Labor Day Blues

I'm catching up on e-mail, facebook, and blog posts from the weekend, and there's such variety in the way we spent our weekend. So many labored on Labor Day while others rested. Some lamented the last days before school begins and still others camped, boated, grilled out, and celebrated family and friends. Despite the holiday, I have a sense that many of us enter this fall season with heavy hearts.


Perhaps it's the sadness of seeing another summer race past. Or maybe it is the stress of adjusting back to the school routine. I'm feeling a little blue about both of those. Some of you carry unexpressed burdens from health problems, economic crisis, and family discord. However you spent your weekend, and however you feel on this Tuesday after Labor Day, be encouraged. God knows what is on your heart. Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth (Psalm 124:8).

Two new favorite authors...

I just finished reading my first Maureen Lang book, Pieces of Silver. It was fabulous. I lost some sleep as I read by flashlight late into the night. The book is set just before the United States entered World War I, and from the first page to the last, Lang keeps the reader engaged in the romance, the mystery, and the reality of the trials of life. She's on my list of new favorite authors.
Another author, whose work I've recently added to my list of faves, is Melody Carlson. I read A Mile in My Flip-Flops, about a woman who tries house-flipping. For those who aren't into home improvement shows, that's taking a rundown house, doing some cost-effective renovations, and reselling for a profit. I also read These Boots Weren't Made for Walking, the story of a young women who has a streak of mishaps and moves home with her mother. Many readers can relate to her weight struggles and worries about growing old without meeting Mr. Right.

These are light-hearted chick-lit reads that I foud refreshing after some recent heavier reading. Don't expect any deep theology, but at least the books have a Christian slant as characters discover their need for faith. Carlson does a much better job with chick-lit than some other authors. She's witty and knows how to develop a plot, and doesn't sneak in anything bordering on immorality to gain popularity as some authors have. Another one for my favorite authors list.


Don't forget - You're entered in the free book drawing each time you comment on a blog post in September.

Book Review: Mothers of the Bible Speak to Mothers of Today

Have you ever wondered if there was a manual straight from scripture for moms of today? In “Mothers of the Bible Speak to Mothers of Today,” Kathi Macias has given the reader a lead-by-example style manual with profiles of seventeen women who lived with some of the same struggles that women face today. It doesn’t matter that most of them lived over two thousand years ago. The lessons they teach us are still relevant today. Macias has selected some of the greats from Bible history such as Eve, Sarah, Rebekah, and Mary. But she has also chosen some the reader may not have studied much in Sunday school as a child: Rizpah, Salome, Eunice and Lois, and the Widow of Zarephath.

The book is well-researched and thorough. Scattered throughout the text are questions that make the reader stop and process the information. The writing stimulates the intellect with a bounty of information about each woman, yet it stimulates the emotions with reflective questions and stories of women from today whose experiences parallel those of the biblical women. Each chapter ends with a section titled “Something to Think About/ Enter in Your Journal.” This offers the reader yet another opportunity to personalize the information and process thoughts.

I can see Kathi's writing gifts in this work and many people will deepen their faith as a result of reading what Kathi has spent so much time putting onto the page. This book can be used in many ways. In addition to use for personal study, it would make an excellent book for a Bible study group. It’s also a fantastic research tool for anyone who seeks to study one of the biblical women in depth. Whether for a gift or for personal enrichment, I give the book my wholehearted recommendation.

Review by Michelle Rayburn

Getting Back in the Groove

It's time to get back into my blogging mode after taking a little break for the past two months. After a heavy speaking schedule, I needed to experience a little summer I guess. I'm back in the book reviewing mode and book-giveaway mode again this fall, so pass the word around to your friends and send them a link to the Faith Creativity Life blog.

When I give away books, I'll be drawing from names of those who have left comments on the blog, so be sure to leave a comment, a question, or opinion on the blog to be eligible for drawings. If you're reading via e-mail or facebook, just click on an article title to link to the home blog page to leave your comments.

Enjoy the last weekend of summer!
Blessings,
Michelle

A SWEET AROMA

Yesterday, the farmer who owns the field across from my house mowed his hay. As I sat at my desk, the smell of fresh mowed hay wafted into my office from the open window, and immediately childhood memories flashed into my mind. Growing up on a farm, I recall many summers of making hay and drifting off to sleep in crisp line-dried sheets with the smell of fresh hay carried on the damp nighttime breeze. I opened the window wide last night so I could fall asleep reliving memories from more than two decades ago. Drinking in deep gulps of the sweet air, my unfinished to-do list banished from my mind, I relived the carefree innocence of my youth and the delightful comfort of crisp sheets and a soft quilt.

Isn't it amazing how a smell can stick with us and bring back memories long filed away in some corner of our minds? That's why it's so important for us to remember that we are the aroma of Christ to other people (from 2 Cor. 2:15). Others remember how we treat them and if we claim to love Jesus at the same time we cut others down with our words, they'll remember that stench for a long time. As we go to work, interact with grocery store clerks, and sit next to friends at the ball game, we need to keep in mind that our behavior can affect how some people think about Jesus. We can be a sweet fragrance that draws people towards a desire for God, or we can stink up their perception. I'd rather be perfume, wouldn't you?

Michelle

Recalulating, Recalculating

I have a new traveling companion. Her name is Gertie. Gertie Garmin. Gertie sits on my dash and tells me when to turn right or left and when to turn around. Only she doesn't say, "turn around." Whenever I make a wrong turn, she says, "Recalculating...Recalculating," and then she begins directing me back to the route I should have taken.

Isn't life a little like navigating with a GPS? We don't always know which way we're supposed to go, because reality isn't quite as simple as the written directions. Or maybe we know what we ought to do, but we choose to do the opposite anyway. Just as with the GPS, when we navigate life decisions, we don't have to go back to the beginning and start where we left off. Getting back on track means recalculating and moving forward from where we are, even if we regret getting there. I wonder how often God says "recalculating" when I deviate from his plan. Sometimes I wonder how long it will take for me to trust his direction instead of insisting I have a better way, but I take comfort in knowing that he is patient with my detours.

Are you on the best course for your life right now? Or are have you taken a side trip from where you know you ought to be? It's never to late to recalculate.

Michelle

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Marching Around Jericho

I've spent the past 2 days at a hotel working on some writing while my son attends a conference. Around midday today, I felt the need for some exercise, so I put on my walking shoes and headed outside for a break. Since I'm alone in a large city, I was hesitant to walk just anywhere. I'm in a mostly residential neighborhood, so I know my fears aren't rational, but I have this crazy paranoia of being alone in a city. Perhaps it's the nightly news that's corrupted my rationality. Perhaps it's that I've lived in a rural area for so long. Whatever the case, I decided that walking laps around the parking lot would make me feel more secure.

Since the parking lot circles the entire building, it's the perfect walking track. So today, as I rounded the building for the 5th time, the Bible research I'd been doing just moments before came to mind. I had run across the story in Hebrews 11 of the people of Israel marching around the walls of Jericho for seven days, and the contrast made me chuckle. Here I was, circling the walls of the Homestead Suites because I had no courage to venture farther. And there were the Israelites, circling the walls of the city by faith, believing that those walls would fall when they gave a shout.

I'm not necessarily saying that it's unwise to use no discretion when it comes to walking in a city. But I must confess that my faith in other areas of my life echoes my attitude and fears about venturing too far from what feels safe. Often I forget that God has the power to knock down barriers just as he knocked down those walls for Joshua and the people of Israel and I limit his plans for my life when I refuse to trust his leading for my future. Often his plans are unusual. I wonder if Joshua thought marching around a city for 7 days, blowing a trumpet, and shouting were unusual means for conquering a city. Yet Joshua obeyed.

So as I sit here, I ask, "Lord, what unusual plan do you have for me next? Will you teach me to trust your ability to make it happen?"