Goals Update: April

It's the end of the month (seriously, already?), and you know what that means- time to see how Jenny did with her goals!

Become a faithful member of the 5 am club. Fail...although I did get up early a few mornings.  I'm not sure what's going on because even when I go to sleep early, I still have a difficult time getting up in the morning, even with my sunrise alarm clock.  Maybe I'm just lazy...maybe I need Jess to give me wake up calls for a while until the habit sticks.  And maybe I need to not get sick (as I am currently doing). 

Memorize 52 verses. I did get some organization going on this one, but I am mainly reviewing the ones I worked on earlier.  I am determined to make May 'Memorization Month'.  Ooo...nice alliteration there, Jenny.  I love it.

Memorize (the first half) of the book of James. Fail again...but see above for Memorization Month.  I don't have a class on Thursday nights, so I am going to focus on getting at least ten more verses from James memorized this month...yes, even while I'm on vacation in a few weeks!

Continue in the SWI program. Success!  We just had our annual Spring Celebration last night and it was a blast!  I finished with my semester, although I still have some papers to write for the seminar I went to in March (papers due at the end of June).  I am going to register for next semester very soon (as soon as they open registration, that is).  I am pretty sure I am going to take 'Cross Cultural Ministry' and 'Baptist Beliefs' in the fall. 

Read through the Bible. I am behind again...way behind, that is.  If you will return to the first goal, you will see that I am having difficulty getting out of bed on time each and every morning.  Then you should understand way I am also struggling with this goal as well... 

Continue to think through our family traditions. Hmm...haven't really done much in this are in terms of concrete applications, but I have thought about it some more...perhaps I should write some ideas down?  Isaac has also mentioned some things just in passing, so we will have to sit down and examine these ideas and begin putting them into practice.
 
Communicate with our family (and friends) more. I did much better with this in April!  I would still like to be better about calling (or 'ringing' as Laura would demand I say) people and not just using email and social networking sites.

Build up our emergency fund. Still focusing on getting out rid of the car loan; see below.

Make a huge dent in our car loan.  We made and extra payment this month, so we're slowly but surely chipping away at it.  I am going to par-tay when it's finally paid off in full- so we can move on to focusing on our wretched student loans!

Cut our grocery bill. I think I may be getting somewhere with this finally!  I'm trying to use a lot less meat, use coupons (even though I rarely buy anything other than the store brand), and do some 'freezer cooking'.  Stephanie also said I could come with her to Sam's Club whenever I wanted, so I'll see if that can help some too!

Develop a consistent and workable cleaning schedule. It's been a bit hectic around here, so the house isn't up to its normal snuff, but we have still been pretty consistent with maintaing the cleanliness.

Read 30 books. I finished six this month, which puts my total for the year at twenty.  I still have sixteen books left on my 2010 reading list, so it looks like I will defiinitely meet my 30-books-for-the-year-goal.  I like it, friends, I like it.

Scrapbook. Let me just hang my head in shame.  Seriously, I am having issues.  I've got pictures printed and ready to go and yet I have nothing to show for it.  S.l.a.c.k.e.r.

Continue blogging. Much better than last month, folks!  And if I do say so myself, I did pretty well at commenting on other blogs.  Excuse me while I go pat myself on the back.

Oh and Swagbucks!  Doing very well there, but would be doing even better if you would join and starting earning with me!

Little Bee

I first heard about this novel several months ago when critics and readers across the nation (and world, considering it was first published in the UK) were singing it praises. I didn't jump at the opportunity to read it because sometimes it's just too difficult to work all day with a vulnerable population such as my refugee clients and then to go home and read about refugees, genocide, and persecution throughout the world (regardless if the book is fiction or not). Back at the beginning of the year, I tried to check out Little Bee from the library, but the waiting list was huge (perhaps more evidence of the novel's acclaim), and I was finally able to pick it up from the library yesterday...

And pretty much did not put it down (aside from sleeping, working, and other necessary bodily functions, of course) until I just finished it about twenty minutes ago. This book is phenomenal. Cleave tells the story of two women: Sarah, a British publisher who has a life-altering experience of a beach in Nigeria one summer and Little Bee, a young Nigerian woman who flees to Great Britain because of the war in her country. The two women's lives intersect and overlap, and in the process Cleave addresses the issues of immigration, refugees, and asylum in foreign countries. Even while discussing such 'big issue hot topics', Cleave is able to portray a deeply and hauntingly personal story of courage and redemption.

Here is a short clip of the author discussing the book:



Please, please, please read this book.

Wonders Never Cease

I have no idea why I chose to review this book for Thomas Nelson, but I was pleasantly surprised. Wonders Never Cease by Tim Downs is the story of a self-centered medical-school-drop-out-turned-nurse and his plan to "get what he deserves". When world-famous actress Liv Hayden is in a serious auto accident and is put into a medically induced coma to prevent swelling of the brain, Kemp McAvoy concocts a plan with a struggling publisher and Hayden's long-time agent to make them all rich.

Since Hayden is Kemp's only patient on his night shift, he adjusts her medication to bring her to semi-conscious state, and then lets the fireworks fly. Kemp explains he is a heavenly visitor- an angel- with a message for all humankind. Once Hayden is brought out of her coma by her doctors, she thinks the entire experience was real- that an angel presented her with a message to share with the world. Conveniently, her agent suggests writing a book- one that will be a best-seller and bring in millions not only for Hayden, but for the individuals involved in the scheme. Things get complicated quickly, and no one knows how everything will turn out in the end.

Sounds like a crazy plot- and it is- but it was actually a really enjoyable read. There are other supporting roles and sub-plots which help to define the main characters in the novel, and Downs does a good job laying out the story and then filling in the crevices with great details. It's not a 'deep thinking' book by any means, but if you're in the mood for a relaxing read, this would be a good option.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Happy Birthday Grammie!

Today is my Grammie's birthday; she is one heck of a fiesty woman and I love her for it.  Some of my favorite conversations include her using the word "smashed" to refer to numerous drunk people in Germany and her telling me she is going to stop talking to me now because her "arm is tired from holding up the phone".  I'll never forget one day: I was at my grandparents' house (they live two blocks from my mom) and was sitting at the table with my mom, my grandmother, and my grandfather.  Between the three women, my poor grandfather couldn't get a word in edgewise.  At one point he looked rather exasperated and mentioned something about how women sure do talk a lot; my grandmother looked from me to my mom and back again and just said simply, "Well, I guess we sure are three peas in a pod."

Yes, yes we are.  And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Yes, she is wearing a Santa hat with Mickey ears...and threatening me with a spool of ribbon.

The Portrait of a Lady

Wow, folks. I never thought it would happen. I never thought I would actually finish this book. I probably started this novel way back in 2007. And then put it down for a few months. Eventually, I would pick it up, read for a while, and put it down again for another four or five months. But after officially placing it on my 2010 Reading List, I was determined to finish it before the year's end.

The Portrait of a Lady follows the story of Isabel Archer as she travels from America to Europe, courtesy of her eccentric aunt who wishes Isabel to fulfill her potential. During her time abroad, she captures the heart of her invalid cousin Ralph, as well as a brash American and a British aristocrat. But it is Isabel's innocence and vulnerability that lead her not to love, but to an entrapment of deception and betrayal.

In all honesty, it was not my favorite Henry James book. The plot sounds exciting and adventuresome, but the dialogue reads rather slowly in many parts. I could never quite make out Isabel's character either. However, James does achieve a rather significant goal in that the reader is able to identify with the characters and often finds herself "rooting" for her certain suitors while scolding Isabel for her choices. One of my friends saw I was reading the book a while back and commented, "Ugh, that girl was so stupid. I was actually yelling at the book and telling her not to be an idiot and to choose a different man than the jerk she was falling for. I mean, really how unrealistic can you be?" But in reality, James portrays a very real storyline in that his characters are not charming and perfect on all levels; they are real beings. They each have perfectly amiable qualities, but each suffers from their own particular imperfections...how more true to life can an author be?

I am glad I read the novel, and it did seem to pick up a good deal toward the latter half, but I much prefer Daisy Miller or Washington Square to Isabel's story.

The Last Unicorn

Hold on to your butts (five points if you can name from what movie that phrase is), because I have a slew of book reviews coming! I'm not necessarily reading them or posting the reviews in the order in which I read the books, so we'll see how much longer I can put off The Portrait of a Lady and Corelli's Mandolin. Seriously, I have no idea why I'm procrastinating on those reviews!

Last month, I mentioned an interesting tradition which I've developed over the past few years: watching The Last Unicorn on the Ides of March. The movie isn't that well known (although it is still a big hit in Germany and apparently the television stations play it on Christmas Eve and Christmas...even though the book has absolutely nothing to do with the season), and honestly if you didn't watch it as a child, you probably wouldn't like it as an adult. But it's got a lot of nostalgic quality for me, and so I continue to pop the movie into the DVD player every now and then. It wasn't until this year that I realized the movie is based on a book by the same individual who wrote the screenplay. How I never noticed this fact beats me, but I thought it was decidedly time for me to do something about this catastrophe and read the darn book.

The Last Unicorn is the story of one unicorn, which is in fact the last unicorn left in the world. She hears rumors of the Red Bull who chased down all the other unicorns many years ago and "covered their footprints behind them" and determines she must find out what happened to the other unicorns. She leaves her forest, and her journey begins. Along the way, she faces many challenges and dangers, but is helped along by two traveling companions who join her at different points. They eventually learn that King Haggard keeps the Bull (or the Bull keeps Haggard- no one is sure which is correct) and continue on to his castle in order to learn the truth and to save the rest of the unicorns. But once they reach King Haggard's land, the Red Bull senses the unicorn's presence and begins to chase her...until one of the unicorn's traveling companions (a fairly lousy magician) does the only thing he can do to save the unicorn from the Red Bull: he changes her into something she is not (won't share the specific form so not to ruin the story). Her new form only adds to the complexities of the plot, as the unicorn is not completely sure who she is in this new form.

The book itself is pretty short, and there are definitely some slow parts in it. Because I had seen the movie before reading the book, I had a mental image of what all the characters should look like. I have to say that for the most part, the animation in the movie did a nice job capturing the qualities of the different characters. Interestingly enough, Beagle left out some pretty sizable chunks and sub-plots with the screenplay (time constraints, possibly). Over all, it would be a good book to read aloud to most children, but be careful with the movie; there are definitely some very scary parts!

Thunder Over Louisville

Last night, the festivities of Derby kicked off with Thunder Over Louisville, the annual airshow and fireworks display.  While the airshow just isn't the same as air shows in Pensacola (oh how I miss thee, Blue Angels!  Please come to Thunder next year), the fireworks are simply amazing.  It doesn't do it justice to say, "Oh yeah, Thunder is a great fireworks show."  No, no, no!  It's the largest fireworks display in the nation and the second largest in the whole world.  The fireworks are launched from one of the bridges over the Ohio River.  And of course, fireworks over water is the best way to view them!  Last year, we were right on the Ohio in the thick of things; my body was literally shaking because it was so loud (and awesome).  This year, however, we ventured over to the Indiana side of the Ohio for a cookout with some friends and then climbed up the flood wall to watch the show from a distance.  Here are some pictures from the evening (since I don't have a wicked awesome camera like some people, I couldn't get any good shots of the fireworks; I just pulled those from Thunder's website so the images can somewhat do the experience justice):

Stephanie and Cambelle

Jen, Jenny, and Jaclyn...and the Presidents.  I know some of you remember this (in)famous blanket!

Maddy!!!!!

Freezing before the show...it was hot all week and the temps plummeted on Saturday!

Some of the girls: Me, Amanda, Jen, and Jaclyn

Okay, this shot is from my camera...but I thought it was kinda cool.

The beginning...

From the River...

The Fountain of Fire!!!!

If you have some extra time of your hands, check out the whole show (the finale starts around 21:00 and an awesome Michael Jackson spot is at the seven-minute mark):

Stories of Change

Our church is launching a new vision campaign, and our community group attended one of the vision meetings a few weeks ago.  They opened with this video that I want to share with you.  I hope you are blessed by seeing how the Lord has worked in so many lives (and indeed continues to work) and are also reminded of your own story of change.  To God be the glory:


Stories Of Change from Sojourn Community Church on Vimeo.

Women Leading Women

This book was required reading for my current SWI course, Leadership II. We only have one class left this term, and then we'll party at the annual Spring Celebration the following week (and I hear they have excellent door prizes...so keep your fingers crossed for me). I'm working on my final paper for the class now and will have then completed an entire year of SWI courses (well, except I’m still working on papers for the Seminar Saturday held back in March). For the most part, my SWI experience definitely exceeded my expectations; I am so thankful the Lord placed me in Discipleship I and II last semester because I got to be good friends with some great women, including this girl and this girl and all the others who don't have blogs (which is still very upsetting to me and Jessica especially). At any rate, I'm going to continue taking classes through SWI because it's good to continue learning and there is a great natural support system built in to the classes (i.e. we’re all poor seminary wives trying to support our husbands through this crazy season). I'm not entirely sure of the class I'm going to take next semester, but you can be sure I'll let you know about it!

Back to the book. If you weren't aware, there is an ongoing debate about in the Church about biblical manhood and womanhood and the role of women versus the role of women (especially specifically related to the Church). The words 'complementation' and 'egalitarian' are thrown around a lot these days. This book doesn't directly discuss the whole complementation versus egalitarian debate a great deal, but the authors do focus a great deal of attention on women's ministry and leadership in the church. In fact, the book is all about women and how we serve the Church within our God-ordained roles. I'm not going to get into a debate about complementation and egalitarian views, but I will state that I am a staunch holder of the complementation view. Take it or leave it for what it's worth, but please don't begin a nasty debate (not all debates are nasty, but it sure seems that Christians seem to get in a lot of nasty ones, especially over the internet, which is both heart-breaking and disturbing).

Women Leading Women: The Biblical Model for the Church assumes a complementation view, and addresses the who, why, what, and how questions of women's ministry. Not every church needs to have an official women's ministry, but it is important (and very biblical) for women to minister to women within the context of the local body. I know some individuals may spurt, "You think women should only minister to women?" Well, of course women don't only minister to other women; we minister to the entire church through our service; we minister to our children- both the girls and the boys- as we raise them up in the faith. But women don't lead men in ministry. That's not simply the way God set up His creation. Women lead other women because...well, we're women. Just as men need other men in their lives who will minister to them- hold them accountable, study the Word together, and work through sin in their lives- women need other women to minister to them.  I'm not suggesting a woman never shares the Gospel with a man or vice versa (because the Lord can use whomever He chooses to proclaim His message), but I can't get one statement from the book out of my head. It's convicting and beautiful and stirs me to my core:

"Traveling through a town in Algeria, I was sitting on a bus watching the women as we drove by. The women walking those streets will never hear the gospel of Jesus Christ unless a woman tells them."

I pray that women in the Church would realize their calling to proclaim the good news of Jesus the Christ to other women in their neighborhoods, in their cities, in their states, in their nation, and throughout the entire world. How can this calling be seen as anything less than a man's?

Jane Austen

It's been a while since I reviewed a book for Thomas Nelson, but it should come as no surprise that I chose another biography from the Christian Encounters Series to read. When I saw the biography of the one and only Jane Austen was available for review, I almost had a heart attack because I was so excited. I am most definitely, in the words of one of my refugee elders, a "Number One Fan" of Jane Austen (the refugee actually refers to himself as "Number One Fan" so take that for what you think). My mom introduced me to the literary stylings of Austen when I was a young girl- not only through her books, but also through the amazing adaptation of Pride and Prejudice BBC produced several years back (and yes, that is where my love affair with Colin Firth began, as I'm sure it did for every other female who fancies herself a good match with him).

Of course, Jane Austen is no new subject material for a biographer; hundreds upon hundreds of books describing the authoress's life have hit the market. Even movies have been made concerning her so-called love affairs, however fictionalized they may be. In reality, taking on the challenge of writing a fair and honest biography of Austen must be a daunting task. Because her fame did not reach significant heights until well after her death, we find the details of her life in her surviving correspondence between family and friends. Her nephew James Edward published a biography of his Aunt Jane in the latter half of the eighteenth century, but there is quite a deal of adversity over how he characterized her.

In this particular biography Peter Liethart tries to present an accurate portrayal of the Austen; he uses a great deal of primary sources, citing letter upon letter between Austen and various other people. Leithart also discusses the difficulties in determining just who the real Jane (or "Jenny" as she was called by her family) Austen was. His biography is well-rounded, although it did seem to end rather abruptly. Still, I would recommend it to just about everyone, especially those individuals who already find themselves drawn to Austen's work. One major caveat of the biography: if you have not finished reading most of Austen's novels, you should be forewarned that Leithart tends to describe the plot and characters of her most famous works (Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Mansfield Park, Persuasion), as well as the ending of each of the novels. A definite spoiler alert to be sure!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Total Church

We read through this book together with our community group over the past several weeks. Even though the group wasn't able to discuss every chapter, I decided to go ahead and read the book in its entirety. Discussing the majority of the book with our awesome community group was definitely an incredible blessing; the group really challenged each other as we worked through the chapters, and I am so thankful we were given the opportunity to go through this book with each other.

Total Church: A Radical Reshaping Around Gospel and Community is written by two men from the UK; Tim Chester and Steve Timmis are cofounders of The Crowded House, a church-planning initiative in Sheffield (northern UK) and are also co directors of The Porterbrook Network, which trains and mentors church planters. In their book, they seek to help reshape our thinking about how the Gospel and community practically play out together in everyday life. Basically, the book looks at how we "do church".

It is divided into several different chapters, including Evangelism, Social Involvement, Church Planting, World Mission, Discipleship and Training, Theology, and Children and Young People, among others. In each chapter, the authors examine how the Church in the West approaches each of these aspects and offers some interesting observations. Though I didn't agree with everything put forth by Chester and Timmis, reading the book was like having the giant light bulb about my head finally switched on.

The focus on community is key. Far too often (especially in the West), we live our lives in isolation; but this is not how it was intended. From the very beginning, God designed us to live together. Today, we may think we live "in community" because we attend church on Sundays and our children go to the Wednesday night youth service and we're maybe even in a Bible study one day a week. But do the people we encounter through these activities and programs really know us? And do we really know them? Do we ever dig deep into each others' lives and allow them to do the same in ours? Are we truly transparent and vulnerable with one another? We don't have to be this way with everyone we encounter, but we must allow ourselves to be a part of a community of other believers. "Doing church" is not about programs and agendas, it's about living life together, and when we honestly live life together- through the trials, tribulations, and joys- then we get a glimpse of the true community God intends for His body.

I highly recommend this book; I think once you read it, you will approach community in a much different light.

Easter Loveliness

My long lost friend Tracie mentioned, oh, several months ago that she'd like to hear more about my everyday life, and in an effort to meet her request and also accomplish my goal of blogging a bit more, I present to you this post.

This year, we celebrated Easter dinner with some good friends.  Well, the girls were all good friends; some of our husbands had actually never met before.  The 'SWI Mafia', as Dana has dubbed us (oh, those ex-Soviets and their mafia), first met back in the fall when we were all assigned to the same discipleship group.  Since then, we've found a great support system in each other...and I have to admit, I am slightly obsessed with them.  I am so thankful for these amazingly wonderful ladies!  Though not every member of the Mafia could make it, we did have a good turn out and had a wonderful time together. 

The weather was lovely, so of course we took a ridiculous amount of pictures.  Here are just a few:

The Hubs and I

They look patient, but they just really want the food!

Abby, Jess, Steph, Jenny, Jaclyn (the preggos are on the end and are due within days of each other)

Steph eating lamb for the first time ever...she really did like it, even though she felt like she was eating Jesus.

We had an Easter Egg Hunt for the kiddos.

She's an Austen fan.  We talk about books.  A lot.

I love this picture. 

More lovely flowers...

Praise Jesus for new life!

He is Risen!

He is risen indeed!  I hope you enjoy this day of celebrating the resurrection of our Savior, Jesus the Christ.  I don't know about you, but this is one of the first songs that comes into my head when I wake up on Easter morning:

Behold the Lamb (Communion Hymn)

Words and Music by Keith and Kristyn Getty & Stuart Townend

Behold the Lamb who bears our sins away-
slain for us.  And we remember
the promise made that all who come in faith
find forgiveness at the cross.

So we share in this bread of life,
and we drink of His sacrifice
as a sign of our bonds of peace
around the table of the King.

The body of our Savior Jesus Christ,
torn for you – eat and remember
the wounds that heal, the death that brings us life
paid the price to make us one.

So we share in this bread of life,
and we drink of His sacrifice
as a sign of our bonds of love
around the table of the King.

The blood that cleanses every stain of sin-
shed for you – drink and remember.
He drained death’s cup that all may enter in
to receive the life of God.

So we share in this bread of life,
and we drink of His sacrifice
as a sign of our bonds of grace
around the table of the King.

And so with thankfulness and faith we rise
to respond, and to remember
our call to follow in the steps of Christ
as His body here on earth.

As we share in His suffering,
we proclaim Christ will come again!
And we’ll join in the feast of heaven
around the table of the King.