Books of the Apocrypha: Esther

Esther is likely one of the best-known stories of the Bible, thanks in part to several novels and movies.  Like Judith, Esther tells the story of how one woman cooperated with God to save the Jewish people during a time of dire need.  In the Apocrypha, we find an expanded version of the book of Esther.

If you aren't familiar with the story, here's the very brief version: King Artaxerxes throws a huge party and invites Queen Vashti to show off her beauty.  She refuses, he gets mad and deposes her and starts looking for a new queen.  Esther, the beautiful young cousin of Mordecai, wins Artaxerxes' beauty contest, but keeps her Jewish identity secret.  Mordecai's refusal to bow down to Haman, the king's right-hand man, causes Haman to plot to kill him—and the entire Jewish people.  The king likes Haman's plan and signs an order to exterminate all the Jews in Persia.  Mordecai begs Esther to approach her new husband.  Despite fearing for her life, Esther does so, winning the king's favour again and saving the Jews.

Because the Common English Bible includes the Apocrypha as a section by itself between the Old and New Testaments, it has two versions of Esther.  I thus found it interesting to flip back and forth between the versions, comparing various passages.  For example, Hebrew Esther says: "Mordecai had been a father to Hadassah (that is, Esther), though she was really his cousin, because she had neither father nor mother. The girl had a beautiful figure and was lovely to look at. When her parents died, Mordecai had taken her to be his daughter" (2:7).  The Greek Esther says: "Mordecai had a foster child named Esther, a daughter of his uncle Aminadab. When her parents died, Mordecai had taken her and raised her to become his wife. The girl was lovely to look at" (2:7).

The biggest differences between the two books are the "Additions."  Greek Esther starts with a strange dream Mordecai has before he overhears a plan by two eunuchs to kill the king, and adds the fact that Haman is mad at Mordecai because those eunuchs are killed for treason.  Other additions include two decrees from Artaxerxes, a prayer by Mordecai and Esther, more details about Esther's appearance before Artaxerxes, and Mordecai's interpretation of his dream.

The New Jerusalem Bible explains that the "Greek additions are more religious in tone . . . but they only state explicitly what the Hebrew author left to his reader's intelligence."  For example, we might notice similarities between Esther's story and Joseph's in Genesis (both were common people raised to positions of power to help their people in time of need).   The New Jerusalem Bible points out, "In the Genesis story of Joseph, God makes no outward manifestation of his power, yet directs events.  In the Hebrew book of Esther, similarly, though God's name is not mentioned, his providence governs every factor in the drama.  The actors know it, and trust implicitly in God to work out his saving plan even if his chosen human instruments falter."

For more information on The Common English Bible, check out this interview with the associate publisher.  You can also watch the CEB videos.

Book Review: The Gospel Story Bible by Marty Machowski

The Gospel Story Bible, written by Marty Machowski and illustrated by A. E. Macha, is a beautiful, hardcover book with thick, glossy pages intended to help children discover Jesus in the Old and New Testaments.  Funky, colourful pictures accompany each of the 156 stories and "Let's Talk About It!" questions help parents dig deeper into the story with their children.

Machowski says, "“The gospel is deep enough to keep the oldest and wisest parents learning and growing all their lives, yet simple enough to change the heart of the first grader who has just begun to read.  That’s what makes The Gospel Story Bible ideal as a storybook for a preschooler, a devotional for a grade school student, a refresher for the adult believer or an introduction for the new one. Parents and children will learn together to read the whole Bible as one story, with one hero—Jesus Christ.”

The author includes a page of suggestions for using The Gospel Story Bible with your children, either as a storybook for preschoolers or a devotional for young grade school children.  I found that while my daughters enjoyed the pictures, they soon lost interest when I began reading.  The Bible is based on the ESV translation and I had to do a lot of paraphrasing to help them understand the stories.

For example, Marty explains how the rainbow appeared after the flood: "Then God made a special promise to Noah, his sons, and all who would come after them.  God called the promise a covenant.  God said he would never again send a flood to destroy the earth.  God put a rainbow in the sky as a sign of his promise."  At the end of this story, Marty adds, "Did you know that when God saved Noah in the ark, it was part of his plan to save us?  That is true because one day Jesus, our Savior, would be born as a far-off grandchild in Noah's family.  There was only one way to be saved from the waters of the flood: you had to go through the door of the ark.  And there is only one way to be saved from our sin.  Jesus said, 'I am the way' (John 14:6).  The next time you see a rainbow in the sky, don't just remember the way God saved Noah.  Remember Jesus and the way his death brought salvation to us."

I like the way each story points out God's plan of salvation.  There is always a connection between the Old Testament and the New Testament, as well as important lessons to be learned from the stories, and Marty brings these alive.  In a few years, The Gospel Story Bible will be a great resource for bedtime stories or Bible lessons with Sunshine and Lily. 

Do you read Bible stories with your children?  What has helped you teach your faith values to your children?

This book was provided for review by the B&B Media Group.

10 Commandments for a Happy Marriage

These "10 Commandments" were among the resources we received at our Marriage Encounter weekend a couple years ago.  I stuck it to my bulletin board as a reminder to myself, along with the prayer below.  Like the 10 Commandments God gave Moses, these commandments are impossible to live up to on our own; thankfully, we can count on God's grace (and our spouse's, hopefully) to forgive us  and encourage us as we keep striving for a better marriage.

1.  You shall not take your spouse for granted.
2.  You shall not expect perfection of each other.
3.  You shall be patient, loving, understanding, kind and true.
4.  You shall tend the garden of love daily.
5.  You shall take great care that your spouse's trust is never violated or diminished in any way.
6.  You shall not forget your wedding vows, remembering especially those important words "for better or worse."
7.  You shall not hide true feelings.  Mutual love provides a bright sunlit room where things of the heart can be discussed freely and without fear.
8.  You shall always respect each other as individuals.  Degrading words and a sharp tongue cause grave distortions.  Endearing terms enable, lift up and create peace.
9.  You will give your marriage room to grow.  Both of you should be willing to face the future together with confidence and trust.  Today is a better day for you than yesterday and tomorrow will find you closer still.
10.  You shall, through all your days, reverence God your creator, never forgetting that it is he who has made you.

Prayer for Wives

Lord, inspire us who bear the title wife.  Help me to look to you, to myself, to my husband, to rediscover the fullness and joy I once felt in my union.  Let me be honest enough to ask, "Where have we been together and where are we going?"  Let me be brave enough to ask, "How have I failed?" Let me be foolhardy enough to say, "For us, we come first."  Help us together to re-examine our commitment in the light of your love, willingly, openly, and compassionately.  Help my husband and I to believe how fragile, yet how powerful, how weak yet how strong, how impossible, yet attainable our love can be.  Give husbands and wives the courage to be for each other a person rather than a title.  Amen.

For more great marriage advice and tips, drop by Sheila's blog:

A Soother Sequel

I stared at my computer screen, then at the story laying beside my keyboard, and tried to think of what else I should tell the author to help her revise her story.  Just outside the den door, the girls played with their stuffies and strollers.  As I put my hands back to my keyboard, a wail arose from Lily.  I drew in a deep breath when Sunshine responded with a wail of her own.  I glanced at the clock.  4 pm.

Instead of trying to sort out who'd done what, I asked, "Do you girls want to go for a walk?"

The wailing stopped.  Then enthusiastic shouts erupted and they made a beeline for the door.  We all needed to get out of the house.  I was going cross-eyed from staring at the computer and they were getting bored with each other's company.  Lily had been resisting all attempts to be put down for a nap lately, but perhaps she'd fall asleep on a walk.

I saved my file, turned off the computer, and followed them down the hallway.  In a few minutes, we'd found socks, donned coats, and stepped outside.  I lifted Lily into the Ergo and put Sunshine in the stroller and we set off down the path.  Within five minutes of walking and sucking her soother, Lily was fast asleep.  Sunshine talked for about ten minutes longer, commenting on the passing scenery and the joggers and the birds we saw, and then also fell silent.  I kept up my speed-walk pace, steering her stroller around mud puddles and over curbs, and enjoyed the silence and fresh air.

As we came around the last corner of the trail, Lily woke up and began howling.  Her soother had disappeared.  I had no idea how long ago it had fallen out of her mouth, so I wasn't going back for it.  Sunshine began whining as well, and I told them, "We're almost home.  Just hang in there."  They didn't want to trade places, so I kept walking, now feeling like whining myself.  At home, I got them snacks and started making supper and thought about the soother problem.

We had two other soothers in the house (pictured above), but Lily refused to use them.  She had one favourite soother—the one I'd bought when I melted her other soothers—and that was the only soother she'd accept.  I'd noticed, in the months before losing this soother, that she was using it much less.  It stayed on top of the wardrobe by her crib, and most nights she went to sleep by nursing and didn't even use the soother.  So maybe it didn't matter that the soother was gone.

That was about a month before Christmas.  Other than one night with Daddy, when Lily wanted her soother and he couldn't find it because I'd forgotten to mention it got lost (clearly I wasn't very worried about it), she hasn't really missed it.  Even when Grandma gave her a soother at Christmas, Lily just looked at it.  In a way, I find myself relieved it didn't turn into the big fight we had with Sunshine to get rid of her soother.  In other ways, it makes me notice how much my baby girl is growing up.

Book Review: Happily Ever After by Gary Chapman

Whether or not you've read Gary Chapman's book The Five Love Languages, you likely know about his ideas that each of us has a specific way of showing and receiving love.  Dr. Chapman's book has become a classic, recognized even by secular counselors.  I read it a few years ago and appreciated his advice, so when I saw his new book Happily Ever After: Six Secrets to a Successful Marriage, I eagerly started reading.

In this book, Dr. Chapman "shows couples how to successfully navigate the six most common problems that couples face: fighting fair, negotiating change, managing money, getting along with your in-laws, raising kids, and maintaining a healthy sex life. Drawing on more than 30 years of counseling experience, Dr. Chapman provides real-world examples and practical, battle-tested advice that will help you and your spouse better understand and communicate with each other as well as grow as a couple for many years to come."

My husband and I started reading this book together on our drive back from Alberta.  Each chapter of the book is short (three or four pages), making it easy to take the book in "bite-size chunks" (or grab a few minutes to read together at the end of a busy day).  You can read the book from start to finish or jump in at whatever topic interests you; after reading the first section with my husband, I flipped to the chapters on raising kids because we've had a few discipline issues lately with Sunshine.  I found Dr. Chapman's advice refreshing, encouraging, and practical.  Each chapter ends with specific tips for applying the advice to your life.

In one chapter, Dr. Chapman talked about meeting a couple at one of his conferences who had been married for 52 years.  He was surprised that such marriage veterans would still be attending marriage conferences together.  They said they'd read his book and wanted to hear him speak, because they'd "made it a practice to attend a marriage enrichment weekend every year."  Dr. Chapman responded, "If every couple made the commitment to ... continue growing by attending marriage enrichment events and reading books on marriage, we would see a radical change in the marriages of this generation."

May I encourage and challenge you, whether you're starting out in marriage like my husband and I, or a veteran of marriage like this couple, to keep investing in your relationship together.  Happily Ever After is sure to bless you and your spouse, whatever stage of life you are in.

For more information and marriage advice, you can check out Gary Chapman's website or "friend" him on Facebook.  What is the best piece of marriage advice you've ever received?  Do you and your spouse attend marriage weekends or read marriage books together?

This book was provided for review courtesy of Tyndale House Publishers.

Books of the Apocrypha: Judith

Caravaggio's painting of Judith

Back when we were dating, my husband said I should Judith; I'd like it, he said, because it was about a strong, godly woman.  Ruth, Esther and Judith are the only books of the Bible named after women.

Judith opens with a lot of scene-setting.  Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Assyrians, and Arphaxad, king of the Medes, are at war; Nebuchadnezzar defeats Arphaxad and, angry at all the nations who refused to join him in his war against the Medes, begins planning revenge.  He sends his general Holofernes to sack the surrounding countries, which Holofernes does.  When the Israelites heard about this, they "were especially terrified of his coming and were anxious about the safety of Jerusalem and the temple of the Lord their God.  They had just recently returned from captivity in exile. All the people of Judea had only just gathered together again, and the temple together with its altar and equipment had been newly dedicated to God" (Judith 4:2-3 CEB).

While the Israelites pray and fast, their resistance is reported to Holofernes.  Angry at their preparations for war, he asks someone to tell him more about them.  Achior, leader of the Ammonites, steps forward with a very interesting history of Israel, beginning with the way Abraham and his children "lived as strangers in Mesopotamia because they weren’t willing to follow the gods of their ancestors in the land of Chaldea" (5:7), through the history of Moses and the Egyptians, to their occupation of Canaan.  In summary, Achior says, "As long as they didn’t sin against their God, they prospered, because the God who hates wrongdoing was with them.  But when they neglected the way God had laid out for them, they were greatly defeated in many battles and taken as prisoners to a foreign land. The temple of their God was burned to the ground, and their enemies took possession of their cities" (5:17-18).  Achior thus says that unless the Isrealites have sinned against God, they won't be defeated, but Holofernes and his generals don't like this advice, and so they had Achior over to the Israelites.

Holofernes ten lays siege to the Israelite town of Bethuliah.  The Israelites pray and fast for 34 days, until their water runs out.  Then the people, in despair, demand that their rulers surrender to the Assyrians.  Finally, Judith enters the scene.  Widowed three years ago, she is rich and beautiful and "no one had a bad word to say about her, for she revered God greatly" (8:8).  Hearing that the leaders plan to surrender because God hasn't answered their prayers yet, she goes to them and says, "You can question the Lord Almighty, but you won’t ever learn anything.  You can’t sound the depths of a person’s heart or comprehend the thoughts of that person’s mind. How then will you search out God, who made all these things? How will you understand God’s mind and comprehend God’s thoughts?" (8:13-14)

She urges the people to keep praying and asks for three days to "do something that will be remembered for generations to come" (8:32).  She then offers a long, beautiful prayer to God, dresses herself in her most beautiful garments, and sneaks out of the city with her maidservant to walk into the Assyrian camp.  Because of her beauty and her words, she's taken straight to Holofernes.  She tells him that the Israelites are starving and thirsty and desperate, about to commit a sin that will make them easy prey to the Assyrian army.  Holofernes just has to wait until she tells him to attack, and then the victory will be his.  He likes this advice and agrees to let her stay in his camp; he even gives her free passage to leave the camp every evening to pray.

Four days later, Holofernes throws a huge party and invites Judith to join him so he can seduce her.  In his excitement, he drinks "more than he had ever drunk in any single day since the day he was born" (12:20).  At the end of the night, he sends all his generals and servants away so that he's alone with Judith.  By that time, he's so drunk he doesn't notice that Judith kneels to pray before picking up his sword and chopping off his head.  She puts his head in her bag, gets her servant, and walks out of the camp to pray just as she has for the past three nights - but this time she goes straight back to Betuliah, where she shows the leaders Holofernes' head.

You can probably guess what happens next.  The Israelites hang Holofernes head on their wall and prepare for war.  Achior, seeing what Judith has done, converts to Judaism.  The Assyrians are amazed that the Israelites are preparing for war and go to wake their leader, only to discover his headless body.  Panic ensues and the Assyrians flee with the Israelites in fast pursuit.  The Israelites grow rich from plundering the Assyrian army.  Judith offers a hymn of praise and lives to 105, though she never remarries.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Judith; there are beautiful hymns and prayers throughout the book, along with a good dose of suspense (even if you know that God will rescue His people) and fervent expressions of faith.  The story of Judith reminded me of the story of Jael in Judges.

Historically, the book seems to come after Tobit and Nehemiah.  However, as the New Jerusalem Bible explains, the writer of Judith "shows a bland indifference to history and geography."  Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylon, not Assyria; Bethuliah "defies identification" in real life; and the story includes both Persian names and Greek customs.  This book isn't meant to be read as a history; rather, the "author seems deliberately to have defied history to distract the reader's attention from the historical context and focus it exclusively on the religious conflict and outcome.  The narrative is neatly put together and has a close affinity with apocalyptic writings."

"Like" the Common English Bible Facebook page for updates about the CEB as well as free downloads of some favourite Scriptures in beautiful calligraphy.  There are also free downloads and audio recordings of the Common English Bible available on the website.

Seven Quick Takes of Classes

- 1 -

Well, the first week of classes is finished.  Last week, I wondered how on earth I was going to survive this semester without a mental breakdown or an F on my transcript.  This week, I am actually feeling on top of things; I have all of my reading done and my critiques ready for Monday.  I've felt a bit scattered coming back after Christmas holidays, but our weeks are starting to fall into a routine.  Hopefully I can continue to stay on top of my homework and find time to revise my short stories before April.

- 2 -

My husband is back at law school this semester and we've managed (somewhat miraculously, I think) to get our schedules to work out so that we don't need any childcare.  It does mean some creative legwork; for example, on Tuesday my husband drops Sunshine off at preschool and me off at my class and then takes Lily home for about an hour before walking over to his class, where I meet him after my class to take Lily home for about an hour before we go pick up Sunshine from preschool.  Wednesday works the same without the preschool complication.  Fridays are easy, as I have two classes but my husband has none. 

- 3 -

This semester I'm back to a "full" course load of 3 courses; two writing classes and a course on Greek mythology.  I liked just having two classes, but that created issues with the student loan people so I had to find a third class that interested me and worked with my husband's schedule and Sunshine's preschool.  I always intended to take a Greek course during my first degree, as much of English literature references Greek myths, but it never fit into my schedule back then.  Since we finally watched Troy a few weeks ago, I'm finding the course very interesting.

- 4 -

The other task I had last week, before classes got too busy, was to put together the February issue of FellowScript.  I'm so thankful Joanna Dawyd is now helping with the editing and layout; she did most of the feature articles and several of the columns while I did the rest.  We both have an article coming out in this issue as well.  While I get stressed out sometimes over getting the issue ready on time, I enjoy reading all the articles and seeing the magazine come together.  Last week, I sent it off to my proofreader and now I can focus on schoolwork until April, when I'll need to get started on the May issue (but that's after classes end).

- 5 -

Speaking of editing and classes... over Christmas break, I and my fellow editors read all of the submissions for This Side of West, the undergraduate literary magazine here at UVic.  We had about 90 submissions overall.  It was interesting to see what others are writing in creative nonfiction.  I wondered what it would be like to work with two other editors to choose what gets published (I'm the sole acquisitions editor for FellowScript), but in the end our choices were pretty much unanimous.  We'll be planning more readings this semester and then launching the magazine in March.

- 6 -

This year, I'm trying to make sure I make time to focus on my relationship with God.  I'm still reading The Resolution for Women by Priscilla Shirer and keep the Common English Bible by my bed (reading a chapter or two in the evening helps me relax before falling asleep--too often, my brain is still whirring when my body says I need some rest).  Last night as I was reading Judith, this verse jumped out at me: "You intended the current situation and the things yet to come. What you planned has occurred. The things you considered stood ready and said, ‘Here we are!’ Indeed, all your ways are prepared in advance, and your judgment is known ahead of time" (Judith 9:5-6 CEB).  To me, it's encouraging to know that God knows what's happening, so that I don't need to stress out over things in my life that I can't control.  I just need to trust in Him and to do what He's given me to do.

- 7 -

Sunshine doubled her colouring book collection over Christmas and got new crayons and markers as well, so we've been doing a lot of colouring lately.  I bought Sunshine a set of Dora pictures that are supposed to be colour-by-number, and its cute to see Sunshine asking for the markers by number rather than colour and carefully trying to fill in the space with the right colour.  She also enjoys colouring a Disney Princess book, though we haven't watched any of the movies so she keeps asking me, "Who is this princess?"  Sometimes I can read while they're colouring; other times, it's just good time to spend with them, talking about the pictures we're colouring.

The girls coloured their Dora pages and put them on the wall

Preview Real Marriage by Mark and Grace Driscoll

When I'm at the bookstore, I always find myself browsing the sections on parenting and marriage.  That's my stage of life right now and I guess I'm curious what others have to say about it.  Real Marriage by Mark and Grace Driscoll recently caught my eye, but I'm working on reading Gary Chapman's new marriage book, Happily Ever After, right now (review to come on Wednesday).  So Real Marriage will have to wait for another day... but here's the first chapter, if you want to take a sneak peak like I did.

Real Marriage-Chapter 1

My New Glasses

When I walked into the small classroom and headed toward my usual seat, halfway down the tables and facing the tall bank of windows that overlooked the university theatre, several heads swiveled towards me.  

"Hey, Bonnie!  Nice haircut!  I like your glasses!  Those are new glasses, right?  Looks good!"  

I smiled.  I hadn't deliberately planned such a drastic change over the Christmas holidays—it was just time for a haircut and new glasses—but it was fun to see my classmates' reactions to my new look.

I got my first pair of eyeglasses when I was eleven.  At the time, I was excited about them; I thought they'd make me pretty.  For years, I simply replaced the lenses in my glasses each time my prescription changed.  Then one year the doctor recommended new frames--smaller, lighter frames with plastic lenses.  Trying to find new frames was a pain, as I couldn't see what was on my face without my prescription glasses.  I remember peering in the mirror, my nose almost at the glass, but relying mostly on the opinion of Mom and the optometrist (who'd been helping me with glasses since that very first pair at age 11) to pick a new pair.  Just before university, I went through that hassle again, and ended up picking a practical brown pair of glasses that included clip-on sunglasses over a funky purple pair that looked better.

Before Lily was born, I took advantage of having benefits from Starbucks to get a new pair of glasses.  This time, I wore my contacts and took my husband along--he said I just had to look through the glasses, while he had to look at them.  While Sunshine played with an old pair of frames, I worked my way through the store, trying on frames, putting them back, and getting frustrated as something that looked great on the wall just didn't suit my face.  The price tags didn't help—most of the frames were at least double what Starbucks would reimburse me for.  

Finally, I put a pair of glasses on and took a look in the mirror, then called my husband over.  When I asked what he thought, he threw the question back at me and I said, "I think I like them."  He leaned closer, peering at the price tag, and started grinning.  "I think I like them too!" he said.

When I admired my friend Joanna's glasses at Women of Faith, she told me she'd bought them online.  I had several questions for her about that process, thinking about the hours I've spent in stores trying to find a pair of glasses I liked.  How do you try on something online?  When I came across GlassesUSA.com just after Lily broke the arm off my glasses, I decided to check it out.  

It was easy to browse through the frames (and get excited over the cheap prices!), bookmark a few to show my husband later, and go do some housework.  I explored at the website a few more times before deciding to buy glasses.  It was easy to order--no pressure from a salesperson trying to talk me into different lenses or extra coatings or other features.  I had time to look at the options available, think about it and discuss it with my husband, and then order.  My glasses came in about a week and, after the usual adjustment period with a new prescription, look and feel great.

Besides high quality frames and lenses, GlassesUSA.com offers:

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Disclaimer: This post is a paid advertisement, but the opinions expressed are my own.  I will not recommend anything to my blog friends that I haven't tried and liked myself.

Courageous Movie Coming Soon!

The Courageous movie releases on DVD next Tuesday!  If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it.  My husband and I saw it in theatre here when it opened and it was amazing to be sitting in a public venue watching a big screen movie with faith and family values.  This movie is a much-needed message to our society.  There are also several resources related to the movie if you are interested in further study.

Road Trips with Toddlers

Packing the Jeep in Victoria

"Hey, how are you?  Did you go away for Christmas?"

"Yeah, we drove back to Alberta again to see our families."

"You drove?  Wow, you're brave!"

I smile.  We're either brave or crazy or too cheap to get airplane tickets, but we did that long drive to Alberta and back again this year for Christmas.  On my husband's last day of work, I picked him up at the office and we caught the 5 pm ferry off the Island.  We made it up the Coquihalla to Merritt before Lily declared she'd had enough of the Jeep and we stopped at a cheap hotel for the night.  The next day, we headed north from Kamloops through Jasper to my mom's place.

At one point, somewhere on Highway 5, I was driving and the girls had gotten bored.  My husband began singing silly songs with them.  We went through most of the songs in our repertoire before he got them into singing rounds.  He'd sing "Praise ye the Lord" while they sang "Alleluia" back to him.  He got bored of that before they did and started reading books to them.  When they finally fell asleep, I kept driving, nibbling on candy canes and Christmas chocolates to stay awake and trying to ignore the protests coming from my right leg.  Drive, we've learned, while the girls are happy; stop when they need it.

On Christmas Eve, we visited some friends in the city (who got married the weekend before we did and had their first daughter two weeks after we had Sunshine) before driving two hours to my brother's place for dinner.  We planned the drive for Lily's nap and sure enough, she crashed a few minutes after we got into the Jeep.  Sunshine, however, was less than happy with that.  We spent most of the drive telling her "leave her alone" and trying to encourage her to listen to her music, read her book, or play with her Leapster.  At the same time, it was cute to see how much she wanted Lily around to play with.

One day after Christmas, my husband and I were making plans to run some errands and visit my grandparents.  Sunshine said, "Can I stay here?"  I had to laugh while understanding that we spent so much time in the Jeep that of course it would be more fun to stay at Grandma and Grandpa's to play.  So we ran errands and visited friends by ourselves while our daughters had some much-appreciated grandparent time.

For our drive home, we got up at 5 am, loaded sleeping girls into the Jeep, said goodbye to my husband's parents, and hit the road.  My husband drove to Lake Louise; I drove to Golden, where we had breakfast with his cousins; he drove to Salmon Arm, where we played at the McDonald's and ate lunch; I drove to Hope, where we stopped for gas; he drove to the ferry.  Just before and after Kamloops, Lily woke up screaming, fed up with the drive.  The first time, she fell asleep again; the second time, I pulled over to nurse her and then we kept going.

As we drove through Vancouver, we kept our eyes on the clock, praying that we'd catch the 7 pm ferry.  Like last year, we were cutting it tight, but we'd chosen to drive home on New Year's Day because the weather forecast was good and BC Ferries hadn't added extra ferries, making us expect light traffic.  Then we saw the sign over the road just before the terminal: 7 pm full, 9 pm 10% full.  My heart plummeted.  I didn't want to sit around the terminal for 2 hours, trying to keep the girls busy while we waited.  I prayed.  Begged God to get us onto that ferry.  At the ticket window, the lady said there was a "possible" wait for the 7 pm ferry.  We clung to that hope, watched the cars drive off the ferry, prayed again, watched the cars drive on, prayed more... and breathed a sigh of relief and a huge prayer of thanks when the man waved us onto the ferry.  Home again for another year.

For more tips on doing long drives with toddlers, see my article on Untrained Housewife.

Books of the Apocrypha: Tobit

The book of Tobit is usually the first listed in the Apocrypha and tells the story of a Jewish family in the Babylonian/Assyrian captivity.  I first read it when my husband and I were dating; he described it to me as a love story and wanted to choose a portion of Tobit for one of the readings at our wedding.  When I received my copy of the new Common English Bible and was trying to decide where to read, I thought I'd start with the Apocrypha, a portion of the Bible I'm not yet very familiar with.

The book of Tobit begins with an introduction of the author—his genealogy and where he was captured by the Assyrians.  Tobit then tells us about his character: "I, Tobit, was trustworthy and behaved righteously during my entire life. I would help support my relatives and others of my country who were captured and taken with me to Nineveh in the country of the Assyrians" (1:3 CEB).  Tobit talks about worshiping God at the temple in Jerusalem during his youth, even though most of his relatives had started worshiping the golden calf set up by King Jeroboam.

Tobit marries Anna and has a son named Tobias.  In Assyria, he stands up for what he believes, just as Daniel did: "I, however, avoided eating the Gentiles’ food.  Because I kept God in view with all my heart, the Most High gave me favor and good standing before Shalmaneser, and I would buy for him everything he needed." (1:11-13).  He also continues his pious acts by giving to the poor and providing a proper burial for any Jews killed by the Assyrians.  For doing this, he is persecuted by the Assyrians and loses his possessions until a new ruler comes into power.

Despite his good works, Tobit becomes blind and gives in to despair.  While he is praying for God to take his life, a young woman named Sarah is also praying for death in far away Media.  She has been married seven times, but each time her bridegroom has been killed on their wedding night by an evil demon.  The Book of Tobit becomes the story of God working in unusual ways to answer these two prayers: "At that very moment, the prayers of both Sarah and Tobit were heard in God’s glorious presence.  Raphael was sent to heal the two of them." (3:16-17)

Tobit remembers that he once left some money with a relative in Media.  He sends his son Tobias to collect this money, but since Tobias has never traveled that far before, he needs a companion.  A man named Raphael seems to suit this need, and so Tobias and Raphael set off for Media.  Tobit's father gives him a long blessing, full of fatherly advice, before they leave.

Once in Media, Raphael suggests to Tobias that they stay with his relative Raguel and tells Tobias about Raguel's daughter Sarah and her seven dead husbands.  Just as Boaz was Ruth's kinsmen-redeemer, it seems that Tobias is in a similar position to help Sarah.  Raphael tells Tobit, "The right to inherit her and her father’s estate is yours. The girl is sensible, courageous, and very beautiful; moreover, her father loves her and is a good man.” (6:12)

The rest, you could say, is history.  Tobias is welcomed by his relatives.  Raphael helps him overcome the demon to marry Sarah and also gives him instructions for curing his father's blindness.  Tobias and Sarah return to Tobit with a fortune from Sarah's father and Raphael reveals himself to them as an angel.  Tobit offers a long prayer of praise to God for all that has happened to them and gives Tobias a bit more fatherly advice before the story closes with Tobias' obituary.

The New Jerusalem Bible sums up Tobit by saying, "It is an edifying story, in which the emphasis falls on almsgiving and duties toward the dead; true family life is shown at its best; the ideal of marriage anticipates Christian teaching.  The divine benevolence is at once revealed and hidden in the angel Raphael, the agent of God.  That this providence is with us, day by day, is the lesson of the book."

You can read Tobit online in the CEB at Bible Gateway.com.

Book Review: Courageous Living by Michael Catt

“Be strong and courageous,” David said to his son Solomon. “Get to work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged, because the LORD God, my God, is with you. He’ll neither let you down nor leave you before all the work for the service of the LORD’s temple is done." (1 Chronicles 28:20 CEB).

Courageous Living: Dare to Take a Stand by Michael Catt challenges  Christians (especially the men) to stand up for what they believe.  Senior pastor of Sherwood Baptist Church and executive producer of the movies Fireproof and Courageous, Catt is bold and blunt in his call to live with courage.  In the introduction, he says, "Today we need men with the hearts of a warrior... Men who won't turn back.  We need men who stand up and take responsibility for their role as men."

Using quotes from the movie Courageous and anecdotal stories of great Christian heroes, Catt calls Christians to take a stand on a variety of issues.  Through Abraham, we are challenged to have the courage to get going; through Ruth, we are challenged to have the courage to face an uncertain future; through Nehemiah, we are challenge to have the courage to face criticism.  Throughout Scriptures, we see men and women who had the courage to do what God asked of them—to do what was required in their particular time, whether that was the darkness during the time of the Judges or the despair of the deportation to Assyria.  Today, Catt says, we need men like that once again.  Men who will stand up for God and make a difference in our world.

Most of us have found a comfortable faith.  We might have been raised in the church or simply believe in God, but we might be shy about sharing those beliefs in certain circles.  I've been guilty of that myself on this blog.  Some of you might have been shocked by all the Scripture quoting I've done in the last few months.  For a few years, I was in a dry place spiritually and it was easier to blog about things other than faith.  Recently, thanks to books like this one and the Common English Bible, I've found a renewal of my spiritual life.  Catt's book rang a chord in my heart.  It's easy to look around at our world and to gripe about the things that we don't like, but it takes courage to do something to change those things.

Catt says, "This is no time to stand still or hesitate when there is so much to be done.  We will find courage in the Word of God and the will of God.  Living the courageous life is being willing to pray, 'Not my will but God's be done.'"

Catt mentions Courageous Living is his fourth book in three years and sometimes, his writing seemed scattered.  He jumped around between points and ideas.  Other times, I got annoyed by what seemed like name-dropping.  Overall, though, he presents a message that churches across North America need to hear.  Like the men in the movie Courageous, we need to stand up for our faith and our families.

"Because of this, I’m reminding you to revive God’s gift that is in you through the laying on of my hands. God didn’t give us a spirit that is timid but one that is powerful, loving, and self-controlled.  So don’t be ashamed of the testimony about the Lord or of me, his prisoner. Instead, share the suffering for the good news, depending on God’s power" (2 Timothy 1:6-8 CEB)

Book has been provided courtesy of David C Cook and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.  Available at your favourite bookseller from B&H Publishing Group.

What is a Blog Meme?

A meme (pronounced to rhyme with "theme) comes from the scientific idea of "a self-propagating unit of thought that is spread from one host to another" (according to Chris Garrett).  In a blog meme, one blogger posts on a topic or idea and then invites other bloggers to write posts on the same topic or idea and link back to the original post.  There are memes on nearly every topic imagineable.

Participating in blog memes is a good way to get the word out about your blog and to attract new readers to your blog.  It's also a great way to discover other blogs you'll enjoy reading.  With blog memes, practice the golden rule—if you want bloggers to read and comment on your blog, then you should read and comment on their blogs.

Here are a few blog memes I've discovered for moms and writers that you may want to visit and participate in (organized by the day of the week on which they happen):

Sunday

Stream of Conciousness Sunday hosted at All Things Fadra
Rules:  Set a timer and write for 5 minutes only. Write an intro to the post if you want but don’t edit the post. No proofreading or spellchecking. This is writing in the raw.  Publish it somewhere. Anywhere. The back door to your blog if you want. But make it accessible.

Saints and Scripture Sunday hosted at The Kennedy Adventures
Rules: Write about your favorite Scripture or talk about your favorite Saint, then link up. 

Monday

Mommy Monday hosted at Simply Prudent
Rules: Write a mommy-related blog post. The posts can include topics such as parenting advice, biblical encouragement, product suggestions and giveaways, a funny or inspirational story, or anything else about motherhood.

It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading? hosted at Book Journey
What it’s about: This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!

Mailbox Monday hosted at Mailbox Monday
What it’s about: Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week and explore great book blogs. Warning: MM can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

Tuesday

Titus 2sdays hosted at Time Warp Wife
What it’s about: Today and every Tuesday, I want to invite bloggers to link-up any blog posts that will encourage women to joyfully live out their roles as wives and keepers of their homes I'm looking for posts on marriage, parenting, housekeeping, or recipes.

Just Write hosted at The Extraordinary Ordinary
Rules: just write!  Write whatever is happening around you WHILE you are writing (sometimes that’s the very best) OR whatever DETAILS you remember about your day or a specific experience.

Top Ten Tuesday hosted at Many Little Blessings
Rules: Link up your Top Ten list and join in the Top Ten {Tuesday} fun! All you have to do is WRITE a top ten list, PASTE it  below, LINK back to me in your post & then start LOVIN’ on the rest of the participants with facebook likes, stumbles, comments and tweets!

Wednesday

Wifey Wednesdays hosted at To Love, Honour and Vacuum
What it’s about: I introduce a topic about marriage, and then you follow up either by commenting or by writing your own post and then linking up!

Women Living Well Wednesdays hosted at Women Living Well Ministries
What it’s about: Posts can include the topics of marriage, parenting, homemaking, finances, recipes, organization and more!

Friday

7 Quick Takes hosted at Conversion Diary
What it’s about: write seven quick takes – short bits of information or new or anything that doesn’t turn into a blog post on its own and share them with your blog readers.

Five Minute Friday hosted at The Gypsy Mama 
Rules: Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking. Link back here and invite others to join in. Most importantly: leave a comment for the person who linked up before you – encouraging them in their writing!

Book Beginnings hosted at A Few More Pages
Rules: Share the first line (or two) of the book you are currently reading on your blog or in the comments. Include the title and the author so we know what you're reading. Then, if you would like, let us know what your first impressions were based on that first line, and let us know if you liked or did not like the sentence.

Friendship Friday hosted at Create with Joy
Rules: Each week, I’ll post a question that’s designed to help you get to know one another a little better. To participate, simply create a Friendship Friday post that includes the Friendship Friday blog hop button and/or a link back to this post.

Saturday

Saturday Snapshot hosted by At Home with Books
Rules: To participate in the Saturday Snapshot meme post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky below. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don’t post random photos that you find online.

Do you host or participate in a blog meme that I haven't listed here?  Please share the link in the comments below and I'll add it to the list!

Book Review: The Resolution for Women

I used to make New Year's Resolutions.  My early journals contain the lists I wrote on January 1, which usually included something about treating my brothers better and reading my Bible more.  Sometimes, in the first weeks of January, I'd comment on my failure to keep a resolution (probably the one about my brothers) and tell myself I'd try to do better.  By the end of January, the resolutions were long forgotten.  So after a few years, I stopped making resolutions. 

And yet most years, I still approach January with a feeling that this year will be better than last year.  Just as I often go to sleep, telling myself that tomorrow I'll do better than I did today.  I think we are all prone to this hope that we can better ourselves (just look at the self-help section of your local bookstore).  Priscilla Shirer shares similar thoughts about resolutions in the opening of The Resolution for Women.  She points out that whether or not we make New Year's Resolutions, we are women of resolutions.  We've made decisions about how to live our lives, how to treat our friends and family, how to raise our children, and these resolutions are "making you who you are.  They're determining the life you'll end up living, the tomorrow you'll end up shaping."

That's a bit of a scary thought, because it's true.  And if it's true, then I want to be deliberate about the choices I'm making.  Rather than scaring me, this book of resolutions encouraged me by giving me the resources and inspiration I need to make good choices in my life.  To become the woman I want to be. 

In The Resolution for Women, Priscilla outlines thirteen resolutions based on Biblical principles for women to aspire to.  She speaks as a friend, someone coming alongside us to encourage us in our goals, someone who has been there, done that and knows what it's like to be a wife and a mother and a busy woman, yet one who still pushes us to look beyond our day-to-day tasks and reach for what God wants for us.  This book is not just for wives and mothers; it's for women in every walk of life as Priscilla shows how these resolutions can deepen our relationships with our family, friends, and with God.

Resolutions might be scary, but I found myself liking the fact that this book demanded a commitment of me.  I'm guilty of reading lots of books, hoping that this book will be the one that somehow makes my life better.  I want an epiphany moment, a big change in my life.  But I'm coming to realize that doesn't happen.  Change comes in small steps—like the small chapters of this book.  Each resolution has three or four chapters with personal anecdotes, illustrations, Scriptures, prayers, and questions for discussion or journalling; then Priscilla asks us to commit to that resolution, to sign an agreement with ourselves (or some close friends) that we'll uphold these.  You may even want, like the men in the Courageous movie, to copy the entire resolution and hang it on a wall to remind yourself of your commitments.

Whether you like making resolutions or not, may I invite you to join me in making these thirteen resolutions this year.  (Maybe your husband will join you by reading and comiting to The Resolution for Men.)  I have great dreams for 2012, but I know that God has bigger dreams for me.  With the prayer and inspiration of this book, I want to step into those dreams.

"Brothers and sisters, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord as an example of patient resolve and steadfastness.  Look at how we honor those who have practiced endurance. You have heard of the endurance of Job. And you have seen what the Lord has accomplished, for the Lord is full of compassion and mercy."  James 5:10-11 CEB

If, like me, you resolve to spend more time reading your Bible, check out Friday's post for your chance to win a copy of the new Common English Bible.  What other resolutions have you made in January?  Have your resolutions helped or discouraged you?

Book has been provided courtesy of David C Cook and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.  Available at your favourite bookseller from B&H Publishing Group.

Book Review: The Resolution for Men

The movie Courageous is about four men who work together as police officers. When a crisis happens in one officer’s family, he realizes he hasn’t been the father he wished he had. He begins studying his Bible, searching for answers, and shares his findings with his fellow officers. Together, they make a resolution to be godly men, fathers, and husbands. The last half of the movie is about their successes and failures to uphold this resolution and the results of their actions in their community.

The Resolution for Men, written by Courageous screenwriters Stephen and Alex Kendrick with Randy Alcorn, challenges every man to make the same resolution to be godly men, fathers, and husbands.  Like Paul, they advise men: “So be careful to live your life wisely, not foolishly. Take advantage of every opportunity because these are evil times” (Ephesians 5:15-16 CEB).  In the opening chapters, the authors look at “Why We Need Men of Resolution,” painting a dismal picture of our society today—a society feeling the impact of growing up without fathers. They say,

“Dads used to be very intentional about fathering their children. They knew how pivotal their influence was. But because so many fathers today don’t know who they are or what they are doing, they end up doing very little. And because they are not training their sons how to be responsible men, the culture is stepping in and subtly emasculating them.”

Or not so subtly emasculating them. I’ve talked about being shocked at how negatively the dad is portrayed in the Berenstain Bears, even though the author explains Papa Bear is based on himself. Try to think of the last movie or TV show in which there was a strong father figure. (Thor actually jumps to mind—the father wasn’t afraid to discipline his son because he knew Thor needed it.) Advertising is having a heyday with men, painting men as idiots who don’t pick the right products while their women are clearly smarter and better informed.

The Resolution for Men thus issues a much-needed challenge to fathers and husbands—and even to single men preparing for these roles in their future—to be the men that God is calling them to be, to make a difference first in their families, then in their communities. As I read this book, I thought not only of the men in the movie but also the men in my life who lived by the principles outlined in the resolution. My dad often took me out for dinner, as Nathan takes his daughter Jade out in Courageous, to show me how a man should treat me. He opened doors for me and encouraged me to set high standards for the man I would eventually date. (My husband was one of few men at the small university I attended who actually opened a door for me or let me go through first.)

Moms also play an important role in the Courageous movie, but as Alcorn and the Kendricks point out, “Whereas moms are priceless, irreplaceable, and needed beyond measure, they were never designed to be men or to fill the role of a dad.” God created men and women to be men and women—each of us equal, yet given different roles and responsibilities. Thus this is a Resolution for Men—a challenge just to the men, based on Biblical principles. Each chapter uses Scriptures, research, and examples of fathers from history to encourage and inspire men to make a differences in their families.

January is traditionally a time for making resolutions. This year, these two books—The Resolution for Men and The Resolution for Women—offer not only a list of resolutions, but also the encouragement and inspiration to aspire to and achieve those resolutions. Grab a book, invite some close friends to read it with you, and may 2012 be the year that we make a difference in our families and our world.

"The seed that fell on good soil are those who hear the word and commit themselves to it with a good and upright heart. Through their resolve, they bear fruit." ~ Luke 8:15 CEB. 

Can you think of men in your life—dad, uncle, even a friend's father—who made the sort of influence in your life described in Courageous or The Resolution for Men?

Book has been provided courtesy of David C Cook and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.  Available at your favourite bookseller from B&H Publishing Group.