Thoughts from the Bibliophile
I am a bibliophile to my core. Yes, that is, I am a Lover of Books. My husband is a lover of books. And now, amazingly, at 19-months our son is truly a lover of books. Today, and this is not the first time, I went to get him up from his nap, and instead of reaching up his arms to be picked up, he pointed to a book that sat nearby, and made the sign for please. I handed it to him, and he proceeded to spend about 10 minutes, sitting in his crib, rubbing his sleepy eyes, reading a book, making elaborate motions, shouting out gibberish phrases, and clumsily turning the pages with his clammy little hands. He hasn’t fallen far from the tree. While I’ve always loved reading, especially for my spiritual growth, and have devoured CS Lewis, AW Tozer, Andrew Murray, Warren Wiersbe, and John Piper for some time, I have only recently allowed myself to enter the realm of fiction–which is somewhat ironic since I studied fiction writing in college, majored in English Literature, and considered getting a MFA in Fiction Writing. I suppose I equated fiction reading with entertainment, which, like TV, was a waste of time.
BUT, oh how wrong I was! When Dutch was born the very best piece of mothering advice I ever got was from my dear friend Grace, the mother of 4 boys now all under the age of 5 (!), who advised me that good, compelling fiction books would sustain you during otherwise-unbearable middle-of-the-night feedings. So, my mother-in-law (another bibliophile, yes it runs in the family) stocked me up with 20-30 good fiction books, and Jeff gave me a little book light that clips onto the book. I quickly mastered the ability to nurse and turn pages, and I read my way through dozens and dozens of amazing books, all in the middle of the night.
And now I won’t stop. I still love my non-fiction, don’t get me wrong, and usually like to mix it up between novels and some Tozer and Piper to keep me on my toes. But I must say, well-written, tasteful, subtly inspiring fiction is hard to beat. So, I thought I’d give a little list of some of my favorites. I have a really long list on Facebook, but this will do. This is all in preparation for our LiveDifferent Challenge this week…stay tuned. Here are just a few fiction recommendations in case you feel like exploring…
Best Series:
1. The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency (Alexander McCall Smith): 8 in all. You’ll fall in love with Mma Ramotswe and her devoted husband Mr. J.L.B Matakoni.
2. The Rumpole series (John Mortimer): I sadly finished all of these during Dutch’s early months. I wish they went on forever! Rumple is an overweight aging junior British barrister with a wife he calls She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed. Must read!
3. The Hawk and the Dove Trilogy: Convicting to the core. Read on your knees.
4. Thorn in My Heart, Fair is the Rose, and Whence Came a Prince (Liz Curtis Higgs). Great trilogy set in Scotland, a retold version of the Jacob, Rachel, and Leiah story. Keep kleenex handy.
Best Author: (Meaning anything she writes is worth reading)
1. Rosamunde Pilcher (must drink tea while reading her. The Shell Seekers is her most famous novel)
Other Goodies:
1. Year of Wonders: Incredible story of the plague in 1666. Convicting, inspiring. Has a weird ending, but forget that part.
2. Ella Minnow Pea. Ingenious! Must read!!
So there are a few fun ideas to get you started if you’re at all interested in dabbling in the fiction realm. Some are light, some are heavy…I think we need a little of both in life. Happy reading!
Lie of Entitlement vs. the Truth of the Loving Father
I will never cease to be amazed at how God speaks to us. When I hear of Christians who don’t really like to go to church, or who don’t make regular church attendance part of their life, I feel sad because even though every church is imperfect, there is something supernatural that happens when God’s word is preached. No need this time to even comment on my recent state of mind–you all know: “woe is me.” That pretty much sums it up. So what is today’s message in church? Numbers 11, the children of Israel grumbling against God. The thrust of the message was how we are poisoned in America by the lie of entitlement. TV commercials are full of it–you deserve this car, this job, this promotion. It’s America–it’s your right to be happy and wealthy. What’s that ridiculous commercial? “I want it all, I want it all, and I want it now.” That’s the theme song of our nation. So as we studied the nation of Israel, and their complaints against God, it was like sitting in my lawn chair (church was outside) with great big mirror sitting on my lap, because all I saw…was me.
God had delivered them from Egypt, parted the Red Sea, provided supernatural frosted flakes in the desert, and now they complained because manna wasn’t enough, they wanted meat. Now, I have to add here but let’s be honest, we’d be complaining too. We often wag our finger at the Israelites as if it were unthinkable that they be complaining, but let’s put ourselves in their shoes. Yes, God had done amazing things, but it was also a pretty bleak existance. Stuck in the wilderness for who knows how long, eating the exact same thing for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, seven days a week. No end. Imagine only having rice in your house, ever. Hmmm…rice served in a breakfast bowl, then later rice served in a lunch plate, then later rice laid out on a big platter as if it were a salmon or a roast. I’d get sick of it too, ok. But my pastor made a good point, the problem wasn’t that they longed for meat, the problem was that instead of just humbly asking God for something, they complained to each other and to Moses instead. His point was that we err and sin when we fail to turn to God, making our humble requests known to Him, and we instead just complain about things to each other. Can I get an “Ouch” anyone? Yeah, ouch. I’m convicted.
So now I’m sitting here, in tears, again, but this time not because I’m feeling sorry for myself. I’m just realizing how I’ve erred, and I’m asking God to forgive me. I have grumbled, I have complained, I have complained to you, I’ve sulked and whined and taken it out on those I love. I’ve bought the lie of entitlement, rather than simply believing in the goodness and absolute generosity of my loving, gracious, Heavenly Father, who loves to give good gifts. My pastor today ventured to guess that if the children of Israel had simply said, “God, thank You for your deliverance, for all you have done, for this manna you’ve provided. We don’t demand, but we humbly ask that if you see fit, would you provide us with some meat, just a little, to satisfy us here in the desert?” that God would perhaps have simply granted their request, as a loving Father does. So I sit here in godly sorrow, which is good, I don’t despise it, because it leads to repentance, and as best as I can, I resolve to just ask my Heavenly Father for the things I have need of, without complaining to others or demanding my way. I’m so thankful for His loving rebuke, so gentle, so tender, yet so clear. And I simply lift up my requests to my loving Father, who loves me more than I will ever know. And I’ll wait on Him, because I know He has only good things in store for my life. That’s the truth of the Loving Father.
A Series of Fortunate Events
Last night I had another emotional-break down (they are pretty much becoming the norm around here…hmmm…). I was so depressed as we looked through the Multnomah placement booklet and saw NO local pastoral jobs available except for ones that wanted 5-8 years of previous pastoral experience (even for associate pastors!). This coupled with just the rain (it’s August!), spending way too much time stuck at home with no car, feeling too nauseaus to cook but having to anyway, and then being frustrated that my body betrayed me by being overcome with an insane craving (pregnancy cravings are truly like monsters taking over your body) for Costco lattice-topped apple pie. Of course we cannot make the hour-long drive to Costco (which was closed at this time anyway) for an apple pie. Then someone stopped by to visit and it’s getting to the point where I hate seeing people I haven’t seen in a long time because they always want to know “So, what are you guys up to now?” and I have to say again, “Nothing. We can’t find a job. Nothing.” And here’s the real part (I know, I am a very ugly person on the inside), it was one of those people whose life looks perfect–perfect kids, nice car, mansion of a house, good job, etc. etc. Hugely shallow weakness on my part, I know, but it just made me feel like that much more of a loser.
Anyway, after putting Dutch to bed, Jeff suggested we watch a movie on TV. We found one one I’d never seen: Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events with Jim Carrey. Really bizarre, but strangely captured our attention right away, and I found myself frustrated by commercials because I was really intrigued. At the end, of course, these three brave orphaned children have survived the villianous Count Olaf attempting to kill them time and time again, and each time they were in a seeminly impossible circumstance and death was imminent, fearless Violet would tie her hair up in a bow and say, “there’s always something.” There’s always something that can be done, no matter how desperate the circumstance. There’s always something. And as the movie ended, the children saw how really fortunate they truly were, to have each other, even in the midst of a series of unfortunate events. I knew, silly as it sounds, the message was for me.
This morning we overslept, and all three raced out the door, carrying bowls of cereal, Dutch still in his pajamas, me without a shower or combed hair, because I was supposed to meet a friend for coffee in the big town, and Jeff thought he and Dutch would come along and find a park or something. After driving thirty minutes, just before we got to the coffee shop, I got a text for her saying she couldn’t make it. Surprisingly, we looked at each other, and realized that we now had an excuse to be in town, together, with our son, on a special date just the three of us, a family. We got some Starbucks, then went to the park, a fabulous preschool park at a local Christian school, where Dutch played to his heart’s content, climbing, sliding, swinging, driving boats, playing house.
Then Jeff thought Dutch had a poopy diaper (and we hadn’t brought any fresh ones), and since we were almost out at home, we figured we might as well go to Costco and get the diapers, wipes, the whole deal. When we walked in we realized that Jeff had been desperately needing new glasses, but we kept saying we couldn’t do it until we got a job. Well, something clicked inside and we realized this was the perfect time. We went to the optomotrist–no appointments open today. But wait, the girl said, they just had a cancellation–could Jeff come in right now? Um, yes! Jeff got a new prescription, fabulous new glasses for a great price, and Dutch and I had the fun of perusing through Costco, in no hurry, eating tons of free samples and looking at kids’ books. Then I remembered…apple pie! I had totally forgotten! I happily and with no guilt, marched over and there they were…lattice-topped apple pies (let it be known I have never bought a store-bought pie in my life…this is not an every day occurance). I smiled to myself realizing that God had this wonderful morning all planned out for us, and we didn’t even know it.
On the drive home I thought about our morning: The preschool park we’d known nothing about, the cancelled coffee date, the glasses, the apple pie, and sweet hours of treasured time together as a family–really, a kiss from God in the midst of what has been feeling like a series of unfortunate events. I’m sorry if this post bored you to tears–perhaps it’s a bit pathetic that a morning in town, buying apple pie, is the most exciting thing that has happened to me all week, but I see it as a precious morning of divinely-orchestrated Fortunate Events. Thank you, Father.
LiveDifferent Challenge (19): Buy it local, Pick it fresh!
Dutch is pooping blue. Really. Sorry, that’s gross, I know, but I want you to understand the enormous quantity of blueberries that this boy is consuming. He eats them by the pound. I’ll make no comment about my digestive system, but I’ve been eating quite a few myself, as they are the only healthy thing that doesn’t make my stomach turn right now.
So last week I finally succumbed and paid the ridiculous price for 2 pounds of blueberries-and that was at Winco! I almost bought some raspberries at Thriftway, as they’re my favorite, but dropped the teeny ½ carton as if it’d burned my hand when I saw the sign saying $4/carton. It was only about a handful of berries!
So, after a few days bemoaning the rising food costs, I was seated amongst some girls at a playdate, and asked, “Does anybody know where I can pick blueberries?!” Becky, who hosted the date, got a funny look on her face and just pointed toward the road. At that moment I realized how silly my question was because I knew that they had bush after bush of fresh blueberries-they’d given us some last year. I had totally forgotten that though, so here I was looking as if I’d planted a question in order to get free blueberries again. Anyway, I explained that my brain failed me quite often these days, but they insisted that we come back out and pick berries, for free. The next morning Jeff and Dutch and I came back and picked two huge mixing bowls brim full of berries (actually I only picked one, Becky came and helped me and picked the other one herself). What generosity!
Then, another dear friend overheard me talking about blueberries, and she picked me a big carton full of them herself. She also cut out the section in the local paper that lists all the places to pick local berries, at super amazing deals. Then the first family, five days later, picked us another huge plastic bag full of them! Three cheers for generous blueberry-plant-owners!
So, between our garden (which is limping along in its own pretty pathetic way) and berry farms and generous friends, we are enjoying the produce of the land rather abundantly this year. I planted five pots of basil and have made batch after batch of heavenly homemade pesto with pine nuts and parmesan. This mixed with rotini pasta with more freshly shredded parmesan, whole pine nuts, and dried cranberries is absolutely spectacular.
So, we all know that to buy local and pick fresh is the earth-friendly way to do things. It can also be cost-effective, if you pick things yourself and plan ahead, canning or freezing extra so you can enjoy all winter long. Eating local produce can also be much healthier, as there is less travel time for food to lose valuable nutrients, and often food is organic without the expensive green sticker. Supporting local farmers is also a worthwhile cause, and the joy of sharing produce–giving and receiving–brings people together. Berry pick with a friend, get together to can or freeze fruit, make freezer jam (I’m scared of canning but freezing and freezer jam is super easy), or bake yummy berry breads and muffins and freeze them for quick treats reheated in the microwave.
Summer is the perfect time to skip the supermarket. Buy it local, pick it fresh!