Unlocked

This is the title of a book I just finished reading by Karen Kingsbury. The story is about an 18 year old boy that struggles with autism and how through an old childhood friend and prayer, a series of miracles happen in the life of Holden(the main character)that release him from being locked up in a private, non-verbal world of his own.  Having worked with autistic children for over a year now, I could really relate to this story, and it deeply touched my heart. One of the things the author brought out also was that there are a lot of other ways that people can be “locked up”.  Some are locked up in the quest to be part of the “in” crowd, the pursuit of wealth, the goal of having that perfect figure, etc. etc. As I was reading, the Lord impressed upon my mind the thought that we are all born locked up in the prison of sin. Because of what happened back in the garden of Eden, a sinful nature has been passed down to every person that enters into the world. We are born with a nature that is contrary to God, and unless a change takes place, we will never be able to have a right relationship with Him ,and  we will remained locked up in our own sinful nature.  Through prayer and the patient efforts of a friend, Holden was drawn out of his solitary confinement and brought to a place where he could truly begin to communicate and having meaningful relationships with others. What a blessing it is to have a God who seeks to woo us and win us to a wonderful relationship with Him. He uses so many little things to try and get our attention  and to bring us to the place where we can repent and turn our hearts toward Him- the beauty of creation, circumstances of life, preaching and teaching of His Word(if we’ll choose to listen), kindness when we don’t deserve it and most of all prayer. 

I shudder to think of where I would be if someone had not been praying for me and if someone had not reached out to me in love and shared the gospel. I could have committed suicide and died lost, because there was a time in my life when I considered suicide as a way to end the emotional pain that engulfed me. Reading Unlocked has left me with 2 desires. As far as my job goes, I want to pray more and reach out more to the families with whom I am working. While I believe ABA is helpful in working with autistic children, it is ultimately God that can open the door for these kids to communicate and have healthy relationships with family and friends. As a Christian, I want to pray more for the people in my life that don’t know God and may or may not realize that they are locked up in a spiritual prison. While I can be kind to people and do my best to share the gospel with them, my efforts will fall short if I don’t earnestly pray, for I know that without Him, I can do nothing. (John 15:5)

Dear Lord, please let 2011 be the year of unlocked doors.

Luke 4:18

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

 

Finally Participating In A Tag

I was tagged by Karen at the beginning of the month to participate in this and am just now getting around to doing it.  So sorry for the delay.  Here goes.

RULE ONE: Grab one of the books closest to me, go to page 56, type the fifth line and the next two to five lines that follow.

RULE TWO: Pick five people who love books (I think) and who could receive the Bookworm award with honor.

*****

For the God of Amos is not only all powerful and international, he is also ethical and spiritual.The prophet’s three apostrophes to Jehovah are especially majestic and noteworthy. (4:13;5:8;9:5,6).

from The 12 Minor Prophets by George L. Robinson

I now tag Janet, Kweenmama, Catherine, Andrea, and Carmen.

If you choose not to play that is okay. You’ll still be my blogging buddy.

 

Tag, You’re It

I was tagged by Helen to play this little game.

Here is how it works.

1.  Pick up the nearest book(of at least 123 pages).

2.  Open the book to page 123.

3.  Find the fifth sentence.

4.  Post the next 3 sentences.

5.  Tag five people.

Kingdom’s Quest by Chuck Black

He smiled and offered his arm, and she took it. They walked in the beauty of the forest scenery, content to let the kingdom pass them by for a time. They came to a large, fallen tree and sat upon its trunk.

Now I am tagging Becky  Jayleigh Eva Carmen and Kiki. 

 

Beyond Hardy Boys or Books I Recommend For Little Men

     

This past Christmas, my son received a special gift in the mail from his aunt, uncle(my youngest brother)and cousins in Wisconsin.  Upon opening his package, he discovered the first 3 books of what is known as the Kingdom Series.  The author of this series is Chuck Black, and I can say that I have enjoyed these books as much as my son has.  These books are actually an allegory of the Bible and take place in a medeival setting, chock full of knights, villians and sword fights.  In the back of each book are discussion questions that you can use to help your child think and understand how certain characters and events in the book represent people and happenings in the Bible. 

My son was a very reluctant reader until the beginning of last year when he really gained an interest in the Hardy Boys.  I was and am glad for that, but I really wanted to find something else with a little more depth that would interest him.  These books were the ticket!  If you have a book resistant kid in your household, you might want to try these out.  They are also available as audio dramatized books too. 

Click here to learn more about the books.

 

Good Quote From A Great Book

Most successful Christians don’t have the best of everything —they just make the best of everything.  Ron Mullings

One of the fringe benefits of going to church conferences is being able to browse through and buy some of the many books that are available.  My husband came home from General Conference with several books, and I snatched this one up immediately.(since he was alreay reading something else) It’s called People Are Pitiful, and it’s by one of my favorite preachers, Rev. Ron Mullings.  Whether we are new converts or have been living for God for many years, we all have a “pitiful side” to us that we need God to help us to overcome.  This book deals with the subject in a very simple, humble and practical manner.  I’m halfway through the book and enjoying it very much.  I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in Christian growth.

 

School Daze

The new school year is just around the corner for our family.  I’ve been busy trying to tie all the loose ends together, so there hasn’t been much time for blogging.  This year, I’m using some curriculum I’ve never used before, so I’m trying to familiarize myself with it before actually using it.  I’ve never been a big fan of textbooks, but I decided to go with one to teach science.(one of my weak areas) I started reading this science book from Apologia, and I’m finding it very interesting.  In the first chapter, he is discussing the history of science.  He talks about Aristotle, who was a very respected and revered man in his day.  Aristotle had a belief called “spontaneous generation.”  To put it simply, he believed that it was possible that a living organism could be formed from a non-living organism.  We know today that this is not true.  However, this belief was held onto for over 2,000 years, because it was considered correct, not because of scientific evidence but because of Aristotle’s reputation for being a great scientist. 

As I thought about this, I could see a parallel when it comes to doctrinal teachings of the Bible.  I have seen people hang onto teachings that were unscriptural because it was taught by someone they greatly respected.  We all need people that we can look up to, but when it comes to doctrinal teaching, we must examine it with the Word of God and see if it lines up, no matter who is doing the teaching.  I pray that God will always help me to remember this. 

Thank you Lord, for speaking to me through a science book. 

 

Another Book I Enjoyed

Have you ever wondered how things which were once viewed upon by society in general as sinful or immoral came to be looked upon as acceptable or even desirable?  If you answered yes to this question, you would probably enjoy reading this eye opening book. 

To learn more about this book, you can go to this link.  If you do decide to read this book, I’d be interested to hear your thoughts. 

 

A Full Weekend

This has been a very full but good weekend for me.  Yesterday, my daughter and another friend Eva from our church and her daughter went to a Mother/Daughter banquet at a sister church.  I had been asked to speak at this banquet a few weeks ago.  I’m not really a great public speaker, but I did pray about this and felt like the Lord gave me something to share with the ladies.  I don’t speak at functions very often, but whenever I do, my mind always wanders back to the first time I ever had to give a speech.  I can’t remember exactly what grade I was in, but our teacher assigned everyone in class to do an oral book report.  At that time, I was reading a lot of Bobbsey Twins mysteries, so I decided to do my book report on one of these mysteries.  As I stood in front of the class, I opened my mouth to speak, and nothing came out.  It was as if I had been suddenly struck dumb, and it seemed like I stood there speechless for eternity.  My merciful teacher saw my plight and told me in her kind voice that it was okay and that I could try again tomorrow.  I sat down feeling very relieved, and somehow(miraculously) I was able to speak the next day and deliver my book report.  Anyhow, things went well at the banquet, and as usual, the Lord came to my rescue and helped me. 

Later that evening, we were invited to a birthday party for Eva’s daughter Bell.  Eva really went all out for this and made her killer potato salad, corn on the cob,  a giant bowl of fresh fruit and glop(a combination of pistachio pudding, nuts, marshmallows & other ingredients which slip my mind right now-it’s yummy!).  Her husband barbecued chicken on the grill.  This was all very good, but the crowning jewel of the evening was the cake that Eva made.  I’m hoping that Eva will post a picture of it on her blog, because it is hard for me to describe.  The cake was shaped like a castle, and it was very impressive.  Not only did it look good, but it tasted wonderful too.  The homemade buttercream frosting was not sicky sweet like the kind you would get at the grocery store.  It was just right.  We had a nice time and left there absolutely stuffed.  I must confess that I really pigged out there.  I hardly ate anything at the banquet earlier, because I was nervous about speaking, so I made up for not eating much there!

We always try to do something special at church on Mother’s Day to honor our mothers.  Eva not only makes beautiful cakes, but she is also good at putting together gift baskets, so she made some up to give to the mothers.  We also gave some carnations out too, because I don’t know of any lady who does not like to receive flowers.  I was presented with a sweet Mother’s Day card, a beautiful Azalea plant and a special Mother’s Journal in which I can record stories from my life to pass on to my children.  I don’t feel like I deserve to get a special gift every year for Mother’s Day, but I do appreciate the thoughtfulness and love that is expressed through it.

After church we came home and my husband fixed me a scrumptuous, sumptuous meal.  You better get a bib on because you might start to drool.  :-)   We had grilled steak, pan seared sea scallops, stuffed baked potatoes, my husband’s special seasoned grilled vegetables and French bread.  In a little while from now, we’ll be having strawberry shortcake for dessert.  The kids helped too with setting the table and kitchen clean up afterwards.  My son has promised me a foot massage before bed tonight, and he is going to read me a selection or two from The Best Loved Poems of the American People. (his idea, because he knows I like this book)

All in all it has been a wonderful weekend, and I feel like a very blessed woman indeed! 

 

Recommended Book

“Image is everything,” or so the saying goes. Unfortunately, in our culture words are quickly losing their appeal. Arthur Hunt contrasts our Judeo-Christian heritage, which is word-dependent, with paganism, which is image-dependent. He warns that by exalting visual imagery we risk becoming mindless pagans and that we are open to abuse by those who exploit the image but neglect the Word. Thoughtful readers will find this a challenging call to be critical about the images around us and to affirm that “the Word is everything.”

I read this book a few weeks ago, and although some of the history was a little difficult for me to plow through, I still enjoyed it.  I came away with the feeling of how important it is to keep the Word of God central in my life, my family’s life and the life of our church.  I would recommend this book to anyone who considers themself a Christian.