Stations of the Cross - Days 10 & 11

Behind again! Day 10 was "Jesus is Stripped."

Detach me from the craving for
prestige,
position,
wealth.
Root out of me
all trace of envy of my neighbor
who has more than I.
Release me from the vice of pride,
my longing to exalt myself,
and lead me to the lowest place.

May I be poor in spirit, Lord,
so that I can be rich in you.

(From Everyone’s Way of the Cross by Clarence Enzler)

Day 11 is "Jesus is Crucified".

Galatians 2:20
20I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

CONTINUE READING...

Simple

For Tuesday
March 30, 2010

Outside my window... the promise of a beautiful North Carolina spring day!

I am thankful for... a husband who makes me laugh... even when he's grumpy from taking steroids for his back!

I am wearing... my favorite black t-shirt that I bought at a Goodwill in Louisiana two years ago! :-)

I am remembering... Easters past when I would one of those pink candy Robin Eggs and rub it on my lips for lipstick. :-)

I am going... to try to visit our local Catholic church Friday and go through the Stations of the Cross with them... My previously Catholic husband's recommendation.

I am reading... Judges and I Corinthians and Psalms; A Homemade Life and Story: Recapturing the Mystery.

From the kitchen... I made this yummy white chili last night, a modified version of this:

1 roasted chicken deboned
1 large can of chicken broth (32 oz)
2 onions, diced
2 gloves of garlic, diced
olive oil
2 cans of green chillies (4.2 oz)
3 cans of great Northern beans, preferably seasoned, undrained
1 can of butter beans, preferably seasoned, undrained
1 can of white corn, undrained
salt, pepper, oregano

Saute the onions and garlic in oil until transparent and just starting to brown a little. Add broth, chicken, beans, and corn. Season to taste. Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. I served it over rice with mozzarella cheese and a dollop of sour cream on top with a side muffin of sweet cornbread (aka, Jiffy!) Very yummy.

I am creating... cross doodles as I go through the Stations of the Cross:

Pondering these words... Our pastor preached on praise and worship this past Sunday and one of his points made me dig up this quote from C.S. Lewis in his book Reflections on the Psalms. It's long, but worth the time to read:

"But the most obvious fact about praise - whether of God or anything - strangely escaped me. I thought of it in terms of compliment, approval, or the giving of honor. I had never noticed that all enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise unless shyness or the fear of boring others is deliberately brought in to check it. The world rings with praise - lovers praising their mistresses, readers their favorite poet, walkers praising the countryside, players praising their favorite game - praise of weather, wines, dishes, actors, motors, horses, colleges, countries, historical personages, children, flowers, mountains, rare stamps, rare beetles, even sometimes politicians of scholars.

I had not noticed how the humblest, and at the same time most balanced and capacious, minds praised most, while the cranks, misfits and malcontents praised least...I had not noticed either that just as men spontaneously praise whatever they value, so they spontaneously urge us to join them in praising it: "Isn't she lovely? Wasn't it glorious? Don't you think that magnificent?" The Psalmists in telling everyone to praise God are doing what all men do when they speak of what they care about. My whole, more general, difficulty about the praise of God depended on my absurdly denying to us, as regards the supremely Valuable, what we delight to do, what indeed we can't help doing, about everything else we value.

I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete till it is expressed."

From the learning rooms... Mary's class is beginning a study on pirates and each child was assigned a pirate to research. Mary's is Mary Read. Pretty interesting story. There's a novel that portrays her life... hmm...

One of my favorite things... well, writing on this blog, of course... It's one of the few things I've done fairly consistently in my life. :-)

From my picture journal... an old "spring" photo of Mary! She was about two, I think, and was very busy watering flowers at a friend's house. Note the belly button! :-)

For more "Simple" entries, visit The Simple Woman's Daybook! Have a simply wonderful day, bloggy friends!

CONTINUE READING...

Stations of the Cross - Day 9

No doodle today, bloggy friends. Busy day!

Today's station is "Jesus Falls a Third Time."

When all my strength is gone
and guilt and self-reproach
press me to earth and seem to hold me fast,
protect me from the sin of Judas –
save me from despair!

Lord, never let me feel that any sin of mine
is greater than your love.
No matter what my past has been
I can begin anew.

(From Everyone's Way of the Cross)

Amen and amen.

Psalm 103:8-16
8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
9 He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
14 for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are like grass,
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
16 the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.

'night.

CONTINUE READING...

Stations of the Cross - Day 8

Today's station is "Jesus Consoles the Women."

Lord, teach me,
help me learn.
When I would snap at those
who hurt me with their ridicule,
those who misunderstand,
or hinder me with some misguided
helpfulness,
those who intrude upon my privacy –
then help me curb my tongue.

May gentleness become my cloak.

(From Everyone’s Way of the Cross by Clarence Enzler)

Luke 13:34
34"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!

CONTINUE READING...

Stations of the Cross - Day 6 & 7

Ah, I've fallen a day behind, so here's two in one: Day 6 was " Veronica Helps Jesus."

Matthew 25:31-46
31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

46"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

Day 7 is "Jesus Falls Again."

Psalm 37:23-28
23 If the LORD delights in a man's way,
he makes his steps firm;
24 though he stumble, he will not fall,
for the LORD upholds him with his hand.
25 I was young and now I am old,
yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
or their children begging bread.
26 They are always generous and lend freely;
their children will be blessed.
27 Turn from evil and do good;
then you will dwell in the land forever.
28 For the LORD loves the just
and will not forsake his faithful ones.
They will be protected forever,
but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off;

Blessings, all~

CONTINUE READING...

Book Review: A Thread of Grace

A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russel, Paperback: 464 pages, Publisher: Ballantine Books; 1st Thus. edition (December 6, 2005), ISBN-10: 0449004139

Rating: 3.5 of 5 STARS
Source: Farming of Books book club March selection

I bought this book as soon as it came out some years ago. Hardback. I hardly ever splurge on hardbacks. Dove right in... and only made it to about page 90 before putting it down. A year or two later I tried to listen to the audio version... and only made it through the first CD. Now, I've finally finished it... and only because it was our book club's selection for March and I was hosting/leading the meeting. So I had to. Why did I try this book so many times? Why did I give it multiple chances? Because Mary Doria Russel is one of my favorite authors. As a matter of fact, The Sparrow, is one of my top ten. Read it.

The Sparrow (and its sequel Children of God) are science fiction. A Thread of Grace is not. It's historical fiction. Here's a short synopsis from Booklist:

"Italian citizens saved more than 43,000 Jews during the last 20 months of World War II. Russell has transmuted this little-known history into an expansive, well-researched, and compelling novel. As the story opens, the mountainous region of northwest Italy has been relatively untouched by WWII, and even Jews have been safe. When Italy breaks with Germany in 1943 and pulls out of southern France, thousands of Jewish refugees cross the mountains in search of safety. But the German occupation of Italy poses a new threat. Even with the list that's provided, it can be hard to keep track of all the characters--Catholics and Jews, priests and rabbis, Germans and Italians, old and young, Nazis and Resistance fighters."

This opening comment of a review from The Washington Post helps explain my trouble with the book:

"Mary Doria Russell is a talented writer of large ambition. To juggle some two dozen principal characters, and as many more minor ones, is daring; so is her willingness to combine them in transactions that are truly bizarre."

Two dozen principal characters! Yikes. I could not keep it all straight in my head. There was probably at least that many locations in the book, too. Place names, character names, etc. all either in Italian, French, or German. I just couldn't do it. I was confused, flipping back and forth through pages for a lot of the book. There is a helpful list of characters in the front of the book, plus a couple of maps, but still...

All that said, it was an interesting story, one I didn't know about World War II. I just couldn't connect with the characters. Or always figure out exactly what was going on. But I get a sneaky feeling my lack of liking this book is more about my reading skills than about Russell's ability as a writer.

Will I read another book by this author? Absolutely! As a matter of fact, she has another historical fiction novel out: Dreamer's of the Day. (Looks interesting - narrated from the afterlife... hmm... reminds me of Amy Tan's Saving Fish from Drowning and The Book Thief. Yes, I'll definitely try it.)

So, while I wouldn't exactly recommend this particular book, I definitely recommend the author! Happy reading, bloggy friends!

CONTINUE READING...

Book Review: Keep & Give Away

Keep and Give Away:Poems by Susan Meyers, Paperback: 104 pages, Publisher: University of South Carolina Press (June 2, 2006), ISBN-10: 1570036705

Rating: 5 of 5 STARS
Source: Random pick off sale rack at local indie book store

I inhaled this little book. I picked it up on a whim from the sale shelf at The Country Book Shop and could.not.put.it.down. It's a collection of poems about nature, about the author's relationship with her husband, and about her mother's death. But it's about so much more, too.

She writes about the year she banished yellow from her life, about watching her husband mulch their garden, about an argument they had, about her mother washing dishes, about chickens and Spanish moss and little girls in swings and fishing and school buses and dying and praying and loving. Oh, my. If you've got a hankering to read something beautiful, get this book. Keep it by your bed and nibble your way through it. Now that I've gulped it down, that's what I'm going to do. Savor it day by day, piece by piece.

I was delighted to find Susan Meyers' blog here. And here's a poem or two of hers online for you to taste. Poetry is good for your soul. Try it. And it's good for your writing, too, no matter what type you do - nonfiction, fiction, essays... whatever. After finishing Keep and Give Away I wrote Sabbath Morning. It's doesn't touch the beauty of Meyers' poems, but I was happy with it for me.

CONTINUE READING...

Stations of the Cross - Day 5

Today's station is "Simon Helps Jesus."

Lord, make me realize
that every time I wipe a dish,
pick up an object off the floor,
assist a child in some small task,
or give another preference
in traffic or the store;
each time I feed the hungry,
clothe the naked,
teach the ignorant,
or lend my hand in any way –
it matters not to whom –
my name is Simon.
And the kindness I extend to them
I really give to you.

(From Everyone's Way of the Cross)

Yes, Lord. There are so many who need a kind word, a bite of food, a hand across the street. Help me to see their need and meet it as You have given me the ability to.

Matthew 27:27-32
27Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. 28They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. "Hail, king of the Jews!" they said. 30They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. 31After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

32As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross.

CONTINUE READING...

Stations of the Cross - Day 4

Today's station is "Jesus Meets His Mother."

My Jesus, Lord,
I know what you are telling me.
To watch the pain of those we love
is harder than to bear our own.

To carry my cross after you,
I, too, must stand and watch
the sufferings of my dear ones –
the heartaches, sicknesses and grief
of those I love.

And I must let them watch mine, too.

These were powerful words for me today... watching a friend suffer with cancer, another whose illness has confounded all the specialists... but more... not just suffering from illnesses, but suffering from heartaches, too... broken hearts and homes, lost friendships and loves... and the grief... of deaths, of sins... and that special sorrow that comes from watching your child struggle through their own inevitable hurts.

Yes, carrying our cross definitely means watching those we love suffer. And letting them watch us, too.

Today I was inspired by this artist (or art playgroundist as she calls herself) and drew this little girl... standing and watching...

Feeling pretty icky right now, but praying to be able to go to the first meeting for a new women's Bible study at our church tonight.

CONTINUE READING...

Had to Share...

Feeling awful this morning... must have caught Mary's bug. Ugh. Sipping coffee and browsing through blogs with my puppy Sadie at my side... I found this from Jennifer (amazing artist) who found it from Kate (don't know her, but looks like a cool site). Had to share, bloggy friends...Even with a cough, fever, and sore throat, this made me smiley all over. Love, love, love it!

CONTINUE READING...

Stations of the Cross - Day 3

Today's station is "Jesus Falls."

"Make me content with all my discontents, but give me strength to struggle after you."

2 Corinthians 12:7-10
7To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

CONTINUE READING...

Simple

For Tuesday
March 23, 2010

Outside my window... big stringy clouds that look like huge white prehistoric birds hovering in the sky.

I am thankful for... a flexible job that lets me be home easily with a sick little girl.

I am wearing... flannel pj's. Can you believe it's gotten cold again here?!

I am remembering... that April 1st begins the Poetry Challenge over at Poetic Asides. A prompt a day, a poem a day. I did it the whole month last year... and some of you, my bloggy friends, suffered through some pretty bad poetry posted on my blog... but it was good for me and I'd like to try it again this year. I think I at least got one or two keepers out of the month. Anyone else game?

I am going... to call the gal over our women's ministry and talk to her about going to the women's study that starts tomorrow night. They're doing Lies Women Believe by Nancy Leigh DeMoss.

I am reading... Joshua and I Corinthians and Psalms; The History of Love for fun (loving it!), and Story: Recapture the Mystery for Easter devotion.

I am praying... that Mary feels better. She was up pretty much all night with a fever and sore throat. Poor girlie.

I am creating... a drawing for each Station of the Cross as I go through Everyone's Way of the Cross until Easter. (Day 1 - Obey Those Over You; Day 2 - Humble Yourself)

Noticing that... I'm not taking pictures lately. Hmm... need to get that going again.

Pondering these words... a quote from Charles Spurgeon our pastor used in his sermon on intercessory prayer this past Sunday:

"Prayer pulls the rope below and the great bell rings above in the ears of God. Some scarcely stir the bell, for they pray so languidly. Others give but an occasional pluck at the rope. But he who wins with heaven is the man who grasps the rope boldly and pulls continuously, with all his might."

One of my favorite things... reading. Anything. But I guess you already figured that out.

From my picture journal... The Girl came over last week with these cupcakes to ask Mary and Ellen to be her bridesmaids. Pretty sweet, huh? Of course they said "yes!"

Go here for more daybook entries at the Simple Woman's Daybook.

CONTINUE READING...

Stations of the Cross - Day 2

Today's station is "Jesus Takes His Cross." Take the time to click over and read it. It's worth the two or three minutes. Oh, Lord, help me to take up my daily cross, as small as they may be...

Here's today's "station." Don't know if I can keep these up, but it's been so good to draw and pray... to ponder His mercy and grace... to think on the Cross and to ask for strength to carry what's been given to me... Oh, Lord, help me to take up my daily cross.

1 Peter 5:6-11
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

CONTINUE READING...

Stations of the Cross - Day 1

Hello, bloggy friends! Matt asked me what was wrong because I hadn't posted since Tuesday. I said, "Nothing." He said, "Yeah, right."

Well, really...nothing's wrong. Just catching up with a few other things right now.

14 days until Easter! Mmm.. I guess really it's 13. I like to read Everyone’s Way of the Cross during the two weeks leading up to Easter. I've posted about this in the past. Today's reading is about Christ before Pilate. Thinking, drawing, and praying today, I drew this "station."

Hebrews 13:17
Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.

I would love to be able to draw a new station each day until Easter. It does me good to be still and doodle.

Hoping you had a peaceful Sabbath~

CONTINUE READING...

Simple

For Tuesday
March 16, 2010

Outside my window... an inky black, early morning sky.

I am thankful for... 24 years of marriage to my very own Mr. Wonderful!

I am wearing... A purple turtleneck given to me by a friend, my favorite jeans, and no shoes or socks!

I am remembering... how good it is for me to get out and walk and pray... both physically and spiritually! Why do we (I?) run from the things we know are good for us?

I am going... to host our book club this week and must, must, must get the book finished!

I am reading... A Thread of Grace (book club), Figures of Speech, Deuteronomy, I Corinthians, and a few Psalms here and there.

I am praying... for so much... a wedding, a new daughter-in-law-to-be, two sick friends, being a mother, being a wife (!), desiring to know Jesus more and more, wanting to always walk under the shadow of the Almighty...

I am creating... poetry! See Sabbath Morning below.

Noticing that... poetry is good for the soul.

Poetry is the journal of the sea animal living on land, wanting to fly in the air. Poetry is a search for syllables to shoot at the barriers of the unknown and the unknowable. Poetry is a phantom script telling how rainbows are made and why they go away.
~Carl Sandburg, Poetry Considered

Pondering these words...

Beware lest there be among you a man or woman or clan or tribe whose heart is turning away today from the Lord our God to go and serve the gods of those nations. Beware lest there be among you u a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit, one who, when he hears the words of this sworn covenant, blesses himself in his heart, saying, ‘I shall be safe, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart.’ This will lead to the sweeping away of moist and dry alike. Deuteronomy 29:18-19.

Oh, Lord, keep me from blessing myself in my heart and walking in the stubbornness of my heart!

In the kitchen... I'm going to try this recipe for potatoes au gratin... something I don't think I've ever made... tonight with pork tenderloin, sauteed mushrooms, and a green salad.

Around the house... I think we might have actually found drawer hardware that works with our kitchen cabinetry, so the painting project is back on! Yippee!

One of my favorite things... my thirty minute drive to and from work, usually spent just thinking or praying... or talking on the phone... or listening to audio books.

From my picture journal... my favorite so far from the engagement pictures. Go here and here and here to see what's been posted by photographer Tina Wrona. I think there's one more set coming. Really, really talented lady. Plus, a super cute couple to shoot, don't ya think?



For more "Simple" entries, go to The Simple Woman's Daybook!

CONTINUE READING...

Sabbath Morning

Time changed last night – springing forward,
morphing into something
brighter and warmer.

Coffee and Book and morning prayer- a type of trinity.
I flip through onion-skin pages, gold-edged,
the color of spilt milk. They whisper, soft
under my fingers, soothing to my soul.
Moses preaches to the Israelites –
parsing curses and blessings,
then Paul to the Galatians –
harvesting fruits of the Spirit.

I breathe in steam from my cup,
and breathe out supplications from my heart –

and try very hard to listen.

Coffee cold, I start the slow slide into the day. Chicken
soup put on to simmer in a favorite pot.
Sweet cornbread mixed, ready to bake.
A load of laundry folded, towels and
wash clothes sandwich-stacked,
socks reunited.

I feel like a swimmer poised on the block,
tensed, waiting for the horn signaling
permission to dive into a new week.
Breakfast, then church and lunch,
flip turn and a long afternoon nap,
dinner and coffee with friends.

Yesterday was 24 years. I do the math in my
head as I fold his t-shirt – one thousand two
hundred and forty eight weeks. I smile and
pray for the grace of more.

This Sabbath morning is a pause, a great comma in the
run-on sentence that is my life. Grandma said idle
hands are the Devil’s workshop. I think busy
hands are his anesthesia, keeping us from
feeling the warm breath of the
Spirit on our necks, noticing
His hand slipping into ours.

The ceiling creaks, someone else is awake.
I hear water running in an upstairs
bathroom. Time is a changeling
I have almost
caught.

CONTINUE READING...

Seven on Sunday

It seems as if my Seven on Saturday posts are morphing into Seven on Sundays...

1. This is Molly. This is how she spends her days.... the most easy-going dog in the world....

2. Go here and here for a sneak peek look at The Boy's and The Girl's engagement photo shoot Friday. Tina Wrona is amazing.

3. Ever heard of a Tomato Cake? A guy at work was telling me about it.... hmm...

4. Hooray! I snuck in some time this past week for two favorite places: a local library's used book store and our town's independent book store. For $7 at the used book store I purchased:

Figures of Speech: 60 Ways to Turn a Phrase (Very happy about this one...see #5)
Heart Songs (Short Stories by Annie Proulx - I love short stories...see #6)
The Glass Castle (Have this one, but our book club is reading this next month. Need a copy?)
Mere Christianity (Have this one, but hoping to read it with a friend.)
How to Read Literature Like a Professor (Couldn't pass it up...)
Sex, Sleep, Eat, Drink, Dream: A Day in the Life of Your Body (Very excited about this one... I had browsed through it at the Library a while back and wanted to add it to my "sleep" books.)

Then at the indie store I bought:

Keep & Give Away: Poems by Susan Meyers (off the sales shelf for $1.98! I devoured this. A review forthcoming. Poetry is good for the soul, no?)

Red Bird by Mary Oliver (I won't say how much I spent on this poetry collection... hard back... you can imagine! But I saved so much on all the others, I thought I could splurge!!)

5. Here's a quote promoting Figures of Speech from the back cover:

Quinn has managed to do what I would have thought impossible: turned a discussion of dozens of rhetorical figures - hyperbaton, hendiadys, isolcolon - into a book that is a delight to read - and a living refutation of most current rules of style. Offering examples that range from the Bible through Shakespeare and James Joyce to Joe Jacobs, he quietly and wittily demonstrates that - but why should I, by giving away his show, commit hysteronprotoron?
~Wayne Booth

I was very excited to find this slim book at the used book store... for $1 no less. While reading the preface at home Friday night, I was surprised to find this statement from the author:

"Writing is not like chemical engineering."

Huh? Why did he use chemical engineering as his example? Why not mechanical engineering, or civil, or electrical? Why pick on us chemical engineers? Or even engineers at all? I thought it was kind of random, myself. But, once I got past the insult of the preface, I really am enjoying the book. :-) No - maybe writing isn't like chemical engineering, but perhaps there's hope for chemical engineers who want to write!

6. Have you heard of this?

7. This made me smile. :-)

Blessings -

CONTINUE READING...

Book Review: Alas, Babylon

Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank, Paperback: 352 pages, Publisher: Harper Perennial Modern Classics (July 5, 2005), ISBN-10: 0060741872

"The classic apocalyptic novel that stunned the world."

Rating: 5 of 5 STARs
Source: Some list of the best science fiction books of all time that I can't locate now!

At some point I had a list of must-read books and this one was in the Sci-Fi section. (As was Dune which, by the way, IS most definitely a must-read.) A couple of weeks ago a friend was saying that our book club should read Absalom, Absalom and I said, "Isn't that science fiction? We'll never get them to read it!" And she - a librarian - laughed at me and said, "No, you're thinking of Alas, Babylon." And I was. (Both have Biblical references in the title - you can follow my logic!) So that got the book on my mind again and I dug around until I found a copy I had picked up a long while ago amongst a tall stack of books in a dusty corner of my house. (ALL the corners of my house are dusty, actually.)

And I couldn't put it down. Really.

I had my doubts. First written in 1959 about nuclear war, I thought it would be outdated. I mean, we know so much more now, right? And the Cold War is over, isn't it? This was a great, great read. I loved the hero. I loved the writing. I loved the story. I also really loved the way it ended on a note of hope. Read it. I know, I know... You don't read science fiction, right? Well, trust me. Just try it.

And so, about those lovely little book lists. I couldn't locate the list where I first saw Alas, Babylon. I know I have it printed out around here somewhere. (It's probably somewhere in another dusty corner of my house!) So, I searched around on the Internet and found some Sci-Fi lists but couldn't find one with Alas, Babylon on it. I did find this list, though. How many have you read from it? Here are mine with favorites asterisked:

Ender's Game**
Dune**
1984
Fahrenheit 451
Brave New World
The Martian Chronicles
A Wrinkle in Time**
Frankenstein
The Handmaid's Tale
Doomsday Book
Out of the Silent Planet**
A Princess of Mars
The Lathe of Heaven
Flatland**
The Time Traveler's Wife

Ok, this catches me up on book reviews. Off to do another load of laundry... And sweep out some dusty corners! :-)

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Book Review: The Blood of Flowers (Audio)

The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani, read by Shohreh Aghdashloo, Publisher: Hachette Audio; Unabridged edition (June 5, 2007), ISBN-10: 1594839123

Rating: 4 of 5 STARs
Source: Public Library random pick

This is another book that I liked better once I knew more about the author and her writing process. The last CD has an interview with the author in which she explains her background and why she wrote her debut novel about a young girl in a 17th century Persian village. Her main agenda, it seems, was for Americans to understand more about Iranians, their history, and their lives - especially women's. I think she definitely accomplished that for me. I feel like I learned a lot about a part of the world and people that I really don't know much about - other than what I see on the news.

Description from the book cover:

At the age of fourteen, a young woman in 17th-century Persia believes she will be married within the year. But when her beloved father dies, collapsing in the field where he works with the other men from their village, there is no hope for a dowry. Alone and penniless, she and her grieving mother are forced to sell the brilliant turquoise rug the young woman has woven,meant, of course, for her married life, to pay for their journey to Isfahan. There they will work as servants for her uncle Gostaham, a rich rug designer in the court of the Shah, and be lorded over by Gostaham's wife. Despite her lowly station, the young woman blossoms as a brilliant weaver of carpets, a rarity in a craft dominated by men. But while her artistic gift flourishes, her prospects for a happy marriage grow dim. Forced into a secret marriage with a man who will never take her as his first wife, the young woman is faced with a daunting decision: forsake her own dignity, or risk everything she has in an effort to maintain it. Amirrezvani infuses her story with lush detail, brilliantly bringing to life the sights sounds and life of 17th-century Isfahan: The dazzling architecture; the exotic Persian foods; the breathtakingly beautiful rugs. A sweeping love story, a powerful coming-of-age story, and a luminous portrait of a city, this is a universal tale of one woman's struggle to live a life of her choosing.

In the middle of the book, I almost stopped listening because I felt like I was in the middle of a Harlequin Romance on steroids. So beware. But, Amirrezvani redeemed herself and I stuck with it. The descriptions of Persian run design and knotting was fascinating. As were the six fables interspersed through the book, four of which are from ancient Iranian literature and two were made up by the author.

And the reader.... was... FABULOUS! What talent! This review says it best:

In a low, lush, Persian-petaled voice worthy of Scheherazade, reader Shohreh Aghdashloo takes us into the exotic world Amirrezvani has created. (Book Page Sukey Howard 2008)

So - I would definitely recommend this audio book - but with the caveat that there are a good many sexually explicit scenes. And I will be looking for more novels from this author in the future.

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Book Review: The Giver

The Giver by Lowis Lowry, Reading level: Young Adult, Paperback: 208 pages, Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (January 24, 2006), ISBN-10: 0385732554

Rating: 4 of 5 STARs, 5 of 5 STARs (my rating!)
Source: The first selection for Mary's book club - If Books Could Talk! :-)

Mary has had a heart to put a book club together for some time now and she and her friend E finally did it. They had their first meeting last Friday. Mary was a little disappointed that only two other girls came, but they had a wonderful discussion on this great, great book. They gave it an overall rating of 4 STARs.

We started off by taping the names of two characters to each girl's back and having them try to figure out their characters by asking yes/no questions of each other. (Of course, this was done while eating the all important snacks!) We had a great discussion using these questions:

1. Jonas is chosen as the next Receiver of Memory. Is this an honor or a punishment?
2. If ignorance of the past is a benefit to the citizens of the community, why do you think that the Receiver of Memory exists?
3. The Chief Elder lists five characteristics that a Receiver must have: intelligence, integrity, courage, wisdom and the Capacity to See Beyond. Was Jonas a good choice for this position?
4. Do you agree with Jonas’s decision to leave the community? Why or why not?
5. How realistic is this society? Could it exist?

These prompted some good discussions on whether it is possible to build Heaven on earth, the sanctity of life, and how God has created us all differently.

Then we played this on line trivia quiz (very cute) to pick the winner of a door prize (a book of course!). Finally, we drew a girl's name to choose next month's book: The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963.

Then, the book club meeting turned into a sleepover and much, much fun was had by all! :-)

Seriously, if you haven't read The Giver, read it no matter how old you are. Wonderful, thought-provoking, well-written book. I had forgotten some of the more mature content in this book, so I would definitely recommend reading it along with your child so you can discuss some of the themes it brings up. 5th Grade is probably as young as I would say to read it.

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Book Review: Gossamer (Audio)

Gossamer by Lois Lowry, read by Anne Twomy, Reading level: Ages 9-12, Audio CD
Publisher: Listening Library (Audio); Unabridged edition (May 23, 2006),

ISBN-10: 073933526X

Rating: 3 of 5 STARS
Source: Picked up at the public library for Mary on the long drive to and from Louisiana

This is another audio book I checked out for the drive to Louisiana last month. After listening to The Book Thief, this was definitely a lighter book to listen to. I first found Lois Lowry through The Giver with my older daughter. (At 17, it's still her favorite book!)

Gossamer tells the tale of invisible spirits who train to be dream-givers, learning to mix fragments of memories of daily life for people as they sleep. Littlest One, an apprentice, works with a tormented foster child, trying to bestow healing memories to replace the nightmares he usually has.

This is a very short (~2.5 hours) listen and Mary really liked it. I suppose I didn't find it nearly as enjoyable as The Giver, so was a little disappointed. It's a good book to listen to with your child, though.

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Book Review: Skeletons at the Feast (Audio)

Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian, read by Mark Bramhall, Publisher: Random House Audio; Unabridged edition (May 6, 2008), ISBN-10: 0739366238

Rating: 4 of 5 STARS
Source: Public library pick

I've listened to two other books by Chris Bohjalian (Before You Know Kindness and The Double Bind) and this one has been my least favorite. The story was definitely engaging, the characters well developed and likable, and the historical perspective interesting. The reader, Mark Bramhall, did a wonderful job, too. But something kept me from really liking this book.

From the book's product description:


In January 1945, in the waning months of World War II, a small group of people begin the longest journey of their lives: an attempt to cross the remnants of the Third Reich, from Warsaw to the Rhine if necessary, to reach the British and American lines.

Among the group is eighteen-year-old Anna Emmerich, the daughter of Prussian aristocrats. There is her lover, Callum Finella, a twenty-year-old Scottish prisoner of war who was brought from the stalag to her family’s farm as forced labor. And there is a twenty-six-year-old Wehrmacht corporal, who the pair know as Manfred–who is, in reality, Uri Singer, a Jew from Germany who managed to escape a train bound for Auschwitz.

As they work their way west, they encounter a countryside ravaged by war. Their flight will test both Anna’s and Callum’s love, as well as their friendship with Manfred–assuming any of them even survive.

The main question I think Bohjalian asks with this book is, "How could some Germans not know what was being done to the Jews?" He explores this through Anna's and her mother's (Mutti) slow awakening to the brutality of their country during the harrowing days of their march from Warsaw to the Allied lines. In order to "wake them up" Bohjalian takes us through some pretty violent and disturbing scenes. Maybe that's why I didn't like it as well as some other reviewers have. I'm about spent on WWII and its particular brand of evil. Time to take a break from this time period!

All that said, I would definitely recommend this audio book to you. Chris Bohjalian is a very talented writer, the reading is awesome, and the story's historical perspective worth knowing.

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Simple

Outside my window... spring! Or spring-like weather, anyway. Big smile!

I am thankful for... the myriad of simple blessings we receive, and take for granted, each day... soft carpets to walk on, warm beds to sleep in, medicines to heal us, food to nourish us...

I am wearing... pajamas! Oh, that I could just stay in them the rest of the day...

I am remembering... our anniversary is Saturday! TWENTY-FOUR years! Hooray for us!

I am going... to take Mary to buy a bathing suit today for an overnight field trip she's going on tomorrow.

I am reading... A Thread of Grace (audio), Salt:Grain of Life, Deuteronomy and finishing the Gospel of Mark.

I am praying... for a friend who is very sick.

I am creating... my life map...putting color to it now.

Noticing that... I'm a teensy bit sore after walking for a couple of days.

Pondering these words...

Mary: "Mom, are you old?"
Me: "No, I don't think so. Is 41 old?"
Mary: "Yes."
Me: "Oh. How about 35, then?"
Mary: "No."

So now we know... :-)

Around the house... stopped by this sweet little shop yesterday and splurged on two little clip-on birdies. Trying to decide where to let them perch. Maybe in my curtains in the downstairs powder room.

One of my favorite things... early mornings on my back porch... Coming soon!

From my picture journal... Mary's long awaited "vocaloid" wig she ordered for Valentine's Day from China arrived. :-)



For more "Simple" entries, go to The Simple Woman's Daybook. Blessings, bloggy friends!

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Why I Love C.S. Lewis

First, I've walked the last two days. Hooray for me!

Second, I love my public library. I stopped by today to browse for audio books and found, to my delight, a new audio version of C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity. I couldn't wait to get home, dust off my old Sony CD player, and take a walk.

Just in the introduction I was reminded why I love C.S. Lewis and why Mere Christianity is probably in my top ten books:

I hope no reader will suppose that "mere" Christianity is here put forward as an alternative to the creeds of the existing communions - as if a man could adopt it in preference to Congregationalism or Greek Orthodoxy or anything else. It is more like a hall out of which doors open into several rooms. If I can bring anyone into that hall I shall have done what I attempted. But it is in the rooms, not in the hall, that there are fires and chairs and meals. The hall is a place to wait in, a place from which to try the various doors, not a place to live in. For that purpose the worst of the rooms (whichever that may be) is, I think, preferable. It is true that some people may find they have to wait in the hall for a considerable time, while others feel certain almost at once which door they must knock at. I do not know why there is this difference, but I am sure God keeps no one waiting unless He sees that it is good to wait. When you do get into your room you will find that the long wait has done you some kind of good which you would not have had otherwise. But you must regard it as waiting, not as camping. You must keep on praying for light: and, of course, even in the hall, you must begin trying to obey the rules which are common to the whole house. And above all you must be asking which door is the true one; not which pleases you best by its paint and panelling. In plain language, the question should never be: "Do I like that kind of service?" but "Are these doctrines true: Is holiness here? Does my conscience move me toward this? Is my reluctance to knock at this door due to my pride, or my mere taste, or my personal dislike of this particular door-keeper?"

When you have reached your own room, be kind to those who have chosen different doors and to those who are still in the hall. If they are wrong they need your prayers all the more; and if they are your enemies, then you are under orders to pray for them. That is one of the rules common to the whole house.

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Keep Your Soul Diligently

Good Saturday Morning, bloggy friends! I don't know about you, but I sure am glad to see the weekend roll in. I'm continuing to read through the Bible using the Life Journal many in our church body are going through. After doing it pretty much faithfully for two months, I am beginning to feel the blessing deep in my soul of being in God's Word daily. I've been here before... disciplined to read the Bible everyday, working through it piece-by-piece, chewing on the stories, the Truths, the images throughout the day ... but, oh how I am prone to wander! How I am prone to leave the God I love! How easy it is for me to be too busy, to have too many other things to do (honestly, to just be plain lazy!) instead of spending time with the Lord each day. Will I ever learn and stay here in this place? Knowing my sinful heart, I'm sure I will wander again. But knowing God's faithfulness, I'm sure He will draw me yet again back to His Heart.

I've finally finished up Numbers this week and am moving into Deuteronomy. At some point this week I read Numbers 33 which is a recounting of Israel's 40 year journey from Egypt through the wanderings in the wilderness. Almost all of it is just a list of the names of camping sites... Etham, Elim, the wilderness of Sin, Mount Shepher, Jotbathah... names that sound exotic to my modern ears. Some of the locations are mentioned in other places in the Bible, but at least 17 of them are only mentioned in this one chapter. It's not exactly riveting reading. But, like everything given to us in the Bible, it's there for our instruction and edification. Hmmm...

So.... this put me on a path of thinking about the places I've "camped" in my (ahem) 41 years. And that got me to doodling and making a "life map." Then this morning I read this:

Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children's children... (Deuteronomy 4:9)


As I've been drawing the last couple of days and remembering the things God has done in my life and the people He has given me to walk with and to love, my heart has been refreshed. Yes, there has been sadness as I have included the hard things, even the tears that have fallen sometimes like rain. But there has been much, much more joy as I have seen God lead me on this path from camping site to camping site, where each place I have learned a little more about who I am and therefore more about Who He is.

So, bloggy friends, I wanted to share this with you from a creative-artsy point of view, but more importantly from a good-for-your-soul point of view. This exercise has blessed me tremendously this week as I've drawn and remembered, remembered and drawn. I'm still not finished yet... I'm thinking it needs a little color as I continue to meditate on what God has done with me so far. I challenge you to consider making your own map and see where God has taken you in this wondrous journey we call life.

Well, there's a washing machine calling my name, a husband who needs to get up, a website to be worked on, and four little girls asleep upstairs who will be needing stacks of pancakes soon!

(Note the puppy in the 2nd picture. She's been snoring away at my feet as I draw. Love her!)

Blessings~

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