Thursday, August 18, 2011

Vote for God's Littlest Angels

Seriously, this takes 30 seconds of your time. I voted, registered and blogged this in 2 minutes flat....

God's Littlest Angels is an orphanage in Haiti that I follow by blog, pray for, and hope some day to adopt through. We know people who have adopted through them. Here is their website/blog:

So, what's being asked?
2. Vote for GLA to receive a grant
3. On the top of the web page register to receive 2 more votes
4. Return and vote again, and again
5. Spread the word by email, Facebook, or whatever method you can

Matthew 25:40
“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Book Review: The Rest of God by Mark Buchanan

Again the last few books I have read lead me to this one. The Rest of God: Restoring Your Soul by Restoring Sabbath by Mark Buchanan. I was not familiar with the author at all but found him to be biblically accurate. The book was different than many I have read. I have tried explaining why but can't draw on the right words. The writing is "artsy," very descriptive, very wordy. It took me a bit to get use to it and then I enjoyed his use of big words and description.

There have been several seasons in life when I have felt that we as a family need to have a Sabbath rest. This book was not a how to necessarily but a why you should and what it means kinda book. Here's my break down:
  • Psalm 46:10, Exodus 20:8-9
  • Sabbath is both a day and an attitude
  • Sabbath is time sanctified, time betrothed, time we perceive and receive and approach differently from all other time. We are more intimate with it, more thankful for it, more protective of it and more generous with it.
  • 8 of the 10 Commandments are written in the prohibitive "Thou shalt not." The Sabbath command is written in strong imperatives: remember, observe, keep, stop.
  • Two things keep us from true Sabbath: busyness and legalism. (Trust me I have fallen ill to both)
  • We are to embrace that which gives life, and cease that which is necessary. We need to know not just what to avoid but what to pursue.
These are just a few nuggets on Sabbath. I'm working on cultivating a Sabbath heart and attitude. As a doer I always struggle with slowing down, ignoring the to do list, and being still. This past years health issues have forced me into a more restful life and for that I am thankful.

Here are 3 quotes from the book that resonated with me:
  • "My whole life I have been complaining that my work was constantly interrupted until I discovered the interruptions were my work" (Henry Nouwen)
  • "We can be very busy for God and still not know Him....."
  • "Without a fast it's hard to recognize a feast" (Dorothy Bass)
Since slowing down it has been so much easier to see the feast, hear God, and know the work to be done.

Friday, August 5, 2011

Book Review: The Blessing by Trent & Smalley

I finished reading Shepherding a Child's Heart and Instructing a child's heart by Tedd Tripp which lead me to pick up this book, The Blessing by John Trent & Gary Smalley. When the same theme is presented over and over to me, I take that as the Lord's Sacred Echo and pursue that topic.

The concept of The Blessing is providing our children (could be spouse/friends as well) with genuine acceptance and love.
  • 5 parts of the Blessing:
  • Meaningful Touch: Kissing, hugging, laying on of hands
  • A Spoken Message: Verbal, silence communicates confusion
  • Attaching High Value on the One being Blessed: Honor, bless, respect
  • Picturing a Special Future for the One being Blessed: Affirming the traits they have God will use in the future (ie. my oldest likes to/wants to cook, teach, organize, protect and work with animals = I share how all of those things are a part of my job as a mom and how God will use those as she is a mom/wife)
  • An Active Commitment to Fulfill the Blessing: doing everything possible to help the one being blessed be successful
What I liked about the book is that each element is covered thoroughly. The real life stories hit you to the core. The authors discuss those who missed the blessing of their parents like many hurting people today have. The end of the book gives a list of 100 ways CHILDREN said their parents blessed them (oh so much simpler than we think). Also, scripture blessings are written out and are so powerful to pray over your children (check out Psalm 1).

I recommend the book and found it Biblically accurate. A lot of the material wasn't new to me but a great refresher. For me personally, I was reminded of the need to watch my tongue. It can be used to build up or tear down. To be intentional about speaking words of blessing to my kids and husband. All of us have (at least) one area of the five elements of the Blessing that we can work on. What's yours?

Go to theblessing.com to sign up for The Blessing Challenge.