Book Review - Watch Over Me by Christa Parrish

..."Who outside of God himself would have known a brilliant, deaf kid, a vegan hippie, and a toeless soldier would find themselves some sort of family?"

I was a little skeptical when I started reading this book. I usually don't like to read books where the couples are already married because the authors don't always use real solutions. The main characters struggle and struggle and then, presto!, they're back together again and God did it all without showing how they work it through. This book is definitely not one of those.

This is a story about a marriage, that maybe shouldn't have happened at all, and how two people can let life's situations carry them away from each other. Then when God throws a curve ball at them, they try to once again control the circumstances themselves and fix it. It isn't until their whole world falls apart, yet again, that they both finally realize that they can't do it on their own. They have to let God be the solution. Your heart will go out to the young boy in the book that slowly steals the book and the attention. That character was very well written and brought to life.

There were several places, especially towards the end of the book, that I made note to use when I speak on marriage topics. All in all, a well-written book that captures your imagination and takes you with the characters on their journey. It is a book that I would definitely recommend and an author I would like to read more.

This is a Bethany House Book.

Her Rescue Might Be the Miracle They Needed

Things like this don't happen in Beck County.

Deputy Benjamin Patil is the one to find the infant girl, hours old, abandoned in a field.

As police work to identify the mother, Ben and his wife, Abbi, seem like the obvious couple to serve as foster parents. But the newborn's arrival opens old wounds for Abbi and shines a harsh light on how much Ben has changed since a devastating military tour.

Their marriage teeters on the brink and now they must choose to reclaim what they once had or lose each other forever.

Yes. No. Maybe.

At the front of the sanctuary of our church stands a locked, small, dark brown trunk. In this trunk, as has been every year since December 31, 2006, the top prayer requests for people in our church. Specific requests that we are asking God to answer in 2009. The prayers are placed in there on the last Sunday of the year and are left there until November 1st when the trunk is opened and the prayer requests are sent back to each person. I have not seen them, but for some people it is the salvation of a loved one. For others it is a new job or a raise in their current job. Some are asking to find a spouse. All are requests that are near and dear to each person's heart.

I am no exception. On the last Sunday of 2008, I wrote down the top 8 or 9 requests that I had for 2009. In the past I had made them somewhat generic and not necessarily measurable. Requests like that my daughters grow closer to God or my husband and I grow closer together and to God. This year, however, I asked for some distinctive requests that it would be easy for me to see a yes or a no.

Now, I confess, I forgot to write them someplace other than the card, so I have to wait another 5 weeks before I can see them, but there are a couple that I remember and. Because I work at the church office, I have the distinct pleasure of writing down prayer requests and praises that come in for our prayer team, and I hear or see that God is answering request after request in the Time Capsule. I proceeded to get a tad melancholy (just call me Eeyore) and wondered why God had not answered, but one of mine.

That's when it hit me. The fundamental truth that I have known, probably as long as I have been a Christian, some 28 years, but consistently forget. The one God had to hit me upside the head with a 2x4 to remember. He has answered. He has not forgotten me or ignored me. He has answered, but some of His answers happen to be no.

How many times do we cry and lament that God has not heard me? We tear our sackcloth and wail as though we were King David in the Psalms that the Almighty God has forgotten poor, little ol' me. When He hasn't. He answered, but for some reason we think that the only answer that is truly an answer from God is a yes. However, like any loving parent, sometimes He has to say no to protect us, to correct us, to grow us in His image.

It's so nice to know that I have not been forgotten. I am still a loved and cherished child of the King. He loves me enough to not give me things that are not good for me. He loves me so much He is willing to incur my all-knowing human temper tantrum when I don't get my way, so that He can gently shape and refine my character so I can become even more like Him. How absolutely, unequivocally awesome is that! He loves me enough to say NO!

Book Review Beautiful Mess - The Story of Diamond Rio by Diamond Rio with Tom Roland

"It's the journey, not the destination". This saying by country music group, Diamond Rio's Jimmy Olander, is the summation of their book, Beautiful Mess. The book takes you through the formation of the group as the Tennessee River Boys, a performing group in the Opryland theme park, through 20 years of metamorphosis. Author, Tom Roland, a Nashville-based entertainment writer, introduces you to each of the Diamond Rio band members individually,and shares their history with you. He also takes you step by step through the formation of the band into where they are today.

The book, Beautiful Mess, The Story of Diamond Rio, is a well-written and thoughtfully laid out book. I do not know if it is something that will attract people who are not avid followers of the band or of the country music genre. There were parts of the book where I could feel the emotion and the pain of the band members, such as when the lead singer, Marty Roe, was having vocal difficulties and was having night after night of horrible performances. I think there were a couple of times I actually winced at the descriptions being able to picture them in my mind. Likewise, when the book talked about their song, "One More Day", and I started seeing everywhere it was used during 2001 including post 9/11, there were actually tears in my eyes.

I will admit, there were parts of this book that were extremely slow for me, not being a huge fan of biographies. However, for the country music aficionados out there, this book will show you a side of Diamond Rio that you probably have not seen before. They are a good group of guys that have worked together, played together, and served together in their community. There is a humanitarian side of them that I did not know, but was impressed to read about.

Although this is not a book that I gained great Biblical knowledge from, it was a book that I was glad to have read. I have liked Diamond Rio's songs and will continue to enjoy them even more in the future knowing what stand-up guys are behind the songs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDl3sxHdHw8

http://brb.thomasnelson.com/

The Words of the Godly

Today was what I would classify as a rough day. I got some unexpected news that I really didn't like. I called my husband and commiserated with him. He let me vent, but for some reason that didn't make me feel better. I don't understand it (tongue in cheek). From that point on, I was melancholy in mood (think Eeyore), which in turn colored the way I looked at the rest of my day.

My daughters came home from school and my oldest asked me what was wrong. I told her nothing, but she has learned to read me and knew that I wasn't telling the truth. I couldn't tell her what had happened earlier because I knew she wouldn't understand, so I just brushed off her inquiry jumping to a different subject.

After work I took my girls to go get hair cuts. I walked in the door, saw our children's pastor and immediately told him what happened. He let me vent and I went on my way still not feeling better. I saw his wife and though I wanted to tell her what had happened, I couldn't because my girls were in the room and I didn't want them to hear. So I sulked and mourned about the fact that I couldn't really vent to her about what was going on.

I came home and continued being melancholy in mood. Being melancholy is not a good state of mind because it is really just a selfish poor me state. So fast forward a couple of hours and I was lying in bed thinking how horrible this day had been when I got the idea I should have gotten about 8 hours ago. Pick up the Bible and read it to see what God had to say for my situation. Sometimes I really hate it when I do this because I don't always want to hear what God has to say. I wanted a good, old-fashioned, vengeance is mine, kind of scripture.

"The words of the godly encourage many..." What were my words today? Were they at all encouraging? No. I made sure the people around me knew how miserable I was. If I was living in Bible times, I would have put on my sackcloth and gone to sit in my ashes, so everyone would take pity on me.

I am resolving, right here and now, amidst such a great cloud of witnesses (okay, all 3 of you who subscribe to my blog right now), that I am going to strive to implement this verse above. The words of the godly encourage many. How can I do this? When I have a bad day I go to my source of joy and let Him turn my attitude around, painful though it might be. I choose to encourage others around me so that in turn I will be encouraged.

Another mile marker in this pryzr's journey. "The words of the godly encourage many..."

Book Review: Love & Respect

Love and Respect
by Dr. Emerson Eggerich

"What if your son grew up and married someone like you?"

A wife has one driving need – to feel loved.

A husband has one driving need – to feel respect.

When either of these needs is not met, the Crazy Cycle will begin.

Love and Respect is a book by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs, a former pastor, and a marriage counselor with over 30 years experience that explains a simple, but revolutionary message that will profoundly change the way you look at and respond to your mate. Backed by scientific and biblical research, Dr. Eggerichs and his wife, Sarah, have been taking this message across the country since 1999 and are changing the way spouses are reacting to each other.

I had heard Dr. Eggerichs speak at a marriage conference I attended several years ago, and I figured this book would be mainly review for me. I confess, the first few chapters were a little hard for me to get into, but the sentence above caught my attention and from there I was hooked. Love and Respect was definitely not merely a review of what I had previously heard or been taught. Dr. Eggerichs plainly explained the three cycles that every marriage can go through and how to go from Crazy to Energizing to Rewarding to make your marriage the best it's ever been. This book explains the best ways to react to your spouse (love for women/respect for men), why they work, and gives the scriptures to back it up. My favorite part of the book was during his explanation of the final cycle where Dr. Eggerichs stated that our ultimate goal in giving love and respect to our spouse is not just to please our spouse, but to be in obedience to God. This is the crucial key that is so easily forgotten.

STAND

I love mentors. I love the whole concept of having someone in a different season of life coming along side of you to teach you how to make your journey just a little bit better. I also love that God gives you more than one mentor for different areas in your life. I have someone that I am getting to know that I feel God is going to use to mentor me in my writing. He's given me someone that I look to on how to relate to people (because God knows I need help with that!). And one of my favorite mentors is someone God gave to me to show me how to be a strong and steadfast PRYZR.

I was talking with "Mama" yesterday and she was sharing with me about a Word she received from God for some of the women in our church. This Word (using the KC paraphrasing) was that a lot of women are needing to get ready to fight and we don't know how. They have not had to or have chosen not to stand up and fight the enemy and have relied on other people to do their fighting for them.

I confess, I didn't get this at first. I agreed with what she was saying, but I didn't really get it until about halfway through the day. Then I got it!

STAND - I love this word. Being the egghead that I am, I went to the dictionary to look up it‘s meaning. It can be a noun with the meaning "to remain stable, upright, unaltered". It can also be a verb with the definition "to engage in" or "to remain unaltered".

Ephesians 6:10-20 teaches us about the armor of God. Those of you who know it, say it with me. The helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the sword of the Spirit, the shield of faith, the belt of truth, and the shoes that are ready from the gospel of peace. And then...wait for it...here it comes...the command from the General at HQ. “…and after you have done everything to stand. STAND FIRM.”

Get ready. The fight is on! But our instructions are simple. All we have to do is stand (remain stable, upright, and unaltered). Don't back down or run away from the fight. Face it head on. It's not going to be easy, but all we are required to do is stand. He does the rest.

Teachers

This past Sunday evening I was attending a birthday/going away party for our Pastors' 18-year-old daughter, Lacie. Lacie is leaving on Thursday for Colorado Springs to attend a one-year School of Worship. While at this fun fiesta, I was speaking with our children's worship leader regarding my daughters and worship.

The Dilemma

My youngest daughter, who just turned the ripe old age of 10 years old, has joined the worship team for our elementary kids class, G-Force. I asked Ashley, the worship leader, how Kaitlynn was doing and was given a glowing report. (On the inside, this was a big swipe of the forehead, "Whew!!" as you never know what you're going to get sometimes with Kaitlynn.) She told me Kaitlynn was taking her responsibility as a leader very seriously and it has transferred over to another area for Kaitlynn as a teacher's aide in the 2's & 3's class. Ashley told me Kaitlynn was now stepping up even more as she helped in worship for that class also, even to the point of volunteering to pray and teaching the kids to actively participate in worship.

I have to say this absolutely floored me. I have been praying for years that my daughters would become young women with hearts for worship. I tried very hard to model this attitude for them, but a lot of times for me I have a hard time shutting my brain off and letting the worship take over. Sometimes I despaired as I watched them in our family worship times as they just didn't seem to "get into it". Maybe they just knew Mommy wasn't getting it totally either.

The Aha Moment

But on this typically hot, summer evening in Chandler, Arizona, I had an "AHA" moment. I looked around at the strong young women that surrounded my daughters, Lacie, Ashley, and others, who I have watched become great worshipers with hearts sold out for God and asked myself how they got there. I knew their parents were big worshipers, but there was more to it. It seems to me as they were slowly put into situations where they had to learn to lead others to the Father's throne and this is where they learned the most about worship. It became so real to them as they learned to lead and that's when it changed from head to heart knowledge.

So many times we try to just model the way, but we don't grow the people around us up to where they can teach others. People can and do learn by example, but the majority of people need "hands on" situations to push them over the cliff. I desperately want to become a person that is consumed by my need for God, and maybe, just maybe, as I learn to teach those around me and grow them up to teach those around them, I will become that which I most desire to be.