I recently meandered onto a couple of blogs which have grabbed my full attention.
Far Beyond The Stars | The Art of Being Minimalist, by Everett Bogue
which led me to…
Becoming Minimalist, by Joshua Becker
Wow. It feels like home.
Book Review – The Shack – Rating: 8 out of 10
January 6th, 2010 by Lundie
[This has been sitting in my drafts since June, '09. Don't know how that happened...!]
The Shack, by W. Paul Young
How I came to read this book:
I had heard a lot about it from various sources in the Christian community. Saw a book that was written to counter it, and another to explain it. Figured if it was that controversial, it would be an interesting read. When my mom offered me her copy to read, I took her up on it. Since then I have purchased 3, one to keep and two to share when I feel so led.
Score Summary
- Content: 10
- Writing Style: 6
- Re-readability: 10
- Busy Mommy Scale: 6
Content
This book was amazing. It was difficult to read, emotionally, and had many different layers of meaning. It was full of ideas that stretched my conservative Christian understanding of God in a way that expanded my view rather than conflicted with it. It spoke to me personally in a very profound way.
Writing Style
Sometimes I found the setting descriptions hard to get rhythmically. I found myself skimming here and there (usually in sections I felt were unnecessary) trying to get to the meat…to the point. (Part of this urge to read on was internal – caused by me needing closure regarding his daughter).
Re-readability
There was so much that impacted me emotionally and spiritually that I feel it warrants a re-read or two to see how it holds up. Some books are powerful due to timing (right book/right time) and others are always (or never) that way. Not sure about this one yet. I was reading it when I had my first miscarriage so the timing was a God-thing.
Busy Mommy Scale
Due to the difficult time I had with the writing style, it was not conducive to a short bursts of reading. I often had to back up a page or two to get back into it.
Naperville Moms’ Network Launch Event
December 7th, 2009 by Lundie
If you’re a Mom in the Naperville area, come check out the
Naperville Moms Network
Thanks to Samantha Everett for posting these wonderful pictures of our Launch held at Dolce Amore!!
Consistency
November 14th, 2009 by Lundie
Oswald Chambers, in My Utmost for His Highest, for November 14
Beware of being obsessed with consistency to your own convictions instead of being devoted to God….There was never a more inconsistent being on this earth than our Lord, but He was never inconsistent with His Father. The important consistency in a saint is not to a principle but to the divine life. It is the divine life that continually makes more and more discoveries about the divine mind. It is easier to be an excessive fanatic than it is to be consistently faithful, because God causes an amazing humbling of our religious conceit when we are faithful to Him.
Listening Continues
November 9th, 2009 by Lundie
I guess that the topic of Listening is really not bringing me a lot to talk about. 
I’m still not great at it. It takes a lot more work than I expected. Active listening, especially. But it’s a worthwhile endeavor, so I continue.
One of the things I will be practicing this week is also choosing what NOT to listen to. There’s a lot of noise and just plain garbage out there. (All you have to do is read one YouTube comments section to realize that…)
See you soon – with a few links to things I found worth a listen…
Multitude Monday – November 2
November 2nd, 2009 by Lundie
I am restarting my participation in the Gratitude Community. It seems a fitting parallel with my November’s focus on Listening — taking note of things I hear and ways I am blessed.
And so I begin…
- The sound of my guys in the house…one counting over the monitor, the other yawning in his study. Contentment.
- Great weather (aka no rain) for the subdivision Halloween Parade which we have been planning for weeks.
- Finding books that speak God’s love in my ear, and hit me dead center in my heart
- The joy of organizational office supplies
- Discovering that listening is a lot less pressure than having the “right” things to say
(This was the post from last week…forgot to hit “Publish” Oops!)
Need
November 1st, 2009 by Lundie
And my God shall supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory… – Phil 4:19
…Cherish need because it is part of our relationship to God and His Universe. God has planned to meet our every need, has created the need within us, so God can supply….
– The Language of Letting Go, by Melody Beattie, p. 316
Seasons Change
October 31st, 2009 by Lundie
I have owned several copies of Oswald Chambers’ book, “My Utmost for His Highest”. He seemed to be so legalistic, expecting more performance than I could ever muster.
But then a friend tweeted and posted a FB request that everyone read a particular entry. I did. And I’m hooked.
I will note that I have an updated version, which is much easier to read than the original.
My listening notes for today:
Faith by its very nature must be tested and tried. And the real trial of faith is not that we find it difficult to trust God, but that God’s character must be proven as trustworthy in our own minds.
– Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, October 31
A Month of Listening
October 31st, 2009 by Lundie
I’ve signed up for NaBloPoMo for the month of November. There’s no assigned theme for November, so I will be focusing on “listening”.
Ultimately, it will be listening for God’s voice in my life, and taking note of anything that I find worth sharing. One of the spin-off benefits I hope to see is the practice of really listening to the people in my life as well.
