August. Whew. That was a month. A busy, busy month. Didn’t get to finish a book this time around. Bummer. Oh well. You win some, you lose some, right? I was able to move forward in a few of the books I’m currently reading, though.
As always, my favorite quotes from this month are below. Enjoy!
I am not a theologian or a scholar, but I am very aware of the fact that pain is necessary to all of us. In my own life, I think I can honestly say that out of the deepest pain has come the strongest conviction of the presence of God and the love of God. – Elisabeth Eliot ¹
… Basil of Caesarea’s faith was called “ambidextrous” because he held God’s blessings in his right hand and life’s difficulties in his left, trusting God to use both to accomplish his divine purposes in and through him. All of us need ambidextrous faith. ¹
How many naysayers does it take to steal your joy, erode your enthusiasm, and consume your time so that you lose your focus on your God-inspired vision? That number is the limit of your growth… ¹
‘To do good is noble; to teach others to do good is nobler, and no trouble.’ ²
‘Few,’ it is written, ‘and evil are the days of man.’ Soon, very soon, our brief lives will be lived. Soon, very soon, we and our affairs will have passed away. Uncounted generations will trample heedlessly upon our tombs. What is the use of living, if it be not to strive for noble cause and to make this muddled world a better place for those who will live in it after we are gone? ²
… But why are these cases out of their sphere? Because they know not God. It follows, no man be a thorough physician without being an experienced Christian. ³
What marvel the devil does not love field preaching? Neither do I: I love a commodious room, a soft cushion, a handsome pulpit. But where is my zeal if I do not trample all these under foot in order to save one more soul? ³
Lord, thou hast power over Thine own clay! ³
… preaching like an apostle, without joining together those that are awakened and training them up in the ways of God, is only begetting children for the murderer… No regular societies, no discipline, no order of connection; and the consequence is that nine in ten of the once-awakened are now faster asleep than ever. ³
¹ Leadership Pain, Samuel Chand
² Churchill: The Power of Words, selected and edited by Martin Gilbert
³ The Journal of John Wesley
The Book Whisperer was so great. Something that has been on my heart for awhile – figuring out how to motivate our students to become life-long readers. I picked this book up since I’ll soon be working a bit more closely with new Dominican teachers. I’m hoping that they, too, will desire to read more and instill that love of reading in their kiddos. It starts with them!
The Boys in the Boat was incredible! After seeing it on some friends’ reading lists, I decided to go for it. It didn’t disappoint! I knew nothing about rowing before reading this. But no matter. I learned. This was bigger than some informational book on rowing. Ideas like individualism, teamwork, perseverance, loss, the power of words, determination, trust, family, pride, and love were brought out. Even though I already knew the outcome for these Olympic heroes, I held my breath down to the very last race. The epilogue had me in tears. What an earthly legacy these boys left. But what about an eternal inheritance? Oh, my heart. Did any of them know Jesus?
Finished this gem. This heartbreaking, bittersweet gem. I could hardly put Before We Were Yours down, although at times I wanted to since this fictional story was based on true events that happened in American history. It’s insane to think that children were carried away from their families even as they walked home from school, just to be “sold” to others. I knew nothing about Georgia Tann or her adoption schemes that took place between the 20’s and 50’s. I’m interested to read more, so I put The Baby Thief by Barbara Raymond on my “To Read” list. Whew!
A.D. 30 was the first piece of fiction I’ve read since Redeeming Love – and let’s be honest. Nothing holds a candle to that one. I really enjoyed the setting of A.D. 30; a few of the characters were interesting. I liked how Dekker intertwined these fictional people into the story of Jesus – or rather, how their meeting Jesus completely altered the course of their lives. I wouldn’t give the book 5 stars, but it kept my attention. I’ll probably pick up the sequel someday.
