The Maverick's Bride

I just finished reading The Maverick's Bride by Catherine Palmer. On our recent trip to PA, Grandma gave me a pile of easy reading, fluffy, romantic books. :) She knows I like to read. It was a pile of like 8 books and I read 2 of them while we were there. They must think I'm anti-social the way I buckle down and read every time we're there. This book took me less than a week at home. And if I had nothing to do, I could read one in a day. I enjoyed this one and the story was surprisingly well developed for a 272 page book. I even wished it was a little longer!

The Maverick's Bride is about Emma Pickering's desire to follow God's calling to be a nurse in East Africa in 1898 despite her father's disapproval, her needy younger sister and her heart's tug towards rugged, mysterious, American, cowboy, Adam King. Spoiler Alert: if you want to read this book and not know the details stop reading here. But seriously, you can guess how it turns out based on the cover picture and the back cover description. :)

What I loved most about this book was Emma's character. She was a woman with a calling from God to be a nurse. But in that day, she was expected to be a proper young lady whose only goal was to find a good husband. She was faced with the added pressure of keeping tabs on her flighty younger sister, Cissy and keeping them both out of their strict father's way. Their mother passed away when they were young girls and it turned their father into an unhappy man. Mr. Pickering was a British railroad man and they were all headed to East Africa to beat the Germans in a railroad race inland. Upon arrival, Cissy was broken hearted to be separated from Dirk, the German solider she fell in love with on the ship; they were bombarded with reports of lions attacking the railroad workers; and they crossed paths with Adam King. The railroad foreman Nicholas Bond, immediately informed Emma that Mr. King was a loose cannon with a bad reputation. And Mr. Bond also made it clear that he intended to please her father and marry her. But when Emma broke her father's rules to help a sick child, Adam was there to help. At the first railroad stop on their journey inland, Emma realized Mr. King was following her and she didn't want to admit her attraction to him. That night there was a lion attack and when Cissy disappeared because she thought she heard Dirk calling to her, Emma took off to find her in the wild Savannah. Thankfully Emma was rescued by a local tribe and Adam King. Mr. Pickering died unexpectedly because of all the chaos and Emma married Adam to access her sizable inheritance so she could continue searching for her sister.
The rest of the story is about Emma's struggle to find her sister, follow God's calling to be a nurse and fight her attraction to Adam. I don't think I have to tell you that it all turns out after a few twists and turns. If you're looking for a quick, enjoyable read try The Maverick's Bride! :) I recommend it.

Reading Tab

After slowly updating my reading tab over the past weeks, I finally finished...

I like to read and often way too much! I can't tell you how often I stayed up till 2 am in high school because i just had to finish my book. I just couldn't put them down. If I was really desperate, I'd read the last couple pages and finish the book later. I still wanted to enjoy the story but knowing the ending brought me enough peace to sleep. Sadly I don't get to the library often enough. And when I do, I'm usually picking out books for Olivia. As a mother and housewife, my days of spending hours upon hours reading are few and far between. Now I do most of my skimming reading online via Google Reader. I usually find myself struggling to keep up with all the blogs I'm dying to read. Honestly I usually wait until I have a huge list of unread posts and then realize I need to clean house. But I end up with a nice core of favs!
Check out my core reading material right now or save it for a rainy day.

What do you enjoy reading these days? Blogs? Books? Tell me your favorites!

Romantic Fluff

I have no problem owning up to the fact that I like reading fluffy romantic christian fiction books. I have less time to read them now than I did before Millie and J entered my life. I also find I enjoy them less. But I think that's because I enjoy real life. 

Often times romance books are just an escape. They're a way to enjoy someone else's experience of falling in love with the perfect guys. I especially enjoyed these books in high school as I dreamed of my own Prince Charming showing up one day in the not so distant future. I would way to often stay up until 2am reading. Once I started a good romance book, I had to finish it and usually on the same day! My mom and my friends, who also love these books would remind me that they're fiction and not real life. The man you marry will not be as handsome or as romantic as you imagine the hero of these books. Yes I know. And yes I do know in my mind that rationally this was true. But once I found my Knight in Shining Armor, I realized some of these ideas had found a place in my heart. As soon as I find myself reaching for a romance book because I want to escape the lack of romance in my own life, I put down the book or return it to the library. That's not how I want to use a good book. I want to enjoy the reality that God has blessed me with.


I've recently enjoyed reading Karen Kingsbury. Her books are a very easy read. I can usually guess the ending so I don't feel the pressure to stay up late to finish. (or read the ending.) Yes I do that. If I can't stay up late or stand the suspense, I read the ending. I still read the book! That just allows me to read it at a more sane pace. :) So recently I've been disappointed when I get into these books. I just read Even Now and Ever After. Both beautiful, romantic, predictable stories. But what sorely disappoints me is the way romance gets physical in these books. In Ever After Emily meets Justin and it's basically love at first sight. And then she lets him kiss her on the first date! And then it's kissing and tenderly holding each other at every other page from there on. Now I realize that in a world where romance rules and sexual temptation doesn't exist, this is every woman's dream. But that's not this world. I'm thinking of the middle school and high school girls that read these books along with the romantically starved housewife. Is this really the picture of romance they need to aspire to?! NO. I am so disappointed. I think Karen Kingsbury might be off my list of authors to hunt for new releases at the library. Knowing the reality that is this world and how that level of physical closeness actually leads to temptations, I can't read those books and enjoy it. I just can't. I don't want my daughter to think it's ok to kiss on the first date and have that much physical closeness in a dating relationship.
Do you read Karen Kingsbury? Do you love romance books? 

Building a Library

Figuring out what books to get for Millie is a challenge! It's been a few years since I was that young. And really, I don't remember what kind of books I had at that age. I have vivid memories of what I read closer to Jr. High. I loved Sadie Rose and I plan on buying those books for Millie one day! I sure hope she loves to read like I do because I already have a list of books in mind for her library when she's older!
This month we participated in Baby Dedication at church and so we received the Big Picture Story Bible for O. I love it! I love that it not only has beautiful pictures but that it tells the Truth behind the Bible story not only the story itself. Right from the start it talks about how God relates to man and how sin affects Adam and Eve. It doesn't just focus on the story of them eating an apple. So I have really enjoyed reading this to O! This book is a great compliment to The Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes, which I read when I was a kid. It focuses on telling the stories in the Bible on a level that is interesting for little ones. And it has great pictures!
I look forward to researching new books, picking out old classics and getting tips from friends about what books will encourage the bookworm gene in Millie!

Motivation & Men

This article has me thinking...

Mind The Gap by Lauren F. Winner
Teaser (read the whole thing at the above link):
Gender roles — the concept of how men and women differ (beyond the obvious biology, that is) and, concomitantly, what their roles in church life, the office, and the home should be — have been debated for decades by Christians and non-Christians alike. But when we talk about gender and leadership, we may have been leaving out one crucial fact of contemporary life: Regardless of what we say we think about women and leadership, when it comes to college-aged and 20-somethings, women are leading in all sorts of areas. Let me offer two examples — one anecdotal and one backed up by hard research....
What should the church's response to this be? Well, I hope it's two-fold: First, women should get some applause for the wise way they're stewarding time and all the contributions they make to church and civic life. At the same time, we all need to encourage even young boys to devote more time to civic engagement and less to computer gaming. What we should not do is buy into a discourse that pits men against women, takes competition for granted, and tacitly assumes that only one group — men or women, but never both — can excel in college or take responsibility in church life. All too often, discussions of any kind of "gender gap" polarize conversation. That is, people respond to the news that women outnumber men in college classrooms with panic and decide they need to devote all their attention to helping men out. I'm not sure that any strategies cobbled together in the heat of anxiety, though, will get us very far. Perhaps the church needs to pause and notice the gendered leadership dynamics in colleges and in young adult ministries, and — rather than panic — prayerfully consider how we can affirm and encourage the contributions, leadership and gifts of both men and women. This isn't, after all, a debate about what's good for men versus what's good for women. Instead, it ought to be a conversation about how to create communities, and opportunities for leadership and learning that are life-giving to all of us.

I first ran across this article at the Boundless blog where they are having a discussion about it. Here are some of their thoughts (read the full discussion here):
Ted: ...In all honestly, if you found Winner's article to be offensive, I'd understand why. It tends to make sweeping generalizations about men and about women. The tone is a bit on the cynical side. It offers few legitimate solutions. Why did I publish it, then? Because the facts remain that percentage-wise, women are more involved than men in community leadership roles, at least in university and church. I think that's a real problem. And I'd like to see us discuss this.
Mike speaks a lot about the parent's responsibility: ...As to the solution? The author unfortunately is vague on this point but don't knock her; coming up with viable, concrete solutions is difficult. She criticizes guys spending too much time playing video games, but I don't think video games are the core problem. The core problem is controlling what young men do with their free time. Girls may be naturally more inclined to use it productively, but most boys it seems are not. I believe the most practical and simple solution, at least for the academic realm, is for a parent to exert more of their God-given responsibility to manage their kids' time. That means making rules limiting TV, Internet, video game use, and so on. That also means making rules (e.g., homework done before play) and consequences for not following those rules...

My thoughts: Well, I'm still mulling but I can echo the point of this comment:
Jammy had the following to say on Apr 20 at 5:22 PM:
I don't think Winner is writing about a surprising problem and it isn't new. Movements like Promise Keepers and Muscular Christianity (1900's) have tried to encourage men to purse the ideals of engaged manhood. Honestly though, if I were a man, I would hope that given the resources available to me as a child of God and empowered by His Spirit I'd be able to overcome cultural norms and expectations. I mean, I understand things are tough, but I grew up with out a mother and I refuse to let that keep me from becoming a Godly woman. At what point, will men "man up" and not be conformed to the pattern of this world? Society and the media tell me what I should be everyday, and frankly I fail, but I've another standard for living and being and I know it's more lasting than anything this world has to offer. Shouldn't this be something men are capable of doing too? Collectively and individually?

A couple things that I think I can articulate clearly...
It is hard to live as a godly woman in a world that constantly screams that you are better then men. It's hard to think on 'whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy' (Philippians 4:8) when the world via TV and a million other sources says that men are failures and not worthy of our respect. Our culture does not encourage women to submit to or follow their husbands. It does not teach us to be respectful to our fellow human beings. It is hard to find a balance between being an 'independent woman' and a woman who is dependent on the Lord.
I'm still thinking about what I want to say and how. I'd love to hear your thoughts about this issue - How does it affect you? Do you see this problem in your life? In your church?

Words + Addendum

So yesterday I said April Fool’s Day was “retarded”. But I have had some complaints that this is not an accurate word to use. That’s probably true. Here is a list of words that my husband and the dictionary suggest…
dumb
stupid
asinine
silly
foolish
unintelligent
idiotic
dim

1. Which word would you use to describe this or something similar you don’t like?

2. How do you feel about the use of the word retarded?
There was recently a big ta-do about our president making a Special Olympics joke. Just recently I have started using retarded as a descriptive word for something I think is dumb or don’t like. Somehow I think it’s a better word than dumb or stupid. But really it’s just as juvenile. I can’t help but think that if I could read better I would be more likely to learn new words that I could use instead. When I read an unfamiliar word I usually guess the meaning from the context and I most likely have no idea how to pronounce the word. I did not get hooked on phonics. (Pa-hon-ix : makes me laugh every time to say it that way! :)) So because I can’t actually say the word I don’t bother to learn the real meaning. Sad, huh. I am so glad that Christian romantic fiction books don’t require me to learn many new words! I’m a fan of easy reading.

ADDENDUM:
I'm sorry that I have neglected to consider that people that don't know me personally might be reading my blog. Thanks to my handy dandy stat counter, I know that most of you know me or my family pretty well. And because I write like I talk, I hope most of you can see my facial expressions when you read. I am not a very good writer so often times knowing me and understanding what I attempting to say is very important.
So to clarify - I was not intending to use the word retarded as defined by Webster (which say it means mental challenged). I have been using the word with the definition most of us picked up in Jr. High to say I think something is not to my liking. The reason I choose to blog about it is because I have recently realized that I use a lot of words incorrectly. This seems like an easy one to remedy so I'm just asking for suggestions or comments on words you use to express your dislike so that I can modify my expression.
I will try to consider other readers more in the future. And I will continue to strive to improve my communication skills to be better understood. Thanks.

1 Corinthians 2:1-16

Similar to my thoughts in chapter 1 - Paul's humility and claim to all his words and wisdom being the Spirit is something I want to emulate.

Christ Crucified

¹ And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. ² For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. ³ I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

Spiritual Wisdom
⁶ However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. ⁷ But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, ⁸ which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
⁹ But as it is written:
“ Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

¹⁰ But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. ¹¹ For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things 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 know the things that have been freely given to us by God.
¹³ These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. ¹⁴ But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. ¹⁵ But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. ¹⁶ For “who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

In flock we've been studying James 2 and had some serious discussions on the chapter and a MacArthur sermon about it. Verse 14 is another evidence of fruit. -Without the Spirit we can't know God and can't understand what He has to say. The Bible is His words to us so I think it stands to say that without the Spirit we would be hard pressed to understand the Word. Richard, Jnet - right?

1 Corinthians 1:26-31

This sections is totally summed up by what I have highlighted.
We are nothing without Christ! - I have no words, no wisdom, no life, no glory, no anything without Christ. AMEN.

Glory Only in the Lord
²⁶ For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. ²⁷ But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; ²⁸ and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, ²⁹ that no flesh should glory in His presence. ³⁰ But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— ³¹ that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.”

1 Corinthians 1:10-25

Notice "For"s. All of 1 Corinthians is connected by them even though there are breaks.

Sectarianism Is Sin
¹⁰ Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. ¹¹ For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you. ¹² Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.” ¹³ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
¹⁴ I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, ¹⁵ lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name. ¹⁶ Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other. ¹⁷ For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.

Christ the Power and Wisdom of God

¹⁸ For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹ For it is written:
“ I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”
²⁰ Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? ²¹ For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. ²² For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; ²³ but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, ²⁴ but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

I love the reminder that the message of the gospel isn't my words. Even Paul, a great father in the faith claims to have no wisdom without Christ. I far too often take pride in my own knowledge of Him. He has blessed me with opportunities to learn about Him but in spite of feeling intellectually prepared to speak about my faith, I need to rely more on His power of the message. The last thing speaks for itself.
It's hard to comment because I feel like it's all right there and what else can I say. :)

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

I've been reading 1 Corinthians and I'd like to share what I've been learning. And putting it down on "paper" will help me remember it too!

Greeting

¹ Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,
² To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:
³ Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Spiritual Gifts at Corinth
⁴ I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, ⁵ that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, ⁶ even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, ⁷ so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁸ who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

I am always so thankful and reassured every time I read the words 'God is faithful' in the Bible. This is one of His greatest promises.

Political Articles

Funny - I just noticed this draft from November. So I'm posting it today anyhow! Please enjoy if you want to go back and read election stuff. I recommend Between Two Worlds. The post-election perspective was very encouraging.

I really disliked reading all the pre-election articles but I have really been enjoying the post election ones! Enjoy:

A Different Path OPINION: After 30 years of trying to transform culture through politics, conservative evangelicals would be wise to try a different, God-glorifying direction by Cal Thomas. I agree that the GOP needs help!

Between Two Worlds is a great blog I've just started reading. I really enjoy the guest bloggers posts about the election. The guest posts by African-American men are especially good. It's a point of view that I don't often get to hear living in Nebraska and reading conservative information. These men are conservative and black and I enjoyed reading how they viewed Obama and the election in light of their beliefs.
Specifically: eric redmond living soli deo gloria and other guest posts around early November.

Newsweek's Behind the Scenes Wrap-Up by Greg Pollowitz. This is creepy.

Winning PropositionMarriage success. By Jennifer Roback Morse. I am so happy this passed! But I think the battle is only beginning on this front.

Can We Agree? Post-election issues by Gerard Alexander. Some interesting points and facts.

No retreat. Election 2008: Conservative reaction to the GOP’s defeat by The Editors. This article is a compilation of comments from different conservative leaders. This is one of the first things I've read that is more negative and hints at some radical thoughts about Obama.