For Such a Time as This

Hello, world.  This has been a crazy couple of weeks (or months, depending on where you live and when you’re reading this), hasn’t it?  Disease, economic downturn, fear and isolation have been the headlines of the day.  I’m usually one content enough to stay at home and go nowhere for a period of time, more than most perhaps.  But this has even me a little down and out, mainly because we have no idea how long this will continue.  But you didn’t come here to read that, I know.

One of the things I miss the most is my library right now.  But it’s thankful I am that I have collected and curated my own extensive home library.  I’ve documented my new additions throughout the years here on this blog on my Random Book Posts.  I’ve stressed and complained about the lack of room and my lack of self-control when it comes to buying more books (on all types of subjects from witnessing to Jehovah’s Witnesses to reading body language).  But I’m not complaining any longer!  I have plenty to read ’til the cows come home (or not).  Right now I’m reading “Germ,” by Robert Liparulo.  

The other day I was listening to the radio to Dr. Rosalie de Rosset, professor of literature, English, and Homiletics at Moody Bible Institute.  She recommended a Pandemic Reading Plan.  The constructive structure could help keep us all sane, educated and cultured!  I am particularly interested in “Wolf Hollow” by Lauren Wolk and “The Shadows,” by Nicholas Carr.  I wish she had recommended more fiction.  Of course, you can check out my Recommended Reading List!  🙂  Or, spend an afternoon and plan your own.  Have you always wanted to read the classics but never had the time?  Play a game where each book you read is by an author from a different continent.  Or decade.  Read children’s literary classics to your kids.  Find curated lists online of classic, thought-provoking novels that will take you to another world and work your way down the list!

Good books can take you to another place and point you to reality at the same time.

If you’re looking to relax while someone reads to you for a change, Voices of Calm provides short and free videos for both kids and adults.

 

 

Non-fiction Books I’m Liking (Fall 2018)

I’m seeing a Japanese theme here, aren’t you?  Enjoy these Asian-rooted books with me this autumn!

The Four Holy Gospels, illustrated by Makoto Fujimura ~ The first time I heard of Makoto Fujimura was on a late Moody radio program.  ‘A Christian abstract artist?  That just can’t be!’ I thought.  I’m not sure how, but somewhere along the way I picked up the thinking that modern art was completely anti-God, anti-Christian and anything that didn’t at least try to look realistic had its basis in evil worldviews.  Thank goodness God’s mellowed me out since then, and I guess the process is ongoing!  For those who may be struggling with this idea that abstract can be glorifying to God, I recommend Francis Schaeffer’s short work, “Art and the Bible.” In any case, I became curious enough to look up this deeply spiritual Asian-American online to see what his art looked like.  I was astounded.  I don’t pretend to understand high art.  I need those trained in it to help me understand it.  But I appreciated the beauty and emotion he infused with traditional Japanese painting techniques to create beautiful washes of color with veins of metallic running through them.  I heard that he was commissioned to illustrate the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, rather like the medieval illumination of old.  I’ve always wanted to see it, and I finally got the chance.  I wish there was more explanation accompanying his paintings and why he chose what he did (as a lot of it goes over my head), but I loved looking at it nonetheless.  My favorite piece was the full-page illustration, Prodigal God.  I would like to own my own copy someday. 

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, by Marie Kondo ~ Spring cleaning… in the fall?  I know, that doesn’t seem to make much sense, does it?  But I’ve always felt more like the fall was a second New Year’s for me, a time to hit restart and a chance to attempt more order.  And as alluded to in a recent post, I’ve been feel overwhelmed and stressed out for a long time and my systems aren’t working.  So I need a change.  I found this book at a garage sale and knew that it was a popular, best-selling book.  I’d first heard of the KonMari method of organizing on a youtube video where a woman went through her wardrobe cleaning and sorting according to what she had read in the book.  And then I just started of hearing it everywhere.  Last year I redded [yes, that is a word even though spellcheck says it’s not] my book collection to purge what I didn’t have room for anymore.  I was pleased with the results, but I really needed to read through this cover to cover.  So, I am currently about halfway through and am enjoying this little book.  So much of what the author recommends seems backward to what I was thinking, but once she explains herself it begins to make sense and I am willing to try.  I have already gone through my own clothes closet and am now to attack books again (I acquire new all the time) and papers.  I want to begin to put her principles into my daily living, not just a once a year mad purge.  I know she comes to the table with a very Eastern spiritualistic worldview.  Some readers may feel weird about Kondo’s assigning personalities to things and talking to them, thanking them for their service.  But at the same time, I identify with that because of my struggles with OCD.  So even though I personally don’t believe my Mom’s 34-year old blender that she got as a wedding present and that is now out of commission has a spirit, it is easier to place it in the dumpster after I’ve given it a dignified “thank you for your service” speech.   

 

 

Non-Fiction Books I’m Liking (Spring 2018)

Think outside the box this spring by reading up on God’s creation– both the supernatural and yourself!

The Unseen Realm, by Michael S. Heiser~ I had questions and lots of them.  Of course I knew the answers are in the Bible, but there are many things I didn’t understand.  It was so frustrating!  Then I heard a Bible scholar interviewed on the Moody program, In the Market with Janet Parshall (which you can listen to for a limited time here).  What he had to say was so informative, interesting, and outside the box that I actually tried calling into the program with a question to ask but couldn’t get through because the lines were lit.  Since that didn’t work, I set about to order his book through the library.  I spent countless hours reading, rereading, and copying two composition notebooks full of reference notes.  Even the footnotes were as fascinating as the rest of the book.  I read it so much I was thoroughly wore out with the thing by the time I reached Chapter 42!  And then I went exploring through his website, blog, articles and podcast because he has even more amazing footnotes.  Is this book about spiritual warfare?  That is what I thought it was before I started reading it, but it is not that exactly.  It is more all-encompassing than that.  I would say it is rather more the story of created, spiritual beings and the world’s history from a biblical perspective from the beginning to the end.  Is it about weird, alternative doctrine?  No, you don’t have to worry about that.  Heiser may not always side with traditional teaching, but he always backs his statements up with rock-solid exegesis and his extraordinary knowledge of Hebrew.  I felt in awe of the creativity and majesty of God while reading his explanations of various bible passages.  There is one area where I would disagree with, and that is over the question of whether the Flood was a local or global catastrophe (I side with global).  Although I’m not sure that he specifically intended this, I sometimes felt like God was portrayed as continually bummed out in His plan to be in relationship with people and kept moving to the next best plan until He finally came up with Plan Z (Jesus Christ).  It didn’t feel in keeping with the truth of God’s omniscience.  However, I admire his goal of taking the academic out of the stuffy halls and bringing it to the ordinary Christian.  I will be on the lookout for more books by him, and hope there will be soon! [*Note: If you have a hard time getting your head around intense bible study, you may prefer Heiser’s easier version of this information in another book called Supernatural.]

It’s Just My Nature!, by Carol Tuttle~  Remember the old Color Me Beautiful style system from way back when?  All you had to do was match certain colors up to the season you were diagnosed with and you were told you’d be magically transformed.  I devoured that book in my teens and have ever since been interested in color analysis and other systems and classification for personal fashion style.  I love the idea of being one’s own unique personality!  Of course, there are the new 12 or 16 color seasons now.  But I stumbled across Carol Tuttle’s website and videos and learned of a different way to look at things.  Instead of matching colors, her system is more 3-D in that it takes into consideration a person’s inherent energy.  The end result is an honoring of not just the person’s appearance, but also of the way they process life.  One of my resolutions this year was to explore this new ‘typology’ to better understand myself.  I’ve never gone through Carol’s Dressing Your Truth program as far as purchasing anything or setting up an appointment in person, but I enjoyed reading her book and watching her videos online for free.  I love seeing the transformations that come about after someone has worked with her!  (After going through the process, I believe I am a Type 2.)  It’s amazing how it really does involve more than just outer looks and delves into a study of the way we approach and think about life.  I loved getting better acquainted with myself and it even broadened my understanding of how I viewed myself in the past.  Although I don’t subscribe to all of what Carol teaches, I believe one could comfortably embrace most of her energy profiling program.

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS (stories)!

I hope everyone has themselves a merry little Christmas!  It doesn’t have to big, it doesn’t have to bright, it doesn’t have to be loud.  But I do hope it is merry, and that we ponder it in our hearts.

Chris Fabry did a recent program with past recordings of Christmas stories narrated by Mike Kellogg.  I thought I’d post it here for us to enjoy together.

 

Non-Fiction Books I’m Liking (Winter 2016-17)

Life is full of secrets and adventures…  Read all about them this winter in these two fascinating books!

101 Secrets for Your Twenties, by Paul Angone~ I first heard of this book when I heard the author interviewed on Moody Radio by Melinda Schmidt. I was about to turn 27 and was convinced I was having a quarter life crisis.  And so I came across this interview that I had saved on ‘Programs to Listen to Sometime Before They Expire’ list and decided it was a good time to hit the play button.  I liked Paul Agone (see his website here) and his message.  He could empathize on the struggles of Twenty-somethings, having just graduated to his Thirties and being a Millennial himself.  The topics they discussed resonated withme, and I knew I wanted to read his book.  Problem was, none of the libraries among all of my state’s vast interlibrary loan systems had it.  My solution was to order a copy for my church library.  I knew if I could benefit from it, so could others.  (:) But I got first dibs! Ha ha!)  I wish that I had had this book much earlier, but better late than never.  Angone has a humorous writing style and had me Laughing Out Loud (I refuse to abbreviate) throughout.  But more importantly, there are many spots I want to copy out into my quotebook before I turn this over to the church.  It makes life much more bearable when you know that others are going through similar hurdles as they live out their adulthood.  It gives one hope that these same hurdles have purpose.  The author is a Christian and writes from that worldview, but is not preachy.  I suggest this for anyone anywhere in their twenties, and would make a good gift for highschool/college grads.

The Lost Shipwreck of Paul, by Robert Cornuke~ It’s hard to remember when or where I learned of bible explorer Robert Cornuke. Somehow I just ran into his adventures while surfing the internet many years ago and became intrigued by him.  As a former police investigator (and now president of the BASE Institute), Cornuke has made it his mission to explore mysteries from the Bible, such as… The Lost Ark of the Covenant, the location of the real Mt. Sinai, and Noah’s Ark.  Even though many, many people have tried their best to hunt for the same things and made great claims, Cornuke is no sensationalist.  He treats the people he meets and interviews with respect, often gaining their trust and having access to places many other outsiders are not able to obtain.  He also has some unique theories that appear to come closer to the truth than many others.  I’ve been wanting to read one of his books for a long time, and have finally got my hands on one of the least talked about.  I’m still in the middle of reading it, but it is fascinating.  I love how he tells of his adventure from a storyteller’s point of view,– building suspense and making it a fun read.  I don’t think anyone will be disappointed.  If you want to watch some of his videos, Youtube has several of them, including the Temple of YHWH.  I highly recommend them!  You can visit his website here.

 

Christy Awards & Summer Reading

Hey, there!  Are you looking for something really good to read this summer while on vacation?  Or maybe you’re looking for a book to take you on vacation if you can’t get away for real?  Chris Fabry recently aired a program on Chris Fabry Live where he interviewed various authors awarded the Christy Award for 2016.  He spent two hours talking about their books and the stories behind the stories.  I haven’t listened to it yet, but I can’t wait to scout out for more interesting reads to add to my To Read Notebook!  *Please be aware these programs are playable for a limited time only.

 

More from Dr. Rosalie de Rosset on Poetry

If you want to hear Moody Bible Institute’s Dr. Rosalie de Rosset on the subject of poetry, you can click here for a limited time free download of a past program she did with Lori Neff and Anita Lustrea on Midday Connection.  (Those past programs help to assuage the feelings of loss of that favorite program of mine!)

I used to be a person who disliked poetry.  But in recent years I’ve had more of an interest in it, and listening to de Rosset’s “beginners’ class” helped to school me a bit more in it.  I think I will take up her suggestion of using a book of Christian poetry as a devotional for my quiet time (I’ve been through my hymnal probably 8x by now and need something new!).

Hope you enjoy it!

*This program is only available for free until November 3rd.

 

Missing Midday Connection…

Today I was shocked to learn that my favorite Moody Radio program, Midday Connection, is being cancelled and will air for the last time on Friday, Sept. 18. I certainly am one of the many listeners who I’m sure are grieving right now. It might sound sort of funny to grieve over the loss of a radio show. Midday Connection has been around for 20+ years, and I know that it has been a major player in shaping how I think about life and all things spiritual.

Midday, through their hosts Melinda Schmidt, Anita Lustrea, and Lori Neff, along with their many wonderful guests over the years have taught me so many things. Through listening to their in-depth, intellectual conversations, I’ve learned to look at things from a different angle, get perspective, grow spiritually, learn to love God more, learn to think critically, and form my own theologies in living daily life. I know God has used this show to teach me so many spiritual skills that I don’t know where I’d be without today. I’ve often felt their programs were like a college course or therapy session I could always use.

Through the magic of audio, one has a sense of being in close relationship with another, even though they’d never met. When I sat down at my computer with my headphones and listened to Anita or Melinda, I felt like they were familiar friends.  I’ve also had the honor of Lori Neff commenting on this blog! 🙂

I know the YouPick and WePick book clubs will be greatly missed on booklearned, along with Dr. Rosalie de Rosset’s great talks that always hit the mark. Many’s the time I’ve pumped my fist in the air and cheered to hear someone say something so right with such certainty and passion. (Love her! She needs her own podcast.)

You can listen to the original announcement made by Collin Lambert on the show last Thursday by clicking here.  Rosalie de Rosset was a guest on that program, talking about the book, “East of Eden,” by John Steinbeck, literature in general, plus several other good books she recommended.

 

 

Midday Book Club: “Christy”

Hi there!  Hope you’re all having a wonderful summer!  If you’re looking for a perfect summer read, I’ll suggest one of my top all-time favorites: “Christy,” by Catherine Marshall.  This is one of the few books I’ve re-read and got more out of the second time around.  Many people have been impacted by the semi-biographical story of Christy Huddleston (based on the author’s mother), who travels to the Great Smoky Mountains pre-WWI era to teach school to the poverty-stricken community of Cutter Gap.

This is a rerun episode of the Midday Connection WePick Book Club, but I don’t believe I’ve ever posted it on here, so you can listen for a limited time (up to a year post air-date) by clicking here.  Enjoy!

 

Lookin’ for a Book?

What are you reading?  That was the discussion of the day on Midday Connection’s program of Jul 20.  I listened to it under past programs (which you can do as well by clicking here and listening for free for up to a year after airdate).  Excited readers phoned in to talk about their current books,– fiction or non fiction, good or bad.  If you’re looking for your next summer read, you may just pick up some good titles to jot down on for your next trip to the library!