Posts Tagged ‘Christian’

30
May

Slow Reader Thursday: A Grace Disguised

stone cross

I have a rather large pile of books in my office waiting on me to read them for this blog post each week and I have to admit that I tend to just grab one from the pile when I’m finished with the previous book. For some odd reason (I prefer to think of it as divine.) I have managed to choose two books back-to-back that focus on loss and death. Last week I reviewed Tuesdays with Morrie which discussed the dying process of Morris Schwartz, a man with ALS. This week I turned to A Grace Disguised by Jerry Sittser. While Jerry Sittser did not go through the dying process himself, he probably wished he could after suffering the loss of three family members all on one night.

Jerry Sittser was forced to look after three small children on his own and to figure out what to make of the great loss he faced. While these losses attracted a great deal of attention, Sittser felt alone in his grief and the heavy responsibilities that befell him. However, rather than choosing to ignore or hide from his pain, he chose to dive head first into it and work towards making sense of it. He managed to succeed and to raise those three children successfully. He chose to ask God for help, even when he wasn’t sure He wanted to believe in a God who would take three people from him so haphazardly.

Sittser is quick to say that he blew it a great deal of the time, but his willingness to explore his thoughts, foibles and grief led to the writing of this book and led to him being able to help others who were facing their own versions of horror and grief.

He explains things far better than I ever could–here are a few examples:

1.”Catastrophic loss wreaks destruction like a massive flood. It is unrelenting, unforgiving, and uncontrollable, brutally erosive to body, mind, and spirit.”

2.”It is therefore not true that we become less through loss–unless we allow the loss to make us less, grinding our soul down until there is nothing left but an external self entirely under the control of circumstances. Loss can also make us more. In the darkness we can still find the light. In death we can also find life. It depends on the choices we make.”

3. “Many people form addictions after they experience loss. Loss disrupts and destroys the orderliness and familiarity of their world. They feel such desperation and disorientation in the face of this obliteration of order that they go berserk on binges. They saturate their senses with anything that will satisfy them in the moment because they cannot bear to think about the long-term consequences of loss….So they drink too much alcohol, go on a sexual rampage, eat constantly or spend their money carelessly. In so doing, they hold suffering at a distance.”

Loss and grief are inevitable parts of living on planet Earth. We can either choose to embrace it and delve into its horrible depths and learn from it or be destroyed by it. Sittser makes a convincing, compassionate and human case for doing the former. Every one of us should read this book and embrace, yes embrace, the journey of grief and loss, for reaching the “destination” is well worth the journey.

Point to Ponder Challenge: What losses are going on in your life right now? Are you running from them? Are you diving into their darkness and letting yourself grieve fully? If not, schedule some time today to think about these losses and allow yourself to fully feel the weight of its sadness, unfairness, and waste. What can you learn from this nastiness? Do you need help from someone you trust? Do you need professional assistance? If so, take one step out of the darkness right now and find that person. Make a date with that person to talk over how you’re feeling. You’re worth it!

 

21
Mar

Slow Reader Thursday: i am not but i know I AM

Gospel of John

On My Soapbox: WARNING! If e. e. cummings had had Microsoft Word and grammar check, he would have thought twice about using all lower case letters in his poetry. How do I know this? Just try to type the title of the book I’m reviewing this week without Word wanting to correct all your lowercase i’s! And since I have always enjoyed Mr. cummings’ poetry and his innovative use of lowercase, this especially annoys me. Okay, I’m getting down (off the soapbox) now.

I’m sure today’s author, Louie Giglio, was also annoyed as he desperately tried to type this title and his entire book, littered with the lowercase i. And he was trying to do this for one very good reason: to make the point that we are very, very small people in comparison to a very big God.

If you haven’t figured it out by now, I had difficulty reading this book at first. Your first clue is that I did not do this review one week ago, as scheduled. Have you ever felt that a book didn’t penetrate your soul the way it should have simply because you had finished reading a book that will never leave your soul??? That’s how I felt reading i am not but i know I AM.

Is Mr. Giglio a poor writer by comparison? No. His use of words is truly creative. Is his message to us trite and over-exposed? No. It’s rather fresh. Is it 1600 pages long, making it difficult to finish? No. Even with 3 very readable addenda, it’s a mere 166 pages long.

So, what was the problem? Me. I tried to read this book like I read every other book—in bits and pieces, around other tasks in my daily schedule and while multi-tasking. Now, this usually works for me very well. Not so with this book. This book demands serious reflective time and consuming it in rather large chunks, since the message slowly builds upon itself.

Because Mr. Giglio emphasizes that we should be servants first and think about ourselves last, I also felt that he writes quietly. No big applause or bravado with his writing (although he readily admits to succumbing to that, upon occasion), but simple, timeless truths about who we are not and who God is.

And despite my initial loathing of this book, page 134 reduced me to tears. Giglio states, “When I crumble under the pressure, I have lost the plot, declaring that the outcome of life rests squarely on my shoulders, not His.” Ouch. Yep, that would be me.

And I am taking something more (than this one quote) away from this book—the One-Word Bible Study method, in which Giglio meditates on only one word of a Bible verse each day. The first day he did this, the word to be pondered was “and.” Not exactly an exciting word to begin a Bible study, hunh? And yet, by merely thinking about “and” for one whole day, Giglio was given huge insights about God and his relationship to God. Similar things happened on subsequent days, even when the word was “the.” So, trust me, I am about to launch into some one-word Bible studying myself.

So, to read or not to read? That is the question. Yes, most definitely read it. Don’t let little me get in your way. But, do yourself a favor—read it when you have a serious chunk of time to devote to it, so that it can penetrate your soul the way God intended.

16
Mar

Espresso

SAMSUNG DIGITAL CAMERA

Growing up somewhat close to the University of Notre Dame, I spent a lot of time with Catholics. In fact I dated all Catholics (including one who was training to be a priest) until I finally found the one non-Catholic man in Indiana. Thus, this protestant preacher’s kid went to a lot of masses and Catholic weddings. My equally protestant mother also enjoyed watching the suspense caused whenever a new pope was to be selected during the cardinals’ conclave. I’m afraid I’ve succumbed to her “illness,” too. Since I have only known of 5 popes during my lifetime (including Pope Francis) and I am no “spring chicken”, the reality is that we probably should be paying some attention to each conclave. The election of a new pope does affect a rather large portion of the world’s population. Unfortunately for the Catholic community, I have known just a few too many crazy Catholics and so, I feel no obligation to be completely reverent about pontifical poetry. My apologies to God, Pope Francis, and my Catholic friends. After this, they will probably be my former Catholic friends.

The rare has happened,
A papal resignation
That has led to reason speculation.
Because of too many scandal seasons?
Or because of aging health reasons?
No matter what the trouble,
The Sistene Chapel is still far from rubble
And seems like a majestic setting
To drink Italian espresso
And celebrate ego less so.

To elect a new pope
You have to wear a dress
Which might cause distress
To an ordinary male witness
And the only sign of a decision
Is smoke with questionable color division

This method was first thought
By the Vatican distraught,
Who felt cardinals should elect a new pope
In less time than it takes for a spinster
To regain matrimonial hope.
So, they locked up those gentlemen,
Who had little papal acumen,
And gave them sparse nutrition
And little religious hydration.
And presto!
A quick election
With minimal additional frustration.

So, here is my question,
For our national consternation
Why haven’t we locked up our Congress
To fix our governmental budget mess?
It hasn’t been attempted
Because we know them all too well
They’d rather not jell or budget fight quell,
And most would rather drown
Before getting caught wearing a gown.

07
Mar

Slow Reader Thursday: God’s Little Miracle Book

water into wine

After my mom passed away in 2003, her younger sister, my Aunt Lois, learned of my crazy passion for writing and encouraged me to contact her author friend, Sally Jadlow. I did so and while Sally was very gracious in encouraging me to get busy with my writing, I don’t think I was quite ready to fully commit to the discipline of writing (And yes…I am well aware that my writing seldom resembles anything disciplined.). But, even so, I have followed Sally on Facebook and she has written several books, all of which seem to get published at the precise moment I don’t have time to read. So, I am just now getting around to reading one of her books (I told you I was a very slow reader!): God’s Little Miracle BookBecause I am so slow, Sally has also written a sequel to this book which I hope to “schedule” onto my reading list sometime this year. But, since I have about a dozen books on the list ahead of her sequel, I may be discussing it around the time she publishes # 3!

And for those of us plagued with reading every single word of a book, Sally makes it very easy for us to read God’s Little Miracle BookIn 2 to 3 page vignettes, she tells us, time and time again, how God continues to yield large and small-scale miracles in our everyday lives. What? You didn’t know this? It’s not in your newspaper? I’m not surprised. Our present excuse for a press is seemingly bent on writing about the shocking inactivity of our government these days and while that is important, I do wish that we would give God a little more press from time to time, too.

Thankfully, Sally Jadlow takes care of that for us. With the recent popularity of the History Channel’s The BibleI am hoping that someday, someone will undertake to make a film or show about Sally’s books, if only to give some credit where credit is due–to the Creator of the planet who, for some crazy reason, still seems to want to have a relationship with people who can’t quite seem to get their acts together all the time.

So, when you have to sit in the doctor’s waiting room or you’re waiting in the carpool line at the school or soccer field, or the latest vampire sequel gives you nightmares, take a literary “walk on the wild side” and read Sally’s books. God’s Little Miracle Book reminded me of the importance of a solid faith and praying when life sends you some “storms” that seem overwhelming. And right now, faith and prayer may be the only things that get us through an inactive government, a negatively-bent press, and a recessionary economy.

Tomorrow’s Post: An FB Fave: Things I Can Now Say Because I’m Old…

31
Jan

Wanted: Temple Carpenters

Hard hat

 

Today the Bible fell open to 2 Chronicles 7. Here are a few verses that jumped out at me today: “Solomon completed building The Temple of God and the royal palace…the projects he had set his heart on doing. Everything was done–success! Satisfaction….God appeared to Solomon that very night and said,…”I have chosen this place as a temple for sacrifice, a house of worship….I’ll be there ready for you: I’ll listen from Heaven…From now on, I’m alert day and night to the prayers offered at this place. Believe me, I’ve chosen and sanctified this Temple that you have built: My name is stamped on it forever; my eyes are on it and my heart in it always.” (The Message)

Somewhere I recall reading that after Jesus died for us, our earthly bodies became temples for God, because if we accept this fact, then God lives in us. So now apply that to what I just wrote down above. He has chosen our bodies for sacrifice and worship and when we are seeking God in our bodies, He is with us, ready to listen…He’s alert all the time to our prayers. He has stamped His name on us forever and He is ever watching us and over us and His heart is in us always.

WAY cool. This does not mean that we shouldn’t go to our local churches on Sunday, but it does mean worship and attentiveness to God can happen anywhere because we have “portable temples” (very appropriate for an iPod generation) and that, when we build ourselves according to God’s building code, he is there ready to listen and to be with us even when we feel the most alone.

Gotta go do some temple building…the projects I have my heart set on doing for the wonderful feeling of success and satisfaction…a little exercise…a little sacrifice/service…a little worship of a truly cool living God. Do hard hats and treadmills go together?

Point to Ponder: In what areas of your life is the “temple” only partially built? Physically? Mentally? Emotionally? Spiritually? What activities could you undertake today to further build your temple? Exercise for 30 minutes or more? Eat right? Read a thought-provoking book? Permit yourself to fully feel the effects of a past or current event? Read your Bible? Get ‘er done! 🙂

Tomorrow’s post: Lessons Learned from Two Heart Attacks Too Soon