365* - May Shape Challenge - Circles

Recently, I've taken lots of photos in our kitchen to document the changes there (more about that in a coming post), but without really even trying I realized I had lots of photos that involved circles - all taken in my kitchen. You'll see round coils for burners in the new stovetop, round knobs, round egg yolks, round biscuits cooking in the oven, and my favorite little detail in my kitchen - a set of cute measuring spoons given to me by my sister-in-law, Angie.

I was going to try to watermark the spoon photos and have chosen the name "Lazy Susan Photography." However, I have yet to find a font that I really like.

From Kitchen

From Kitchen

From Kitchen

From Kitchen

From Kitchen

From Kitchen

From Kitchen

From Kitchen

From Kitchen

365* Pride and Joy

This is my favorite photo from Rebecca's graduation. It represents pride, for sure, but also pure joy! In this case, the joy is not so much for the diploma received but because the preparations and ceremony were over and now it was time to celebrate!

From the Library of A.W. Tozer

Since I first read The Pursuit of God and The Knowledge of the Holy, I have been a fan of A.W. Tozer. His reflections on God were deep enough that I would re-read them for pleasure but not so difficult that I had to re-read them just for understanding. Tozer himself was apparently a voracious reader, and this volume gave me a chance to read excerpts from writers who influenced his spiritual journey.

I loved this book! I used it during my devotional time for several weeks. Some of the writers featured were known to me (Spurgeon, Moody, Calvin, etc.) but many were saints I had never heard of. My favorite selections were from St. Anselm (who was the Archbishop of Canterbury around 1100 AD), and I have been inspired to read more of his work. The writing is a bit archaic (which is totally to be expected) and is definitely deep, not fluffy. But I didn't expect Tozer to be reading The Hardy Boys.

The book is well-organized. The devotional readings are organized around topics such as worship, prayer (my two favorite sections), exhortation and doctrine. Also, there's a very helpful section in the back where there is a brief bio of each featured author.

Praying for Your Future Husband

I know some of you are thinking "Isn't it a bit too late? Haven't you already been married for 21 years?"

Well, for the sake of being argumentative, I'll point out that the guy I'm married to now is hopefully also the guy I'll also be married to in the future, so I can still find some application. But I really had my daughter in mind when I reviewed this book. Rebecca recently turned eighteen, and on her own she decided to start a journal of letters for her "future husband." I thought that this book might give her some inspiration and insight.

Praying for Your Future Husband by Robin Jones Gunn and Tricia Goyer not only inspired me to encourage our daughter to pray for her future husband, it prompted me to join her in those prayers. Robin and Tricia gave numerous examples from their own lives and also from others who have shared their own experiences. Each chapter had a sample prayer to pray for your future spouse and also a prayer to pray for your own preparation. Discussion questions are also included for each chapter. In addition, there is a guide at the end of the book which leads you through a different aspect of prayer for your future spouse for each of the 52 weeks of the year. In addition to being helpful and informative, the humor included in the book makes it fun and easy to read. I will not hesistate to suggest this book to my daughter and other single women I know.

Spring Formal

This post is overdue, but I wanted to capture my memories of this year's formal. It was very special this year because Rebecca was honored as a senior and because it was the first time for Nathan to attend (as his sister's date - how sweet!). This was also the first time that both Terry and I attended the event (in the past he went as Rebecca's escort and I stayed home.  

I must point out that Rebecca designed and made her own dress and that Nathan had gotten very sunburned right before the event.  The theme was the roaring twenties, and our friends the Skieras really stepped up with their dress!

The Final Summit Review

I know it's said that you can't judge a book by its cover, and this proved to be true for me regarding "The Final Summit" by Andy Andrews. In this case, I actually liked the cover design and the reviews on the back which called this a "riveting narrative" and compared the writing to C.S. Lewis. But when it came to reading the actual book, I found it to be extremely disappointing.

In this book, a fairly regular guy, David Ponder, is a time traveler who gets to meet with world leaders from history to help figure out how to save the word. Sounds interesting so far.

But do you find committee meetings riveting? The majority of this book takes place during a meeting - no action, not even disagreement among those attending the meeting - even though they were world leaders known for strong personalities. The quest to find the two words (here's a key that there will be no action) that will help save the world yields such tired phrases such as "restore hope" and "build character." Ironically, the final answer - "Do something" (sorry for the spoiler here)- stands in sharp contrast to the lack of action in the book.

If this book was published by a secular publisher, I would simply feel that this book was a poor read - but since it's published by a Christian publisher, my disappointment is more profound. Nowhere is Jesus or faith in God mentioned as the answer for our world. Also, the summit meeting is supposedly happening in heaven - the Benjamin Franklin character even indicates that many got there at the last minute - having almost gone to the alternate destination. This book is written from a worldview of universalism as it has characters in "heaven" like Cleopatra (a pagan) and Albert Einstein (an atheist) among many others who did not espouse a Christian belief when they were alive.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

365, Week 12 Barn Art

In this part of Tennessee, you see barns everywhere! Many are part of the "Appalachian Quilt Trail" which I'd like to explore more fully every year. Some of the barns below are right around the corner and most are ones I see quite often.
Besides the quilt squares, "See Rock City" is classic Tennessee barn decor.

I'd like to do some better photography of these barns. These shots were mostly captured from my car.

From Sep. 2010

From Sep. 2010

From Sep. 2010

From Sep. 2010

From Sep. 2010

From Sep. 2010

365*, Silly

This Mommytography assignment was easy, as we have plenty of opportunities for silly pictures in this house.

Here is Noah in his wild PJs. I bought them extra-long since he is in the middle of a growth spurt, but he uses the extra length to goof around.



And though this picture is poorly lit and out of focus, it shows another silly thing that Noah has been doing lately. He has been sleeping in the linen closet so that he won't have to share a room with Caleb. Needless to say, we are in need of a little more brotherly love around here.

365, Week 11 Retreat

This week I had a special blessing. I got to get away to the mountains for a personal spiritual retreat.

Here is the little cottage I stayed in:

From Retreat

My room had a "The Lord is my Shepherd" theme and had a real feather bed. The kitchen cottage had this neat window with blue bottles:

From Retreat

I spent most of my days sitting by the fireplace in the big lodge with my Bible and journal. I also consumed quite a bit of chocolate.

From Retreat

From Retreat

The Lord's presence was all over this place. The owners have built it as a special ministry for those who need to get away and rest. I came away very refreshed and with a strong sense of what the Lord is teaching me. One of my prayers for the weekend was this one by St. Anselm (who was the Archbishop of Canterbury over 1000 years ago):

Holy Comforter - do enter by Your mighty power into the innermost sanctuary of my heart, and of your goodness dwell within, making glad with the brightness of your glorious light the neglected corners inside and make fruitful by the visitation of Your abundant dew the fields that are parched and barren with a long continued drought.

Pierce with the arrows of Your love the secret chambers of the inner man. Let the entrance of Your healthful flames set the sluggish heart alight, and the burning fire of Your sacred inspiration enlighten it and consume all that is within me, both of mind and body. Give me drink of Your pleasures as out of a river so that I take no pleasure hereafter in the poisonous sweetness of worldly delights . . .

Graciously grant me that my littleness may be pleasing to Your greatness, my weakness to Your strength, according to the multitudes of Your mercies, through Jesus Christ my Savior, who lives and reigns with the Father in the Unity that is of You, world without end. Amen.

The sun came out the last day I was there and I wandered around and took a few more photos.

From Retreat

From Retreat

From Retreat

From Retreat

From Retreat

From Retreat

Life Without Limits

"Life Without Limits" tells the story of Nick Vujicic - a young man who was born without arms or legs but has gone on to be a motivational speaker (and surfer!). I found his story to be very inspiring but the book itself to be a little repetitive. It read more like a great speech than a great book, and I think if I heard the message delivered in person it would improve tremendously. So at the risk of sounding mean by giving a below average review to a guy with no arms and legs, I'm going to say that I wouldn't recommend the book but I would recommend going to hear Nick Vujicic in person (I have not heard him in person, but I have heard several who have, and they were beyond impressed).

I'm afraid I couldn't help comparing this book to another I recently read called "Breath." It was written by a woman, Martha Mason, who spent over sixty years in an iron lung. The similarities were striking. Both met their difficulties with a great attitude and a profound faith. The difference was that Nick spent time learning to skateboard and surf, and Ms. Mason's passion was reading. The difference in passions and maturity is evident in the writing. "Breath" has a superb literary quality. Of course, her life was a lot longer and she had a lot more material to include in a memoir. And to be fair, Nick's book is not described as a biography or memoir - it's simply a motivational book. Perhaps I'm just more a fan of biography.

At any rate, both of these books gave me lots to appreciate about the little things in life like being able to use my arms and legs and breath without a machine.

Gray Matter by David Levy, MD

I recently finished this fascinating book about a brain surgeon that brought prayer into his practice. I found many things about this book intriguing - first of all, that a guy who was originally a car mechanic changed gears (sorry for the pun) to attend medical school and become one of the best surgeons in his field. I also found his own journey of faith followed an equally unique path.

David Levy was very real and open about his fears when he first felt led to pray with patients. He didn't know how they would respond or what would be the reactions of colleagues. What about if he prayed and there was a bad outcome? These were all very real concerns, but David overcame them with radical obedience.

It was truly inspiring to see both the change that it brought about in him as well as his patients. And it humbled me to pray more in my daily occupation of being a Mom and teacher to my children. If a highly-trained brain surgeon feels the need to continuously ask God for help, should I do any less?

365*, Week 10 Swinging

Today was a beautiful day! Noah was swinging in the backyard with a neighborhood friend, and I went outside to snap some photos.

For some reason, the kids enjoy swinging while standing on a board. I tried lots of angles trying to get a good shot. I think my favorites are the ones taken from up above.

Watching them play brought back memories of when I used to play with Sandy, the little boy next door. It's sad when you get a little older and it's not as simple to play with members of the opposite gender.

From Noah's Haircut 2011

From Noah's Haircut 2011

From Noah's Haircut 2011

From Noah's Haircut 2011

From Noah's Haircut 2011

From Noah's Haircut 2011

From Noah's Haircut 2011

From Noah's Haircut 2011

From Noah's Haircut 2011

365, Week 9 - Noah's Haircut

We had a momentous occasion for photos last weekend when Noah got his first haircut in several months. He really likes to wear his hair long, and we have indulged him for the most part. However, he had some very bad behavior while Dad was out of town - calling his mother a stupid idiot repeatedly was the milder of his offenses - and he knew he had some serious punishment coming when Dad got home.

So among other things, he received a haircut against his wishes. I will say that he took it fairly well - he knew it could have been far worse. Funny thing is, the rebellion seems to have gone away with the hair.

From Noah's Haircut 2011

From Noah's Haircut 2011

From Noah's Haircut 2011

From Noah's Haircut 2011

From Noah's Haircut 2011

From Noah's Haircut 2011

From Noah's Haircut 2011

From Noah's Haircut 2011

From Noah's Haircut 2011