Bookshelf

Two books I'm excited to be reading:


"The fundamental principles of a culture, the story it accepts as true, its people's dreams, ideals, and vision, provide the foundation for its development."

"For much of the twentieth century, an intellectual war as raged within Christendom between those who would give priority to either evangelism or social action. Both sides are right, and both are wrong. Transformation means nothing less than radical change, in all spheres of life, as when a caterpillar turns into a butterfly. It is not merely a change in religious sentiments but a radical reorientation of a person's life."


"From the moment I arrived in Kurdistan, I felt as if I had fallen through the back door of the world and into a tragic magic kingdom -- the kind of place where tyrants' castles reigned over mist-filled valleys, beautiful damsels ran away with doomed princes, and ten-foot-tall heroes battled scaly green dragons as good clashed swords with evil."

New York Times article on Kurdistan

The famous NYT spotlighted Arbil, Kurdistan in their travel section last week. Check it out!

Fast Food Devotional Books and Puritans

Help me to honor thee by believing before I feel, for great is the sin if I make feeling a cause of faith.

I've never been much of a "devotions book" girl, but I do remember one time, back in Jr. High, when I gave one of Rebecca St. James' devotional books my best shot. Unfortunately, as a 7th grader, my "devotion" time was probably more about hero-worship than God-worship. (Confession time: I totally wanted to be Rebecca St. James then, and devoutly practiced my singing of "It's God! Truly Go-hod!" every day after school. Sigh.)

Since then, I suppose I've not been too keen on Christian devotional books that start out as a devotional book. What I mean is, a book that was meant to sell itself to people looking for that perfect devotional book. If the writer puts together a work with their eye on its publication, I venture to say it's more often geared toward someone like me with hero-worship tendencies. For example, Christianbook.com's best-seller list includes:

1 - A book by "America's best preacher," Max Lucado, an iconic figure in today's Christian book club.
2 - A book featured on Kirk Cameron's movie, Fireproof. 40 days of learning the true nature of love based on a catchy game of truth or dare.
3 - A leadership expert's meditations on success and teamwork.
4 - An inspiring teen devotional meant to encourage youth "embarking on a new path in life."

Don't get me wrong, I don't think best-sellers are bad. And I don't think there is anything wrong with a book that appeals to a certain generation, or even a book that sells because of the reputation of the author. But among the books I mention above, one common selling-point seems to be: uplifting, inspiring and brimming with hope. Of course. Because it's no mystery that we all crave positive reinforcement. Me especially.

I like searching for fast-food answers to my greatest failures. When I've genuinely screwed up, I want instant reprieve, a quick fix: how do I cover this one up? What do I do to make people realize this just isn't as it seems? I admit to feeling a little boost of confidence when someone tells me, "Oh, you're just wonderful. Don't be too hard on yourself. You didn't mean it." The high lasts for a minute, and then fades, strangely. Fortunately, I've been blessed with some very true friends who help me admit my failures. "Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy." (Proverbs 27:6). I hope you have friends like these in your life. If you don't, call me and I'll set you up.

I suppose the real reason for my search for easy answers is that I don't know where my true encouragement comes from. There's the self-gratifying illusion of encouragement: "You're not as bad as you seem. Buck up!; It could be worse. Besides, Jesus wants you to be happy." And then there's the self-deprivating, lazy form of encouragement: "You're God's puppet; give it up, check out -- let go and let God." I'm not sure which is worse. But I fluctuate between both when my security is not in Christ alone.

All that to say (finally), I'm currently a fan of The Valley of Vision, a compilation of Puritan Prayers. The prayers are full of depth -- themes of depravity, God's grace, redemption, sanctification. I find them powerful to pray, because I am speaking of all these things simultaneously, not thematically. As I am uncovering some of my sin, I'm also discovering God's infinite mercy and sovereignty.


As an example, one of the prayers I read recently was entitled, "The Divine Will." The quote at the beginning of this post is from this prayer. This sentence struck me because I was reminded of how readily I test the truth and validity of God's promises for me based on how I feel about them... and I do this before I believe them.

I received an email from a fellow believer who recently decided to go back out on the mission field. In the email, he repented of this same tendency. He said, "Being the control freak that I am, I wanted to see how God would work out all the physical details. In prayer, God showed me that I wouldn't accept similar behavior from one of my own children. I would want my kids to trust me, obey, and patiently wait to see how I've arranged things."

When I read that, I was reminded of my own faithlessness... and how I try (and fail) to diminish God's glory by glorifying my own feelings. I thought about that one sentence I had read: Help me to honor thee by believing before I feel, for great is the sin if I make feeling a cause of faith. .

In short (because this post is getting awfully long): I crave positive feelings. But great is my sin if I turn to my own feelings before trusting and relying on Him.

A great lesson learned from a dead Puritan guy's words.

Arbil

Well, it finally hit me. A few nights ago, at 4 am, I sat straight up in bed and thought, "I'm going to Iraq. Huh. Are you kidding?" And then I went back to sleep and dreamed about shopping. (Which is weird, by the way, that I was dreaming about something so ordinary. Usually my dreams are about talking raisins or quadratic equations -- funny that those rhyme kind of.)

Preparing for this trip has been unlike any other experience. I feel like I should be getting some sort of a how-to manual in the next few weeks...? This just might be a defining moment in my history of adventures! Truly, I do feel that God is preparing my heart. I can't explain it, but He's been at work.

In the meantime, I'm learning all I can about the city of Arbil, where I'll be living. Arbil was once a Jewish kingdom, then became the center of Christianity (around AD 100). It wasn't until around the 13th century that it became predominately Muslim. Below are some cool pictures I found:

Sushi the Cat

My roommate Chelsea and I somehow managed to adopt a neighborhood cat named Sushi. Every morning as I'm about to leave, she bounds up to the front porch step and begs for attention. Occasionally I'll bring her a little dish with water or milk. Today I finally stooped down to give her a little TLC. She was in kitty heaven.

Can I come in, please?

The Good Cup

I've been housesitting in Franklin this week, 5 minutes away from one of my all-time favorite Franklin spots: The Good Cup.


It's Saturday morning and I'm sitting here while an older gentleman plays classical guitar softly in the background. Someone just requested "Moon River," one of my favorites. Ah, I could stay here all day. But there's much to be done today.

It's a mere 10 minutes south of Green Hills, so if you're ever passing through, be sure to stop in, buy a cup of coffee and greet my old neighbors. It's right off Hillsboro Road, on your right, across from Grassland Market.

ESV Study Bible -- coming Oct. 15

I'm all about The English Standard Version. It's a precise translation, and yet beautifully written and easy to read.

I was excited to discover that the ESV is coming out on October 15 with a study version. It includes commentary produced by over 95 contributing scholars, full color illustrations and maps, and if you buy the hard copy edition you get the online edition for free. Considering that more often than not my experience reading the Bible is usually characterized by a few "huhs?" here and there, I trust that this is going to be a really helpful tool.

Third Party Candidate Debate - Revolution vs. Reformation

A typical vice of American politics is the avoidance of saying anything real on real issues.
-Theodore Roosevelt

The room was small, not all the chairs were filled, and the signs were home-made. But the air was thick with fervor. Those who did fill the chairs were more than likely eager to hear something different than the Obama/McCain rhetoric. (It's all a blur to me now -- I can't pick out who's who anymore.)

And in light of all the finger-pointing that happened during last night's presidential debate, I feel that the third party debate was a little more dignified. There was less smooth-talking and more passionate blundering. There was more substance, despite the abundance of mistakes. In short, it didn't trigger my gag reflexes.

In some ways, I am thankful that there are third party candidates running. I would like to say that it's a trademark of our American heritage of freedom to see so many views represented in one room. The sad thing is, however, that it's a remarkable achievement if one of these candidates can even make it onto a ballot.

Despite my appreciation for different views, I still found myself a little worn down by political rhetoric and, in my opinion, unrealistic ideals... basically there was some mumbo jumbo polluting the air, topped off by a little Kumbaya speech. One of the candidates present (though actually the VP candidate) I couldn't completely write-off, however. And this candidate, thankfully, received the most applause during the whole evening. My friend Josh gives his take on the evening in his blog. As he says, the constitutionalist candidate basically articulated that the federal government is "a bloated entity that has overstepped its bounds of authority, and that the vast majority of problems it causes could be almost immediately remedied by returning to a 'Constitutional' Federal Government."

People feel the weight of corruption, even if they can't rightly point fingers at the source. (Though obviously McCain and Obama are experts at this.) I suppose it's part of the tension of living in a fallen world and yearning for something good. You never hear presidential candidates admitting this, however. Instead, they promise real change using revolutionary tactics. They are going to start something new, risking the very same mistakes we've always made in the past. I just fear that revolutionary approaches like the one that the socialist party offers, more often than not, create a model for a "Nanny government."

Yes, people are ready for change. We've seen what "doesn't work." But haven't we already changed enough? Have we not veered from the original intent? Shouldn't we look back at the past and discover what has worked? There is always room for change, but I don't think we understand the dangers of overturning a system. That's why I lean most heavily toward the constitutionalist approach.

To me, revolutionary tactics often fail to recognize that people are the problem, not the system. Power and money is a driving force -- it motivates some of the most hideous acts. Reformation recognizes that we need to reevaluate our motives and ideas, take the bull by the horns and re-commit ourselves to a standard.

As long as power and money are a driving force behind politics, we might always be running in these circles. I don't know about you, but I feel a little dizzy.

Jesus + nothing

24 So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus. 25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” 26 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” 28 Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” - John 6

God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing. - C.S. Lewis

Every day, I wearily, fruitlessly, search for personal happiness, freedom, strength, peace -- whether within myself, within my community, or in other peoples' words. I swim across the sea and arrive at Capernaum, looking for false hope...quick fixes to my hunger for something real. I'm allured by the same old same old, captivated by the worldly wise, impressed with my own ability to simulate some degree of okayness, and then utterly discouraged when all of this fails me. What can I do to make myself feel okay about myself again? There's nothing I can do that will solve this problem completely, because I was never meant to live for myself.

But then even when I realize this, I want to tack things on to my relationship with Jesus. Jesus + my own efforts. Jesus + the compliments of others. This is where I truly miss the boat.

Christ and his fullness are all that I can hope in. I gain from him, because he is complete. As much as I try (and will continue to try) to make amends with myself and lick my wounds, I'm lost without his salvation, grace, and completion.

Oh heart, believe and trust on Him again this morning -- He is all you need.

But it's just not fair. So let's tax 'em.

"We don't call a redistribution in my neighborhood...not giving Exxon Mobil another $4 billion tax cut...and giving it to middle class people to be able to pay to get their kids to college, we don’t call that redistribution. We call that fairness.”
-Joseph Biden

While I think that his definition of fairness is as lacking as his syntax in this sentence, Mr. Biden probably appealed to most American's definitions of fairness...you know, the stuff we learn in pre-school; "everyone should have a turn." And while I agree that people making $250,000 should be using their wealth to benefit others, should they be forced to do so by the government? I'm not sure I can give a good answer -- but I can say that I think we have a higher calling than that:

8 I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. 10 And in this matter I give my judgment: this benefits you, who a year ago started not only to do this work but also to desire to do it. 11 So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have. 12 For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. 13 For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness 14 your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness."
- 2 Corinthians 8:8-14

So while I may agree with Mr. Biden on some level, I think I have to disagree.