The Effective Word

When was the last time your words translated into a direct and perfect action? You know, like the time you said, "Go clean up your toys," and the room transformed immediately into a spotless sanctuary? Or when you commanded winter to be done once-and-for-all and flowers instantly began to sprout from the ground? Or when I said I planned to be back to regular blogging in the fall and well, we all know how that turned out. Okay, so maybe those things are a little unrealistic. But even if we limit effective words to the real world, have you kept your word every time you said you'd make a deadline? Kept every promise made to your kids? Experienced complete obedience to commands given to those under your authority?

Yes, there are times when our words are effective, even seemingly perfectly so. But we are so accustomed to the failure of words, even those with the best of intentions, that it easily distorts our view of God's words. How quick we are to doubt His promises, to hold on to anxiety despite the relentless refrain of His unfailing care for us, to pray the weary prayers of the hopeless instead of the confident prayers of beloved children, or to fail to pray at all, not seeing the point in holding God to His word, assuming Him to be just as unreliable as we sometimes are.

But God's words are not like ours. God says, "Let there be light," and it is so. As Tim Keller points out in his new book on prayer, when we say, "Let's turn on the lights," we still have to take the action of flipping a switch to make our words effective. But God's words and His actions are one and the same. His words are active and powerful in and of themselves. He says, "Let there be sun, moon and stars," and doesn't need to send out a construction team to make it happen.

The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
    the God of glory thunders,
    the Lord, over many waters.

The voice of the Lord is powerful;
    the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.

The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;

    the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.

He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf,

    and Sirion like a young wild ox.

The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.

The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;

    the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth

    and strips the forests bare,

    and in his temple all cry, “Glory!” (Psalm 29)

God's word goes out and accomplishes the purposes for which He sent it. Every. Last. Time. In fact, if God's words equal His actions, then from the moment He speaks, things are springing up into being, even when we do not perceive it. Yes, God often uses agents to carry out His purposes, but even then, the accomplishment is by His word and not because the agents had any special power in themselves.

And if we really get this, it will change the way we think, the way we pray, the way we live. If God's words and actions are equivalent, then every word of God must prove true. Then when He says that He will not leave or forsake you, it's already done. He says, "I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand," and it is so, whether you are feeling it right now or not. He cries out on the cross that "it is finished" and our sin is fully paid for. Done. No take-backs. He promises that the ends of the earth will be filled with His glory and we can be sure that He is active toward that end at this very moment. This is why we can pray confidently when we are praying God's promises back to Him, because if He said it, it is being fulfilled. And if God's words are God's actions, then we can live confidently, too, fully dependent on his reliable promises to save, uphold, protect, provide, guide and complete in us the good work He has begun. In the face of such truth, there is nothing left to do but to "ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name" and "worship the LORD in the splendour of holiness".

I'm not always as good as my word (so no promises on the timing of future posts!). You're not going to live up to every promise you make. And neither of us can turn on the lights just by opening our mouths. But we have a God who speaks and things are. Will that change how you pray and act today?

Two Perspectives on Parenting

Stephen Altrogge has an interesting money-making idea. He wants to gather all the parenting gurus into one space, and then have parents pay a dollar each to be allowed to slap every one of these authors in the face. He's pretty sure it would make him some serious bank, because haven't most of us wanted just such an opportunity at some point (or many points) in our parenting? Of course, he doesn't really mean it (I think?!); in his hilarious essay The Inmates Are Running the Asylumin the new book of the same title, he does give credit to the wisdom of many books on parenting. But this essay got me to thinking about the helpfulness of having two different perspectives in our life as parents (and really, in any sphere of life).

We were once part of a wonderful church community that was full of young parents. It seemed like everyone had kids the same ages as ours. Our kids had multiple options for playmates; we had people with whom we could swap date-night childcare; when the going was tough, friends would readily weep with you because the memories of similar struggles were so very fresh in their minds. We had all the sympathy in the world. But when we didn't know what to do in a parenting situation, we often had very little help (not never, just often). Even the "older" parents were only a couple years ahead, and often, questions were answered with either, "I have no idea what to tell you because we're struggling with the same thing right now" or "Well, this book I read says..." When we lacked wisdom on an issue where there was no clear biblical directive, we needed parents with a proven track-record who could share what had worked and what hadn't. And while the books were helpful, we longed for some real-life next-door-neighbour kind of wisdom from people who knew us and our kids and our situation.

After several years, we moved to another city and were part of another wonderful church community. And this time, there were multiple parents with years and years of parenting experience behind them. When we had a question, there were many trusted people we could ask, and the answers we received were genuinely insightful and helpful. I read fewer parenting books during that time because the information I was looking for was readily available at our church from people who DID know us and our kids and our situation. But for a while, we were one of the only young families in the church, and this brought with it struggles of its own. Suddenly, we felt like we had all the wisdom in the world at our fingertips, and not so much in the way of real-time sympathy. I don't mean to say that these dear friends weren't gracious or caring, or that they didn't remember anything about having small children. They were incredibly so, and they did. But there is something different about not only having people who have walked the road you're on, but who are walking it alongside you RIGHT NOW. We were so grateful for all the wisdom, and yet longed for other young parents who were feeling enough of the insanity of parenting at that moment that they could assure us that we weren't totally crazy ourselves.

Postscript

I started my study of Ecclesiastes with little knowledge of the riches that lie within this short book, and ended it with so many things to think about that I really could have written at least twice as many posts as I actually did. Once I got to know him, the awkward cousin actually turned out to be a really great guy! Of course, that should be no surprise, because God does not put superfluous words in his book (Isaiah 55:10,11)

If any of the posts in this series have spurred you to thought, or have resonated with you, or for that matter, if you haven't read any of them and think the Bible is a book that has nothing to say to you, I'd encourage you to read this little book of Ecclesiastes and meditate on the truths in it. I personally started off with the idea that it is an incredibly pessimistic look at life, and came away with more reasons for joy and a greater love for God's Holy Word than I've had in quite a while.

In fact, it strikes me as somewhat sad that it's taken me more than 30 years to really listen to this piece of the Bible. As I said in my intro, there are many things in this book that are a little tricky to understand at first glance, so I suppose it's kind of understandable that it's not the first book preachers choose to preach through, not the book chosen for a small group Bible study, not the natural option for some easy, uplifting personal study. But, like the rest of Scripture, it IS a book with infinite value, and over the course of the month or so that I spent in it (along with an extra several weeks of thinking and writing), it has quickly become one of my favourite books. So why not consider it for a sermon series or a Bible study? Why not read it through in one sitting, a few days in a row (it's pretty short)?

And then, once you've marinated in Ecclesiastes for a little while, consider reading Death By Livingby N.D. Wilson, a book that seems to be largely inspired by Ecclesiastes. I highly, highly recommend this book on living in light of death. You'll laugh; you'll cry; you'll be encouraged to savour the moments of your toil, and die having given your all.

Room For All

"The evangelical culture ties together faithfulness with extroversion. The emphasis is on community, on participating in more and more programs and events, on meeting more and more people. It's a constant tension for many introverts that they're not living that out. And in a religious world, there's more at stake when you feel that tension. It doesn't feel like 'I'm not doing as well as I'd like.' It feels like 'God isn't pleased with me.'"

- Adam McHugh (1), as quoted in Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain

Is there room in the church for introverts? This is one of the questions Susan Cain asks in her fascinating--and fairly helpful--book Quiet. (She's not just picking on the church--she asks the same about the business and education worlds.) Cain writes about the difficulty fitting in and flourishing that introverts may find in all the community- and interaction-oriented activities in the typical evangelical church and concludes that we have "taken the Extrovert Ideal to its logical extreme... If you don't love Jesus out loud, then it must not be real love. It's not enough to forge your own spiritual connection to the divine; it must be displayed publicly. Is it any wonder that introverts... start to question their own hearts?" (emphasis hers).

So, is there room in the church for introverts? Yes, yes, and yes again for good measure! It is true that some things done in church services and meetings make introverts feel uncomfortable (a common example is the "greet your neighbour" moment). And yes, some of these things may be done with little thought given to how introverts, or new people, or people with disabilities or others might react. But the simple fact of the matter is that there are many parts of being a Christian that are biblically commanded that make introverts feel uncomfortable. Show hospitality to strangers; do not neglect the assembly of believers; we believe and so we also speak; be very bold...  Does that mean God loves extroverts more? By no means! There are plenty of biblical commandments that introverts may find more simple, while the extrovert sitting next to them is squirming(2): be slow to speak (and quick to hear, though McHugh has written a good post on the stereotype of introverts as good listeners and extroverts as poor ones), let no corrupting talk come out of your mouth, but only what is useful for building others up, pray, meditate on God's word day and night... And then there are those that are hard for all of us, like "bless those who persecute you".

The truth is that God's standards are not all easy for anyone to follow, whether you are an introvert or an extrovert, a child or an adult, a man or a woman, rural or urban, Chinese, German, Canadian or Rwandan. There are parts of God's character that some of us find easier to follow than others, but each of us will come across points that make us uncomfortable, that require serious effort. In fact, we will all encounter areas in following Jesus that require nothing less than the power of God's spirit working through us to accomplish, our own personal offering being nothing but weakness and insufficiency!

That is how I have sometimes felt about participating in church gatherings. Some days that's hard for me--I feel the nagging temptation to stay home and be quiet. And yes, there's a good time and a place for quiet, for sure. But one of the defining characteristics of a follower of Jesus is that he is no longer his own, no longer independent. God makes him a member of Jesus' body, to work together with other Christians as members of the same body. That's pretty intense and intimate imagery for an introvert! That's getting into my space just a little more than I'd like! And that's why I need God's grace to live this way, just like the stereotypical extrovert needs God's grace to sit still and meditate on God's Word for a while, even though friends are calling on her to come be social.

Furthermore, whether it is "comfortable" or not, loving Jesus out loud is part of truly loving Jesus. James says that faith without works is dead, and the Bible is full of exhortations to speak God's truth and declare God's praise. If no one else on the planet ever sees you act or speak in a way that demonstrates love for Jesus, you should question your heart, just as you might be questioned on your love for your spouse if you never did or said anything public to show it. However, "public faith" doesn't mean you have to be standing up on the pew, shouting for all the world to hear. Yes, it might make you uncomfortable nonetheless. But Christianity isn't about being comfortable--not in this life anyway. We worship a crucified Jesus and he was NOT comfortable on that cross! But he went there so we didn't have to take the punishment for all the times we are too afraid to love Jesus out loud, for all the times we don't pray, don't invite that lonely person over when we feel the Spirit nudging us, don't shut up and really listen. And he gives us his spirit so that we can have grace and power to live like he did, even when it doesn't suit our personality profile or our dreams.

I know for a fact that there are aspects of Christianity that make plenty of extroverts feel like God isn't pleased with them, like they're not living up to His standards. But the point is that none of us can meet them all. That's why we need Jesus--because we are weak, imperfect people who can't do it on our own. (In fact, the only people Jesus said he didn't come for were the self-righteous, who think they can please God in their own strength.) As my husband likes to say, we don't need a crutch; we need a stretcher! It's also why we need the church--we need the strength of our brothers and sisters to help our weaknesses and they need us for the same reason.

And this is where God gets the glory: when he takes weak, sinful, needy people, gives them Jesus' record of perfection--whereby we also gain his eternal pleasure and affirmation--and puts all our different personalities, giftings, backgrounds and, yes, weaknesses together in one body called the Church, and then shows the power of his Spirit when he works through these same people to transform the world. It's not about me and my temperament needs. It's about him and his glory. So come in, all you introverts! Join us, all you extroverts! Follow Jesus, all you men, women, boys and girls! And bring them in from the four corners of the earth!

"Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free [introvert, extrovert]; but Christ is all, and in all." (Colossians 3:11)


A couple questions to consider:
-Are there things we do in our churches that unnecessarily cause certain kinds of people discomfort? Is there a more accommodating way we could accomplish the same goal? Are we showing appreciation for the quieter servants among us?

-Are there things that God has asked us to do that I am avoiding because it doesn't suit my "natural inclinations" or temperament?

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Notes:
1) As described by Cain, I think Adam McHugh comes across as fairly negative toward the Church and its expectations of introverts. However, in his own personal writings, he is much more balanced, and offers both critique of the church's dealings with introverts AND honest, helpful encouragement to introverts who need to grow in the way they function in the church community.

2) The whole discussion of introverts and extroverts is unfortunately based largely on stereotypes. I'd like to explore this a little more in another post, but for the time being, when I use the terms "introvert" and "extrovert", I'm using them according to standard (western) cultural usage. You may or may not fit the stereotype.

Grace For the Heart of Anger

I promised one more book revisit, but I'm actually going to tackle two books at once today, since they both deal with parenting, and I think the one needs the other.

When I last mentioned The Heart of Angerby Lou Priolo, I was only a few chapters in. Having now finished it, I would still recommend it, but with a caveat. This book on dealing with angry children has very helpful, concise sections on common mistakes parents make (I identified with several of them) that provoke kids to anger, how to talk your child through their angry response to something, how to respond when your child attempts to manipulate you, and how to give your child a framework for respectfully appealing your decisions when they feel them unfair. Although I don't know if we'll ever actually use the paper worksheets recommended in the book after "anger episodes", (as a verbal exchange in discipline situations, I think they're very useful), I was tracking with Priolo until the very last chapter, which attempts to answer the question "But what if this doesn't work?" That's where he lost me.

Priolo's answer to the question is pretty short (the chapter is only 3 pages long): If a counselee makes the claim that he "tried it God's way and it didn't work", "one of two things is wrong: either the counselee did not really do it God's way or he did not do it God's way long enough." He then goes on to briefly expand the idea that if the methods in his book don't "work", you're either not doing it all, or you haven't done it long enough to see change. He never defines what it means for these methods to "work", but one assumes that he means your children will gain control over their anger and your home will be peaceful. Now, it is true that if you only use part of a method it may well be less effective, and I fully agree that good parenting is the process of applying consistent principles over the long term, but scripturally, I don't think you can claim that doing things "God's way" will always "work" in the earthly, happy-ending, easy sense of the word. This answer seems overly simplistic to me and leans too heavily on the idea that if we can only parent well, our children will turn out the way we want them to.

Good parenting doesn't guarantee successful (or godly) kids. If the ability of our children to control their anger and live a quiet and godly life depends solely (or even mostly) on our ability to always do everything thoroughly and consistently for 18 (or more) years, then our kids are all doomed. What parent has ever, in the history of the universe, parented their children without multiple errors, sinful reactions, and at least some inconsistency? Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are the great patriarchs, honoured for their faith in Scripture, and yet they all played favourites with their kids. David was a man after God's own heart, but his kids are no paragon of virtue. Even Jesus' parents made mistakes, and he had to (respectfully) rebuke them. Although I should take my responsibility as a parent very seriously, I don't want my kids' eternal or even earthly destiny to rest on my ability to be a good, consistent parent who uses the "right" method.

When Priolo discusses the importance of consistency earlier in the book, he says, "[The children] should know that each offense will be treated justly and equitably regardless of their parents' emotional, spiritual, or physical condition at the time of discipline." I agree. That is the ideal. But can I be realistic for a minute? Have you ever had a discipline situation while your head is over the toilet in the middle of first trimester pregnancy? Have you ever been so emotionally and physically drained at the end of a LONG day, that even though you try hard to listen, you still have to ask 5 times what happened, and even then, you have no clue how to apply Scripture to the situation? I'm not saying we shouldn't pray for strength and wisdom and seek to do our best in even the worst of circumstances. I'm just saying that I don't know any parent who handles things exactly the same in each and every emotional, spiritual and physical condition at all times, and who always does everything right. We need room for grace.

I love the chapter in Elyse Fitzpatrick and Jessica Thompson's Give Them Gracewhere they deal with the same subject: What about when things don't work? The whole book offers great hope for the imperfect parent, because the main theme is that God doesn't deal with our children's souls exactly in keeping with our parental ability and faithfulness. Just because you're a "good" parent doesn't mean God owes you fantastic, godly children. He's never promised that. And just because you make mistakes doesn't mean your children are going to be criminal basket-cases who hate God and you, too. We are called to be faithful, yes, but all good in our children is only by God's grace; any good in our parenting that positively affects them is by His grace, too. And His grace is sufficient for parental sins, from the smallest, most mundane to huge, life-changing errors. As Fitzpatrick and Thompson discuss God's glory in our sin and our children's sin in the chapter Weak Parents and Their Strong Savior, they rightly qualify things by saying,

We're not encouraging anyone to sin. God hates sin. We should hate it, too. And because we never know what God's will is before it is accomplished, we must always assume that it is his will to be glorified by our obedience rather than by our disobedience. We must continually strive with all our might for the 'holiness without which no one will see the Lord' (Heb. 12:14)

But for all those times that parents do sin, or all those times that parents do (most) everything right and the child still rebels, they write,

The weaknesses, failures, and sins of our family are the places where we learn that we need grace too. It is there, in those dark mercies, that God teaches us to be humbly dependent. It is there that he draws near to us and sweetly reveals his grace. Paul's suffering [in 1 Corinthians 12] teaches us to reinterpret our thorn. Instead of seeing it as a curse, we are to see it as the very thing that keeps us 'pinned close to the Lord'.

God is glorified even through the darkest, most sinful aspects of our family life when these things turn us to him and his abundant grace in our weakness and failure. This is sometimes the only way that things work out in our parenting. While we don't always understand this, there are times when the only real happy ending is that we are driven closer to our Lord. I love this paragraph:

We think that compliant children will best teach us about his grace and the gospel, and they can. Compliant, believing children are frequently reflections of his great kindness. But the Lord also teaches us of his grace and the gospel through difficult children. We learn what it is like to love like he loved. We learn how to walk in his footsteps, and it is there, in our personal 'upper room', where we learn how to wash the feet of those who are betraying us. It is there, kneeling before our rebellious children, that the real power of God is demonstrated. The compliant child's life lies to us, assuring us that she is good because we're such good parents. Difficult children tell us the truth: God loves his enemies, and he can infuse us with grace that will make us lay down our lives for them too. Their rebellion is a verification of the gospel: we produce sinful children because we are sinners, but God loves sinners. God's power is displayed through our failures when we tether ourselves to the gospel message of sin and forgiveness [not to our thoroughness or consistency], no matter how desperate the situation becomes.

I am thankful for the variety of parenting books out there, including The Heart of Angerand Teach Them Diligently, another book from Priolo (which, incidentally, ends on a much more gracious note), that give practical, detailed wisdom to the confused and struggling parent (and really, which of us aren't?). But if I recommend any "methods", however biblically-based, these days I am also quick to recommend Give Them Graceas a biblically gracious lens through which to view that method. I recommend The Heart of Anger for its practical help, but don't leave its efficacy to your own ability to carry out the methods in it. Lean hard on the glorious grace of our heavenly Father, and trust Him to carry out His good, pleasing and perfect will, whether it involves self-controlled, compliant children and energy for the day's parenting, or whether you're weeping over a defiant child or your own lack of mercy while you lean over that porcelain bowl.

A Few Book Revisits

Well, fall is here and colder weather is slowly creeping in--the kind of weather that makes me want to curl up on a comfy couch with a cup of hot tea and a good book for a few hours. Granted, with 4 young kids running around my house, that kind of afternoon is pretty much a dream from a past life :) There was a time when I would plow through books like they were going out of style (they're not, by the way!), but with the advent of Child #3, I basically gave up on any aspirations of daytime reading, and I was doing really well if I made it through a book a month (which was not much compared to my previous reading levels). I was doing extra super well if I made it through a book a month and actually retained any memory of the book when I was done! You better believe that when Child #4 showed up, things only went downhill from there! That's why I'm thankful for Lit!: A Christian Guide to Reading Books, a book by Tony Reinke that I mentioned here a few months ago. If you haven't heard of it, or have but are taking a long time getting around to picking it up (it took me almost a year!), I'm going to re-recommend it right now. This book on the 5 Ws (and the H) of reading is eminently readable, full of practical tips, and has lots of biblically-derived wisdom on why and what to read. His chapter on how to read more books was especially helpful to this busy mom. Since I finished reading Lit!, the number of books on my reading list that I've actually gotten around to (and finished!) has grown significantly. And honestly, I think my reading comprehension and the amount I'm retaining from at least most of these books is better than it ever was when I was reading for exams and whatnot, despite the brain-shrinking effects of motherhood. So if you're struggling to fit reading (any genre) into a busy life, or if you just want to read better, pick up a copy of Lit! (As an aside, my mom and I decided this summer that the brain-shrinkage is merely the trade-off for the eyes in the back of your head, 100% increase in hearing and sudden reflexive ability to grab any falling object the second before it hits the ground and spills/shatters all over the place, that a woman gains immediately upon the birth of her first child.)

That said, I wanted to revisit two other books I mentioned the last time I wrote some short reviews. I'll mention a few more thoughts on Deadline today, and then tackle The Heart of Anger in the next few days, since I have a fair bit to say about that one.

Deadlineby Randy Alcorn: In retrospect, I feel I was a just little too hard on this one in my last review. I think what tripped me up was the stylistic difference between this book (which is the first of a trilogy) and the last book, Deception. I read Deception first, and it is a fast-paced murder mystery that had me regularly thinking, "I need to sleep now... but just one more page won't hurt..." (Yeah, and 20 pages later, I'm still saying that!) Deadline has a slower overall pace until the last hundred or so pages, with rather large sections that tackle detailed arguments on subjects such as media bias, abortion, medical ethics and what heaven may be like. This means that although some of the characters are the same as those in the last book, the pace and style of this book make for a different reading experience. A good read, but different. I still think there were a few pretty short sections earlier on that felt a bit lagging to me even for the slower pace of the overall book, but that said, the story line and character development are very good, and if you want help figuring out how to talk to your friends and colleagues about social issues from a gracious Christian worldview, there's a lot to think about (and use) here... another solid book from Alcorn. Pick it up, grab your cup of tea and spend a few hours reading on a cozy couch for me!

Off the Grid/On the Bookshelf

Well, it's been back-to-school week here after a nice long weekend up at the cottage. We had a great time hanging out with an old friend of mine and her new husband (and the kids thoroughly enjoyed playing with her daughter), and also getting to know a few members of my brother-in-law-to-be's upcoming wedding party. There were about 20 people up there on Saturday (thankful for a larger space and great weather!) and various somewhat smaller amounts on Friday and Sunday, which was a lot of fun, but not exactly the best environment for burying yourself in a book (unless you're an introvert like me, in which case, you at least try to steal a few quiet minutes in a corner by yourself with your nose in a good read)! I can't complain: it was great to have some deep and very encouraging conversations, eat some tasty food, spend time oscillating between cool swims and the warm sunshine of the dock or deck and--as often happens--come home more tired than when I left :)

In the calmer, less-populated hours of the weekend, I did manage to dig into a couple books. Here's what has been on my nightstand (or in my suitcase) over the last few weeks:

Acts: Having finished Genesis, I started reading through Acts, mainly for the purpose of reading through the many sermons there and seeing how the apostles connected the stories and people of the Old Testament (some of whom I'd just read about) to the gospel of Jesus Christ in the New Testament. Of course, I'm also thinking about the early church and God's activity there. Perhaps more on that later, if I can clear out my blogging backlog!

Rescuing Ambition by Dave Harvey: Is ambition a bad word in your mind? Or do you spend a lot of time pursuing your own ends (whatever they may be)? Do you ever struggle with your own mixed motives in the things you do? My answer to all of those questions was "yes", so I figured it would be a good idea to read this book that's been sitting around our house for a year or so. And I was right--this very readable, often humorous and very insightful book works its way through defining sinful ambition, godly ambition, the risks and rewards involved in ambition, what to do when ambition fails, how to be ambitious for your local church and a few other relevant topics, all with practical illustrations and in a gospel-centred manner. I feel like I've come away with at least the head knowledge to better discern between self-centred and God-centred ambition in my own life, and with a greater desire to be willing to risk whatever necessary to see God's glory spread in my home, my local area and across the world. I highly recommend this one!

The Heart of Anger: Practical Help for the Prevention and Cure of Anger in Childrenby Lou Priolo: I'm not terribly far into this Biblical-counseling book on how to deal with angry children (and their parents!), but it's already been a great help in seeing areas in my parenting where I've been wrong and/or need to grow, and given me some ideas of how to help and instruct my angry child(ren). This book is intensely practical, easy to understand, and contains a lot of wisdom on growing in godly relationships. This book deals very frankly with parental sin and children's sin, and seeks to facilitate specific growth and change. It is also very clear that these changes are only possible (but in fact, ARE possible) by God's grace. A friend with a similarly-temperamented child recommended this book to me years ago, and I wish I'd heeded her recommendation and read it sooner. At any rate, I am reading it now, and so far, would readily recommend it to anyone concerned about their, or their children's, anger.

Deadlineby Randy Alcorn: Yes, I'm reading the first book of Alcorn's trilogy after I read the third one. They are not so heavily connected that you need to read them in order, and I had the other one before I got this one. The storyline of this murder mystery is very interesting, and I'm pretty gripped. The book is about a journalist investigating the murder of his friends, one of whom was something of an abortion-promoting doctor (but did the pro-lifers do it??), and there are several moving sections in it about the ravages of abortion, as well as hope for those who've been involved in abortions. It also deals with the issue of journalistic integrity. I will be honest: there are a few short sections that I've found a bit, well, tedious, for lack of a better word. One of the subplots of the book is the other friend's experience in heaven, and there are sections in which he is instructed on life in heaven by his angelic guardian. Some of these (especially earlier on in the book) seem to me to be a bit too didactic and slow-paced for the murder mystery genre. Also, having read several other Alcorn books, including his non-fiction Heaven (which I recommend), the heavenly sections here are often repeats of similar things in the other books. I personally thought the writing in Deception (with its more sporadic, less speculative heavenly scenes) flowed better than in this book, and kept the suspense up to a page-turner level. Just being honest! But on the whole, it's a very good book, it fills in some of the back stories of characters from Deception, and if you're not familiar with Alcorn's writings on heaven, you may find quite a bit here to think about--it's not just white robes, harps and sitting endlessly on the clouds :)

Charlie And The Chocolate Factory Cd (Unabridged)by Roald Dahl: Okay, I haven't read this one recently. But we DID listen to it on audiobook on the way to and from the cottage. Dahl can be a little cynical and the parents in his books are often nitwits, which may not have the best influence on impressionable grade-schoolers who are already tempted to think their parents aren't quite with it. But in this book, gluttony, greed, laziness and bad manners are shown to be the destructive things that they are, whether practiced by children or adults, and the humble, generous child and his family get the final rewards (oops... retroactive spoiler alert if you didn't already read this as a kid!). Some moral lessons worth discussing with the kids include the negative appearance and effects of disrespectful behaviour and disdain for authority. Also, Dahl's caricatures and dry wit are hilarious, and while our older two kids love this book, it was Nathan and I who laughed out loud more often than they did.

Now that we're back in school mode, I anticipate that the majority of my reading will be school-related, and of little interest to the general public. But I am hoping to dig into the two commentaries on Exodus that just arrived in the mail today, as well as The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God, The Hole in Our Holiness: Filling the Gap between Gospel Passion and the Pursuit of Godlinessand           Dominionin the coming months. Stay tuned.