2015 Goal #3 - Intellectual

My intellectual goal for 2015 is to read.
Because it has to be measurable, I picked 6 books. That's a book every other month.
I'm not sure if reading books is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of intellectual goals And I even debated making a goal in the intellectual category. But reading is good. It makes you smarter. And you learn stuff. And readers are leaders. The days of having little kids at home, while a huge blessing to our family, and something I wouldn't trade, are filled "mind blowing monotony" as a dear friend put it to me.
So reading would be good for this momma's brain.

Last year, I think I read three books cover to cover. At the most. (Besides Bible study books & Sandra Boynton books.)
I really enjoy reading but I've bumped it down the list behind other things I like doing with my limited free time. We're not big read-before-bedtime people, so I mostly end up reading on vacation.
Addie has started to enjoy reading/ being read to, especially library books. She'll sit for 5 to 10 longer books in a row. We do this most days. Sometimes, we'll read some and then I'll say it's time for mommy to read her book and Addie to read hers and I can squeeze in a chapter or two this way.

It is what it is. 6 books this year would be a win!
I'm almost done with this one:

click here or on image to read more about it!

What should be next on my list?
Do you have 'intellectual goals'?

Last two books of 2011

 Two books I read towards the end of last year were...
                                                         
The Street Lawyer is a good, easy-to-read legal thriller, per the usual of John Grisham.  Interesting brain candy, the perfect vacation book :)

The Faith: What Christians believe, Why They Believe it and Why it Matters.  Colson (who came to Christianity while in prison for his involvement in Watergate) writes a compelling explanation of the Christian faith. Written simply yet eloquently, The Faith was challenging and inspiring to me as a believer and also a book I would give to my skeptical friends.  It's not insulting of non-believers, but speaks the truth boldly.  He proclaims the hope and love of Jesus Christ & defends the doctrine of Scripture soundly. Worth reading and giving away.

What have you been reading?

Kisses from Katie

That is the title of the book I just read.  Just read in a total of 4 hours.  Just read in 3 hours last night and 1 hour this morning. 

Just read, as in, finished 10 minutes ago. in tears. happy and sad tears.
Tears for the brokenness of this world.
Tears of repentance for my materialistic dreams, self-reliance, selfishness, desire to live in safety.
Tears of rejoicing in the truth that Jesus has come to bind up the brokenhearted and set the captives free.
Tears of rejoicing that Jesus will return again to take his children home to an eternity where we are restored.

Long story short, a young woman from a wealthy neighborhood in Tennessee was obedient to God's call on her life - she moved to Uganda and he is using her miraculously to accomplish his purposes there.  He is using her story to convict my heart (and probably many others).

This book is not a guilt trip.  It's a testimony of God's greatness.  Of the truth of the gospel.

I am still processing it and don't have anything more insightful to say, except that I will be sharing it with everyone I know.

Go get it.  Immediately :)


If you can't stop what you're doing right now and go get it, here's the link to her blog... a good place to start.
And THIS is the website for her ministry.  Perhaps all the women in your family should get a necklace from this ministry for Christmas this year?!?!? 

Good to Great

I recently started reading Good to Great in God's Eyes: 10 Practices Great Christians Have in Common by Chip Ingram.  I have finished the intro and chapter one and already highly recommend it.  Is that allowed?

He introduces the book and title by introducing greatness in God's eyes.  "Mediocrity is almost no one's ambition.  I've asked a lot of people about their hopes and dreams, and I usually get unapologetic answers about their desires to be great at what they do.  But when I ask believers if they want to be great Christians, they seem to be afraid to answer the question...  To talk about ambition in following Christ sounds like the opposite of humble spiritual maturity.  Yet, what's the alternative?  Should we aspire to be mediocre Christians? ... As for Jesus himself, he didn't seem prone to mediocrity either, did he?"

Chapter one is titled "Think Great Thoughts."  Besides explaining why and how to think great thoughts, Ingram gives four sources of great thoughts:
1.) Start with scripture
2.) Dwell on great truths 
3.) Take time to notice beauty
4.) Meditate on spiritual insights

This is one of those practical, underline-every-other-sentence type of books.  But, here are 2 things (out of about 57) that stuck out to me so far.

1.) Thinking great thoughts has to be on purpose, and the habit takes time to develop.  "It's amazing to me that our culture can be so smart and deliberate about physical nutrition and so mindless about the spiritual, intellectual, and emotional content of the ideas we consume.  We're casual about what goes into our minds and then end up in therapy desperately trying to change what's in there."

2.) "When we meditate on the truths of the gospel, we eventually internalize them.  And when they become internalized, they are life-changing." 

Well, I hope that was enough to convince you to read it :) I won't give away anymore.  Have you read it already?  Are you going to?  

My Utmost for His Highest

I picked up My Utmost for His Highest again for the first time in a long time.  If you're unfamiliar, it's a daily devotional by Oswald Chambers.  You can get the book at any bookstore, or check out the readings online. 

Here's a quote from today's reading that had me thinking all day:

"So often we mar God's designed influence through us by our self-conscious efforts to be consistent and useful.  Jesus says that there is only one way to develop spiritually, and that is by concentration on God... If you want to be of use to God, get rightly related to Jesus Christ and He will make you of use unconsciously every minute you live."

same kind of different as me

this book is a must-read.  I'm a sucker for the real-life memoir type book in anyway, but this book is extra great!  I finished it in 3 days... which is saying a lot because I'm usually way too tired to do any sort of mental activity after work for an extended period of time.  If I say too much more I'll spoil it, but you (yes you) must go to your library and get it right now :)

happy reading
-ren

Random Updates

Ben has signed up for the Chicago Marathon.  It's official.  He'll be running it with a group from our Church (The Moody Church) who runs annually with Team World Vision.  "World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice."  They have focused on clean water in Africa for a long time, although they now have all sorts of outreach world wide. 

Ben also found out the other day that he has officially been accepted to the Phd sociology program at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.  Yay!!  We are still waiting to hear from other schools he's applied to and we are waiting on the Lord to direct us.  The repeated command throughout scripture to "Trust in the Lord" takes on a new meaning in different situations, doesn't it?  We are learning this lesson each day.  We are also so thankful to God for his provisions!  His mercies are new every morning.  Great is His faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:23) 

We had a blizzard.  Oh wait, that was the only news story this week, so you probably heard about it ;)

Our church does a one-on-one mentoring program for women and pairs up younger women with older women under the command in Titus 2 to teach younger women.  I signed up to be a mentee and met with Valerie last night for the first time, my new mentor.  It was lovely getting to know each other.  I could see that this was a great fit :)

Reading lists are well underway.  Ben is powering through book after book - some of his latest are:

The Seeing Eye, C. S Lewis

What in the World is Going On, David Jeremiah

Brothers Karamosov, Fyodor Dostoyevsky.  

Some of my latest are: 

Choosing to See, Mary Beth Chapman

Forgotten God, Francis Chan

The Magician's Nephew, C.S. Lewis 

We're both reading through the "Chronicles of Narnia" series again - brilliant!  I appreciate it SO much more as an adult.  The biblical metaphors are beautiful and moving in a fresh way.  It's such a quick read too... READ IT!

Book reviews to come. 

Our street was finally plowed last night - so Ben is faithfully shoveling out our car as I write.  We decided last night that this snow probably won't melt until July.  Bummer. (My students' drama has rubbed off on me, what can I say...?)

Happy weekend,

Ren

Busy busy busy.

A friend and I are currently reading the book Falling in Love with Jesus (by Dee Brestin and Kathy Troccoli).  In one chapter, the authors look at Mary of Bethany's love for Jesus.  They also contrast Mary's communion with Jesus against Martha's actions for Jesus.  Here's an excerpt:

"Usually artists depict this scene with all of the disciples in the room along with Mary, seated around Jesus,a and poor Martha alone at the door of the kitchen... Fixing lunch for 13 men is not a one-woman job.  But notice the pronouns in Luke 10:38 carefully: 'As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.'  Is it possible that Jesus was alone?... Charles Swindoll puts it like this: 'Martha, Martha - chips and dip would be fine!'  In The Sacred Romance, the authors claim that too often, 'communion with God is replaced by activity for God.'  That is exactly what we see with Martha."

How often have I replaced communion with God with activity for God.  Is activity for God bad?  Nope!  Definitely not.  These authors go on to write that "It isn't that Jesus doesn't value good deed.s  He knows that good deeds will naturally flow out of communion with Him."  (After all, in James 2:20, we read that "faith without works is dead.) However, "communion will not necessarily flow out of good deeds.  There are a host of Christians who are busy with church activity, or just plain busy.  They claim to love Jesus, but their time with Him, their aloneness with Him... has all but disappeared."  (Brestin)

This convicting passage left me asking myself, has my aloneness with him disappeared?  I have CERTAINLY been guilty of this.  In fact, at one point, my busyness in college (largely due to over involvement in a campus ministry) was so stressful, I got shingles.  Shingles!  As the doctor put it, only old people and stressed out people get shingles.  At that point, I was probably sleeping 4-5 hours a night and drinking 4-5 cups of coffee minimum per day.  Let's just say, I had to eliminate some activity.  That was the beginning of a long lesson on busyness.  Too busy.  I was too busy.  I used to think I had some sort of obligation to fulfill to all these people and activities and ministries and... the list could go on.  The truth is, busyness helped me feel important.  Think about it.  Have you been there, or am I alone in this one?  Why do people seem to always complain about their busyness?  Why is it such a big deal that everyone is so busy?  If I'm busy with stuff, I must be important.  God taught me to slow down and find my worth in Him.  He taught me how to watch for opportunities to serve him that HE brought about.  He taught me how to reach out to people, yet preserve time to be alone.  A huge part of this was simply not being on the phone in every moment of time in between activities, classes, meals, etc...   

Fast forward.  God recently led my husband and I to a new church.  In the transition, I have not yet begun serving in a ministry.  God calls us to serve and be connected in fellowship with other believers.  I am eager to develop relationships with other believers at our new church.  However, God has brought this issue to my attention again - almost as a warning.  Renee, serve me.  But do not replace our time together with busyness over at that church.  It'll be easy to be involved in everything over there.  Don't do it.  I'll open the right doors.  I want time with you still.  Our time together is precious.

Has the Lord ever spoken to you about this?   Most importantly, how do you respond to his command.  He told Martha, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed."

Brestin and Troccoli end their chapter with this:


"Communing with the Lord needs to be as necessary and consistent as breathing.  We must practice His presence in everything.  What do you put in your heart?  What do you think about?  What music?  What books?  What about your friends?  Have you sought out people who will really sharpen you?  What you allow to seep deep into your soul will affect your love relationship with Jesus..."


Slowing down,
Ren

p.s. this reminds me - a book on my list this year is Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World.  If this topic speaks to you, check it out!  I've heard great things :)