love to paint

Over the past year and a half, I've read several of Jerry Bridges' books.  This morning I finished reading The Pursuit of Holiness . Sometimes there are books that you know you need to read though they aren't easy for you.  That was the case for this book and me.  Every time I read a chapter I felt encouraged and challenged.  I would put off reading it.  My lack of discipline I suppose.  When I find myself needing to read a book, yet struggling to do so I set a goal of reading a chapter a day.  Within a few days I've made my way through the book. Jerry Bridges books are always challenging and encouraging to me.  In this book, tackles the question of how we pursue holiness by living an obedient life.  He talks about the role of discipline in that pursuit and why we must pursue God and living a holy life.  He clearly says at the beginning that holiness begins with God, not with ourselves.  That is one thing I most appreciate about...

This morning I ordered two books that I am very excited about.  I discovered that NavPress is now publishing four of Jerry Bridges books in a combined format--the study guide and book together (rather than separately).  The titles now available are:  Respectable Sins, The Practice of Godliness, Transforming Grace, and The Pursuit of Holiness.  I have read Respectable Sins and am now reading the Pursuit of Holiness, both of which I think are wonderful, encouraging, and challenging books.  These books are only available at the NavPress website.   www.navpress.com   You do have to pay shipping, but I believe it will still work out to be less than buying the book and study guide separately (which are $11 and $8 respectively on Amazon).  In comparison, the Small Group Curriculum book for Pursuit of Holiness on the NavPress website is only $7.45 plus tax and $3.99 UPS ground shipping.

"The Puritan writer John Owen vigorously insisted that the fruit of the Spirit is the work of the Spirit and not of human origin.  These godly qualities are not something we can manufacture, take pride in, or lay claim to as self-generated.  Rather, they are the work of God, and their source is God alone.  However, we have a crucial role to play.  I call these character traits "garments of grace" because we must actively put them on.  As Owen eplained, we are responsible for acts of obedience by which this fruit is "preserved, increased, strengthened, and improved." from p. 9 of the preface of The Fruitful Life by Jerry Bridges I wrote last week that I have been hesitant in the past to read a book about the fruits of the spirit.  My hesitancy laid in some of what I see in the culture we live in.  In our culture, the church often gets caught up doing what Sarah did when God didn't work as she wished.  We don't wait on Him and seek to do things H...

The last book I reviewed got a mixed review from me. I said I like it--and I do. I like it because I think there's a lot of really good stuff in it. Is it the first book I would recommend? No. Definitely not. If that is the kind of book you like and Sheila Walsh is an author you have enjoyed in the past, you will probably really like it. I like her style of writing because it is easy to read. But, if I were to recommend a book about trusting God, I would first point someone to Trusting God by Jerry Bridges because I think it explains what it means to trust God better--both theologically and practically. It is deeper though and a lot more to chew on. I think Fearless by Max Lucado had a very similar message and I would also recommend it over Sheila Walsh's book. It was more scriptural and didn't read into the Word. In reading so many books recently, I have come to realize that people are encouraged by different books and that people have different reading levels...

Sometimes I think it's worth it to just read a few pages at a time, because then you get to savor, meditate and consider what you read more deeply--rather than racing to the finish line as fast you can as I often do. When I come across a really, really good book, I love to savor it. Whenever I share with a friend that I review a lot of books or that I read 80 last year or 10 last month, their eyes open in surprise and ask "How?" I explain that I am a fast reader. I am. But, I also skim. I will admit to it. If a book is not that good, I just am not able to force myself to read every word. But, when a book is really good, I read every page and every word. This year two fiction books would qualify for that. June Bug by Chris Fabry (Tyndale) and The Familiar Stranger by Christina Berry (Moody Publishing). In non-fiction, it has been such a blessing to come across so many more that have drawn me in. The Cynthia Heald series "Becoming a woman of... " an...

"He who has ears, let him hear..." Matthew 11:15 NIV Yesterday, I was reading a book that I've been slowly making my way through since November. It is the Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges . It is not slow going because it is a bad book--it is actually a very good book, but it is very meaty and it takes me time to get through his books. When I was reading yesterday, everything went right over my head. I couldn't hear--I wasn't hearing. It just wasn't computing. Then, last night, I felt God convict me about how I needed to seek self-control in my life. Right now I am on my own for a while and I am thankful for these experiences because God uses them in my life (each of the times I've been on my own with the kids for several weeks). Throughout the fall we had a very steady routine, though there's always room for improvement. What I'm realizing now is that when there's someone else there, it's a lot easier to stay on track and do a...

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...

I just finished Respectable Sins. I included a quote from this book a few days ago while I was in the process of reading it. It was a thoroughly good book to the end. Over the past few years, I have found a few authors that I resonate with--who seem understandable, knowledgeable, and biblical in their counsel. I find myself at peace when I read their books because I know I can take it to the Word and not find that the Word contradicts what they have written. And I know that what they have written is grounded in the Word. I also have found myself more and more drawn to authors who rely more on translations than paraphrased versions of the Bible for the scriptures they site and talk about in their books. Paraphrased versions already have been interpreted by the authors who wrote them. I appreciate Paraphrases at times, but when I am looking to do a Bible Study, encouragement, or counsel, I prefer that to come from a Translation. Before this summer, I had never read a book by Jer...