A few Books I have read...

Warning... don't read them unless you want your life to be challenged, convicted, and perhaps worst of all... more Conformed into the Image of Christ...! (Oh MY!) 

Made to Crave

I have yet to finish this book. It is not one I will be able to plow through as easily as a piece of Raspberry White Chocolate Cheesecake and a Tall Chai Latte. It is one that I need to really have a chisel, hammer, pick axe, and a nut cracker to thoroughly get all I should out of it. Well, perhaps I dont need those implemts, but I need to let God use hem on me as He wants. The title intrugued me... the first chapter terrified me. I am not quoting here, but one point she makes is we spend so much time and energy building up walls around our selves, that it seems so wasteful to just tear them down. I mean all of that work and energy for nothing! Instead of tearing them down and chucking them into some landfill of our minds, repurpose every brick and build a pathway of faith and belief to God. Let the labor of healing from some very wrong thinking patterns create hope through the truths of the Word of God, which alone has the power to transform our minds. Very challenging read! 

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One Thing You Can't Do In Heaven

 Another one that is more important than the previous is this book. It is more important because it has lasting impact on the sould of people that will surely drop off into eternity into one of two destinations. I talked to a young guy of 17 who said, "It is a terrible book!! I finished reading it at 11:30 at night, and couldn't sit in my house any longer! I had to get some tracts and go out and tell someone about Jesus!" 

That is exactly the same feeling I had. Compelling, convicting and challenging! 

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Under the Overpass

This book was just given to my husband yeaterday, and I finished it today. Wow! It is not that I should do what these two young men did, but I should be more aware that I need to follow what the Lord tells me to do!! 

I vividly recall an evening not very long ago, when we were traveling in Florida on deputation. We were going into a dollar store, it was nearly closing time, and outside the store there were two young people sitting on the concrete near the grocery carts. They looked to be "travelers" ... or homeless. Something inside me wanted to buy them some milk and some "good" snacks in the store to give to them. It would have not changed my day whatsoever to do that... a few spent dollars would not mean I couldn't eat or feed my children, but I never followed through on my thought. I say my thought, but  truth be told, I know it was the Lord speaking in his still small voice. 

I ignored him, giving (lame) excuses that I had my children with me. Yes, how horrible would it be for my kids to see me showing compassion on some young people? That would have been terrible. I then thought it was so close to closing... did I really want to go back into the store? Were they really homeless? Maybe they were just young kids hanging out. Blah... blah... blah. Whatever they were, I walked away and did not act on my thought, impulse, nudging from the Lord... whatever it was. And now, several months later, I regret it. 

Through reading this book, I began to think that the way I may view a homeless person is nothing compared to what the Lord sees when he looks at me. Truly my sin and filth that I live with and tolerate every day is more sickening to Him, and yet he loves me with an unending, uncomprehendible love. I can only marvel at His goodness. 

"No Reserve, No Retreat, No Regret" 

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Radical

We read this a while in the van while we traveled on deputation. It gives some real every day examples of people and ways to live for the Lord in a radical, turn-your-world upside down on purpose for the Lord, and begin to live for the eternal, and not for the temporal. It was a wonderful read, and certainly timely as it was the week after we moved out of our rental house and then had an accident that totaled our trailer... which was to be our home. We felt a little radical about then. And certifiably something, we just didn't quite know what yet! I posted on some of the thoughts and emotions we went through that week, and now when I look back on that time I am thankful for the test, blessed by God's provision, and amazed with His undeserved and endless grace. Truly what we may call "radical" is nothing more than a real understanding on Romans 12:1.... it is reasonable! thank you GOD! 

I hope you have a chance to read one ... or all of these books! Would love to know how they affect you... and better yet, the effect they have on you!

Some fun tips...

OK so the link to embed doesn't work, but I just saw this link on a friend's FB account, and loved it!

(thanks Andrea!) Click the picture or  HeRe for a youtube video on dozens of different ways to wear a scarf!
Deputation has many challenges, but one of them is clothing variety... or the appearance of it! Long ago I learned scarves are a wonderful gift to a wardrobe. Now they are a necessity! How else can a girl spice up grey, black and white! Some of my favorite souveniers are scarves... $5. knock off pashminas on Canal Street in downtown Manhattan or handmade creations from an Amish gift shop in northern Ohio... they are all my faves! I dislike coats, and a well chosen scarf can go a long way on a cold day! Enjoy! :)

The Guys on the road...

They are all teens, all BoY, and all around just plain fun. 

One of the huge benefits of traveling is once school is done, we are free to travel to whatever is close and enjoy some things that we are not able to in Rochester! The favorite destination is anything with WaTeR!! When we were in Largo, we loved to go to Indian Rocks Beach. It was hot, and the water was only slightly cooler! :/ The guys liked to try their version of extreme anything you can come up with, and even though they had some very young eyes watching them, it deterred them not one whit. 

Little Braden and Bailey are twins, and children of a pastor at NTBC.  This is their first year homeschooling their older children, and they are all about field trips, and we were more than happy to join them!

I hope my boys weren't the influence for them trying this. It was comical, and they nearly had more sand in their hair that fell into their eyes than was left on the beach! 

 This is Josiah displaying his ability to turn the sand into a trampoline....

... and front flip. At least it was a soft landing! Well, kind of! 

Here they are debating their next move... or showing off their muscles... I am not quite sure which! I caught them off guard, so I will tent to believe the former! :) 

 Not sure what this was... I think a conch. When Dan and I were in Bahamas they made them into a salad that was more like a salsa with these nasty creatures chopped up into it.

 Levi made a good show of "eating" it...! YuCK!

 We were in Tallahassee on the weekend of the FSU and the OK Sooners game . The town was pretty much decked out with everything Seminole, and most every car we passed had painted windows advertising their school spirit. Sadly, FSU lost the game, but we were able to go to the stadium before we left the area. It was pretty neat to stand where just the day before there were thousands of excited fans cheering their hearts out for their team.

Just a few more perks of deputation! We are currently in Daytona Beach area and have driven by the Daytona 500 speedway. There are plenty of field trips planned... but unfortunately not enough time to do them all! Maybe when we come back to this area... for no doubt we will be returning! Probably the only thing that is a pretty much sure thing of this nomadic journey of deputation!