We’re still working through this book together as a small group, but I finished early. Several of the chapters were extremely convicting and thought-provoking. I underlined a ton. The chapters on suffering, waiting, and contentment were particularly timely for me. It’ll be a good one to revisit in the future.

WWII historical fiction is quickly becoming one of my favorite genres. I loved this Italian point of view. While Beneath a Scarlet Sky had a neat storyline, the writing could’ve been better. It made me sad to think about Pino Lella’s heartbreaking experiences, but did he know the One who will eventually set all things right? There was way too much cursing. I don’t recommend it to my book-loving friends. It won’t be a re-read for me.

Tackled a couple more Stink Moody books at bedtime with the kids. Again, not my favorite series in the world, but the boys are learning lots about English – as well as ways not to treat your siblings/friends. Hah. The boy humor definitely keeps them more engaged. I’ll be excited to get into some other (classic) read-alouds as the years go by.

Below: quite a few quotes from this month’s reading. I usually try to pare these down, but I just couldn’t take any more out! My suggestion? Just go read some good books!

I think the main difference is that in college, when I was around Mike, I wanted to be like Mike. Now, after spending time with Mike, I want to be more like Jesus. ¹

I have heard so many Christians tell me of a gut-wrenching season they walked through, only to hear them say, “In the end, I’m glad it happened…” None of them would have chosen ahead of time to walk through such a difficult trial. But all of them are grateful, in hindsight, that the trial came. Such fire-testing seasons are severe gifts from a loving Father…. These seasons are necessary because we do not walk easily into maturity. ¹

Faithful obedience, over time, weakens temptation’s allure. ¹

If your faith begins and ends with you, you are missing the truly profound experience of working with God to make a difference in a needy person’s life. ¹

It is a mistake to assume that “letting go” is always going to be a onetime event. Far more often, it [forgiveness] is an ongoing commitment. ¹

The time will come when all of us will be done mourning – but that time is not now; that time doesn’t exist on this earth. We need to mourn. Mourning invites us into a deeper life. ¹

But seeking after the transcendent – which can be found in God alone – points us to the only world where we can be truly satisfied. ¹

We pay a price when we become leisure-oriented, self-serving people… ¹

He was frightened by the penalty for helping the Jews, but he was going to help them anyway. ²

We are passing through a bad time now and it will probably be worse before it is better, but that it will be better, if we only endure and persevere, I have no doubt whatsoever. ³

To fight in defence of his native land is the first duty of the citizen. But to fight in defence of someone else’s native land is a different proposition…. it involves a higher conception… a wide outlook upon human affairs and a sense of world responsibility. ³

I am persuaded both evil and good angels had a large share in this transaction: how large we do not know now, but we shall know hereafter. ⁴ 

People who are focused on themselves are less likely to make changes for the team than people focused on serving others. ⁵

Without knowing both sides of the story, people tend to give the benefit of the doubt to themselves and to assign negative motives and actions to others. Without communication the situation just festers. ⁵

People forget how fast you did a job-but they remember how well you did it. -Howard W. Newton ⁵

Dependability means more than just wanting to take responsibility. That desire must also be coupled with good judgment to be of real value to the team. ⁵

A basic truth of life is that people will always move toward anyone who increases them and away from others who devalue them. ⁵

You can’t break a cycle of apathy by waiting to feel like doing it. ⁵

¹ Authentic Faith, Gary Thomas
² Beneath a Scarlet Sky, Mark Sullivan
³ Churchill: The Power of Words, edited by Martin Gilbert
⁴ The Journal of John Wesley
⁵ The 17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player, John Maxwell

Wow, I fell off the monthly blogging wagon. Life has really taken me for a ride these past few months. So many things going on, but I was able to tackle a few books. Thankful for the awesome opportunity to be challenged and to learn new things even in the middle of the craziness.

 In October, I worked through this must-read by Elisabeth Eliot. Tears as I walked this journey, this time imagining how I would’ve responded had it been me that lost my husband. These men and women had a contagious faith. Will always love this fast, easy, yet emotional read.

I’ve been reading this Judy Moody spin-off series about Judy’s little brother, Stink, to my boys at night, and they are obsessed! These haven’t been my favorite stories in the world, but if my kids will sit and listen to a read-aloud, I’ll buy every single one! Noah and Leyton are learning tons of idioms and other English nuances, a huge plus for this self-proclaimed language nerd.

Worked through The Search for Significance over the last several months with some missionary ladies and interns. Many of the workbook questions really made me consider the perspectives from which I am operating: good reminders not to give in to Satan’s lies in the day-to-day. For me, it was vaguely reminiscent of Lies Women Believe by Nancy Leigh DeMoss.

Whew. Finished The Indifferent Stars Above in December. I’m glad I read this one, but I was equally as glad when it was over. I picked it up because I loved Boys in the Boat so much and because I’ve always been interested to know what exactly happened to the Donner party. I felt physically ill through a portion of this story. Pondered various life questions. What would I have done had it been my child starving on the side of a mountain? Brought up lots of “what if’s”. Definitely learned a ton.

Below is a (very long but not exhaustive) list of my favorite quotes and passages from my finished books from the last few months.

I would gladly give my life for that tribe if only to see an assembly of those proud, clever, smart people gathering around a table to honor the Son – gladly, gladly, gladly! What more could be given to a life? – Pete McCully ¹

When life’s flight is over, and we unload our cargo at the other end, the fellow who got rid of unnecessary weight will have the most valuable cargo to present to the Lord. – Nate Saint ¹

That night I was so keyed up I couldn’t sleep much. On the other hand, I realized that the whole thing was in the Lord’s hands. ¹

A missionary plods through the first year or two, thinking that things will be different when he speaks the language. He is baffled to find, frequently, that they are not. He is stripped of all that may be called “romance.” Life has fallen more or less into a pattern. Day follows day in unbroken succession; there are no crises, no mass conversions, sometimes not even one or two to whom he can point and say: “There is a transformed life. If I had not come, he would never have known Christ.” There will be those among the Indians who say that they accept Christ, but what of the forsaking of heathen custom and turning from sin to a life of holiness? The missionary watches, and longs, and his heart sickens. ¹

It is easy to see how the availabilty of even so simple a tool as the machete can profoundly alter a culture. ¹

“… They didn’t know what a great sin it was. They didn’t understand why the white men had come. Send some more messengers, and give the Aucas, instead of fierce hearts, soft hearts. Stick their hearts, Lord, as with a lance. They stuck our friends, but You can stick them with Your Word, so that they will listen, and believe.”

This is the context in which the story must be understood – as one incident in human history, an incident in certain ways and to certain people important, but only one incident. God is the God of human history, and he is at work continuously, mysteriously, accomplishing His eternal purposes in us, through us, for us, and in spite of us…

Bones have their secrets, but they tell no lies. ²

One by one, feathery flakes landed on cold blankets and buffalo robes, on sweat-slicked hair, on shoulders turned to the sky, on soft checks–each flake delicate and slight, but each lending its almost imperceptible weight to the horror of what was about to happen. ²

Modern disaster psychologists have found that bold, decisive leadership greatly improves any group’s ability to survive the early stages of an impending catastrophe. ²

Sitting in the casino, I wondered if the habit of taking chances and thus far surviving them had lulled them into a false sense of security, left them as mesmerized by the temptations of fortune and the hazards of chance as those sitting around me seemed to be as they watched the wheels spin before their faces. ²

Imagination can only take you so far out of your own world. But it occurred to me that any one of the sixteen-wheelers racing by the interstate could have carried all of the Donner party over the crest of the mountains in about seven minutes. ²

Led into the wilderness by a lie, led astray at times by their own dreams and ambitions, … they had found themselves blundering ever more blindly through terra incognita as they moved west. Here at Emigrant Gap, even the landscape itself had conspired to deceive them. And when the land they encountered did not conform to their expectations, they had continued to move forward as if it did, taking the easier route downhill. In the end, as a group they had exhibited precisely the opposite kind of behavior from the humility and open-eyed awareness that survivors always seem to demonstrate. ²

For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ. – Galatians 1:10 ³

The only way we can overcome the fear of rejection is to value the constant approval of God over the conditional approval of people. ³

There is nothing more motivating, nothing more comforting, nothing else that compels us more to honor Christ, and nothing else that gives us as much compassion for others as the sacrificial payment of Christ that has rescued us from eternal condemnation. ³

¹ Through Gates of Splendor, Elisabeth Eliot
² The Indifferent Stars Above, Daniel James Brown
³ The Search for Significance, Robert S. McGee