everyone kept saying to me that I would like it even if I didn't like the plot.  That statement scared me!  I hated Transformers.  Amazing special effects, but there's a scene in it between the boy and his parents that makes my stomach curdle.  But, back to Avatar.  The plot unfolded and I enjoyed watching the main character find his way.  I know that there is a theme of loving mother earth.  But, I watched this as a fantasy film.  I briefly thought of Baal and the Old Testament at the end of the film.  But, my thoughts about the film centered mostly on other things after the film ended. After the film ended, I cried for ten minutes.  I know that may sound strange.  I cried because of the things I felt the Lord laying on my heart.  He helped me see through some bitterness I had been holding onto.  He helped me see beauty.  There is be...

My girls will often tell me that they love me and they're glad I'm their mommy.  It makes me smile.  But, last night Autumn told me she doesn't want to be a mommy when she grows up.  She only wants to be a dance teacher. I asked her why. She said that I have to work too hard and that I never stop working.  It is true that I have had a ton to do the past few weeks.  I've struggled with carrying my load and my girls have seen it.  I've struggled with managing it and with my heart attitude about it. So, I told her--if I wasn't a mommy, then I wouldn't have them and I would be very lonely.  I wouldn't get to see them every day and have them make me laugh and smile.  I can't imagine not having them. Autumn will be a great mommy someday if that's what God has for her--I hope He does.