Non-adoption Adoption Book

We recently checked out Jonathan London's book "Jackrabbit."

A mother jackrabbit is nesting with her babies when construction vehicles crash in.  The mother thumps a warning and dashes away with her babies, but she can't save her littlest one.  A lady comes looking for the baby, finds her and lovingly raises her.  With sadness and hope, the lady releases young jackrabbit back to the wild when it's time.

I often have "trouble" with children's adoption books.  They don't fit our family's unique situation.. they seem too neat and happy.. they don't explain adoption the way I would.. whatever.

But this book - which never mentions adoption - was a perfect conversation starter for us.  Good opportunities to discuss love, a first mom's inability to care for a baby, a second mom's search for her baby, making sacrifices for someone you love....

Good discussions.  Thought I should pass the suggestion along.

A Praying Life

I spent a bit of time today searching my own blog.  I was trying to find the post where I wrote about Paul E. Miller's book, "A Praying Life"... only I don't seem to have written about it.  Ooops.

Tremendous book.

I'll share some:

"The second thing we must do in learning to pray is believe like a child.  Children are supremely confident of their parents' love and power.  Instinctively, they trust.  They believe their parents want to do them good.  If you know your parent loves and protects you, it fills your world with possibility.  You just chatter away with what is on your heart.  It works the same in the world of prayer."

"Imagine asking Jesus how he's doing.  He'd say, 'My Father and I are doing great.  He has given me everything I need today.'  You respond, 'I'm glad your Father is doing well, but let's just focus on you for a miute.  Jesus how are you doing?'  Jesus would look at you strangely, as if you were speaking a foreign language.  The question doesn't make sense.  He simply can't answer the question 'How are you doing?' without including his heavenly Father.  That's why contemplating the terror of the cross at Gethsemane was such an agony for Jesus.  He had never experienced a moment when he wasn't in communion with his Father.  Jesus' anguish is our normal."

"Efficiency, multitasking, and busyness all kill intimacy.  In short, you can't get to know God on the fly."

Those are just the first three quotes I opened to.  The whole book is quotable.  Engaging.  Encouraging.  Exciting.

Tremendous book.

Yesterday, a friend gave me a copy of it.  Since I already have one, she said I could share it.

Would you like to have it?

Encouragement

I've been struggling a bit lately. 

Or - truth - quite a bit. 

It's been a long two years. 

I know that I could have it much, much worse.  My life is fine.  But it feels like I'm in my own serious march across a long desert.

That's often a good time to invest in reading a biography, eh?  I hadn't read anything but my bible in a long while, but last weekend opened Joni Eareckson Tada's biography Joni.

I wanted to share the best parts with you.

To understand, you must know that Joni was injured in a diving accident and went from being a very active young woman to being one who would spend the rest of her life without the use of her hands, arms, and legs.  She may have those limitations, but they certainly haven't curtailed her impact on the world.  Through her sufferings, she shares terrific truths & encouragement.

At one point, Joni's father tells her:
"Look, how many times have you heard somebody - we've done it ourselves many times - pray piously: 'Lord, I'm such a sinner.  I deserve hell and Your worst condemnation.  Thank You for saving me.'  We tell God in one breath that we aren't worthy of His goodness.  Then, if we happen to run into some trouble or suffering, we get bitter and cry out against God: 'Lord, what are You doing to me?!'  Y'see?  I think that if we admit we deserve the worst - hell - and then only get a taste of it by having to suffer, we ought to try somehow and live with it, don't you?"
(His point not being that Joni deserved her suffering but that God was allowing it and we can trust that He knows what He is doing.)

Later, Joni writes: "Fantasies of having physical feeling and touch were no longer necessary because I learned that I was only temporarily deprived of these sensations.  The Bible indiates that our bodies are temporal.  Therefore, my paralysis was temporal.  When my focus shifted to this eternal perspective, all my concerns about being in a wheelchair became trivial."

"Steve helped me end my cycle of peaks and valleys of spiritual progress.  'Set your heart on things above,' he read from Colossians 3, 'and not on the passing things of earth."

"'Irritations come through circumstances and people,' Diana reminded us after one of the sessions.  'That's why it's important not only to endure, but to respond with a godly attitude."

"'Lord,' I prayed, 'what is happening to the excellent gift I read about in Your Word?  What are you doing?'  I recalled passages from the Gospels in which Peter and John questioned Jesus as I was now doing.  'What is that to me?' was the Lord's simple, blunt reply.  Jesus didn't coddle Peter or allow him to indulge in self-pity.  The Lord said, in essence, 'What do you care?  It doesn't matter.  You keep your eyes on me.'  I learned that God's truth is not always kind or comfortable.  Sometimes His love for us involves harshness or stern reproof."

"I really began to see suffering in a new light - not as trials to avoid, but as opportunities to 'grab,' because God gives so much of His love, grace, and goodness to those who do."

"Wisdom is trusting God, not asking 'Why, God?'  Relaxed and in God's will, I know He is in control.  It is not a blind, stubborn, stoic acceptance, but getting to know God and realize He is worthy of my trust.  Although I am fickle and play games, God does not; although I have been up and down, bitter and doubting, He is constant, ever-loving."

Wherever you are today, those are encouraging words, aren't they?

Learning to Read

This is an S.  S says ssssssssssssssss.  Can you say sssssssssssss?  Yes, ssssssssssssssss.  S says sssssssssssssss.  Good job.  Look - this book is called ssssssssssssSam sssssssssssssSat Down.  That has 2 Ses!  ssssssssssssssSam and ssssssssssssssSat.  S.  S.  Sam Sat Down.

Repeat
Repeat
Repeat

G is not getting it yet.

He has a repertoire of about 10 letters that he can name.  He understands that from left to right the letters make words.  And that's about it.

But still I try.

Yesterday I came to a perfect practice opportunity.

What a disaster, eh?  You have to remember how the picture looks, with cars smashed every which way, so you'll understand the following "reading experience."

Can you see the first words on the page?  It says "OH NO!"  We've practiced NO lots of times.  NO is perfect since G does know both the letters N & O, and because O conveniently makes the sound O.  A reader's dream, right?  Or...

"Look at this G.  These two words say (I'm pointing) 'Oh.... ____."

(blank look)

"(pointing to Oh) Oh.... (and pointing to No) this is an N.  It says nnnnnnnnnnn.... ."

'nnnnnnnnn...."

"Yep.  And which letter is this (pointing to the O, a letter that he does know)?  nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn...."

"nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn...."

"It says (pointing to Oh) 'Oh' (pointing to No) 'nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn....'"

"Oh. NnnnnnnnnnnnnnnCRAP."

Ha!

I hope that story works in print because I almost died laughing.  Except, of course, I had to hide it because I didn't want to encourage "crap."

But seriously.  N-O.  Two letters that he knows.  And he sounds out NnnnnnnnnnnnnCrap.  Are you kidding me?!?

This reading thing might take a while.

Good Books for a 5-year-old

With G's facedown requirement, we read hundreds of books.

Hundreds.

I can't tell you what our MOST favorite have been, because those have become Christmas presents for some special nieces (& one small Malachi).  But here are some others you might enjoy.

Read many times.  A favorite. 

This one has me saying "Terrific" all the time.

As the pencil draws, things come to life.

Has the shortest chapters ever.  Made Joseph & I both laugh out loud.

I could leave this one, but G loved it.  One of the babies is not as brave as the others and needs encouragement.

I don't understand the attractiveness of this one, but G wanted to read it again & again.

A fun book to read out loud.. but only if you can do a terrific Texan accent.

Sweet book. 

Boris' mom puts ice cubes in the bath to cool it down for him.

Velvet is different.  The other all-the-same kids come to appreciate her.

The boy designs an amazing car.  Fun rhymes made it enjoyable to read, which was good, because G loved it.

If you check any of these out, let me know what you think.

And if you have any great tips for a good read, please share.

Pray & March

I wanted to share my other favorite part from Steven Furtick's book Sun Stand Still.

The title of the book comes from Joshua, chapter 10.  That's where Joshua's army is battling the Amorites and God tells Joshua not to be afraid because He is giving the victory to Joshua.  Joshua's army attacks at dawn and fights all day.  Unfortunately, the victory isn't cemented by the time the sun starts to go down.  On page 14, Furtick writes:

"Most of us - even really good Christian people - would have called it a day.  I've done all I can do.  I've exhausted every option.  I've given it all I've got.  But Joshua wasn't most people.  He refused to go out like that.  That wasn't the way it was supposed to end.  This was where his audacious faith began. 

Joshua sized up the situation, summoned all his available courage, and delivered one of the most gloriously unorthodox prayers in the entire Bible:

O sun, stand still over Gibeon,
O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon. (verse 12)

Now can you see why I love this story?  Joshua had the audacity to ask God to make the sun stop in the sky.  To freeze time on behalf of his people."

God did it.  He stopped the sun.

Fabulous as that is, I just included it because you need the background to understand my real favorite part, from page 172 & 173.  There, Furtick confesses that he missed an important point on his first reading of Joshua 10.  He goes back and reviews the events for us:

"First, there's God's sweeping promise to Joshua:

Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand.  Not one of them will be able to withstand you. (verse 8)

Two verses later we see God start to fulfill his own promise.  Enemy soldiers flee.  Israel gives chase.  God joins in by hurling down hailstones on the fleeing Amorites.

And a couple of verses after that, Joshua prays his epic, sun-stopping prayer.

But hold up a minute.  Between the promise and the miracle comes an easy-to-overlook piece of information:

After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise. (verse 9)

An all-night march?  Lugging weapons and supplies through enemy territory in the dark?  Twenty miles uphill (scholars tell us) only hours before the biggest battle of the campaign?

Wow.

Suddenly I had a flash of insight about prayer.

If you're going to pray for God to make the sun stand still, you'd better be ready to march all night.

Joshua's big prayer wasn't a cop-out.  He didn't ask God to make the sun stand still while kneeling in the comfort of his tent.  He did it on his feet after an all-night march....

If you're going to have the audacity to ask God for something, you'd better be ready to act.  Audacious prayer must be tethered to practical obedience.  Or else it's not faith.  It's just wishful thinking and positive mental energy.  No wonder so many of our prayers aren't answered.  We pray for a miracle, but we fail to make a move."

Makes you want to pray / go / live, doesn't it?

Ordinary Audacious Prayer

I've been reading Sun Stand Still by Steven Furtick.  Honestly, the book hasn't rocked my world, but there have been definite worthwhile parts.  I've got one to share tonight.

First, I have to explain that he refers to "juggernauts," by which he means "a massive inexorable force, campaign, movement, or object that crushes whatever is in its path."  Ok.  Now you're ready for the excerpt:

"[The great prayers of the Bible are] recorded in Scripture to set an all-time prayer standard for us.  To force us out of our defensive prayer posture.  To inspire us to rise up and begin to pray... like juggernauts.

Juggernauts like Moses, who stood in God's way and prayed that God wouldn't kill the Israelites after they worshiped the golden calf.

Juggernauts like the apostles, who asked for and expected miracles, and who spoke out boldly in the face of persecution so that the name of Jesus could be lifted high.

Juggernauts like Elijah, whose prayer both caused and ended a three-and-a-half-year drought.

You may push back on this, but I suggest that the prayers of these people are not abnormal.  They are not the exception.  At least they were never meant to be.  The tragedy of our time is that we have taken what was meant to be ordinary and made it exceptional.  We've put audacity on the highest shelf, out of reach, and declared it off limits.  James 5:17 makes the eye-opening statement:

Elijah was a man just like us.  He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.

It's too bad that most of us focus on the second part of this verse.  We're stunned by the superior power of Elijah's prayer life.  We'd love to have an ounce of his power flowing in our prayer lives.  But we don't have to wish.  That's the whole point of this passage.  We are just like Elijah....

Think about it.  Elijah had access to an all-powerful God who could stop the rain.  We have access to an all-powerful God who can stop the rain....  The only difference is that Elijah... had the audacity to pray prayers that lived up to God's character, God's heart, God's resources, God's will, and God's abilities."

Thought for Thursday / Books to Read

Last year I decided to try being more purposeful about reading things that would shape me in positive ways.  I read some great books.  I wish I would've shared more about them with y'all.

Lately I've been feeling "enough with the nonfiction already."  I want a story.

A friend gave me a gift card, and I picked up "Same Kind of Different as Me."  I remembered seeing a recommendation for it, and that was enough for me.  I don't like to actually KNOW about a book before I read it.  I was about halfway through this one, when it occurred to me that it might be a true story.  "No way!  You're kidding.  You're KIDDING me!"  I flip to the back of the book:

"A dangerous, homeless drifter who grew up picking cotton in virtual slavery.

An upscale art dealer accustomed to the world of Armani and Chanel.

A gutsy woman with a stubborn dream.

A story so incredible no novelist would dare dream it."

There you have it.  Definitely worth reading.

But this weekend I finished a book that is a MUST READ.

"The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom.  It's been on my radar for years, but I never got around to it.  If only I'd known.  A life-changer, for sure.

Yes, it is about a woman who worked to save Jewish people during WWII.  But - No, it was not depressing.  It was very motivational.  The kind of book that helps you (me) to change the way I think.

Here's one piece:

There were certain types of Jewish people who were more difficult to hide.  One day a mother and her newborn came to Corrie's home.  It doesn't get much harder than hiding a newborn, eh?  It was a huge problem since the houses were so close together and neighbors could hear the baby crying.  Corrie prayed about the situation and a certain pastor came to her mind.  He lived in a more secluded home, well off the street.  Would you believe that he came to their home to visit the very next day!  Such an example of God at work.

Corrie asked the pastor to take the mother & child.  She showed the baby to him.  She described what happened next:

"There was a long silence.  The man bent forward, his hand in spite of himself reaching for the tiny fist curled round the blanket.  For a moment I saw compassion and fear struggle in his face.  Then he straightened, 'No.  Definitely not.  We could lose our lives for that Jewish child!'

Unseen by either of us, Father had appeared in the doorway.  'Give the child to me, Corrie,' he said.

Father held the baby close, his white beard brushing its cheek, looking into the little face with eyes as blue and innocent as the baby's own.  At last he looked up at the pastor.  'You say we could lose our lives for this child.  I would consider that the greatest honor that could come to my family.'

The pastor turned sharply on his heels and walked out of the room."

Don't you feel sorry for that pastor?  God placed him in position to participate in something great, and he missed it!

Doesn't that make you want to live bigger?  Fearlessly following God?  It can't just be me.  I hope you read this book.

So - I wasn't very successful in finding fiction stories, but I hit the jackpot with GREAT stories. 

Enjoy!