As you will read, I have been on quite a fantasy genre kick lately!
The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer- recommended by a friend, super fun! Fantasy futuristic series based on traditional fairy tales, but also has aspects that put me in mind of Star Wars. Funny dialogue, exciting plot, 2nd book was my least favorite, third book my favorite.
The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig- another recommendation, my friends have good taste! Another fantasy novel about a daughter of a time traveler, their ship travels through time and space, to anywhere the navigator believes exists. Great book for real life travelers as it carries the theme of a feeling of rootlessness and contentment in that.
Ally by Michael B. Oren- This was read in effort to educate myself a little bit on Israel before visiting there next month! It is the autobiography of the Israeli Ambassador to America under the Obama administration. I learned so much and was able to hang in there because I became interested in the narrative.
12 Rules for Life, An Antidote to Chaos by Jordan Peterson- If you don't know who Jordan Peterson is, get on youtube and watch one of his lectures or interviews! I am a total fangirl now. He is a Canadian professor/author/psychologist who knows a lot about history, mythology, psychology and how these things play out in our everyday lives and help shape our futures.
The Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner- I love the writing in this series! I am not yet finished but want to reread the first book already. I like it when I can't predict the ending in a story, definitely the case in these books! Young adult fantasy in the form of an epic, but with lots of wit to keep it from taking itself too seriously.
The Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden- ok, she is still writing the third book, so guess I can't speak for the entire trilogy, but so far, so good! Fantasy based on Russian fairy tales and lore. A touch darker than my usual fare, but hey.....it's based on Russian stuff, so what did I expect? Also I am kind of a wimp, so it really isn't even all that dark.
Big shout-out to the Tulsa Public Library, with their digital collection, the people at Amazon kindle division must be wondering what became of one of their most faithful customers! Yay for libraries!
Monday, April 9, 2018
Thursday, January 25, 2018
Lines
As I sit in the
early morning quiet
Drinking my tea
and pondering life
My face in the
window across from me catches my eye.
The windows in
this house serve as mirrors.
This mirror is
too good.
I see the
beginnings of lines on my face.
How is that
possible?
I have heard
their presence just means you have spent a lot of time laughing
Hmm.
We’ll go with
that.
But since I am in
a thoughtful mood as the sky turns pink and the birds start chirping,
I consider some
other lines in my life.
I think of the
lines across the sky I have made
Leaving loved
ones and comng back to them, repeat cycle.
So many emotions
in those lines.
I think of the
lines I have crossed.
Some lines are
not meant to be crossed, others are made to be crossed,
It seems part of
wisdom is discerning the two.
Lastly I think of
the lines I myself have drawn in the figurative sand.
“This far and no
further.”
Famous words,
good words, so I use them.
The sun is
peaking over the roof of the house across the yard, my contemplative state is
fast departing
In its place I
begin to think about breakfast.
Saturday, August 5, 2017
Books and youtube channel faves
I haven’t done one of these in a long time! It is a little
different this time, instead of only books, I threw in a couple YouTube
channels I watch in here just to change it up. I know I am always appreciative
of good tips for new things to read or watch or listen to- so here are some of
mine!
The Kennedy Stern
series by Alana Terry- Alana Terry is a new favorite author of mine! This
protagonist is a missionary kid returning to the states for university, she
gets tangled up in mysteries and dilemmas as she settles into life in the
states. She also grapples with lots of questions about American culture that we
as believers should be thinking about. Terry does a great job of expressing
different sides of each issue but not giving a specific answer to the question.
The books were hard for me to put down, they are page-turners!
The Great Divorce by
C.S. Lewis- Brittany recommended this one to me, I am glad she did! C.S.
Lewis really was a genius. He made me think about my faith and my doubts and
how I present the Gospel to those in my life, all with a fairly short,
engaging, beautiful story.
The Bible Project YouTube
channel- These guys create videos giving teaching on God’s Word in an
approachable and engaging way. They have videos on every book of the Bible, as
well as videos on the different literacy styles, different themes in the Bible,
and more. The videos are generally 5-15 minutes long. https://www.youtube.com/user/jointhebibleproject
Dear Mr. Darcy by
Katherine Reay- This is not in fact a regency love story. If you have read
Daddy Long- Legs, it is a modern-day telling of that story. But it has deep
elements exploring the main character’s growth, processing through trauma and
letting healing into her life. Also, Katherine Reay is one of these authors who
name-drops other good books throughout her book, and I always love that. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B010R8UXKQ/ref=kinw_myk_ro_title
Lutheran Satire YouTube
channel- Best known for their St. Patrick’s bad analogy video (if you just
watch one, I recommend that one), this channel is always good for a laugh, if
you like satire about church history/theological issues in rather poorly made
videos, which just adds to the charm for me I guess. https://www.youtube.com/user/TheLutheranSatire
The Great Big
Pressure Cooker Book: 500 Easy Recipes for Every Machine, Both Stovetop and
Electric by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough- Between this book and
Pinterest, I have been trying a lot of things in my pressure cooker and I just
love it! I guess in America we don’t think about how much gas or electricity we
use to cook, but here the pressure cooker helps my gas bottle last much longer
with way shorter cook times. I also love the whole just one pot to wash aspect,
and it is apparently a healthier method of cooking vegetables too.
Cries of the Heart by
Ravi Zacharias- Ravi Zacharias breaks down the book into chapters themed on
the basic emotional needs we humans have or our heart cries, and how God answers
those cries. I could probably read this one every couple of years and be
blessed from it each time.
Chop, Chop- The
Series of a Lifetime by L.N. Cronk- I get the same feeling about this
series as I do about Les Miserables-
like my heart just felt like a wrung out washcloth by the end. That’s good,
that means I felt a lot while I was reading. I laughed, I cried- I really did.
The series chronicles a group of friends through their lives as students, then
parents and foster parents- so much real life inside this story. The writing is
witty while dealing with some heavy issues.
Friday, September 2, 2016
More books!
The Mary Russell
series by Laurie R. King- this is super fun series beginning around the
start of the first Word War, Mary Russell meets Sherlock Holmes and thus begins
their partnership of crime solving through genius. I read all the Sherlock
Holmes stories, and King’s stories have all the things I enjoyed about those
stories- plus female characters and a little romance- two things I missed in
Doyle’s books.
Future Grace by
John Piper- I could probably read this again and enjoy it just as much the
second time. So much good stuff in there! There are 31 chapters so you can read
a chapter a day for a month, which is what I did. It was really a timely read
for me as the last chapters deal some with death, and I have had some death in
my life lately.
The Back of the North
Wind by George MacDonald- This is one of those children’s stories full of
divine wisdom MacDonald wrote. It is about a little boy who is visited by the
North Wind, and what happens as a result of these visits. I loved the
imagination MacDonald had in writing this; for example- in a dream we find out
that lightening bolts are actually bees that escape from the moon! How fun is
that? At the end, we find out what The North Wind actually is- maybe more
astute readers caught it before, but I wasn’t sure ‘til the last chapter.
The Spark in the
Machine by Dr. Daniel Keown– this book was recommended to me by a friend, I
would not have picked it up otherwise. It discusses the commonalities between
Chinese traditional medicine and thought/acupuncture and the Western
understanding of Anatomy &Physiology. It was fascinating! I will say I felt
it got more technical towards the middle and end of the book, maybe more
directed toward doctors than the average reader. But, I still found it
interesting, and it refreshed a lot of my A&P from high school and
university.
The Cost of
Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer- Confession: I didn’t actually read
this one- I listened to the audiobook as I cook or do dishes. I have been
meaning to read Bonhoeffer’s books since I read his biography a few years ago. This
work discusses Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, I found it convicting and
challenging to my spiritual discipline and my level of love for others.
Adopted for Life
by Russell D. Moore- this is audio version as well, and I am pretty sure the
reader has a southern accent- just like Russell Moore? This book is about our
adoption in Christ, and also how physical adoption of children is a beautiful
way to honor/imitate God’s taking us and making us his own. I haven’t actually
finished yet, but if I hadn’t already been considering adopting, I would be
now.
Chop Chop by L. N.
Cronk- I didn’t know what to expect when
I started this series. A favorite author had posted it as good and free on
Amazon one day, so I got it. This series chronicles the lives of one man and
the people around him- it is funny and sad and joyful- kind of like real life.
I would recommend this series to any believer who has dealt with loss and
heartache (pretty sure that is all of us).
Thursday, September 1, 2016
Deliverance story
This happened nearly a year ago now, I think I always meant to post it but never got around to it. I wrote the account soon after it happened though. This is when I was living with my teammate "Sue" in the capital. ( I don't know if it matters that I change her name, so I will do it just in case.)This happened while we were doing lessons in our friend Bobo's
Sue found out from Bobo, the leader of the house, that
his daughter had been having attacks caused by demons, as they were talking
about it, another girl in the yard said she had had problems with them too. Sue called one of our colleagues who is well connected with the local
pastors to ask if she knew of a pastor in this part of the city. Our colleague
called a pastor who agreed to come that afternoon.
When he came we found out that he spoke the same language of
Bobo and his family which was such a blessing, not everyone’s French was really
up to par for spiritual matters. The pastor began by asking both the girls
about their relationships with the demons, what they did, when they came, how
long they had been with them- one girl was eager to have the demons leave, we
will call her Rachel the other was non-committal and not really participating,
we’ll call her Mary. He found out that both girls had two demons there, and
they had been there for a lot longer than we realized. He then asked if they were ok with being
prayed for in Jesus’ name by Christians to have the demons leave; at this point
Mary appeared to be asleep, but the pastor said the demon had come. He started by singing a simple praise song to
Jesus, Mary quickly left the room.
By now most of the adults and people in the yard had come in
to watch. Pastor and Sue and I put our hands on her and he started
praying in French and we prayed in English, mostly “in the name of Jesus leave”
or variations of that, she started kicking and convulsing and yelling, pretty
much like what we see in those Darren Wilson films, and the guys came and held
her down. One of the guys in the yard who is a Catholic came up and started
praying with us too. We stopped and she
said one was gone and one was still there, so we prayed some more, and checked
again, she was hesitant to speak, but Pastor really wanted her to say
the demons were gone and to show him where they had gone, what direction.
Then
we prayed for Mary, it took longer, same basic process, I don’t know if she
told him or he just knew, but he said that demon was more entrenched or it was
stronger, and a snake spirit, it reminded me of one of the documentaries where
that happened. Anyway Mary was less
happy after it was done and kind of sulky…we didn’t really understand all of
it, how much is cultural or her personality or what.
Then Pastor prayed for the whole family and gave his number
to Bobo and the girls. He was really good with it all. I think Rachel said she
wanted to accept Jesus, I don’t know how much she understood but she wanted the
demons gone and they have each others’
contact information. Andy, the Catholic was visibly touched by the
whole thing too and talked to Pastor afterward. So we can be praying for that
whole family and future protection for those girls as well.
Pastor said
to us “thank you for trusting me” which was super humbling because we were like
“thank you for coming and doing this!”
Really, it was a good learning experience for Sue and I, and I pray
that those girls are done being in bondage now. I also pray this helps lead
that family to Christ.
Saturday, January 30, 2016
On the Fire
I had my house painted this week. It is a sunny yellow with
white ceilings, it makes me happy every time I see it. The downside of the
paint job is that here it seems that the painter doesn’t have the responsibility
of cleaning up after the job. Also, they don’t use tape, or cover the floors,
so there is paint all over the floors. My nieghbor girl who is my
friend/cultural bridge/occasional house helper was helping me scrub paint off
the floor and mop as we jammed to my running mix. Brittany and Tyler had gone
into town to do a language lesson for Tyler.
Suddenly I heard it- crackling-really close. Since my
bedroom window is in my niegbor’s yard, and they start their fire every morning
near my open window, I am familiar with the sound of fire. But this was so much
louder! I looked out my window and there was a large wildfire maybe a football
field away from the house. There were already some people gathered- I asked if
it was controlled and if we should get water- they said wait and see. Then suddenly
everyone was running and shouting “get water, get water!” Then from all the
different yards in the village people came with buckets of water on their
heads.
Firefighting here is interesting.
I had witnessed it once before, they burn their lands in the dry season to
clear them- this is what caused this one- the wind was strong and blew it into
trees and into the land outside the field. The main tool used is green palm
branches, they use these to beat the fire down. Obviously water is used too,
but the branches are a big part of the process. I emptied our barrel of water
into buckets and handed them to passing kids on their way to help. The boys and
men do the branch beating, then towards the end most people were there just
standing and watching as the fire moved on away from us. The old women of the
village were actually the ones who made good and sure all the fire was finished
in the fields near us.
Had the wind been blowing towards our house, there would
have been little chance of the house not being burnt, but the wind took the
fire into the empty land to the left. God is good. Several people asked if I
had taken pictures, but I can’t find my camera battery right now! I really wish
I had it, because a palm tree behind our house caught on fire, and once I knew
no houses or people were in danger, I marveled at the site. It was like our own
burning bush- the center was burning but the branches and trunk didn’t, and it
stayed burning like that- fireball in the middle of the palm tree, for a while.
Thank God with me for protection and provision; for good
neighbors and for happy yellow hallways.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)