What's On My Nightstand, August

It's that time again; time for 5 Minutes for Books' monthly carnival where participants post what they've read recently, what they're currently reading, and/or what they plan to read next.

Books I recently finished reading (this week):

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society--wonderful!!! I absolutely loved it and highly recommend it! It's the featured title for our September bookclub at 5 Minutes for Books so go grab you a copy so you can join the discussion next month!

The Last Ember--National Treasure meets the Holy Land. Very intriguing.

Books I am currently reading:

Womanly Dominion: More Than A Gentle and Quiet Spirit

Counsel from the Cross: Connecting Broken People to the Love of Christ--Not just for counselors; this is a useful resource for any believer seeking to point others to the gospel.

A Shelter in the Time of Storm: Meditations on God and Trouble--Working my way through these daily devotions drawn from Psalm 27.

Hoping for Something Better: Refusing to Settle for Life as Usual--The workbook we will be using in Bible study starting in a couple of weeks!

Books I plan to read next (maybe):

Finally Alive by John Piper

The Reformation by Stephen Nichols

The Reason for God by Tim Keller

The Three Musketeers by Alexander Dumas

I've also got some fiction titles for review at 5 Minutes for Books:

Stray Affections by Charlene Baumbich

Pirate Hunter by Tom Morrissey

Wisdom Hunter by Randall Arthur

By the way, don't forget about the Back to School Giveaway going on at 5 Minutes for Books! You have until the 30th to enter the drawings for free books; click here or on the button below to see all the great stuff we're giving away...

So, what are you reading?

If only...

During my church's last community group rotation, we leaders in the children’s department enjoyed the unique privilege of teaching, among other things, the sacrificial system outlined in Leviticus. Yes, you read that right: Leviticus. You know you’re in for interesting lesson when the curriculum instructs you to “Read portions of Leviticus 11-16.” To five and six year olds, mind you. We (the teachers) joked among ourselves last Sunday night that we need tee shirts: WE SURVIVED LEVITICUS. We think we deserve it.

This past Sunday night’s lesson, however, marked a departure from Leviticus and a return to the struggles of the Israelites and their 40-year sojourn in the wilderness. We learned about the people grumbling and whining despite the Lord’s gracious provision of manna. “If only we had meat to eat!” they cried. Well, the Lord gave them meat to eat all right, quail and plenty of ‘em, but only after His righteous anger “blazed hotly.” In fact, Numbers 11:1 tells us of the fire of the Lord’s wrath consuming parts of the camp because of the people’s complaints.

The Israelites’ grumbling and complaining were sins before God. They were not only ungrateful for the manna He provided every morning; they were resentful. By wishing for something else, something other than what He had given, they were rebelling against His provision and accusing Him of neglect. They wished for what they thought was better than what God had given. Ultimately, they esteemed meat as greater than the Lord God Himself.

His punishment was just and right.

Really, honestly, I’m no better than the Israelites. I do (more than) my fair share of complaining and whining (teaching Leviticus notwithstanding). I too cry out in frustration and resentment: “if only ______!” Most of my “if only’s” are a wish, a longing, a discontent and dissatisfaction with what the Lord has granted for me this season. Some of my “if only’s” are regrets couched in crippling shame and weighty condemnation over past sins and failures.

Both “if only’s” are sin.

Looking for satisfaction in something other than Christ exalts that “something” over Christ—the very definition of idolatry. And wallowing in the guilt of sins confessed and repented belittles the cross and the redemption purchased with the precious blood of Christ.

What’s on the other side of your “if only”? What are you longing for? Where are you grumbling and complaining and wishing for something else? What do you think you need to be happy/successful/content? Look to Christ and find in Him the only true satisfaction. Cry out to Him, no longer in resentment, but in a humble desire for Him alone.

What shame are you harboring? What regrets weigh you down? Confess and repent of your sin and rejoice that through Christ you are forgiven and clean! His mercies are new every morning; great is His faithfulness!

Instead of grumbling and complaining like those grouchy Israelites, may our petulant “if only’s” be laid aside and may we instead boast: “only Christ!”

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe... Phil. 2:14-15

I am honored just to be nominated!

Get this: my blog has been nominated for a Book Blogger Appreciation Week Award in the category Best Spiritual/Inspirational or Religious Book Review Blog!!!!! How cool is that?! I am both shocked and surprised, not to mention absolutely thrilled! A huge (and humble) thank you to whoever thought enough of my random ruminations to nominate them! What an honor to even be nominated...

As part of the nomination process, I must submit up to five posts that I feel are the best representation of my blog. These posts will be evaluated by a panel and scored according to the following criteria:

• Quality of Writing
• Originality and Diversity of Content
• Audience Engagement
• Visual Aesthetic and Functionality.

Blogs receiving top scores will make it to the next round of voting.

So, can you help a girl out? Do you have a favorite post here at Lisa writes... that you think I should submit?

And while I'm asking: Do you know what visual aesthetic and functionality mean?

Words worth pondering

From Counsel from the Cross: Connecting Broken People to the Love of Christ by Elyse Fitzpatrick and Dennis Johnson,

We are far more sinful and flawed than we know. It should humble us to the dust to realize that the only way for us to become holy was for the beloved Son to suffer like this and to die in our place. We must abandon our futile pursuit of good self-esteem and see ourselves for what we are: the cause of the greatest suffering ever known, the suffering of the Lamb of God. We will never be truly free from self-condemnation and the desire for approval until we grasp this fact. We were so sinful we had to die. Personal reformation won't help. We need death.

Deliberations

Deliberate--carefully weighed or considered; studied; intentional

I told you in my last post that I want to be deliberate with my life, redeeming the time, numbering my days. As I shared with you, I've been challenged by Piper's article on autumn resolutions; I want to make "resolves for good," as Piper describes them, resolutions born of "self examination--life-examination, routine-examination, schedule-examination, heart-examination." To that end, I've been making some deliberations, examining and evaluating my priorities: my life, my routine, my schedule, and my heart. It's been a process, but I thought maybe I'd give you a glimpse into my deliberations thus far...

I told you it's a process, consisting (so far) of three main steps:

• Determining my priorities--what's important? What's not?
• Evaluating my activities--is this beneficial? How does it fit into my list of what's important?
• Taking action--what needs to change? Where do I need to grow?

In the end, I hope to have priorities that are more focused as well as a greater grasp of the Lord's will for my day to day life.

So, here's how it's working itself out so far...

I want to say first of all that the bulk of my approach has been gleaned from Carolyn Mahaney and the other girltalk gals' book Shopping for Time: How to Do It All and NOT Be Overwhelmed, specifically their chapter "Sit and Plan." In that chapter, Carolyn and her daughters recommend a personal retreat, a time to get away for awhile, alone if possible and free from distractions in order to sit and plan. Well, I didn't exactly get away; I chose to retreat to the back porch and for two reasons--coffee and the ability to stay on top of my laundry.

On my "retreat" to the back porch, I brought the following essentials:

• Cup of coffee
• Bible--I didn't really use it much (keepin' it real) but I wanted it as a visual reminder of the foundation of all decisions
• Notebook and pen and some preliminary brainstorming notes

You may take notice of what I did not take to the porch with me, namely, my computer. I'm not saying it wouldn't be helpful. I am saying that the temptation to check email, visit Facebook, and browse google reader, you know, just for a minute...well, it would all be too great. Yeah, I'm a wimp. So, a plain old spiral notebook and blue ink pen had to suffice. Old school all the way, baby.

Also, Shopping for Time implies all planning is accomplished in one fell swoop--which is totally great. You go, girl. For me, however, it's been more of a process. Last Friday during car line I spent half an hour or so sketching out some preliminary notes, brainstorming on the ideas of priorities and schedules and the like. Today I took the "retreat" to the porch for an hour or so during which I expanded and modified those notes as I prayed over them, seeking the Lord's guidance and direction. Over the next few days, I will continue to pray and think and evaluate and make plans as the Lord leads. A process.

In my next post I will share some of the specifics of how I prepared for my "retreat" and some of the priorities the Spirit is impressing on me.

It's not a post; it's a list

1. Have you checked out the Back to School Giveaway going on at 5 Minutes for Books? We'll be posting some really great giveaways every day Aug 12-26. Click on the button to find out more!

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2. I want to be deliberate about my time and what I do with it. I've been pondering Pastor John Piper's thoughts in this post about making autumn resolutions. Consider this quote from the post:

So pause sometime soon. Pause and examine your life this autumn. Examine what is missing that should be there. What is there that should be removed? What new dreams for ministry might you venture? What new habits do you want to build into your Fall schedule?

Remember: God will be pleased with new resolves for good if you resolve by faith in Jesus.

As my thoughts gain definition and clarity, I plan to blog about my own back to school resolutions.

What about you? Any new resolves for good?

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3. I've been doing a little housecleaning in my google reader, mainly un-following the blogs I was following. Yeah, all of them. I will definitely be following your blogs in the sense that I'm still subscribed via the reader, just not in an official "blogger follower" capacity. I just needed simplicity in my reader and I couldn't figure out a better way to do it. Plus, I had to take the widget off anyway because of the problems with Explorer. So, please, feel free to return the favor if you too are frustrated with the whole follower deal.

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4. I gave a short devotion at our ladies' fellowship at church last night. Okay, so it was 30 minutes and not exactly short. Short or not, today I feel like an idiot. I've been teaching/speaking/facilitating for over a decade and still I feel so foolish the next morning? Well, yeah, I do. Still. But that decade has granted me this perspective: I am foolish. How's that for earth shattering? :-) I'm an idiot and in my idiocy I am thankful for Paul's encouragement in 1 Cor. 1:26-31...God chose what is foolish so that no one may boast! "He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Therefore, as it is written, 'Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.'" Yes and amen!

Womanly Dominion Bookclub--Week 1

I am a soccer mom. A veteran soccer mom with over a decade of experience on the sidelines. As a soccer mom, I do love a good soccer analogy. I mean, I get soccer. It speaks to me.

In the first chapter of his book, Womanly Dominion: More Than A Gentle and Quiet Spirit, author Mark Chanski employs a soccer metaphor to explain two fundamental principles of what it means to be a godly woman:

1. "Win it!"

Chanski describes this principle as personal intensity. In soccer, this means to "play with all of your might in every encounter." As godly women seeking the glory of their Lord, we are not to passively surrender to outside circumstances and influences. Rather, we are to boldly confront our challenges in the power of the Holy Spirit.

2. "Play your position!"

I love this one because it means (obviously) that I have a position to play. I don't know about you, but sometimes I wonder if my position as wife, mom (soccer or otherwise), doer of laundry and driver of suburban is critical or even important. Addressing these doubts that all women face as some point, Chanski writes:

On the field of life, women hear constant shouts from unprincipled sideline voices telling them to leave their God-assigned posts.

Yeah we do. In contrast,

Godly women, made in the image of God, must repeatedly remind themselves, "Play your position!" They must loyally resolve to stay at their God-assigned posts, to the glory of God, despite the shouts from the misguided cultural sidelines.

I am looking forward to the encouragement and challenge that this book will bring as I seek to serve the Lord in my position as wife and mom, doing so with energy and joy in full reliance on the power of the Spirit.

Womanly Dominion is girltalk's Bookclub pick. You can check out their thoughts on Chapter One here. Stay tuned as we will discuss more on Chapters 1 and 2 next week. If you're intrigued by the discussion, by all means grab a copy of the book and join in!

You asked; I'm answering--Finale, finally

Okay, so it is finally the finale of the You ask; I'll answer (maybe) series of posts. You can see the original questions in the comment section of this post and the answers here: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, and Part Five.

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Shelly asked, Where is the best place you've travelled to?

Okay, I'll have to say Williamsburg and DC. I haven't travelled all that much but regardless I still think they'd be my favorites.

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Shelly also wants to know, What one word would your closest friends use to describe you?

I honestly don't know (and am afraid to guess--ha). Any friends out there want to chime in?

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Liz wonders about your hopes for when your boys are gone - either for them or for you.

For my boys: my sincerest desire for them is that they love Christ supremely, seeking His glory in all things. I'll be honest, I really would love for one (or more) of them to go into some sort of full time ministry or missionary work but if they live their lives in the pursuit of the Lord Jesus as their greatest Treasure, then that is all this mother would ask for.

And I do.

For me: I really haven't thought about it--though, now that I think about it, it stresses me out just a little. What exactly am I supposed to be when I grow up? I know this, I'd like to travel, maybe to visit and serve alongside my son(s) in the mission field (!). For certain, I want to keep teaching women and encouraging them to know God through the study of His Word.

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Liz also asks, Or more generally, what moments or memories do you wish you had captured in some format other than just your memory (so I can get on that before my kids are teens (because Kindergarten approaches and I know in a blink they'll be in college...)).

The everyday stuff. Absolutely, no question about it. The real life moments are the ones you will treasure most. And this is advice we (me and my husband) would do well to heed also. My poor youngest son--his video time is markedly less than, say, the number one son!

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Linda wants to know: How you got started teaching Bible studies.

Out of my own need. I distinctly remember sitting at the playground at our library with a dear friend and confessing to her my desire to study God's Word with a group of women--probably in a not-so-subtle hint for her to lead one such group. Her response to me would prove to be life changing: "Sounds like God may be calling YOU to begin a Bible study." And so He was. And so He is.

I had zero teaching credentials (still don't). Our first study was Kay Arthur's Lord, Only You Can Change Me and our first group contained 15-20 women (a large group in my experience), all of whom were older than me. Talk about intimidating! Well, I stumbled through that first meeting and the one after that, stumbled through the next study and the one after that, and here I am, still stumbling, over a decade later.

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Linda is also curious: Your blog is generally fairly serious - maybe give us a peek of your not-so-serious side? What makes you laugh?

I've been worrying over this question more than any other since I first made the appeal a few months ago! One night my youngest son and I were out for a walk and I thought I would kind of throw out some feelers, you know, see how serious/not-so-serious I might really be, not to mention gain some blog fodder in answer to Linda's question.

"So, what does Mama do that is silly?" I asked my son.

"Ummmm," he thought for a minute. "Not much."

"Am I fun? What do I do that's fun?"

A few moments' contemplation.

"Uh...well...you...um...you...you go on walks!" he triumphantly answered.

Wow. Fun.

I already told you that when I finally met Linda in real life she was surprised at my lack of morose-ness. See, I have fun potential; it's just not fully developed into full blown funny. Yet. I do love to laugh and among the things that make me laugh include (without a doubt) the silliness of my guys. All of them.

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Kelly asks, What have you done raising your kids that is different from the way you were raised?

Well, I'm raising boys which, as any mom of sons knows, is vastly different from raising a daughter (based solely on my own experience as a daughter and not as the mom of one). Plus, I'm raising kids in the age of the internet and cell phones, iTouch and PS3. So, yeah, there are differences; for instance, I make my boys turn in their cell phones and iPods to me every night--something my parents never did. But, technology aside, my parents were great parents and did an amazing job raising the three of us: me, my sister and brother. I can only hope to be as good a parents as they are.

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Kelly also wants to know: What's something you've learned recently that surprised you?

I am continually surprised at the depth of my own persistent rebellion against God and the grace and mercy He pours out despite it. I know it's a church-y answer, but it's true. I am so desperate and depraved in my own self; He is so good, to the praise of His glorious name. How easily I forget how shocking His grace really is...

Bible Study Coming Soon: Hoping for Something Better

I am so excited about Bible study resuming in a few weeks! The summer hiatus is usually necessary and good, and makes me all the more eager to resume meeting together with my friends and sisters in the journey. This fall we will be studying the book of Hebrews, using Nancy Guthrie's book Hoping for Something Better: Refusing to Settle for Life as Usual to facilitate our study. I spent the morning previewing the book and reading the Introduction and now I am so excited that I can't hardly stand it!

I will be teaching on Wednesday mornings beginning September 9. If you're local and you're interested in joining us, shoot me an email or give me a call; I'll be ordering books in the next couple of weeks. Ours is a eclectic group of women of different ages and from different churches across our city--we'd love to have you!

Want to know more about Nancy's book? Click here for an overview.

DC

For some reason, blogger is uploading my pictures only a few at a time and in reverse order. I haven't the inclination to move them all around so you'll have to bear with a slightly skewed timeline...

The Lincoln Memorial. We also visited the Vietnam Memorial (amazing and incredibly moving), the Korean War Memorial, and the WWII memorial. We didn't make it to the top of the Washington Monument (definitely want to next time) nor out to the Jefferson Memorial. (Note the umbrellas. Radar indicated rain was imminent so we carried those things around all.day.long. Only rain we got was a few sprinkles while we were standing in line at Ford's Theatre. Of course, I maintain by carrying around the umbrellas we insured it wouldn't rain!)

The Capitol. Yes, I have my coffee in hand.
Inside the Capitol Rotunda.

Union Station.

The White House. A nice lady from Oklahoma took our picture after my husband took a picture of their family.

Walking. We walked and walked and walked. My husband computed our last day's mileage once we got home. Eight miles. In one day.

The Library of Congress. Too gorgeous for words.

The boys in front of the Capitol.

Going down the escalator to the metro. We walked a lot but we also grew to be metro experts. LOVE the metro!

Other highlights of the trip include the National Archives (of National Treasure fame), the Supreme Court building, Ford's Theatre and eating at the Washington landmark Old Ebbitt's Grill. We also visited a couple of the Smithsonian's: the Museum of American History and the Air and Space Museum as well as a quick trip to the Museum of Natural History. I was so excited about the Museum of American History since it was closed during our last trip. It was really fascinating but I missed all the pop culture stuff I thought would be there? I did stand in line forever (and alone) to see the First Lady's exhibit--very cool.

A wonderful trip. I love DC.

Status Report, August

Sitting...out on the back porch. A gorgeous morning.

Drinking...coffee, black. More like guzzling it.

Moving...S L O W this morning. Thinking it'll be a second pot of coffee kind of morning.

Recovering (still)...from vacation. Transitioning back to the real world can be exhausting!

Planning...to post a recap and pictures from the DC portion of our trip and soon.

Reviewing...today's to do list. Pick up schedule and pay fees at the middle school. Pregnancy center. The usual tasks of transporting kids, doing the dishes and attacking the laundry.

Wanting...to sit on the porch and drink coffee instead.

Stressing...over school starting next week and the fact that I haven't purchased the first pack of paper nor pencils. School supply shopping: on the agenda for tomorrow.

Surprised...that school starts next week but, then again, it seems like it's time. The kids are restless, the mommy is longing for a few minutes of solitude--yep, it's time.

Reading...Counsel from the Cross: Connecting Broken People to the Love of Christ. Just started it last night. I can already tell, this one is going to be good!

Eager...to begin reading Womanly Dominion for the girltalk bookclub. I placed my book order late so I will be a little tardy since the bookclub starts Monday. Anyone else reading along?

Catching up...on the reviews needing to be written for 5 Minutes for Books. I'm so behind!

Missing...what's going on with all my friends whose delightful and thoughtful posts have backlogged in my google reader (672 of them, to be exact).

Pouring...another cup of coffee.

Meet and Greet in Chattanooga

Another MIRL! It's Kelli of Ponderings of a Pastor's Wife, me, Lisa The Preacher's Wife and Mocha with Linda. Linda is over our way on vacation so we all met for lunch and conversation. We chatted about books, church, kids, and Jesus. It was great fun! I had to laugh when Linda told me that I wasn't a bump on a log after all--as opposed to the somber tone of my blog thoughts! Yes, that's right, I can actually be fun on occasion! :-)

I told my husband what Linda said about me being fun and I think he was confused. "So, you were, like, funny?"

Linda, Lisa, and Kelli are amazing women of God dedicated to the pursuit of His glory in all things. I so enjoyed getting to know them better and hope we can all do it again!

Williamsburg, part 2

More pictures from Days 1-4...

Waiting outside the Colonial Williamsburg Visitor's Center for our tickets to be delivered.

Eating lunch at the tavern. Next time I'd love to go for supper; there's no electric lights so at night it would all be candlelight.

At the blacksmith's.

The fife and drum march.

At the capitol.

The raging rapids at Busch Gardens. My husband and I gracefully declined all rides with the potential of getting wet.

Day 4 continued:

We did return to Colonial Williamsburg Tuesday afternoon and had some of the best tours of our visit. The brickmakers, the cabinet makers, the shoe maker, all great. The best tour, however, came at the end of the day, so late in fact that we almost decided against going. I'm so glad we didn't! The Randolph house: absolutely fascinating. To think we stood in the same dining room as Jefferson and Washington and all the other "who's who" among the revolutionaries--the same dining room complete with original floorboards and window panes! It was as our tour guide described it: we were walking in the steps of giants. An excellent tour; I think perhaps my favorite of them all.

Some mores pictures from Williamsburg:

A cannon on the campus at William and Mary.

The shoemaker.
Outside Randolph House.
Going into the cabinet maker's. See the lady in period costume? I think I want her job when I grow up. My husband and I could retire to Virginia, I could host tours in Colonial Williamsburg and he could ride his bike on the Colonial Parkway. Sounds like a win-win to me.
At the brickmaker's.

Walking past the colonial nursery.
Some of the gardens behind the shoemaker (I think). There are sheep grazing beyond that fence; the weaver told us his wool came from one of the sheep named "Bob" (I think).

All in all, I completely loved Colonial Williamsburg. Can't wait to go back.

Next up: DC. Lots of pictures to share!