Wednesday, January 28, 2009

25 Random Things About Me (Amanda)

Hello all! I did this for facebook, and thought it would be fun to share with you. Technically, I could be "tagging" people. However, I don't really know too many people in the blog world, and I don't want to bother the ones I do know. :-) So, if you're reading this, and want to tag yourself, feel free to do so! Let me know if you do and I'll check out your 25 things too. Hope you enjoyed something a little spontaneous today!

Rules:

Write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. Try and think of something that no one knows about yourself. Don't type something typical like your age, type something completely and utterly random about yourself! It's really fun and kind of challenging!

1. When I was younger I really, really wanted to be a writer. (I still have half finished stories around the house)

2. I took ballet lessons for about two years

3. I trusted Christ, when I was around four, inside a grocery cart, in the grocery store!

4. I love to read, talk about books, blog about books, and convince others to read!

5. I liked dogs when I was younger, now I'm a cat person, and dogs are kind of a pain.

6. I'm pretty competitive; you'd be surprised if you played Monopoly or Dutch Blitz with me!

7. It took three times for me to pass my drivers license test, but I've not had an accident or a ticket yet!

8. I love movies, especially old ones!

9. I can't stand the smell of the wet jet that Mom uses to mop!

10. I've never broken a bone, but I had to get stitches before…not a cool story.

11. I used to think farms and farm life were cool when I was younger, now I don't. (it was before I actually SAW a real farm)

12. I was home schooled from K-12, and I love to talk about home schooling.

13. Some day I hope to be proficient on the sewing machine!

14. I love crafty things, scrapbooking, crocheting, etc, but I don't like painting, it stresses me out!

15. I don't like gross noises, belching is disgusting!

16. I'm a picky eater. (this might not surprise some of you)

17. I love to attend Bible conferences.

18. I didn't get my ears pierced until I was 20.

19. I really want to get fish, but I don't want to take care of them, just look at them.

20. I can be pretty bossy at times.

21. I donated about 11 inches of my hair last year, the first time I've had it cut short since I was little! (no, I didn't cry, but I felt like it!)

22. I have a tendency to cry when I see others crying, even if I'm not really upset! (I do this with laughing too, actually)

23. I've been wearing dresses/skirts only since about 12 or 13, my choice. However, I had to purchase my first pair of pants in November to fit with the dress code at Michael's. (this was NOT fun shopping for…took forever!)

24. I love to get together with friends, but I don't do it very often!

25. My dream job is to be a wife and home schooling mom, with lots of kids!

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Praying for Others--The Dad :-)

Hello again! Here's is the article written by Dad. :-) I've been waiting until I finished my post on Spiritual Disciplines, because I thought this corresponded well with it. I hope you enjoy it!

Praying for Others
by Charles (aka "The Dad")

Over the years I have been introduced to many formulas or tools to help improve my prayer life. A lot has helped me since my Roman Catholic days of praying through a rosary. Above all, a thorough knowledge of what the Scripture says about prayer has been life changing.

The acronym A.C.T.S. was my initial introduction as a true believer that taught me to pray (Adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication).

The Lord’s prayer (sometimes called the disciple’s prayer) has also been useful not only as a prayer but especially as a pattern for prayer.

However, something that has helped me tremendously over the years to give me some satisfaction that I was praying for others in some systematic way on a regular basis (and not just when I thought about it) started with a lesson in the Daily Bread devotional guide.

The lesson was from a parent to a child using the hand as an object lesson in prayer. The thumb represented missionaries because it was so far away from the fingers. The index or pointing finger represented leaders who point the way, like kings, presidents, and various rulers. The middle finger represented our spiritual leaders because it was the tallest and they carry the largest load of responsibility for the Lord’s work. The weak or ring finger represented the sick and the helpless. Finally, the baby finger represented the little ones: the babies and the unborn.

Thus began an adventure which I passed on to my family over the years as we expanded this ‘formula’ and developed a weekly prayer list that looks like this:

Monday -pray for the Missionaries
Tuesday – pray for those that Tackle leadership issues (president, governor, mayor)
Wednesday – pray for the Warriors--pastors, Christian leaders, biblical counselors and Christian radio programs
Thursday – pray for The sick, the orphans [fatherless], the widows, the prisoners, the persecuted church
Friday – pray for Friends who are expecting, the unborn (the abortion issue), and mothers with little ones,
Saturday – pray for the Salvation of friends, co-workers, students, neighbors, family, and those associated with the church. Pray also for the Spiritual growth of Christians we know.
Sunday – pray for the Servicemen, the church Services, and the Schools. (includes teachers, Public, Private, Home Schoolers, College Students, and Christian Colleges)


This is something we do primarily as a family as we drive but is also encouraged in personal prayer time when we are not traveling together.

"Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you"
I Samuel. 12:23

Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life--Donald Whitney Part 4

Hello all! I'm finally going to do a book review! I'm continuing on with the Spiritual Disciplines book that I started last year. :-) This chapter is on prayer and once I finish the summary, I will be posting an article by Dad on prayer. You will notice a difference in this review from the previous three on the book. It should be shorter and more summarized. (I hope! :-) ) I also hope to get another book review done this week, if time and personal motivation permits! :-)

Title: Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life
Author: Donald S. Whitney
Published: 1991 by NavPress
Background Information: Donald Whitney is the associate professor of spiritual formation at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminar in Kansas City Missouri. He is the best-selling author of Simplify Your Spiritual Life, Ten Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health, and How Can I be Sure I'm a Christian? (all that was taken from the back the book)

Since 2005, Don Whitney has been Associate Professor of Biblical Spirituality at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, where he also serves as Senior Associate Dean. Before that, he held a similar position (the first such position in the six Southern Baptist seminaries) at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri, for ten years. He is the founder and president of The Center for Biblical Spirituality. (all of that was taken from the website mentioned below)You can learn more about Donald Whitney and his resources at: http://biblicalspirituality.org/

Spiritual Disciplines, Chapter 4, entitled "Prayer...For the Purpose of Godliness"
Bold emphasis is my own.

The chapter begins with the following quote:

"We Protestants are an undisciplined people. Therein lies the reason for much of the dearth of spiritual insights and serious lack of moral power. --Albert Edward Day, quoted in Ronald Klug, How to Keep a Spiritual Journal" (p. 65)

Whitney begins by using an illustration on how people try very hard to hear messages from space, he then writes, "What great lengths people will go to searching for a faint message from space when God has spoken so clearly through His Son and His Word!" (p. 65) He continues to write about how God has not only spoken to us through His written Word, but that "He will hear every prayer of His children, even when our prayers are weaker than a snowflake" (p. 66)

Whitney quotes Carl Lundquist on prayer, and Whitney then writes: "If Lundquist is right, as I believe he is, then one of the main reasons for a lack of Godliness is prayerlessness." (p. 66)

Whitney finishes the chapter by explaining each of these three points. 1. Prayer is Expected, 2. Prayer is Learned, and 3. Prayer is Answered. He gives several Scriptures to back up these points and quotes several people, primarily Puritans, on the subject of prayer.

Here are some highlights for you.

Whitney writes about how lack of prayer is often a lack of discipline, but also he says,
"Often we do not pray because we doubt that anything will actually happen if we pray. Of course, we don't admit this publicly. But if we felt certain of visible results within sixty seconds of every prayer there would be holes in the knees of every pair of Christian-owned pants in the world! Obviously the Bible never promises this, even though God does promise to answer prayer. Prayer involves communication in the spiritual realm. Many prayers are answered in ways that cannot be seen in the material realm. Many prayers are answered in ways different from what we asked. For a variety of reasons, after we open our eyes we do not always see tangible evidence of our prayers. When we are not vigilant, this tempts us to doubt the power of God through prayer." (p. 69)

He also makes the point of that when we sense a lack of nearness to God, this also discourages us from praying. (side note, there's a great song, called "When God is Near" :-) On a CD called "Soldiers of Christ, available through Majesty Music)

He also says: "When there is little awareness of real need there is little real prayer. Some circumstances drive us to our knees. But there are periods when life seems quite manageable. Although Jesus said, "Apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5), this truth hits home more forcefully at some times than at others. In pride and self-sufficiency we may live for days as though prayer were needed only when something comes along that's too big for us to handle on our own. Until we see the danger and foolishness of this attitude, God's expectation for us to pray may seem irrelevant." (p. 69-70)

Under his heading, "Prayer is Learned" Whitney gives several ways of how prayer is learned.
First prayer is learned, by praying! He gives the illustration of learning a foreign language, and the best way to learn another language is to actually speak it.

Another way to learn how to pray is by meditating on Scriptures. Whitney writes:
"This is one of the most compelling concepts on prayer I've ever learned. Meditation is the missing link between Bible intake and prayer. The two are often disjointed when they should be united. We read the Bible, close it, and then try to shift gears into prayer. But many times it seems as if the gears between the two won't mesh. In fact, after some forward progress in our time in the Word, shifting to prayer sometimes is like suddenly moving back into neutral or even reverse. Instead there should be a smooth , almost unnoticeable transition between Scripture input and prayer output so that we move even closer to God in those moments. This happens when there is the link of meditation in between." (p. 71)

Whitney then includes several great quotes on meditation and prayer. He uses Richard Baxter, John Owen, William Bates, William Bridge, Peter Toon, and he includes a lengthy article on George Muller. I'm including just one part of what Muller wrote:

"Now what is food for the inner man? Not prayer, but the Word of God; and here again, not the simple reading of the Word of God, so that it only passes through our minds, just as water passes through a pipe, but considering what we read, pondering over it and applying it to our hearts." (p. 76)

Whitney then gives a couple of other suggestions on how to learn how to pray. One is praying with others, he uses the disciples and Jesus as an example. Another way is reading about prayer. He points out that reading about prayer can't be the only thing you do. "But reading about prayer in addition to praying can be a valuable way to learn." (p. 77)

Finally in his last point on "Prayer is Answered" I will use his quote from Spurgeon to summarize this section.

"I cannot imagine any one of you tantalizing your child by exciting in him a desire that you did not intend to gratify. It were a very ungenerous thing to offer alms to the poor, and then when they hold out their hand for it, to mock their poverty with a denial. It were a cruel addition to the miseries of the sick if they were taken to the hospital and there left to die untended and uncared for. Where Gods leads you to pray, He means you to receive." (p. 79)

Whitney then closes is chapter by asking his readers some questions:

"Since prayer is expected, will you pray?" (p. 80)

"Since prayer is learned, will you learn to pray?" (p. 80)

"Since prayer is answered, will you persistently pray?" (p. 81)

Whitney again quotes Muller:

"The great fault of the children of God is, they do not continue in prayer; they do not go on praying; they do not persevere. If they desire anything for God's glory, they should pray until they get it. Oh, how good, and kind, and gracious, and condescending is the One with Whom we have to do! He has given me, unworthy as I am, immeasurably above all I had asked or thought!" (p. 81)

Whitney writes: "Don't let the Enemy tempt you to become silently cynical about God's willingness and ability to answer. Let a love for God cause you to prevail in prayer to Him who loves you, even when His judgements are unsearchable and His ways past tracing out (Romans 11:33)." (p. 81)

Whitney closes the chapter with this challenge: "Would you be like Christ? Then do as He did--discipline yourself to be a person of prayer." (p. 82)

I hope you were challenged by this chapter! Again, there is always a lot a leave out, and I hope the summaries make you want to buy the book!

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Poll Results--01/13/09--01/20/09

Hello all! Thank you for your votes on the polls! Here are the results!

Did you get any books for Christmas?
Total of 3 votes

Of Course!.......................1 vote (33%)
No!.......................0 votes (0%)
I got several!.......................1 vote (33%)
What's a book, and why would I want one? :-).........1 vote (33%)

Glad to see you all got some books! I also got some, haven't had a chance to read them, but I did get some! :-) (yes, they are are girly book, in case you wondered :-) )

My little note I had before the next poll questions...

New Polls!
Hello all! At long last I am doing polls, amazing! :-) I'd like to get some ideas about what you think about adding my Dad as a guest author or contributor to the blog. Also, I'd like to see if you like the idea, what you'd like to see him write. Thanks for your input and have a great day!

Do you think Dad should:
Total of 3 votes

Be a guest writer with article/reviews occasionally.......................0 votes (0%)
Be a contributor.......................3 votes (100%)
Not sure......................0 votes (0%)
Neither, keep things how they are!.......................0 votes (0%)
He should write one article, then ask me! :-).......................0 votes (0%)

Interesting, you all think Dad should be a contributor! Cool! I will have to let him know. :-) I probably will hold off for now, on actually adding him as a contributor, but I will start posting some articles, soon, I hope! :-)

If Dad contributes would you like him to: (you can choose more than one)
Total of 3 votes

Write book reviews/summaries..............1 votes (33%)
Review Systematic Theology from Sun. School..............2 votes (66%)
Write Theological/thought provoking articles..............3 votes (100%)
Something else (email with an idea)..............0 votes (0%)

So, everyone thinks Dad should write articles. :-) I hope to incorporate all three of these ideas at some point. The systematic theology will probably be on of the "easiest" to do on a regular basis. I'd love it if Dad can summarize some of the books he reads, that way I can get more books on here, without having to do all that reading first! :-) If Dad and I can come up with some good ideas for theological articles, we'll try to get those up too, especially since you all like that idea! :-)

If Dad contributes would you like to see it happen:
Total of 3 votes

Once a week.............3 votes (100%)
A couple times a week..............0 votes (0%)
Once a month........................0 votes (0%)
Twice a month.......................0 votes (0%)

Again, you all agree! Seems unusual. :-) Once a week sounds pretty good to me, but I'm not entirely sure what Dad will think of this idea. :-) If he does the Systematic Theology, that should work, since he has to do that once a week anyway. :-)

Thank you again for your participation! I'm glad to see that everyone seems favorable to having Dad contribute in some way. Next week, I have most of the week off, and in addition to doing some things around the house, I hope to get lots of blogging done! :-)

On another note, I apologize if you don't like my new "girly" background. :-) However, I was going to do pink with lots of hearts for Valentine's Day, but it seemed too busy, so be happy it's pink and brown and not pink and hearts! :-)

Until the next post, have a great week!

Amanda :-)

Monday, January 12, 2009

Quick Update

Hello all! Sorry for my lack of book reviews, but I hope to do some this week! (I have two days off this week, so a book review should happen. :-) )

On another note, I had a great Christmas, and I hope you did too! If you wondered, the millions of Christmas things that needed to get done, all did get done, so I am very grateful about that! (and slightly amazed :-) ) My job is going well, and at this point, I think they will keep me on as part time. It should slow down at some point, they keep telling me this, but I have still been working close to 30 hours a week. Maybe by February? Cash register work is getting a little easier, I think I finally have a better grasp on how to do checks and returns, although it is still my least favorite thing to do. (watch, I write this and today some major stressful thing will happen with a check or a return :-) ) Once things slow down, I will go back to job searching, I would appreciate your prayers as I continue to look for full time employment and make decisions.

In the blog world:

Well, obviously I hope to get a book review this week done, and at some point I hope to make a tentative plan of what books to review this year. I am also considering adding my Dad as a contributor to the blog, or just have him write some articles occasionally. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this idea! (I will probably have a poll in the near future on that)
Dad is currently teaching Systematic Theology in Sunday School, so I am considering trying to incorporate that, or have him do book reviews on the various theology books he reads, or just do some theological type posts. So, if you have any thoughts, pass them on! :-)

Also, for Christmas, I sort of persuaded my parents, to let us get the old BBC Chronicles of Narnia dvds for Christmas. I have yet to watch them, but I will probably post some reviews on those this year.

What to look for:
I am hoping to finish up Prince Caspian, Spiritual Disciplines, a Voice of the Martyrs book, Pleasing People, and Voyage of the Dawn Treader first this year. These are all books I finished last year, but have yet to review them. After that, probably the rest of Narnia will follow and then I'm not entirely sure what I'll do next. Probably some other books people are letting me borrow. :-) If you have any requests for the year, let me know.

Hope you all have a great day!

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Quote of the week for December

Hello all! Here are the quotes for December. Hope you all have a wonderful New Year! I hope to be getting back into book reviews soon! (maybe some polls too!) Have a great day!

Week 1 December

This will never be a civilized country until we expend more money for books than we do for chewing gum. ~Elbert Hubbard

The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other. ~Burton Hillis

Week 2 December

You know you've read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend. ~Paul Sweeney

There has been only one Christmas - the rest are anniversaries. ~W.J. Cameron

Week 3 December

"Tell me what you read and I'll tell you who you are" is true enough, but I'd know you better if you told me what you reread. ~François Mauriac

This is Christmas: not the tinsel, not the giving and receiving, not even the carols, but the humble heart that receives anew the wondrous gift, the Christ. ~Frank McKibben


Week 4 December

"I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves." ~Anna Quindlen, "Enough Bookshelves," New York Times, 7 August 1991

When we were children we were grateful to those who filled our stockings at Christmas time. Why are we not grateful to God for filling our stockings with legs? ~G.K. Chesterton