Friday Five Favs

Susanne at Living to Tell the Story hosts this carnival every Friday for people to list their five favorite things for the week.

My five things are random.

#1 - Trader Joe's just opened up in our town. Isn't that all I need to say? Maybe it's all I want to say...



#2 - Speaking of food, I made my first ever, very-own-homemade-thank-you-very-much cheesecake for Jonathan this past week AND IT TASTED AWESOME! It wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be. Which is kind of unfortunate if you think about it. So I won't. Just behold:



In case you are wondering about the color, Jonathan selected a recipe for a pumpkin cheesecake (with a cinnamon crust, oh my!)

#3 - We were able to accomplish a great deal of work in the yard this past week, including planting of new trees, pulling of weeds, burning of the last burn pile, picking up of sticks (not the indoor game, mind you, although we played some of that also) and it just feels so good! It feels like we got a jump start on the yard work because, not to rub it in, but who experiences 60 degree weather in February!? Our summer projects were just made all the more easy...

#4 - That 60 degree weather I mentioned? It was just delightful. Sunny and cool.

#5 - Plans that fall into place in a way that blows your mind and gets you all excited about the future. We have a number of those this year and we're just holding out with hope!



Humbled,

Carrie

Picture Books of Some Relevance To Us These Days

Recently, Ideals Books gave us the opportunity to review some of their books and as we perused their stack we each came across our particular favorites. Each of these listed below have some relevance to our lives today - some of which are more obvious than others but do let me explain....

How to Clean Your Room should be an obvious one to you - especially if you are the mother of a toddler who is in the process of learning how to do exactly that. The message of this book is that we should take care of our rooms because they are special places where we can imagine and dream. It's a nice motivating thought, of course, helped along by pop-ups and hidden flaps. Naturally, Bookworm1 needed some additional and direct motivation to actually dare to dream about cleaning his room. That said, there are so many fun aspects of this book (i.e., that "peek, pop, turn, and pull" stuff I mentioned) that Bookworm1 finished looking through it and promptly stated, "This is a GREAT book, Mommy!" Since we are currently learning the fine art of book reviewing (even at the tender age of three) I cuddled up with him and gave this book adequate attention at his recommendation. Again, this book isn't going to make a child clean his or her room but it will give them something else to put in it.

You know how I periodically say that "If I ever have a girl I would...."? Well, if I ever had a girl I would be sorely tempted to name her Natalia for the sole purpose of enjoying this book with her. That should clue you into the fact that Mommy enjoyed Natalia's Favorite Color more than Bookworm1 did, although he politely sat and read it with me. THIS BOOK IS AWESOME! It's all about a little girl named Natalia who starts taking an art class and is instructed by the teacher to select a favorite color and announce her preference to the class. The problem is that Natalia can't decide which color is her favorite and so she turns to her grandmother, a florist, for help. Her grandmother introduces her to a whole rainbow of colors by teaching her about different flowers. In the end, Natalia decides that she cannot pick a favorite. She just likes them all!

Prior to this book Bookworm1 consistently stated that he had one particular favorite color. However, after reading this book he has been telling me (almost on a daily basis) that he "just likes all the colors." I have a feeling this book influenced his thoughts on this subject matter, not that I mind. It will be interesting to see what color he finally lands on as being his favorite - if he ever does. In the meantime, I honestly and truly enjoyed this book and am happy to recommend it!

Lastly, we have Counting Cows which Bookworm2 staked a claim on from the get-go. The idea behind this book is that it can be tiresome to try to fall asleep by counting sheep. Why not be original and count cows instead and in a boogie woogie kind of way? This book is infinitely more amusing if you can get mommy to silly dance while reading it. However, the chances of that actually occurring are questionable - and certainly never when daddy is at home to mock. All the same, this book is very catchy to a one year old who is still working on the concept of what a book actually is. He is fond of song and dance though and so we're just bringing Counting Cows into the mix and doing a little Moo Cow Jive on the sidelines.

What won't a reading mother do to draw her kids into the book world? There's very little I'll stop short at, lemme tell ya! Even at the jive.

Thanks, Ideals Books, for the fun!

Esther: A Woman of Strength & Dignity

Last month I read David which is part of Swindoll's Great Lives Series. This month, in keeping with my plan for the year, I read Esther.

Like last month I have so many places in this book marked, I'm not quite sure where to start. I was drawn to one chapter in particular, so much of what I'm likely to type will be related to that. As before, I'll share what I read first, followed by my personal application.

Re: God's timing.

"We tend to think that if God is really engaged, He will change things within the next hour or so. Certainly by sundown. Absolutely by the end of the week. But God is not a slave to the human clock. Compared to the works of mankind, He is extremely deliberate and painfully slow. As religious poet George Herbert wisely penned, "God's mill grinds slow, but sure."

Raise your hand if you wish God would solve your problems faster than He typically seems to! And then raise your hand if you become annoyed by the speed at which He operates! And then raise your hand if you've complained to Him about it!

Yeah, well, we're none of us perfect. It's a good reminder to hear that God is not in a hurry. I am. But He's not. I should probably hush up and wait patiently because whatever He DOES end up doing will be more effective than anything I could dream up.

Re: The way Mordecai brought the news of Haman's plan to kill the Jews to Esther's attention.

"He didn't lose control of his emotions; he didn't exaggerate. He was careful with the information he communicated." (Chapter 5, page 82)

Mordecai didn't try to pound his way to Esther's door with tears and sobs. He didn't make a play for her sympathy. In fact, Esther had to send her servant out to Mordecai to find out why Mordecai was upset. When Mordecai was questioned as to his sorrow, he gave Esther's servant a copy of the edict and said, "Have your queen read this."

"Why do I make such a point of this? Because we live in a day of hearsay, when few people pass along information that is precise and reliable. Do you? Are you careful about what you say? Do you have the facts? Do you offer proof that the information you are conveying is correct? While there are occasions when its appropriate to pass along needed and serious information to the right sources, I'm finding more than ever a growing preoccupation with rumor and slander. Half truths and innuendos become juicy morsels in the mouths of unreliable gossips. There is no way to measure the number of people who have been hurt by rumor and exaggeration and hearsay." (Chapter 5, page 82)

Re: Esther having to make a choice over whether to defend her people, or keep her own identity a secret

"So when Hathach (the eunuch in charge of serving Esther) comes to [Mordecai] with Esther's answer, Mordecai tightens the sash around his sackcloth and says the hard thing. He appeals to her character.

. . .

"Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, "Do not imagine that you in the king's palace can escape any more than all the Jews. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether or not you have attained royalty for such a time as this?" Esther 4:13-14" Chapter 5, page 84)

Swindoll then points out the fact that Esther could have chosen to save herself. She could have given into the idea that she was "just one person" and what can one person do? Well, one person can change history. One person can choose to stand for truth, regardless of whether anyone else is doing it or not. This was hugely inspirational to me.

But then Swindoll goes further. He quotes from one of my personal heroes. (Heh heh!)

"Let us brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its Commonweath last for a thousand years, men will still say, "This was their finest hour." - Winston Churchill

Courage was what Esther was called to. She rose to the occasion beautifully. But she didn't 'grab the bull by the horns' and go marching into the king's court waving banners and flags and demanding answers. Oh no. She asked for prayer. She waited on God to lead and direct. She was, at first, silent. Then, when she felt God has given her direction, she went in His direction, trusting on His wisdom and guidance.

"Amazing things happen to our courage while we're waiting. Rather than getting more fearful, we become less fearful. Rather than losing heart, we gain confidence. The Lord becomes more important. His presence overshadows the threatening, even intimidating, circumstances that would otherwise immobilize us or paralyze our thoughts." (Chapter 6, page 108)

We can count on the Lord to lead us if we wait on Him and on His timing. The thing that struck me the most about Esther's response is that she didn't say, "I don't want to do this. It's too hard. I might die. Why can't this task fall to someone else?" Instead she said bravely (my own little paraphrase here), "I'll do it because I can see that it's the right thing to do. And if I perish, I perish." She trusted God to work His will in the world. She had only one thing to do and she didn't shirk from it because of fear or because it would require something more than laziness for her. She COULD have hidden her identity and played it safe. But she didn't.

Lastly (for this post anyway!), Swindoll points out that Esther suffered pain that brought her into this position. She was orphaned. She was taken from her uncle's home. She was placed in the king's harem without any assurances that she would be made queen. For all she knew, her life was going to fade into oblivion. She had to hide who she was and was removed from people who understood her. And for what?

To save a nation. To tend to something bigger than just herself.

Swindoll points out this quote from A. W. Tozer in which Tozer says:

"It's doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until He has hurt him deeply."

Life in Christ is not easy and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling you something. We each have crosses to bear and deal with in our lifetime. However, before we start complaining we should remember Jesus, who laid down His life on the ultimate cross - for us. As Jesus hung on the cross, he didn't say, "Wait, wait! Too hard! I change my mind! Let me down off this thing!" He suffered and He endured to the end - and what a glorious end it was, being that of a new beginning!

Yes, life stinks sometimes. Yes, life is hard. We should never expect it to be easy. But here's a question: if your faith doesn't cost you, is it really worth having?

These are the thoughts and questions I directed towards myself as I read. Even though the questions are hard, honestly I walked away from reading Esther encouraged and refreshed. That's the beautiful thing about scripture - we can read it knowing that others have walked our same path before we have. There is nothing new in my life that God hasn't dealt with before. And in His word we find encouragement, rest, chastisement!, and HOPE to face today and all of our tomorrows.

And so, we sing!



****

This "review" is also being linked up to Semicolon's Book Club discussion on the same title. To read what Semicolon and others thought of this book, click here.

What's On Your Nightstand?

Last month's nightstand was pretty much all about wrapping up the L.M. Montgomery Reading Challenge and reading for the Children's Classics Mystery Challenge.

I'm still focused on completing the Anne series, hoping to delve into Anne's House of Dreams this month. And I AM still working on the Children's Classics Mystery Reading Challenge, hoping to hit on some Trixie Belden this coming month, as well as read the last two books in the Cherry Ames Series. (If you missed reading about the Cherry Ames series, click HERE and catch up!)

At the present moment, however, I am delightfully mystified over what I should be reading next. My nightstand is groaning under the weight of works of fiction right now (which is not typically my genre of choice, although I do enjoy a good piece of it) and I'm not sure what to read next. Here are a few from my stack:









I look at the cover art on all of these and I kinda want to start singing, "One of these things is not like the other ones..." And I want to read that one just for color coordination purposes!

As I look back over the past few months I see just how much non-fiction I am attracted to and so it's kind of fun to hit the fiction for a change. It's a different kind of challenge for me because part of me says, "But you aren't LEARNING anything!" from such titles (even though that's simply not true) and the other part of me says, "But you are having FUN and doesn't that count for something!?" Sometimes mommy just needs to have fun. Would you agree?

Note to Self: Remember the Weeds

Not to rub this in anyone's face or anything, but we enjoyed a lovely weekend out-of-doors in a calm, cool 60 degree environment. Not a snow flake in sight. However, there were lots of weeds.

We have a gravel driveway and over the course of the rainy season here in Oregon, we've had a number of weeds crop up in the rocks and gravel. It's one of my jobs to pull them out and so I trooped outdoors with Bookworm1 and Bookworm2 in tow and we I worked on the weeds. While I worked I thought about lessons that others have taught relating weeds to sin in our lives. You've probably heard the analogy before - you want to pull the weeds out when they are little and less prominent in the yard just like you'd prefer God to help you deal with the sin in your life before the problem becomes glaringly large and difficult to deal with. These were my thoughts as I was kneeling in the rocks plucking weed after weed after weed from the ground. I realized the following things:

* Even though some of the weeds were small, they still had quite the established root system going on. Some of the weeds had an amazing iceberg effect - they looked small on top but there was a network of trouble underneath!

* Clover. What's wrong with it? It's pretty. Who really minds clover and why not just leave it alone? (But even clover run rampant can ruin a driveway!)

* If a weed becomes too large, you actually change the landscape by removing it. Not only is it difficult to pull a large weed out of the ground, but it leaves a gaping hole in it's place and you have to rearrange rock and dirt to fill in the void and it takes a while for the hole to fill and take on a normal, functional appearance again. Better to pull out the weeds when they are small, before they created a larger problem.

* Inevitably there will be an excitable three year old nearby (in actuality or in apparent maturity levels) who apparently has nothing better to do with their time than to point out all the little microscopic weeds you missed. As I was developing my Glare Stare at my three year old, I thought to myself how much easier it is to suggest that the person go and play than it is to say, "Oh thanks! I would have missed that one if not for you!"

* Even though said three year old would be very willing to help you remove that tiny little weed (or maybe even the big one if he's feeling generous), the only thing he's really good at is taking care of the visual top layer. The real work has to be done by myself (with God's help) and not by people who can only pluck leaves and point out problems. (Reminder to self: Don't be the three year old!)

* The least helpful person is the one who watches you struggle along and only offers encouragement by way of putting sticks and rocks into their own mouth, causing you to be vigilant in many directions at the same time. Even if they are cute.

* Sometimes, amid the weeds, you find an errant seed pod from a nearby tree that managed to establish itself among the rocks and has already sprouted roots. You pull it up and look at it in awe and wonder, and call others over to admire it also. A new tree is a good thing, right? But sometimes the timing is wrong - or the location. So you admire the handiwork, take the teachable moment, and continue tending to that which you know you are supposed to care for. In some cases, it's all about the rocks and not the trees.

* It's tough work to keep a driveway clean and usable. Body parts can begin to ache. But it is the best thing that can possibly be done so that God can transport you and use you in the places He means for you to be. And that makes the job worth it in the end.

Reading vs. Housework - This Week in Words

Ah ha! An argument that interests me! =D

Carpe Libris introduced me to this article by Susan Wise Bauer on the importance of reading. This was my favorite quote:

“Acquaint yourself with your own ignorance," Isaac Watts advised his readers in his self-education treatise Improvement of the Mind (originally published in 1741). “Impress your mind with a deep and painful sense of the low and imperfect degrees of your present knowledge." This cheerful admonition was intended as a reassurance, not a condemnation. A well-trained mind is the result of application, not inborn genius. Smart readers aren't born; they're just willing to tackle difficult reading and to stick with it.

Click HERE to read the complete article. It produces some good food for thought!

Winners!

Ok, last thing for the week and then I'm gone on my weekend break, k? =)

Winners for last week's contest (all selected by random.org, of course!):

The winner of Five-Minute Devotionals for Children is: #21 - Eileen

The winner of the complete set of Anne of Green Gables books is: #35 - Sara Lil Ash

The winner of the set of three YA novels is: #14 -Soozie4Him

Congrats, ladies! I'll be gathering up mailing addresses to get these off to you!

Learning to Read

One more thing before we get our weekend going.... I've already talked about how much I like eeBoo. I don't think I need to repeat myself but just in case you missed the memo, I really like eeBoo products.

They have a couple of new products which showed up on my front door a few weeks ago and with which we've been having a spot of fun with.

The first product,Animal Spelling Puzzles, I confess to feeling a bit skeptical about it. Still, it's eeBoo and so I have to give them the benefit of the doubt.



These puzzles both mercifully arrived on a day which "we" were a bit under the weather and I needed motivation to keep Bookworm1 in or very nearby the bathroom. We spread these pieces out on the tile floor and went to town.

Bookworm1 is at the stage of reading/phonics where he can recognize all of the letters (N, M and W are the confusing little buggers, but I think that's pretty much par for the course) and he knows what sounds they make. I've been sounding out short words with him during regular reading times but I wasn't sure how interested he'd be in this puzzle. I was wrong. He was interested in and AND he loved it. Why? Here are my worries and his response:

1. The pieces don't interconnect with one another so I wasn't sure he'd grasp the whole concept after my saying that it was a puzzle.

Response: I pulled away the "c" from the word/picture "cow" and said, "Look! Now we've taken away the 'c' and it just says 'OW!!!!'" I added dramatics and he thought it was hysterically funny. After that he took advantage of the fact that the pieces were not attached to one another and make up a whole bunch of silly words which mommy happily read aloud to him. He was exploring letters and sound combinations. He was blissfully ignorant of how blissfully aware I was and so we both had a great time!

2. I wasn't sure how he'd respond to trying to put together numerous three letter words.

Response: He wasn't phased at all. These puzzles are perfect for where he is at in letter/phonics recognition and it gave us a jumping off point.

In short, we did well with these Animal Spelling Puzzles and, seeing as the are appropriately themed, we are extra super duper excited about them. Again, I still love the fact that eeBoo makes such sturdy products to be played with heavily without showing signs of wear and tear. My only complaint is that the "G" isn't defined enough and kind of looks like a "C". Instead of making him guess too hard on the "G's" I felt compelled to just tell him what the letter was so as to prevent confusion. Otherwise, no complaints!


Next, they also sent Counting Animal Puzzles (a new release, January 2010) which are interlocking and each number is a three-piece puzzle. You'll find the number on it, a correlating number of animals, and the number word spelled out (i.e., "f-o-u-r"). The puzzle pieces lock together well, which is one of the reason I love eeBoo in the first place. Their illustrations are quaint and perfect and have a retro/vintage feel to them which I find visually appealing.

We played this puzzle "game" after we played the Animal Spelling one and so Bookworm1 was on a roll spelling things out. He went on spelling and spelling and putting together sounds which I thought was just fantastic.

Since I like to practice what I preach, although I was sent the samples above, I really do love eeBoo for their quality products. I purchased a set of Simple Puzzle Pairs - Rhyming Words for us to use. We've used this set to match up rhyming words and then followed up by reading quite a bit of Dr. Suess of late!

Bookworm1 just loves puzzles and story telling and so any chance I have to combine the two by using them to promote a love of reading - well, you can bet I'm going to take the opportunity! We're doing real well and making very good progress for a three year old! I've no complaints and we're having a good time.

Thanks, eeBoo for adding to our fun and being committed to creating excellent products for children and their parents/teachers to enjoy!

Friday Five Favs

Susanne at Living to Tell the Story hosts this carnival every Friday for people to list their five favorite things for the week.

This week I'm going to take the opportunity to make a little announcement. A looong while ago we mentioned that we were pursuing an adoption and I'm delighted to be able to tell you that Bookworm2 has taken up residence with us here in our log home. He has been an utter delight and a joy and I'm so very happy to be in a position to share our joy with you.

Usually we try to avoid posting photos of our kids on the Internet, but for this grand occasion we'll make an exception! So this week it's Five Things about Bookworm2 That I Am Fond Of:

1. These two sweet, kissable dimples.....

2. I'm grateful that we get to see them often, usually when he's laughing. And he's been laughing an awful lot lately which is beautiful to behold!


3. I love that his nose wrinkles up when he starts roaring shrieking with laughter. He likes to play something we refer to as "Extreme Peek-a-Boo" which generally involves some nose crinkling as he stumbles about, trying to maintain his balance while playing running games. (He just recently started walking but seems to want to advance to a run in short order.)


4. I'm grateful for the moments of his life that we have been able to celebrate with him. Celebrating children's milestones is typically delightful and we love finding things to celebrate as a general rule. His birthday this past week was an especially wonderful thing to get to be a part of as his mother, father and FAMILY!


5. I'm seriously grateful for the bond that has developed already (in full force!) between Bookworm1 and Bookworm2. They make each other laugh. Bookworm1 asks to include Bookworm2 in everything that we're doing. Quite simply - they belong and they are brothers.

I could write up an entire list of things I am grateful for surrounding Bookworm2 and who he is as a unique and special person. He's an incredible kid and we're so very thankful that he is in our lives and a part of our family. We are blessed beyond measure and that's a fact!

Happy to be spending time this weekend as a family of four,

Carrie

Religion Saves (plus 9 other misconceptions) by Mark Driscoll

Today's post includes comments from a regular contributor to the blog... although his "contributions" are usually in the HTML code! Basically this: Jonathan beat me to reading this book and the penalty for that is helping writing up a review!)

While Jonathan read the entire book, I (Carrie) only read three chapters of it. So Jonathan wrote up the gist of this and our comments are intermingled throughout and, well, you'll see....

Jonathan: Although Carrie does most of the reading in the family, occasionally I'm drawn to a particular title and am able to devote a few hours to a good book. Such was the case for Religion Saves: And Nine Other Misconceptions by Mark Driscoll. We'd heard of Mark Driscoll before, as the pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, with a particularly bold leadership style that has attracted a large following.

Carrie: I have to say that this book made me nervous because I was confusing Driscoll's Mars Hill Church with Rob Bell's Mars Hill Church. They are not affiliated with one another. Bell is part of the emergent church movement. Mark Driscoll stands opposed to it. Once I understood that fact, reading this book was not a problem.

Jonathan: The fundamental concept behind this book caught my attention immediately. Driscoll set out to discover the most controversial questions facing the current generation of Christians, with the intention of writing a book to address those specific issues directly from scripture.

After working through the 343,203 votes cast in his online poll, the following "grab bag" subjects presented themselves, with each receiving a chapter in the book:

• The Regulative Principle (How concretely does scripture dictate the methodology of a church service?)


• The Emerging Church (What aspects of theology and methodology are seeing revision in "emerging" churches?)


• Dating (How does a Christian date righteously?)


• Faith and Works (If salvation is by faith alone, why are there so many confusing verses about works?)


• Sexual Sin (How should Christians pursue breaking free from the bondage of sexual sin?)


• Grace (How does the grace of God and salvation apply to the various stages of our Christian lives?)


• Predestination (Why would God create people he foreknows will suffer eternal condemnation?)


• Humor (What kind of sarcastic jokes are appropriate in addressing sinful behaviors, knowing that we are called to evangelize the lost?)


• Birth Control (What kind of direction does the Bible give that can be applied to a policy around birth control?)

Picking up the book, I opened it immediately to the chapters I was most interested in. (Don't worry, Carrie, "Dating" was not one of them!) I think that's the way this book is intended to be used -- jump to whatever subject most applies to your life and thoughts at any given time, don't try to digest it from start to finish reading in one large chunk.

Carrie: I read three of the chapters in this book. First, I read the chapter surrounding questions involving the concept of the Emerging Church. I appreciated the way that Driscoll laid out his explanations for the various church movements, pointing out the differences between the reformed vs. liberals. I thought he did a really good job laying out the perspectives and it helped me make sense of things and understand who some of the key players are and where they are coming from.

Secondly, I read the chapter on Birth Control (and was offended by about half of its content because I thought it was more explicit than it had need to be) and lastly I read the chapter on Biblical Humor and really can't say that I think much of Driscoll's method of communication. Basically - he thinks he's funny and I don't. He likes to reference Doug Wilson. A lot. But I walked away feeling like he was using Wilson as an excuse to attempt his variety of humor, and it wasn't backed up by anything really solid in the scripture department, and therefore I was less than impressed.


Jonathan: In my reading of this book, I found that, in general, my theology agrees solidly with Driscoll's arguments. His theology is practical and down-to-earth reformed doctrine, without much sugar-coating. His writing style is conversational, yet at the same time very studied, like listening to an engaging lecture series by a seminar professor on "Apply Christian Doctrine To Our Lives And Culture".

Carrie: I agree with Jonathan in saying that my theology tends to agree with Driscoll's. He just communicates in such a way that really grates on my nerves and makes it hard(er) for me to admit to the fact. As Jonathan said, his writing style is conversational which also makes it controversial. That said, I'm willing to extend some grace here because I really like Doug Wilson and, having sat under his teaching for almost a year when I lived in Idaho, I can "hear" him talking in his writing. I have seen how Wilson can be misquoted and misunderstood, because the way that he communicates is risky. However, "knowing" him helps. I don't know Driscoll which makes reading him somewhat problematic. I've never heard him speak. And so I read what he has written here and I have to grit my teeth and try to catch the gist of the message and assume his attitude. When the smoke stops pouring out of my ears long enough, and I go back and re-read paragraphs, I find that I typically agree with him.

Jonathan: Driscoll's responses to each of the questions in this book are pretty thorough, but they stop short of becoming tiresome. They are extremely rooted in scripture (very much appreciated!) and he includes as much foundational doctrine as is necessary to address each issue, without going overboard or off on tangents.

I particularly appreciated the analogies he used to drive certain points home. One that really struck me was related to the issue of, "If God has predestined the eternal condition of people, why does he include us in the process of evangelism?" Driscoll writes,

"We should evangelize the lost because God has chosen to work through our ministry efforts to save people. He does this so that we would share in his joy and get to know the heart of our Father better. Similarly, when I was a little boy, my dad was a union construction worker who hung sheet rock. I still remember the times when I dressed up like my pop, donning overalls, a white T-shirt, steel-toed boots, and a miniature hard hat, and packed up my lunch box and thermos to go to work with my dad. He would give me a few tasks throughout the day, and by working with my dad I got to know him better and spend time in his world. God is a Father like that. He needs people like me to evangelize the world no more than my dad needed a little boy to build an apartment complex, but he takes his kids to work because he loves them and wants to be with them doing what he loves." (p. 97)

His approach of teaching directly to the controversial questions being asked by people is similar to the book of 1 Corinthians, where Paul answers a series of questions posed by people in the Corinthian church.

Carrie: As I said, I could see Driscoll's points after a brief moment (wherein I was screaming into a pillow). Not to sound like a broken record or anything, but Driscoll's arguments for humor, in my opinion, fall short of Biblical justification. He quotes some scripture references and then makes an argument like "Why You Should Read the Bible As You Would a Comic Strip" (ok, ok, ok...I'm paraphrasing. Nastily, I admit.) In fact, the references he listed were so not funny I was bewildered. That said, I really do have a big bone to pick with the Emergent Church and I DID think Driscoll's response to the movement was, um, suitably humorous. For example, in talking about the movement's desire to be humble:

"If you would like to see this pride, just log on to an emergent discussion board online, chat with an emergent pastor, or attend an emergent event and say you are a Calvinist who believes that only men should be pastors and that Jesus died in our place for our sin and that anyone who does not repent of sins like homosexuality and trust in Jesus will spend forever in the conscious eternal torments of hell. I bet you two Left Behind trading cards that you will learn that all the nice talk about not having any theological certainty and being humble about it is about an honest as a politician behind in the polls near election day. After all, one way you can know that people are not humble is when they write a book and say that they alone are humble enough to see their own humility, and when they call you arrogant if you disagree with them." (page 240)

I admit I laughed out loud at that.

Jonathan: Overall, my opinion is that Driscoll did a good job addressing important questions in a broad spectrum of topics. At the same time, the "9 misconceptions" described by the title are not really addressing misconceptions at all, but just applying the truth of scripture to some important areas of life.

Carrie: I do like the premise of Religion Saves and I do like how much it really makes you grapple with your beliefs. I think he laid out his thoughts and his arguments well. I just have a hard time with his communication style, though, and that makes it something of a struggle for me to deal with.

In conclusion - we talked about this book again after we wrote up this review and we both agreed that Driscoll's communication style makes it hard to hear his message at first. Definitely don't plan on reading just one chapter to get a feel for who Driscoll is and expect to think you have him all figured out. He's complex, which, in this case, is a compliment!

For what it's worth - them's our thoughts!

Big Fish, by Daniel Wallace

I didn't realize that Big Fish started out as a book but I found a copy of it at Goodwill last week and snatched it up. I watched the movie when it first came out back in 2004 and remembered thinking that it had a fun premise, focused on the art of story telling. The book made it appearance on the scene in 1998 and like many modern books, it caught the attention of Hollywood filmmakers for all the reasons I remembered it having been a good and entertaining film. Subtitled "A Novel of Mythic Proportions" it certainly is worth looking at how we tell stories and why we tell them the way that we do.

The New York Times Book review says of this book, "Comic and poignant." (That's an incomplete thought but whatever.) It is both of those things. And absolutely depressing besides. I'm no longer surprised that Tim Burton produced the film, as although it does seem magical and inviting, it also has its rather dark side. As the father in this story, Edward Bloom tells his son (in the movie version), "We're storytellers, both of us. I speak mine out; you write yours down. Same thing."

Big Fish is, in fact, the story of a story teller. Wallace presents Edward Bloom as a man who tells so many fantastical stories that everyone (but his own son) absolutely loves him. As Wallace says of Bloom, you 'couldn't not love him' if you knew him. However, I found myself disliking him anyway. The movie would want to paint him out to be a master story teller. But a master story teller only tells the truth. A master story teller would draw his listeners (or readers) in by drawing them towards something that is right and good. Wallace's representation of Bloom, while he attempts to make you like him, falls flat on its face. You can't really like Bloom because he was unlikeable. He used his stories as an excuse for bad behavior, and not for good.

The basic premise of the story is this: Bloom lays dying and his son William, whom Bloom neglected his whole life, wants to have a serious conversation with his father. You see Bloom spent William's boyhood making up stories about himself that he wanted William to believe. He told so many stories that he began to almost believe them for himself. Truth got lost in fiction, but not in a profitable way. I can't say that it was profitable because Bloom's tall tales ultimately separated himself from a right and good relationship with his wife and his son.

The book is laid out in short vignettes. Each vignette is a short story from Bloom's past. It tells about the time he saved his town of Ashland, Alabama from a ravenously hungry giant. It documented his ability to outrun any man alive. One story tells about how he ripped the heart out of a mad dog when it was attacking a small girl. Another story tells how he saved a magic glass eye for an old woman. It was also boasted that he bought up an entire town just because he loved it and the people in it. (One woman in the story he loved a little too much - considering the fact that he was married.) Each story ranges in length from 2-5 pages which makes for a quick and easy read on the one hand. On the other hand, as you read you begin to feel and see how each story separated fact from fiction, giving him excuses to avoid responsibility as a husband and a father.

Naturally the movie takes some liberties with the book, but in this case I don't think it mattered one way or the other. It left out the adulterous affair with the woman in the swamp but it added in another. It's kind of a 'six of one, half dozen of the other' situation. Pick your poison.

Main message of the movie: Bloom was a great story teller.

Main message of the book: Bloom was an absent father who was grasping at straws for how to connect with his son. The only problem is that he used the wrong sort of material to obtain the laughter he so longed to hear from his boy.

That all said, I really did appreciate Wallace's writing style. He is extremely fond of the colon though, which I found noticeably interesting. The most insightful quote that I took away from the book was as follows:

"Remembering a man's stories makes him immortal, did you know that?" (From "My Father's Death: Take 1")

Wallace also had an excellent way of describing individuals in his stories. This was my favorite:

"My father's youthful exploits were many, and the stories told even to this day are beyond counting. But perhaps his most formidable task was facing Karl, the Giant, for in so doing so he was risking his very life. Karl was as tall as any two men, as wide as any three, and as strong as any ten. His face and arms bore the scars of a life lived brutally, a life closer to that of animals than of men. And such was his demeanor. They say Karl was born of a woman like any mortal, but it became clear soon enough that a mistake had been made. He was just too huge. His mother would buy him clothes in the morning, and by afternoon the seams would tear, so fast was his body growing." (From "How He Tamed the Giant.")

One of the main points that Wallace makes in the book is that laughter truly is the best medicine. William asks his father, Bloom, what he thinks of God. He asks Bloom to give him a straight answer, because he knows his father is dying and he wants to know and understand him as best as possible before their time together is over. The following conversation ensues which I think is the most poignant part of the book:

"Never felt comfortable addressing these things head on," he says, moving uncomfortably beneath his sheets. "Who really knows for certain? Proof is unavailable. So one day I think yes, the next no. Other days, I'm on the fence. Is there a God? Some days I really believe there is, others, I'm not so sure. Under these less than ideal conditions, a good joke somehow seems more appropriate. At least you can laugh."
"But a joke," I say, "[is] funny for a minute or two and that's it. You're left with nothing. Even if you changed your mind every other day I'd rather -- I wished you'd shared some of these things with me. Even your doubts would have been better than a constant stream of jokes." (From "My Father's Death: Take 2")

There is just such a sense of desperation about this story - a son wanting to know a father who will not welcome him near him because he's afraid to feel. He relies on his jokes, his humor and his "likability." His son is less concerned with his father winning a popularity contest as he is in want of an actual father figure. It's sad, really. They lose their ability to have a true relationship because of Bloom's incessant need to crack smiles in all directions. William didn't want to just laugh with his father. He wanted to know him. Bloom was imbalanced. Relationship never existed as it cannot be expected to under such circumstances.

I didn't walk away thinking that this book, this story, was such a great example of what it means to tell Tall Tales so much as it paints a picture of how we can separate ourselves from truth by making things up to guard ourselves. Instead of stories being used to bless and bind, they inadvertently were used to wound the very person he should have been working hard to know and love. It's pitiful and I mean that in the most sorrowful way.

At the end of the movie tie-in edition of this book there is an interview by Wallace in which he says that although this book is entirely a work of fiction, the feelings that William has towards his father are real in the sense that Wallace didn't feel like he knew his father very well either. He says that the feelings expressed by William in the book are those of his own in relation to his father. Unfortunately, this is a story that I think has come across as being a means of entertaining ourselves with made up scenarios. Personally I think the message runs a little deeper than that. I think it's a story of parenting and how not to do it. Unfortunately, I think it's a message that far too many can relate to and maybe that's what draws people in to this book and movie in the first place. In which case, we should all be sad. Very sad.

At the same time, we should all take note of how we tell stories. Truly good stories and laughter are quite a necessary part of life. But one must find the balance and use stories wisely, always pointing the listener and reader towards truth. When stories tell truth and bind us together, they are the most powerful force in swaying human hearts and minds. It's definitely something worth pondering and because of that, I'm ultimately glad that I read this book.

Little Black Ant on Park Street

I was asked if I wanted to review Janet Halfmann's newest release, Little Black Ant on Park Street which is part of Smithsonian's Backyard Collection. I said yes faster than I could type it! I highlighted some of Halfmann's previous books, including Little Skink's Tail which we absolutely loved! (Click on the title to read my review.)

I was glad to have an early elementary book on hand to explain the world of ants to Bookworm1. While I'm not really a fan of bugs in general, ants I can stand. Mostly. (Unless it was that grade school science book that was ENTIRELY about ants that I was subjected to around sixth grade. Or unless they are Texas fire ants.) Otherwise, ants are on the list of subjects I can stand to talk about and even look at if I must.

The book is simple and basic, explaining how an ant hunts for and gathers food. It explains a ant's nest and what their yearly habits are. Remembering very little of the ant book I read in school, I got a mini refresher course that is perfect for where my toddler is. (Really, a toddler education is fine for me when the subject matter is bugs.) The book reads like a story, documenting one female ant's journey to forage for food and bring it back to the next.

Kathleen Rietz illustrates this book in a manner that compliments Halfmann's tale very well.



There are both up close illustrations of the ants as well as whole scenes being painted to give the reader a feel for the ant's small size in relation to the rest of the world.

I thought this book was marvelous and that Halfmann has done it again! I really appreciate how she helps to bring the animal world to life for young readers. I'm glad to recommend her works yet again. If you haven't checked out a Halfmann book, a good place to start this summer might be Little Black Ant on Park Street.

Kids' Picks

I missed last month's Kids' Picks carnival at 5 Minutes for Books so I'm sort of getting back in the groove. It's no secret around here that we have a sea life obsessed three and a half year old running around these parts and so you shouldn't be at all surprised by the fact that his picks involve ocean life.

His first pick and a frequent requested read around these parts is My Visit to the Aquarium, by Aliki. I've written about Aliki before over at Reading My Library. She's a rather private author/illustrator and it's been hard to learn more about her, but just about everything that we've picked up by her we have absolutely loved. This book is no exception. In fact, it's greater than the general rule.

This book lays out a young child's visit to the aquarium, talking about how you can walk through coral reefs, touch things in a tide pool, see sharks being fed., etc. Actually, the book reminded me a great deal of aquarium in Long Beach, CA that we had the opportunity of visiting last year. My Visit to the Aquarium really sets up expectations well for a visit to the aquarium, whetting my young boy's appetite for real life visual encounters with octopuses, sharks and various and sundry sea life.

I don't know if you could marry two subjects more perfectly for my son than to combine Thomas the Tank Engine and sea creatures. If your child has an interest in either, you should check out Down at the Docks which sits on our coffee table, very close by My Visit to the Aquarium. In this particular story, Thomas goes down to the docks to see if he can be of any use and he finds Salty toting around some aquarium cars which contain a dangerous looking shark (that scares the bejeebies out of Percy) and an octopus. Due to Percy having been frightened by the shark, a huge catastrophe occurs and the help of a brave and very useful little engine is required in order to clean up one huge mess!

It's a cute story and it's about Thomas (oh, and an octopus!) and so we're happy with it.

Speaking of an octopus - we went and saw one yesterday. Thanks to a tip from a friend, we heard that you could see a real live octopus being fed at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport. So we decided to take a day trip to see it and it was every bit as amazing as we were led to believe! (Thanks, anonymous friend of mine. ;) ha!)

Bookworm1 was dancing jigs to be able to see a real octopus and he watched with fascination as the octopus ate his meal of a dungeness crab. His prayer at bedtime, following our return home, was full of thankfulness for the opportunity to see this beast hide under a rock and then come out and eat a crab.

He was made even more thankful because, although I meant to heed my friend's warning about the Science Center's book store, it was a bit more tempting than I anticipated. We walked away with a new toy octopus and the following book which we have read multiple times already and also recommend it to you as a great ocean life read:



Gentle Giant Octopus tells the story of a mother octopus who is in search of a cave in which she can lay her eggs. She has a run in with a crab and an eel before she finds the perfect spot to place her babies. Did you know that an octopus can lay around 60,000 eggs at a time!? Any guesses as to how many survive?! I was blown away when I heard the answer.

This book very nicely affirmed everything that the octopus feeder/tour guide told us when we were at the center which made this book the perfect follow-up for our trip.

Lastly, in anticipation of our upcoming trip to see our sea friend, we made a cake. I told Bookworm1 that I would put the icing on and then he could get whichever sea creatures of his that he would like to put on the cake and decorate it himself. This is his cake:


Haha! I love looking at it. I loved watching him decorate his cake too! He was just so very happy!

We had a wonderful three day weekend together as a family. We're storing up the memories of our excitable and thankful child and learning so much about the ocean as we go!