So Long, Farewell . . .

December’s half over. Seriously. I know, I was also shocked to realize this. And it’s such a lovely month too. 2011 will be done in a mere 16 days. I am really, really  looking forward to a new year. 2011 was not bad. It’s been bittersweet and crazy, and I admit that I am hoping for a bit calmer 2012.

As we make the march towards a whole new year, I have decided to take Jon Acuff’s sagely advice and take a bloggie break. As in, no new content, BUT yes, there will still be some content to enjoy.

For today, I bring you 5 favorite blog posts of 2011. It seems that lists are all the rage for blogs these days, and I say heck, if you can’t think of anything else to write, join em!  Without further adieu . . .

1. Sneaking out of Church Early by Jon Acuff on Stuff Christians Like.  ”If you’re able to exit the service like a sleek jungle cat through palm fronds or a coyote sneaking up on a chicken (if you prefer Grand Canyon similes instead of Tropic of Capricorn similes,) I can respect that. When I open my eyes after praying and all I see is a dust outline of you, like in the Road Runner cartoons, I’ll shake my head and simply say to myself, “Well played sir. Well played indeed.”

2. I love The Pioneer Woman. I tried to pick one favorite post, but it was too hard. Instead, I give you her most recent post which includes wonderful new . . . a NEW COOKBOOK!  My thighs do not thank you Mrs. Drummond.

3. A friend told me about a little book called One Thousand Gifts (which I DO intend to read soon!) but I have become a big fan of the author’s blog – A Holy Experience by Ann Voskamp. She’s wordy, which I like, paints amazing word pictures and cuts you to the bone. Not many blogs have brought on the water works, but this one has. This post is from last week . . . God’s word is alive and active.

4. After the Airport by Jen Hatmaker – fellow Austinite, awesome Bible study writer/speaker and real person who is who she is. This post resonated with me because while I have not had the heart-wrenching experience of going through not one but two  international adoptions and then living to tell about it, I have gone through some unbelievable circumstances and have lived to tell about it, and to remind those suffering that there is an after. 

5. As a mother to two little girls who are already getting into the princess thang, this was funny and relevant! Positive Princesses? Perhaps.

 

 

 

A Book Review – The Hunger Games

I admit that I have been known to be a book snob. Fellow English majors, you know  what I mean. “If it’s popular, it can’t be that good.” Sometimes, many times, that old saying holds up. I am glad to say that this time, it did not.

For months, MONTHS, friends have been nagging me to read The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins. I don’t know why, I just never got around to it. I was finally persuaded by a trusted friend, and fellow sometimes-book-snob, who had bought the e-version and let me borrow it on my Nook. I could sum up my review with this statement: My Nook’s battery has run down for the first time in the past two weeks, twice.

First I have to applaud Suzanne for being a fantastic writer. Her characters are well-rounded and so real. The dialogue flows, the elements of suspense and danger have you charging through yet afraid to turn the next page and the romantic elements are a far cry from the sappy, soap opera stuff that I loathe.

Someone asked me to describe the sub-genre the book would fall into and I found myself grappling for an answer. It has elements of fantasy, thriller, sci-fi, romance and drama. It’s an all things to all people kind of novel I guess. Something for everyone even though I can assure you that this isn’t a book for everyone.

Case in point, if you like your stories tied up in a happy bow, don’t look here. It is a bittersweet story. There’s as much loss as there is victory. If you’re looking for something fun, different and unpredictable, The Hunger Games is the ticket!

Ram in the Thicket

Right before we started this year’s Jesse Tree I decided, on the good advice of a friend, to try a new Advent study by Ann VosKamp, author of One Thousand Gifts. Wow. While Ann is a great author, it’s not her or her amazing writing that has me so taken this year, but the way she has of painting such a clear picture of Jesus, of helping me to wrap my mind around His word – to GET Christmas.

Tonight I was in my usual hurry to rush all the kids to bed when Jonah said he was really hungry. So I relented since the other two were asleep. I got him his snack, and as he sat down he said, “Mom. We forgot to do the Jesse Tree.”  Good little man. I see God bringing that heart of his closer still all the time. So we settle down to do our study for December 5. Genesis 22:1-14,  the story of Abraham, his only son and a ram in the thicket.  Jonah reads the scripture. And let me add as a side note, that there is just about nothing cooler than listening to your child read God’s word. He’s reading the story and suddenly this story isn’t just some story, it’s real to me. My son, my only son, is reading about a parent consenting to obey God and give up that son. Agony.

Jonah pauses, turning to me, and says, “I bet Isaac was scared.” I nod. I bet he was too. But he obeys his father, carries the wood for his own sacrifice and lays down on the altar.  And as we get to part where God provides the ram in the thicket, Jonah smiles. And tonight he learns the meaning of the word provide, although he’s known that concept for a long time. Having gone through such lean times these past two years, Jonah has experienced God’s provision so many times, and I am so thankful.

At the conclusion of the reading, there is a note to take a paper and write down 10 ways God provided for us today. We did. For our friends, for my job, for a washer and dryer, for love . . . and we placed our list under the Jesse Tree to remind us that God is our Provider. Jehovah-Jireh.

Thank you Lord, for the Jesse Tree. I’ve been in and out of sorts with a lot of mess going on the in the background. I am so glad to be drawn in again to His presence, to remember, that in it and through it all, He provides.