My Dear Reader,

For over a year now, I’ve been pondering the loss of written letters in our society. When I was a little girl, my mother wrote to her sisters and to her mother frequently. I cannot say if it was weekly, but it was often. They wrote back. What treasures these letters were. They told of what was going on in the lives of loved ones across the miles. They could be savored over a cup of tea or coffee and re-read again at night before turning off the light. I have a collection of these letters that my mother saved and I am eagerly looking forward to reading when my own children are a little older. Her mother and sister saved her letters and in them I will find a chronicle of my childhood. That is a treasure!

Sadly, this treasure is no longer being kept by most of us. We send quick emails here and there with an occasional long newsy email to bless our loved one. I confess, I rarely think to print these off and save them in a file, let alone carry them to bed with me to savor at the end of my day. I also confess that I let busyness take over and I neglect to send the news of the day. Besides, I’ve probably texted some of it and phoned some of the rest. We’re so connected these days and yet we’re still so disconnected. Emails, texts and many phone calls fail to hit deep levels of communication.

This past week I received a letter from a former neighbor. In the letter, she told me some of the early history of our neighborhood. As I was reading out loud from the letter, one of my sons came in the room. When I finished he asked, “Is she on Facebook?” We laughed, but the truth is sad, in his experience if you have news from another, it must have come from Facebook. He doesn’t see me receive mail in my mailbox with the latest news. Frankly, I rarely receive any mail that isn’t bills or junk.

I’d like to see this change. I’ve thought of different “plans” to get letter writing going again, but I’ve not been faithful to execute them. Of course, there is no guarantee that if I choose to write a letter to someone that they will be inclined to return the favor. It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to ask that either. I’d like to hope that if I wrote someone they would at least respond, even if they chose to utilize one of the modern methods, such as email.

Last week I received the treat of a long newsy email. Today I responded with pen and paper. It was relaxing to sit somewhere besides my computer and write while sipping on a cup of tea. I shared things from my journal that I had learned in God’s Word, which, honestly, I probably would not have done, if I had sat down to let my fingers fly across the keyboard. I hope that this was the first of many such letters. Only time will tell.

What are your thoughts about writing letters and mailing them to dear ones?

Yours,

Mary Ellen

Reading Bruchko is one of those world-view altering experiences that occasionally cross our path. I first read the book many years ago, I’m guessing over two decades have passed since my first encounter. At the time it was challenging to me in terms of my personal faith, but it was also eye opening to me in terms of how God reveals Himself to various cultures. Throughout the years, I have often recommended it to people looking for a good missionary book. I remembered that it was a favorite. Unfortunately, I had forgotten how key this book is and how important it is for people to hear Bruce Olsen’s story.

Bruce Olsen was an average guy living in Minnesota when he came to faith in Jesus Christ. From early on in his walk of faith, Bruce felt called to go to South America to reach the Indians. When the mission board would not accept him, Bruce chose to follow the clear leading of God and he went on his own. What follows is an amazing adventure, full of incredible hardships and equally incredible miracles. Bruce did not follow the typical model for evangelism, but instead followed the Lord and worked within the culture of the Indians. The results are astounding. It always stirs something within me to read of how God has planted the seeds within each culture to understand the gospel message in His time.

I highlighted a number of key ideas such as this:
“I would need to remember this lesson many times: before you understand a people, don’t judge.” An important concept that is so easy to neglect. This applies not only to entire people groups, but also the person sitting on the other side of the room that somehow seems different to you. I saw a video clip recently where a man was given special glasses to see what was really on the hearts of the people around him. Suddenly, he realized the irritated female had just lost her best friend, the little boy just wanted someone to care about him and the grouchy old guy had lost his home. Before we understand the circumstances we should not judge.

“How do evil, death, and deception find power over the Motilone people?” I asked.
“Through the ears,” Bobby answered, because language is so important to the Motilones. It is the essence of life. If evil language comes through the ears, it means death.”
I don’t know if I’ve ever seen this idea expressed more powerfully. The idea of gossip or lashon hara is exactly this. When we say things we ought not to say, when we speak evil, it brings death. Notice however the key wasn’t the mouth. It was the ears! It is our responsibility to avoid listening to evil speech. Maybe if we remember that it brings death we will be more willing to hold up our hand and say, “Stop! I don’t want to hear this.” Equally important would be holding a stop sign in front of our own mouth so that we don’t bring death to our listeners.

There are many more examples like these. I love the word pictures that come from finding ways to express the faith in terms that the Motilone Indians can relate to.

In the years after I first read this book, we were very involved with missionaries and their work. Those were wonderful, exhilarating faith building times. That was something we lost when we joined with others to plant a church some 18.5 years ago. Every church has it’s weaknesses and I believe one of ours was the lack of emphasis, education and excitement about missions. We lost something important and for that I am grieved. An entire generation of young people missed out.

I highly recommend this book for your consideration and encourage all of my readers to obtain a copy, read it, have your family read it or read it out loud to your family.

I started following some Crock Pot enthusiasts on Twitter recently. I’m not actually sure why I am doing this. Somewhere in the back of my head, I might be thinking a Crock Pot would be the solution for many of life’s problems! Since we’re wanting to eat a more Paleo lifestyle, I’m not sure how much the Crock Pot cooks are going to be able to help me. Still, I hope I find they are a tremendous resource.

Before we get back on the obsessively healthy track, following the Birthday Season, I was tempted by the suggestion of making Blonde Brownies in the crock pot! The mere mention of Blonde Brownies brings back a tremendous memory, one that I have used as a teaching point with my children many times. I could, of course, make the Blonde Brownies in the oven, as I always did in the past, but I thought it might be fun to experience a Crock Pot dessert. So we’re doing it! While the concoction bakes, I’ll write up my story!

Here’s the blog article with the recipe I’m using. Right here.

Here’s my story:
Once upon a time, in a land far away, I was a junior high student who lived in the city. My parents bought land in the mountains and we were soon to move to the rural mountain world of cowboys and cowboy-wannabes. My parents thought it would be good if I could have some friends before we relocated, so they had me join the mountain 4-H club and they drove me up to those meetings however often they took place. “What was a city girl doing here?” I suspect they asked. Eventually, I was assigned the dubious chore task of giving a presentation related to one of my 4-H projects.

Because I was taking Cooking, it was decided that I would do a demonstration making Blonde Brownies. I made them several times, wrote out what I would say and practiced in front of my mother. The day before the meeting I did the demonstration for real so that we would have a batch of Blonde Brownies for everyone to sample after my presentation. One of the key points in the demonstration was to add the flour s.l.o.w.l.y., I did that every time I practiced.

The fateful day came and we packed up all the supplies, got in the car, and drove up to the meeting. I was so nervous. I really wanted to make a good impression. I really wanted to be accepted. I really felt like an awkward outsider. The demonstration went pretty well, that is until I added the flour. In my nervousness, I added it all at once. (This was years before I heard of the Bosch with that super tight lid to put over the top.) Unfortunately, it was also years after the invention of the hand held mixer. I turned on the mixer, put the beaters down into my batter and . . . Oh my word, flour went everywhere! I guess nobody saw how red my face flushed because, of course, it was covered with flour!

I laugh about it today and I’ve used the story to illustrate lessons during teachable times with my own children. In the long run, the experience has been a blessing.

Back to today:
Maybe it’s just Blonde Brownies and ME, but things didn’t go so well here. My youngest and I mixed up the batter today. I don’t have a six quart crock pot. The one I used is four quarts and I don’t think I would have wanted any bigger. I didn’t know that my crock pot heats hot, so my brownies were overcooked. In fact, unlike Ginger, my Brownies were anything but tender and tasty! At least I tried something new! I’m actually intrigued by the whole dessert in a crock pot idea! How many times I’ve been just one (or two) ovens short of what I needed to really cook the meal I wanted to prepare.

Hopefully my new Crock Pot friends won’t give up me yet! I’m clearly a beginner at Crock Potology. Give me time! I’ll get there!

It’s interesting, in a way, none of my children know what Blonde Brownies taste like. I have the recipe in my old recipe box. I don’t think I’ve made them since I got married. Maybe there’s a reason!

In the Pot

Hopeless!

“You were made to make a difference.” That’s the basic premise of this book. Lucado challenges his reader’s to live their lives in such a way that the impact will be felt long after they have passed from this earth.

What I love about this book are the examples and illustrations that bring to life the reality that we should and could be choosing to make a difference in this world for the glory of God. The book opens with a fable that poignantly illustrates that what really matters is how we live our lives. With powerful examples the author demonstrates that God uses everyday people in amazing ways if they are just available. He emphasizes that we don’t have to do it all, we just need to focus on one area of service. He says, “God doesn’t call the qualified. He qualifies the called.” Throughout the book Lucado reminds us of concepts we probably are already aware of such as the importance of hospitality or the importance of touch, but he does it with illustrations that drive the truth home in a powerful way. He emphasizes that one of the keys to outliving your life is spending time with Jesus. One of the key phrases in the book is, “no one can do everything, but everyone can do something.” I think every chapter challenged me in some way.

At the back of the book is a Study Guide. I wish the beginning of the book mentioned the study guide in some way. I would put it on the front cover. Sadly, I didn’t realize it was there. I skimmed through it after completing the book and I would recommend that you do the study guide as you read the book. There were some really good thought provoking questions and calls to action for each chapter.

I have to say that I don’t agree with all of Lucado’s Scriptural interpretations. One example would be where Peter has the vision of the sheet and then goes to Cornelius with the gospel. In Lucado’s view, at the end of the visit they were having ham sandwiches. I feel certain that Cornelius had far too much respect for Peter to even consider offering him such fare. There were other places where I couldn’t agree with his take on the events in first century Jerusalem. Nevertheless, the principles Lucado is presenting were solid and I think anyone who read the book would be challenged in their walk with the Lord and given great motivation to outlive their life for God!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Persuasion
by, Jane Austen
©1818

This is only the second Jane Austen book I’ve read and it caused me to pull out my soapbox, once again, on the importance of reading a book before watching a movie of the same book. You can read that post here. Sadly, I’ve seen three different versions of Persuasion on dvd in the last couple of years. I wish I had read the book first. There were a number of differences between the book and the movies and, not surprisingly, I like the book best of all! Without question my reading was colored by the producer of the dvd I’ve watched the most.

The book is not unlike Miss Austen’s other writings in that it makes observations about the classes that were prevalent in her day. Of course there is romance and all the trials that go along with that especially when the two involved are from different classes. Writing with keen insight and sly wit, Austen makes for some entertaining reading and some wonderful sentences to savor in the process. One thing I noticed was how often the word “persuasion” or one of it’s forms was used throughout the story. It’s something I’d observed to be missing in the movie versions and that fact always struck me as odd. In the book, persuasion is a key theme. We are persuaded for or against so many things either intentionally or unintentionally throughout our lives and we also persuade those around us in similar fashion. The ramifications of all this persuading can be very significant. Perhaps we would all do well to pause and consider both the counsel we give and the counsel we receive more seriously.

The best place for sound counsel is the Word of God as we are reminded in Psalm 119:24 “Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors.” When being persuaded by people, we should consider what type of people are seeking to influence us. Proverbs 12:5 advises “The thoughts of the righteous are just;the counsels of the wicked are deceitful.”

When it comes to influencing those around us it should be with great caution that we open our mouths to speak. We read in 2 Corinthians 5:11 “Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others.” Remember the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom! Psalm 111:10

I read Persuasion on my Ipod Touch using the Kindle App. I read when I couldn’t sleep. Truth be told, by the end I couldn’t sleep because I was reading! I’d like to read the book a second time, but I probably won’t make that happen any time soon. Persuasion is a wonderful story, a love story – true love! I loved it.

This book was read as part of my participation in the 25:11 Challenge. If you aren’t familiar with the challenge, please read my post about it. I’m really enjoying being intentional about reading. If 25 books seems like too many at this season of life, how about 11 books in 2011? Do what works for you, but do spend some time reading real books!

I’m about to write a book review for a book that I read after seeing the movie version. Before doing so, I need to pull out my old soapbox and lecture on the importance of reading a book before watching a movie. Back in the day, when I pulled this soapbox out, I would carry on in an “absolute” manner, as in there were no exceptions. I’ve become more reasonable with the passing of time and now I will say, in most cases, it is the better course to read a book before watching a movie.

When you read a book, the author speaks to you. Much can and should be said about that, in and of itself, but for this article the point I want to make is that in reading, you discern what the author is saying and picture the information the way you interpret it. I don’t think it is generally advisable to let somebody else interpret the author. I want to learn for myself what the author says.

Movies (and plays) take a large body of writing and condense it or abridge it in order to tell the same story in a short amount of time. To do this, they must leave out significant amounts and often they also have to rework aspects of the original to make the story fit the shorter time frame. If you’ve already read the original story, you automatically fill in these gaps, but if you don’t know the original you are left without important pieces of information. You might enjoy the story, but your enjoyment is so much less then it could be. A great example of this is Treasure Island done by our local First Stage Theatre. I’ve been privileged to see this play at First Stage twice and I highly recommend it because it’s one of the most amazing stage sets I’ve ever seen. I read the book out loud to my children before we saw the play and as a result we didn’t miss a thing. On the way homeå, as we reflected on the play, as good as it was, we were saddened for the large number of students that we suspected had not read the story and missed out on so much.

Another example that I frequently pull out comes from my childhood. When I was a fifth grader, my teacher read Where the Red Fern Grows to our class. I love that book! Growing up in Colorado, I didn’t have experience with coons and coon hunting. I had no clue what coon hounds looked like. It was long enough ago that I couldn’t Google it and we didn’t have the mindset to go look up those types of things in the Encyclopedia so I just pictured what made sense to me, at the time. Irish Setters! Yes, in my young romantic mind, Irish Setters perfectly pictured Old Dan and Little Ann. To this day, when I read the book I picture Irish Setters even though I know they are completely wrong and don’t make any sense at all for the story. Imagine my surprise when the movie came out and and Billy went to get those two dogs! They were all wrong!!! I laugh at it now, and of course the movie producer was right to use coon hounds, but I think it illustrates my point. The movie producer reads the book and interprets it through his lens. So when I see the movie I don’t necessarily get what the author wanted to communicate to me. I get what the producer interpreted or wants me to interpret from the book. This may be accurate, as in the case of the coon hounds or it may be skewed to match the producers world view and/or goal in producing his movie.

The first time I attempted to read Pride and Prejudice, it just didn’t connect with me. I read the first few chapters, put the book down and didn’t pick it up again for years. I don’t know why it didn’t connect. Years later, I watched the movie (the long BBC version). I loved it! As I was watching the movie, the story line at the beginning seemed familiar to me. I thought on it quite a bit and eventually picked up my copy of Pride and Prejudice with my bookmark still in place. In rereading the beginning I quickly realized that this was the story I was remembering. I read the whole book and enjoyed it so much. Somehow, in this case, the movie made the story come alive for me. I will also tell you, that there are places in this story where I much prefer the book version to any of the movie adaptations I have seen thus far. I can’t be certain that it was the movie that made the book come alive. That doesn’t actually make sense to me. It is possible that there were other reasons I did not get into the book when I first attempted to read it.

Because of my Pride and Prejudice experience, I can no longer say you should always read a book first. I do, however, recommend it in most cases. Sometimes I watch a movie and then discover that it was based on a book. If I really liked the story, I try to also read the book and many times I’ve been so sad that I didn’t know about the book first. Having seen the movie, it is impossible for me to have a completely honest interaction with the author. The characters have already been pictured for me. The biases have been formed. The movie producer had put his slant on the reading. It’s unavoidable.

Don’t short change yourself. Read the book first!

January 16, 2011
Lake Michigan
I’m not sure exactly why the idea was proposed, but our family is inclined to jump on spontaneous ideas and run with them, so last year when a certain somebody said they’d like to do the Annual Polar Bear Plunge into Lake Michigan it wasn’t long before a number of us had signed on. I suppose the bigger question might be why did I choose to sign on. I never gave it any serious thought – it sounded like a ton of fun! I’ve been in some pretty cold water before so I had a hunch it was bearable. Unfortunately, for me, I had a small surgical procedure just days before the plunge and my surgeon gave a firm, “No!” to the idea of me getting my wound into the icy cold waters. I went in as deep as I could and enjoyed the event, but I wanted to experience the complete plunge! We immediately started looking at 2011!

It was decided we would do our own private plunge this year due to many factors, and we invited some special friends to join us in our madness. There were ten of us who went into the waters and I’m now completely convinced that the way to do this is with a group. The group needs to include at least two who are inclined to vocal expressions of the day (loud screaming) because this will motivate the others to go the distance! Arriving at our chosen location, we were disappointed to see much more ice then anticipated along the shore line. There was even an ice volcano! Fortunately, we found a spot with pretty easy access to shallow waters. Once we were all set up we did group photos before going into the water. This proved wise because once in the waters it’s hard to remember that you want to actually STOP and take a photo.

The call to plunge was given and everyone headed for the entrance. Due to the ice we couldn’t all go in in mass. My biggest fear is always slipping and falling because I know that I will injure myself in one or more ways if I do. I held back to let the others in first. Some of them were already coming out as I went in. Their screams (the cry of the warriors) were pure inspiration to me! Out in the water, I watched Daniel and Emma count to three and go all the way under together. I turned and looked at Gracie and in a flash she and I were both also under the water! Coming up is the most exhilarating feeling! Your body tingles in a way that can’t be described. It’s amazing! It’s fresh! It’s cleansing! I felt GREAT!

It seems like you’re out there a long time, but in reality the whole event is over rapidly. As friends, we have a new bond of shared experience that only we can truly understand! You should try it!

Looking forward to 2012!

Definitely icy on the shores!

Entering the waters.

Group madness!

That blue spot out there is the top of my scarf as I went under!

Running for the shore!

Standing in a tub of hot water!

That was fun!

William and Kate, A Royal Love Story by, Christopher Anderson ©2011

I certainly did not expect this to be the first book of the 25:11 challenge, but I had the opportunity to borrow it for less then three days and so I read it while I could! I’m pretty sure I’ve never read a book this recently published.

The Royals
I’ve had a fascination with the British Monarchy since I was a young girl. In pondering this, I believe it is because my paternal family are direct descendants of Sir Francis Drake’s brother, John. This was often mentioned as I was growing up and I did at least two research papers on Sir Francis in my school years. In the process I learned much about the monarchy and loved it all. Like many millions of other Americans, I set my alarm and rose early to watch the “Wedding of the Century” back in 1981. Over the years I have followed the story of Princess Diana with interest. Naturally, I wanted to know what happened to her sons as they grew older. From time to time I would see an article in one of those magazines at the dentist or doctors office, but I have never read one of the many books written about the recent royals. Only a few weeks ago, I saw something about this book. I don’t even remember how it came to my attention. I’m happy that William has finally proposed to Kate Middleton and I was curious to learn more about the two of them. I read with interest.

The book
The story is interesting perhaps because it is so radically different from the lives I’ve known. We simply do not have to worry about when we curtsy to somebody and when they should curtsy to us. I often think that if we had a better understanding of how things work with a King and Queen it might actually help us better appreciate the respect we should give our King, the Master of the Universe, but that is a discussion for another time.

Many of the British aristocracy of this generation are disappointing in their morals and it is clear that a vibrant faith is not the current norm. Still, it does seem that for all of Williams wild partying and carrying on he appears to be able to be sensible and sensitive with genuine care and concern for real people. I think he could take the monarchy forward and with his leadership pave the way for it to continue into the next century. Princess Diana did have a lasting impact on his view of the world and his purpose in it. This may be the area that gives us a challenge: Most of my friends and acquaintances profess an active faith in Jesus, the Messiah, the one who challenged us to feed the poor, visit the sick and those in prison, but how many of us do this? Prince William regularly gets up close and personal with the very people our Master told us to go and care for. The author quotes Princess Diana as saying to William, “When I cup that HIV patient’s face in my hands he comforts me as much as I comfort him.”* I may not appreciate many things about Prince William’s lifestyle, but he is absolutely setting an example in his willingness to reach out to those less fortunate in our world.

Kate Middleton must be a remarkable woman to have maneuvered through these years of waiting for Prince William to finally decide that he did in fact want to commit to marriage. The book is not deep nor will it challenge your daily life (beyond the example above). It is simply a love story. I like a good love story!

25:11
This became my first book for the 25:11 challenge. I’d love for you to join us (even if you can’t possibly read that many books in this season of your life). Please check it out at 25books.org!

*Quoted from memory, so it may not be exact.

The challenge: Read 25 books in 5 different categories in the year 2011.

It was the end of October when I sent my son, Samuel, a link to a blog article that had come across my twitter feed. A couple of gals had been super motivated on New Year’s Day and challenged themselves to read 10 books in 10 categories by 10/10/10 for a total of 100 books! One of the gals blogged about her experience of reading 100 books in ten months and it caught my eye. Their goal was to force themselves out of their reading rut. They wanted to stretch and read in areas they don’t normally read. Samuel and I ended up exchanging a couple of emails back and forth. We both loved the idea of reading in areas we may not normally read and we both loved the idea of a goal. While Samuel has plenty of time to read and reads at a rate I can’t begin to match, I have precious little time for reading but I like challenges! Before long I got the following text:
“you. me. 25 books in 2011. We’ll call it 25:11, and make up a set of categories And each book, we write a blog post about. You in?”

I was captivated! It took me awhile to commit and I don’t know if I can read 25 books next year. What I do know is that it will be good to read in a variety of genres and it will be good to have a high goal to reach for. We exchanged some more ideas and finally settled on this plan:
5 books in each of 5 categories:
Old Books (written before 1900)
Fiction
Faith & Religion
Non-Fiction
Your Choice
I hope a number of people will get excited about this idea and join us! It would be fun to have the energy of others to motivate me to keep striving towards this goal. Please consider giving it a shot. Here are a few thoughts about the challenge:
If you frequently read books written before 1900 already, why not challenge yourself to an even older time period? Also, in your non-fiction, consider having two or three of those selections be recent publications, something written in the last decade. Don’t forget biographies! Those are a great choice and could easily fit under several of the above categories!
We agreed that audio books are okay. I wouldn’t want all my reading to be listening, but realistically I’m not going to get this done if I don’t listen to some of them.
Want to join us? You should and you know it! Blogging is optional. In fact, it would be more fun if people shared what they were reading in the 25 Books Forum! I think it would be interesting to hear what people read. We might find new books to add to our lists. I’m already mentally thinking about what I’ll read and I have created a list of candidates for each of the categories. It is by no means definitive, it’s just a few that caught my eye as I perused my book shelves and “books to read” lists. Honestly, I’m excited about reading some books I’ve been putting off for years!
Come join the fun: 25books.org

Thirty seems to be the theme for me this November. I’m well into not one, but two, thirty day challenges. I’m excited about them both for very different reasons and hope to share some insights and observations over the coming days and weeks. The first challenge is the Whole 30 challenge. Today is Day 15 for me. Most of our family is doing this challenge. We’re eating lots of fresh vegetables and fruits, proteins, good fats, and not eating any form of sweetener, additives, preservatives along with grains, dairy and legumes. Pretty much you could sum it up by saying we’re only eating real food. The process has been incredibly eye opening and we’ve learned so much. It’s from these lessons that I want to share.
The other challenge is NaNoWriMo. That’s a fun abbreviation for National Novel Writing Month, something I never heard of before last year. I have a couple of friends who did it last year and it peaked my interest. I’m not sure why, as I’ve never had a compelling desire to write a novel. I have thought of writing a book before, but something like a devotional or a children’s picture book. All year the idea rattled about in the back of my head and with a couple of my twitter buddies taking the challenge, I decided to give it a try. I’m a week into this challenge and significantly behind my word count so I must keep this brief and get back to writing! I believe this is going to be another eye opening experience and I’ll be looking forward to sharing about it too!
It may be December before any of the thoughts milling about in my brain actually make it to this blog. It’s hard, after all, to write a novel and blog at the same time!