love to paint

A while back, I wrote a review about YWAM's series of biographies of Christian Heroes from history.  Last week, I had the chance to read one of the books from their Heroes of History series.  I liked it, but I liked it even better with the corresponding Unit Study guide.  I'd like to tell you about it and how I felt as I read the book. I read the biography of Alan Shepard: Higher and Faster by Janet and Geoff Benge.  I realized as I read how little I knew about the development of Aviation and aeronautical history.  I learned so much!  It was quite interesting to me.  As I read the story of his life, I was struck early on by how competitive this man was.  I was also struck, as a wife and mom, by how much of his life he was absent from his family.  I struggled with these two facets of his life as I read through the book, but I pressed on.  I discovered that after he retired from the Navy and NASA, he went on to pursue philanthropic eff...

My husband's favorite author is Wendell Berry.  Periodically, he will ask me to read an excerpt from one of his books or an essay.  On Saturday, he asked me to read this essay:   http://home.btconnect.com/tipiglen/berrynot.html   The essay is titled "Why I am NOT going to buy a Computer".   Though you may disagree with his decision to not buy a computer, his 9 standards of whether or not to purchase a technological innovation are worthy of contemplation.  My favorite is number 9.  I think the computer and social networking often hinder our relationships and our ability to be present mind, soul, and body with the ones around us.  We can be so distracted by what we may (or may not be) missing on the world wide web that we don't pay attention to what's right in front of us.  I often mention the book Distracted and the ideas that Maggie Jackson articulated which I'd already been feeling about how distracted we are because of all of the technol...

When I was growing up, every Sunday I would check a Value Tales storybook out of our church library.  The books were about historical figures like Louis Pasteur and Helen Keller.  I loved them.  Each story had a "value" that the person exemplified.  Helen Keller was the value of Determination.  My favorite was actually Elizabeth Fry, who was the Value of Kindness .  When I was becoming a teacher, I found a collection of the books and bought them.  I've held onto them with the hope that my children would someday enjoy them.  And they do.   A new treasury of these stories has been published.  I was very excited to read it.  I read the first story and then put it down.  I've posted a short review on Amazon about the book.  Basically, the old stories each feature an imaginary friend that encourages the main character to pursue their dreams and care about others.  In the new treasury, A ValueTales Treasury: Stories ...

Have you ever been surprised at what comes out of your mouth?  I have.  I was today!  I grew struggling to know how to get along with people and I still make mistakes.  Sometimes I keep talking when people really don't want to.  Sometimes I say too much--way too much!  And sometimes I pry or seem nosy when I really don't mean to.  I'm just curious.  And something else that happens to me is that I want to fix things.  I love to brainstorm.  I don't mean to offer advice.  I simply love to talk about things and learn about what others know.  But, I get carried away. Sometimes I wonder if I'm still trying to make up for all those years of not having friends.  I did have 15 of them after all.  But, whatever the reason, my mouth still runs away with me at times like it did today. I used to go over and over the things in my head that I wish I had or hadn't said.  I don't do that very often anymore.  But, a new ...

A few years ago, we moved here to the community where we now live.  We happened to move two weeks before I had our second daughter.  I was very isolated and alone.  We tried to find a church, but in the midst of experiencing post partum depression and other suffering in my life, I struggled to find someone to turn to.  I wrote this free verse poem after I had sought help from someone and they shut the door.  I believe now that the woman had no idea how deep my struggle was or how deep the pit was that I found myself in.  She had reasons for shutting the door, but it sent me to my knees.  I don't think she meant it out of ill will, but would she have done something different if she'd known how truly I was in need?  Sometimes I think people say no without considering helping them find another source of help.  I was left questioning what the church is supposed to be and what it is. Community? The church Community or Clique? Filled with bounda...

The more devotionals I read for parents and children, the more I am growing to see the strengths and weaknesses of one compared to another.  Often I have been surprised by some, but disappointed by others. On my lovetopaint.wordpress.com blog, I have posted a list of Children's story Bibles and devotionals.   For ages 4-7 years old, I have found these books which I love: Read and Share Bible , a biblical story Bible with pictures and language that my children loved The Big Picture Bible , explains to children what the point is--what the Big Picture of the Bible is The Jesus Book: The Who, What, Where, When, and Why Book About Jesus by Stephen Elkins, a unique book because it has maps and a timeline of Jesus' life written with age appropriate language for this age group Get Wisdom! by Ruth Younts (Grades K-4), a wonderful book that will help you explain why we desire to be good, what Christian wisdom is, and what the characteristics of such wisdom are For ages ...

Friendship is a curious thing.  There are friendships that whither and some that grow.  There are friendships that survive distance and others that don't.  There are some friends you may talk to once a year and feel as if you just spoke with them yesterday, but there are others that you run into and feel at a loss for words with.  There are some friends you call to rejoice with and cry with.  There are friends you know you can call at any time of day if there's an emergency, but others that you might hesitate to call or lean on.   When you find friends who you can trust, you've found a treasure. When you find a friend who when you talk to them and haven't spoken in a year and it feels as if you're picking up where you left off, then you've found a treasure. When you find a friend who needs you and you need, you've found a treasure. When you find a friend who listens and doesn't just hear you, then you've found a treasure. When you find...

Last year when I read Distracted by Maggie Jackson, I had no idea that I would be reminded of the insights in her book as often as I have been.  One of the ideas I have pondered often is what is real and what is not.  What was once considered artificial is now considered real in our world.  Online relationships are as real to many people as their relationships with their physical neighbors.   There was one particular story in Distracted that hit me hard.  Well, actually there were several.  One that comes to my mind is her recounting of a group of people involved in an online game with avatars.  When surveyed, there was a large number that believed that their avatars were their real lives and this life is their artificial one.  My mind was alarmed!   Over the past year, what is real has come to be something that I desire to choose.  I know there is a place for technology in our lives, but I love to think that someone has done or ma...

My husband and I are readers.  Interestingly, though, we read very different books.  He loves books by Wendell Berry, Flannery O'Connor, John Piper, and P.D. James.  I, on the other hand, enjoy Francine Rivers, Jerry Bridges, Cynthia Heald, and Lois Lowry.  I do enjoy a good book, but my husband enjoys literature.  I enjoy books that are easy for me to read.  He enjoys ones that are hard--that challenge him with their vocabulary.  I enjoy ones that challenge me to think without keeping me mired down rereading one page several times.   But, as a way to love my husband, I periodically read a book that he wants me to read.  Last year, I read Distracted by Maggie Jackson, as his request.  It deeply impacted my thinking about technology and it's part in my life.  I read George MacDonald's books The Princess and the Goblin and The Princess and Curdie at his suggestion as well.  I actually chose to read The Princess and Curdie ...

This morning we were sitting with our kids at breakfast and it felt like the right time to bring out Get Wisdom! because of the topic of our conversation.  So, I went to the homeschool room and brought it back out. We began with the first page which explains what Christian Wisdom is and why we should want to be good.   When the first question talks about the truth, I explained to my children that truth is what is right in God's eyes and that we know what is right in His eyes because He tells us in His Word. We went through the first lesson on Listening.  My husband added one thing that I thought was very important.  He clarified for the girls the difference between "listening" and "hearing".  Listening involves paying attention to what someone is saying.  Hearing only means that we have heard the sounds someone has made, but not that we  were actively giving the sounds any attention.  We often hear what people have to say without listening t...

One thing I love to do is write a review about a book I enjoy!  Yesterday, I received a book in the mail that I've been looking forward to reading for two months.   That book is Get Wisdom! by Ruth Younts.  I shared a few months ago that I'd begun to search for devotionals that I like for children.  I found a good one in God's Names by Sally Michael.  This is another good one.  It's very different than God's Names , though.   God's Names is much more of a read aloud book and is less interactive than Get Wisdom! .     In the beginning of the book, Ms. Younts wisely begins by talking about what Christian wisdom is and how wisdom and the Gospel are related.  She explains that we can't be good enough and we can't earn God's love.  She also explains why we want to be good.  The scriptures in this page are ones that I want to memorize with my children so that they will be written on our hearts.  The next section gives a...

This morning I heard on NPR that the PCUSA denomination passed a measure that will allow clergy who are not celibate to be ordained.  When I listened to this on the news, I realized that this will allow the denomination to have clergy who are actively homosexual.  But, if it is worded in a certain way it will also also heterosexual, unmarried clergy to be ordained and pastor congregations. To me, this seems like such a stretch from what the Bible says.  And in truth it is a stretch from what the Bible says.  But, this quote from this article on Christianity Today India's website ( http://in.christiantoday.com/articles/presbyterian-church-usa-acquits-gay-minister/6082.htm ) explains how this stretch is made: "Rather than the Bible, the beginning point for discussions on homosexuality, he maintained, should be "the personal experiences we all share". While Protestants always look to God's word to guide them, Barron contended that Scripture is not the only so...

What a cheesy blog title!  But, it's apropos to the books I want to post about. As the mom of two girls, I have grown to enjoy fairy and princess stories.  Before my girls were born, my husband gave me a copy of The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald.  That book was my first introduction to fairy tales that weren't of the Disney genre.  I loved it.  MacDonald's descriptions were wonderful and the story, though a bit dark, drew me in. There is a sequel, The Princess and Curdie .  I dearly loved both, though it's been several years since I've read them so I can't recall a lot of details about the stories. Because of these stories, I always pick up princess stories when I get a chance. On Saturday at a yard sale, I picked up  The Ordinary Princess by M.M. Kaye.  Before you read the story make sure you read the author's forward.  It added to the story to understand why she wrote it and how it came to be written.  Some revi...