resurrection

He came back.

After that brutal Friday, and that long, quiet Saturday, he came back.

And that one intake of breath in the tomb changes everything. It changes the very reason I drew breath today and the way I move about in this world because I believe he’s coming back again. The world has gone on for more than two millennia since Jesus’ feet tread the earth he made. What would they have said back then if someone had told them that some two thousand years later we’d still be waiting? They would’ve thought back to that long Saturday and said, ‘Two thousand years will seem like a breath to you when you finally lay your crown at his feet. We don’t even remember what we were doing on that Saturday, but let me tell you about Sunday morning. Now that was something.’

These many years of waiting will only be a sentence in the story. This long day will come to an end, and I believe it will end in glory, when we will shine like suns and stride the green hills with those we love and the One who loves. We will look with our new eyes and speak with our new tongues and turn to each other and say, ‘Do you remember the waiting? The long years, the bitter pain, the gnawing doubt, the relentless ache?’ And like Mary at the tomb, we will say: ‘I remember only the light, and the voice calling my name, and the overwhelming joy that the waiting was finally over.’

The stone will be rolled away for each of us. May we wait with faithful hearts.

—Andrew Peterson, CD liner notes for Resurrection Letters Volume II (Centricity Music: 2008)

HT Of First Importance

my 2009 reading list

I've been thinking about which Christian books to read this year. I'm planning to set aside 15-30 minutes a day for serious reading. I don't need any extra encouragement to read novels!

I want to be more intentional about which books I read. So I've made this list, which you can see in the right hand column of this blog. I'm sure I won't read all these books, and I know others will make their way onto the list, but it's a starting point.

Here's how I picked the books on my 2009 reading list:

• Books about grace. I'm a little tired of books on women's issues. How easy it is for me, and I suspect for many women, to think so hard about our emotional states and the tasks we have to do every day, that we forget to think about Jesus! And I need a refresher course on God's grace (don't we all?). So I'd like to read some books about grace and the cross.


• Books about change. I'm still working through a pile of books on biblical counselling, people-pleasing, anxiety, depression and feelings. In term 2 I'll be writing and teaching on Tim Chester's You Can Change. As for personal change, I'm reading CJ Mahaney's Humility: True Greatness: expect to hear more about how God is dealing with my pride.


• Books on the Bible. I'm leading a Bible study and teaching Sunday School this year. You can probably tell what I'm covering from my book list: Proverbs, Hebrews, and the tabernacle.
  
• Christian biography. There are few things more inspiring than reading about the lives of God's faithful people. Don Carson's story of his dad, Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor, sounds inspiring. Any other ideas?


• Christian classics. I want to keep reading books by the Reformers and Puritans, both for my own sake and so I can share them with you. So there are books by Martin Luther, John Owen and Richard Baxter on my shelf: I haven't decided which to read yet!


• Books about ministry to women. I've dipped into Sharon James' God's Design for Women and would love to finish it, and Wendy Alsup's Practical Theology for Women looks interesting. There are also a couple of books on women mentoring women, which I might write about in term 3.


• Books about marriage, parenting and homemaking. I'll be honest, I don't enjoy reading books on these topics, as they often leave me drowned in rules and guilt. But since these are the main spheres of obedience for me and many women, I thought I'd aim to read a book on each of these topics every year.


• Books about other stuff. If you look closely, you'll notice books on mid-life, writing, prayer, exercising, and spiritual warfare: an interesting hodge-podge!

Any other books I should read? What are you reading?

surely goodness and mercy

How are you feeling about the year that's just begun? Are you optimistic and ready for its demands? Or are you anxious and stressed, worried that you won't be able to cope with the months ahead?

I've been regarding this year with trepidation. Normally by early January, I've reflected on the year that's passed and the one that's coming. I've thought about what areas of godliness I want to work on, and written a list of resolutions to be observed or ignored, as the case may be. I've drawn up a budget, and typed out a daily and weekly plan. But an overly busy December and illness during our post-Christmas vacation left little time for reflection and planning. What's more, last year was a hard year, which scared me a little. I feel anxious about my ability to cope with the unknown, and worried that the known will look all too familiar.

Or I was feeling like that until I picked up my Bible the other morning. I turned the pages to the well-known words of Psalm 23, and read each sentence slowly and prayerfully. ...

Read the rest at Sola Panel today

a thank you to you

I just wanted to thank you for your many comments since this blog started over a year ago. It occurred to me that I don't often thank you, but I really appreciate the imput of so many wise and godly women on topics close to my heart. Your comments help me to clarify my thoughts, give me ideas for dealing with practical problems, and make me smile - and sometimes cry. So thank you! I thank God for you.

fruit platter

Don't you just love fruit platters? Healthy and fun!

my favourite children's books (1) chapter books

Here's a list of my all time favourite chapter books for children and teenagers, as promised. With very few exceptions (when one of my kids, a good friend or her child adores them) these are the kids' books I love the most.

Most of them are books I enjoyed as a child, some I discovered as a young adult, and others I found as I searched for books to read to my kids. I'm a great fan of children's and teenage fiction, so I add more to my list every year!

There are many, many others I could have included, including lots I'll be encouraging my kids to read as they get older (Treasure Island, Tom Sawyer, Obernewtyn etc.) but this is a personal list, and I've only included my favourites.

Ages are only approximate, as every child and parent is different. There are a few adult books in the teenage section which I enjoyed at that age, and some collections of stories and 1 or 2 books of poetry have snuck onto the list.

Please add your own favourite children's books to the comments. I'd especially like to hear about well written, well produced, theologically astute Christian books for kids - but I'm also interested in all kinds of other books, as you can see! I hope you enjoy browsing the list, and perhaps choosing some to read yourself, or to your child.

young children
Christian
Paul White Jungle Doctor Fables
other
Enid Blyton Faraway Tree series, Wishing Chair series, Naughtiest Girl in the School series (I could keep going)
Joyce Lankester Brisley Milly-Molly-Mandy
Dorothy Edwards My Naughty Little Sister
Ruth Park The Adventures of the Muddle-Headed Wombat
Leslie Rees The Big Book of Digit Dick
James Herriot James Herriot's Treasury for Children
Beatrix Potter The Complete Tales of Beatrix Potter
Rev. W. Audrey Thomas the Tank Engine
A.A. Milne Winnie the Pooh (although I like his poems better - When We Were Very Young and Now We are Six)

early to late primary
Christian
CS Lewis The Chronicles of Narnia
Patricia M St John Treasures of the Snow, The Tanglewoods Secret, Rainbow Garden (all of her other books too!)
Irene Howat Ten Boys who Changed the World / Made History series and Ten Girls who Didn't Give In / Made a Difference series (Christian biography for kids)
Paul White Jungle Doctor series
John Bunyan Pilgrim's Progress
other
Laura Ingalls Wilder Little House series
Arthur Ransome Swallows and Amazons series
Elizabeth Goudge The Little White Horse
Elizabeth Enright's Melendy quartet: The Saturdays, The Four-Story Mistake, Then There Were Five, Spiderweb for Two
Noel Streatfeild Ballet Shoes, White Boots, Gemma series (I love everything she writes)
Fraces Hodgson Burnett The Secret Garden, A Little Princess, Little Lord Fauntleroy
E Nesbit The Railway Children, The Story of the Treasure Seekers, Five Children and It trilogy
Astrid Lindgren The Bullerby Children series
Johanna Spyri Heidi series
Robert C O'Brien Mrs Frisby and the Rats of Nimb
Roald Dahl Danny the Champion of the World, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Matilda (I love most of his books)
Kenneth Grahame The Wind in the Willows
E.B. White Charlotte's Web
Tove Jansson Finn Family Moomintroll series
Dodie Smith 101 Dalmations
Meindert Dejong The Wheel on the School
Mary Norton The Borrowers series
S.A. Wakefield Bottersnikes and Gumbles
Susan Coolidge What Katy Did series
Elyne Mitchell The Silver Brumby series
George MacDonald "A Little Princess" in The Light Princess and Other Stories, The Princess and the Goblin
Susan Adler Samantha, Valerie Tripp et al Josefina, Janet Beeler Shaw Kirsten, Connie Rose Porter et al Addy, and the rest of the American Girl series
Emily Rodda Fairy Realm series (excellent Australian author)
Enid Blyton Famous Five series, Malory Towers series, St. Claire's series
Beverley Cleary Ramona the Pest series, Ralph Mouse series (I've enjoyed all her books)
Eleanor Estes The Moffats series
Glenda Millard The Naming of Tishkin Silk, Layla Queen of Hearts
Hugh Lofting Dr. Doolittle series
Elisabeth Beresford The Wombles series
Lewis Carroll Alice in Wonderland (I'm not such a fan, but my 5 year old loves it)
May Gibbs Snugglepot and Cuddlepie
Hans Christian Anderson The Complete Fairy Tales
Jenny Nimmo Dog Star (a good author to look out for)
Alexander McCall Smith Akimbo books
Kate Dicamillo The Tale of Despereaux

older primary to early high
Christian
Marie Barham Blossom of the Crag
Sallie Lee Bell Until the Day Break
other
JRR Tolkien The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings trilogy
Madeleine L'Engle A Wrinkle in Time
Richard Adam Watership Down
Paul Gallico Jennie, Thomasina (I love all his books)
Louisa May Alcott Little Women series
Robert O'Brien The Silver Crown
Tamora Pierce Protector of the Small quartet, Circle of Magic quartet and The Circle Opens quartet
James Herriot All Creatures Great and Small series
Gerald Durrell My Family and Other Animals trilogy, Encounters with Animals (and all his books)
Mary Mapes Dodge Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates
Norton Juster The Phantom Tollbooth
L.M. Montgomery Anne of Green Gables series
Katherine Paterson Bridge to Terebithia
Alison Uttley A Traveller in Time
William Horwood Duncton Wood
Jean Craighead George Julie of the Wolves Trilogy, My Side of the Mountain Trilogy
Emily Rodda Rowan of Rin series
J.K. Rowling Harry Potter series
Colin Thiele Blue Fin

teenage
Christian
CS Lewis The Space Trilogy, Till We Have Faces
Isobel Kuhn By Searching
Corrie Ten Boon The Hiding Place
other
E.L. Konigsberg From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (I enjoyed all her books)
Dodie Smith I Capture the Castle
Robert O'Brien Z for Zachariah
John Marsden So Much to Tell You, Letters from the Inside, Tomorrow series (some sexual content)
Todd Strasser The Wave
Jack London The Call of the Wild
Margaret Balderson When Jays Fly to Barbmo

mid to late teen
Anne Frank The Diary of Anne Frank
Ursula Le Guin The Earthsea Quartet
John Wyndham The Crysalids, The Day of the Triffids and all the rest
Chaim Potok The Chosen, My Name is Asher Lev
Miss Read Village School series
Mary Renault The Bull from the Sea
Mary Stewart Merlin Trilogy
H.G.Wells The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds
John Knowles A Separate Peace
Alan Paton Cry, the Beloved Country
Margaret Craven I Heard the Owl Call My Name
Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes
Shakespeare Complete Works
Robert Frost The Poetry of Robert Frost
Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice and the rest!
Charlotte Bronte Jane Eyre

image is from emilywjones at Flickr.com

Lizzy's first animation

OK, it's a bit blurry, but I laughed when I saw this on my old digital camera:










by Elizabeth, age 10

It would look better as a slideshow, but I don't know how to do that - can anyone tell me how to import slideshows into blogger?!

Cathy McKay speaks about honesty

I said I'd spoken my last words on honesty - well, actually, I cheated and used Tracey's words instead - and so I have, until next time. But I just had to link to this wise and challenging post on women encouraging each other one-on-one by Cathy McKay at the ever excellent The Best Book Co-op.

Cathy talks about how to confess sin to one another in the context of a relationship of mutual encouragement, how to respond when your Christian sister confesses sin to you, and how to pray about your sin together. I found her suggestions about how to be careful in our honesty, and how to respond to honesty, particularly helpful.

Charles Spurgeon speaks to the broken

There never was one who came to him with a broken heart, but he healed him. He never said to one, “You are too bad for me to heal;” but he did say, “Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out.” My dear hearer, he will not cast you out. You say, “You do not know me, Mr. Spurgeon.” No, I do not; and you have come here to-night, and you hardly know why you are here; only you are very low and very sad.

The Lord Jesus Christ loves such as you are, you poor, desponding, doubting, desolate, disconsolate one. Daughters of sorrow, sons of grief, look ye here! Jesus Christ has gone on healing broken hearts for thousands of years, and he is well up in the business. He understands it by experience, as well as by education. He is “mighty to save.” Consider him; consider him; and the Lord grant you grace to come and trust him even now!

Charles Spurgeon, Christ’s Hospital

HT Of First Importance

encouraging children to read good books

My older 2 children love easily digested books. Lizzy (10) can get through 3 Rainbow Magic books a night. Benny (8) spends hours browsing through his Pokemon Diamond and Pearl Pokedex. Left to themselves, they wouldn't do much serious reading.

For a long time, I've comforted myself with the thought that at least they're reading. I exclaim perkily (and proudly) to the librarian as I borrow yet another enormous pile of books, "Oh, yes, my daughter will read all those!" I'm glad Ben enjoys filling his head with facts, even if they are often limited to an alternate universe filled with bizarre, small creatures.

But I want my children to read good books. And there are many old favourites I'd love to share with them! I read to them fairly regularly: Lizzy and I are about to finish Frances Hodgson Burnett's A Little Princess, and Ben and I are up to the second book in Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons series. But I'd also like them to learn the discipline of reading more challenging books for themselves.

It occurred to me recently that there's a very simple solution. I've set them a nightly reading task. When they read their Bibles, which they do every night after dinner, they're now expected to read a chapter of a book as well. I'm sure this approach isn't for everyone, but it's working really well for us at the moment. They're enjoying it - they just needed that little bit of extra prodding!

Lizzy (10) is half way through CS Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia. Benny (8) has started Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House books. When they've finished, I'll encourage them to choose another good chapter book from our shelves or the library. I'd like to share my list of favourite books for independent readers with you soon.

If you have children who are independent readers, I'm interested to hear how you encourage them to read. When and how do they read? When and how do you read to them? How do you (or they!) choose which books they'll read?

image is by Novelist from flickr