Raising Globally Minded Kids

February 5, 2013 By 1 Comment

For all of my married life, I’ve lived in American suburbia.  Nice, comfortable, clean….the kind of places where it’s generally very easy to forget that there is a struggling world out there.  As a stay at home mom who has cut off cable, it’s easy to insulate myself and my kids without any effort or intentionally doing so.

The downside of suburbia is that it is easy to get caught up in routine everyday life that includes school, sports, hanging out with friends, etc., and all the while unconsciously being swallowed up into a vortex that pulls my mind away from the hurting and suffering in the world.  It can also easily mislead my kids about the struggles that the majority of the world faces.

I don’t like being numbed into routine and ignorance, but without intentionality on my part, it easily happens.  If I, who have experienced the third world personally, have been made sick by bad water, have gotten malaria on numerous occasions, and have held dying babies can suffer from heart cooling and hardening and must fight against it, how much more do I need to be very intentional in training my kids to not ignore the world around them.

A couple of years ago, at an Oasis weekend led by the Crescent Project, I stumbled across a wonderful little book that offers practical and valuable suggestions on how to be an intentioanl family and train kids to become aware of what the world is really like, and learn to reach out and serve people both locally and globally.

It is called:

Becoming a World Changing Family: Fun & Innovative Ways to Spread the Good News   by Donna Thomas.

This short volume reminds us to evaluate the essentials of life, and provides doable ways to introduce our kids to global awareness, and introduces the invaluable process of learning to pray for other countries and places where God is working throughout the world.

My boys are now at the age where I can really begin implementing some of Thomas’s suggestions, and encourage you to peruse the book yourself.  As busy moms, it is easy to wonder how we can really help promote the kingdom and global change when we are at home cleaning up Legos, giving baths, and digging through the laundry to find matching socks.  This book offers beginning, low stress ways to help fan into flame the love for people and God’s mission in our children.

Seeking to fully live,

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Christian Living, Kids Stuff, Parenting, World Events

Love Finds You in Glacier Bay (Book Review and Giveaway!)

January 1, 2013 By 21 Comments

This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to Beth C. for winning a copy of Love Finds You in Glacier Bay!

 

I haven’t read very much fiction since leaving college (about a decade back)…I think my repertoire has included primarily parenting, homemaking, Christian living, and organizational books. As good as these are, I realized recently I need to get back into the fiction realm, because sometimes one’s brain just needs a break, and also because sometimes stories just do a better job of conveying life lessons.

One of my favorite Christian fiction authors, Tricia Goyer, just released a great new book with her coauthor, Ocieanna Fleiss: Love Finds You in Glacier Bay.  Needless to say, once I received the book in the mail, I couldn’t put it down.  Thanks to a good coffee shop, carrot cake, and chai, I finished it up while in sweet heaven in one day.

Summary: Singer Ginny Marshall is one signature away from the recording contract of her dreams—a deal that would guarantee success for the former foster child, who still struggles to bury the memories of her painful childhood. But Ginny needs advice from the one person who will look out for her best interests—her former fiancé, Brett Miller. She travels to the remote town of Glacier Bay, Alaska, where the town’s colorful characters and stunning scenery provide respite from LA’s pressures.In Glacier Bay, Ginny discovers a box of old letters and is swept up in the love story between Clay, an early missionary to Alaska Territory, and Ellie, the woman who traveled there to be his children’s governess. When Ginny is reunited with Brett in Glacier Bay, will she discover—as Ellie did—that healing and love are sometimes found in the most unexpected places?

My Review:  As I mentioned earlier, I just couldn’t put the book down.  It’s a story that is easy to get swept into.  Redemption, second chances, history, and one feisty grandma are all wrapped together to create a heart warming book that reminds us of what is truly most valuable in life-fighting for the ones we love, and facing our past and hurts head-on to discover the healing and hope that God can deliver through them.  If you’ve read alot of Christian fiction before, or if this is your first go at it, I offer a huge thumbs up for this book.
Giveaway:  If you are interested in winning a copy of this great new book, leave a comment on this post and see below for more chances to win both the book and other stuff.  Meanwhile, check out Tricia and Ocieanna’s other books and websites!


Seeking to fully live,

Filed Under: Book Reviews, Giveaways

Tricia Goyer and Not Quite Amish

December 17, 2012 By 1 Comment

Not Quite Amish

I love learning about the Amish and Mennonite.  Having lived in two states where they have large populations, I’m intrigued by their lifestyle, simplicity, and love for tradition.   It’s easy in some ways to almost idealize them, even though like any group of people, they have their own issues and problems.  But, on more than one occassion during storms where we lost power or needed to run to the store for last minute staples to get through a snowstorm, I’ve kind of wished we had the Amish life that wasn’t dependent on electricity and modern day conveniences.

One of my favorite shows on TV is Amish Out of Order, and although it focuses more on Amish leaving their communities, I’ve learned alot about the people in each episode.  Besides this show, I love reading Amish fiction and enjoyed reading Growing Up Amish by Ira Wagler.

Tricia Goyer is a well known Christian author and has written her own set of Amish fiction books (I recommend!).  She also shares a fascination for many of the wonderful qualities of Amish communities, and started a website for all of us who love the Amish and their ways, yet are Not Quite Amish.  I urge you to check it out.

Also…big news…Tricia  and her co-author Ocieanna Fleiss are releasing a brand new book in 2013, which you can already pre-order.  If you know someone who loves their books, or love haven’t tried them yet, I urge you to give both a go.  Check out the link below to read a preview.

Stay tuned for a giveaway of Tricia and Ocieanna’s new book, Love Finds You in Glacier Bay, coming soon!


 

Filed Under: Book Reviews, Giveaways, Homemaking, Uncategorized

Help For the Fractured Soul (Review) and GIVEAWAY!

December 3, 2012 By 6 Comments

This GIVEAWAY is now CLOSED.  Congratulations to Brandy on winning a copy of this book!

Trauma in childhood can wreak havoc on one’s life, especially when that trauma is the result of ritualistic abuse.  In her book Help for the Fractured Soul, Candyce Roberts explores dissociative personality disorders, and gives valuable insight on how to minister to people who are struggling to recover from terrible soul wounds.

Before reading this book, I had a rather limited understanding of dissociative personality disorders, and was aware of only the former name: multiple personality disorders.  Furthermore, I always assumed that these “multiple” personalities were simply the result of demonic habitation that required deliverance ministry.  Finally, I was shocked at the frequency that ritualistic abuse occurs in our society according to Roberts.

Roberts’ book was eye opening, incredible insightful, and inspiring.  She reveals that when someone’s personality dissociates, it is a defense mechanism to help them cope, rather than demonic possession.  Roberts committed her life to helping people be set free from the damages caused by ritual and Satanic abuse, and goes into detail about the need for extreme grace and long term dedication required when working with people suffering from this kind of trauma, whether it be lay counselors or licensed therapists.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who has struggled with mental health issues, knows someone who has and desperately needs help, or who is considering a vocation in counseling.   She offers wisdom, hope, and the reminder that Jesus can heal the deepest wounds.

Because I feel this book is such a valuable resource, I am sponsoring a giveaway of a copy.  To enter, leave a comment on this post, like Discovering Jubilee on Facebook, or send me a tweet to @discoverjubilee.  The recipient will be chosen at random,, and notified when the giveaway entry closes Sunday night (12/9/12).

Seeking to fully live,



 

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book to review from Chosen Books.

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Filed Under: Book Reviews, Christian Living, Depression/Anxiety, Giveaways, Healthy Living Tagged With:

August 3, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The Small Waterfall in The Small Gathering

 

 

And above all else,

 guard your heart,

 for it is the

 wellspring of life. 

Proverbs 4:23

 

 

 

 

 

 I’ve been a part of a Bible study this summer at my church that is going through the book Girls Gone Wise in a World Gone Wild by Mary Kassian.  Initially I joined the study simply because I needed some more women in my life and I would have been content to sit around and talk about anything, from laundry to how to boil water.  Nobody has ever labeled me as “wild”, so I was uncertain how relevant the actual book study would be to me.

Now that the study is over, I can see how necessary it was for me to read the book and evaluate certain areas of my life.  While I am certainly still not “wild” and am a devoted follower of Jesus, the Lord showed me several areas where I wasn’t keeping up my guard and had set my self on a slippery slope to merge more into cultural beliefs if I’m not careful and diligent. 

The number one area of my life that I have been convicted about is the media and entertainment that I allow myself to come into contact with.  It’s kind of funny, I have pared it down enormously over the past several years (we have no cable, I hardly ever watch rated R movies unless I have perused reviews ahead of time, I have almost completely cut out my reading of secular women’s magazines, etc).  However, the cultural influences that are still in my life are still impacting my thought life and belief systems.  I try to stay up to date with what is going on in our culture so as to be relevant, but I’m coming to believe that sometimes the desire to be relevant is walking a fine line.  Trying to keep up with headlines and what is important to the world to be able to engage with them very often veers sharply away from Paul’s encouragement:

8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Proverbs 4:8
 

In my attempts to stay on top of everything and be relevant, I have put my heart in jeopardy, and I can see little ways that I’m being influenced negatively that are showing themselves in my actions and thoughts.

God seems to do a lot of his “pestering” of me in my dreams.  I mean that in a good way.  He often uses my dreams to really give me wake up calls and observe patterns in my life that are harmful, or areas that need to be focused on.  For example, God often uses my dreams to show me relationships that I have with people where I need to have conversations with them, release anger and bitterness, or talk to him about ways that I am tied to these people spiritually and emotionally in unhealthy ways.

I’m learning that he does the same to show me areas in my life that are being influenced too much by the secular world, usually through very similar repeated dreams.  The content of these dreams, which usually shocks and horrifies me, reveal to me that I’m letting subtle things from TV, media, and books sneak into my mind and worm their way into my thought patterns, while I only think I”m being harmlessly entertained.

So, I’m completely reevaluating what I’m allowing to come into my house, my car,  the places where my children are, etc.  It’s not always convenient to censor to carefully, but it is crucial.  My relationship with Jesus depends on it, the salvation and relationships of my children can be greatly influenced by my decisions, and my impact among those who don’t know Jesus can be severely hindered if I don’t take great care with how I live my life.

I encourage all women to check this book out, and see what ways God show them how to wise up a bit and not simply be carried along with the flow of our culture.

Seeking to fully live,

 


 

 

Filed Under: Bible Study, Book Reviews, Christian Living, Parenting Tagged With: ,

Deeper Into the Word (Book Review)

April 25, 2011 By 1 Comment

Deeper Into the Word by Keri Wyatt Kent takes us beyond the surface of our New Testament reading, past the obvious definitions of words that we think we are familiar with, and provides background and extensive explanations regarding their use.

Choosing 100 words from the New Testament, Kent created a very readable but informative book that could be used for Bible study, devotionals, or as a quick reference source.  Using personal anectodes and excerpts from commentaries keeps it from being a dry read, and questions smattered throughout the text cause the reader to consider more seriously the information being presented, rather than just quickly passing over it.

This book is a valuable resource in the library of any follower of Jesus who is seeking a deeper understand of key words and ideas in the Bible but can’t read Greek and doesn’t have the time or motivation to delve into thick commentaries.  Beyond just helping readers get a better grasp of ideas lost in translation, Kent provides background to help bridge cultural and historical gaps that we in the West struggle with in attempting to understand the New Testament.
*This book was provided free of charge for review by Bethany House Publishers.  All opinions are mine.

 

Filed Under: Bible Study, Book Reviews Tagged With: ,

Ancient Paths: Finding Our Way Again (Book Review)

April 25, 2011 By 2 Comments

Two thousand years after Jesus walked on the earth, hundreds of denominations, and who knows how many religious practices later, followers of Jesus are still trying to figure out how to connect with God, to build spiritual disciplines in their lives, to walk in ways that will bring them as close as possible to the divine.

All of us take this journey carrying biases…denominations and belief systems that are most familiar to us are the lenses through which we see other Christians and their spiritual practices.    Our tendency is to seek new, fresh ways to experience Christianity, and we can view the past with disdain, seeing it as outdated and irrelevant.

In Finding Our Way Again, Brian McLaren invites us to revisit the past, the old ways of doing things, and to experience the disciplines that have kept Christians and followers of Yahweh grounded in their faith since the time of Abraham.

I was personally very excited when I read this book.  Within it’s pages I found intelligibly written ideas that have been mulling around in my head but were still too nebulous to grab a hold of.  Over and over I found myself saying “Yes!  That’s it!” to things I read……the emphasis of Jesus bringing a new kingdom-not a new religion, the importance of sharing across different traditions in the Christian faith,  how God simply moves to new people who are willing to learn when any sector of the Church is unwilling to learn and grow, etc.

Beyond arguing the importance of looking at the past, McLaren describes the nature of the apprenticeship of the ancient ways.  The seven main spiritual disciplines are practiced, not just for their own sake, but in the light of the ancient three fold path – (1) to face your sin head on, confront it, and admit it (2) to see everything in light of God, and (3) being “infected” with God.

Other spiritual discipline books have often left me feeling like I have to “do” a list of things in order to become more spiritually connected.  However, when I finished this book I felt more of a sense of freedom.  I felt excited and compelled to become an apprentice of the ancient practices, and the whole endeavor feels grace-filled.  In the past, disciplines felt guilt-ridden…for example, if I failed at a fast, I despaired.  Having seen them from McLaren’s perspective, I now feel that when I fail, it simply provides evidence that I need to press in more to God, be more dependent on him, and rest in his strength to bring me into deep connection with him.

I think this book does a wonderful job of inciting the evaluation of one’s walk with Jesus, and encouraging people to cross denominational and historical boundaries in order to discover the practices and disciplines that stand the test of time in building solid, dynamic God relationships.

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