Results of "Wild Goose Chase" giveaway

Congrats to Raylene who won the copy of Wild Goose Chase!

Thank you to those who submitted book recommendations. Many of these can be read in the comments to the original post. The remainder are posted below:

• Raylene: Foxe's Book of Martyrs
• Rachelle: Augustine's Confessions
• Erin: You're Late Again Lord : The Impatient Woman's Guide to God's Timing by Karen Phillips Goodman
• Heather: Absolute Surrender by Andrew Murray. "It is a wonderful book on gaining victory in your Christian walk--not just victory over doubts and fears, but also over sin. Mr. Murray deals with nominal Christians (people who talk the talk but don't walk the walk), and their great need for an intimate relationship with Jesus. One can only gain from this book if they have seen their failings and earnestly desire to reconcile with their Heavenly Father."
• Lisa: My Utmost for His Highest; The Lamplighter
• Jane: Dangerous Surrender by Kay Warren
• Roxana: The Mentoring Relationships You Need to Succeed in Life by Paul Stanley and Robert Clinton
  

Wild Goose Chase Review and Giveaway

Just out from Multnomah publishers is Wild Goose Chase by Mark Batterson. One reason I was interested in this book is straight from the first chapter: my being drawn to anything resembling an adventure.

Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing. - Helen Keller

Mark writes:

The Celtic Christians had a name for the Holy Spirit that has always intrigued me. They called Him An Geadh-Glas, or "the Wild Goose." I love the imagery and implications. The name hints at the mysterious nature of the Holy Spirit. Much like a wild goose, the Spirit of God cannot be tracked or tamed. An element of danger and an air of unpredictability surround Him. And while the name may sound a little sacreligious at first earshot, I cannot think of a better description of what it's like to pursue the Spirit's leading through life than Wild Goose chase. I think the Celtic Christians were on to something that institutionalized Christianity has missed out on...

A part of us feels as if something is spiritually wrong with us when we experience circumstantial uncertainty. But that is precisely what Jesus promised us when we are born of the Spirit and start following Him. Most of us will have no idea where we are going most of the time. And I know that is unsettling. But circumstantial uncertainty also goes by another name: adventure.

Circumstantial Uncertainty. That is the story of my life! :-) I've found this true in my own journey with God this year. A continual theme has been learning afresh what was said of Narnia's Aslan: He is not safe...but He is good. My Lord is many things, but He is not safe. And...when I choose to walk with Him, I am not safe either. At least, not from things that we would perhaps like to be safe from. Pain. Danger. Heartbreak. Illness.

Yet there is a safety in His protection that far exceeds any temporal comforts. His goodness ensures that ultimately, our souls and our lives are safe within His sovereign keeping. That is the kind of life and adventure I willingly choose.

A few incidental notes: I was a bit disappointed that it appears this book was published a bit hastily without sufficient editing. There are a few obvious mistakes even on the back cover and in some of the text. There is some good content but in my opinion the book could have been cut in half without any of that unique, key information lost. I only have patience for so many vignettes and stories; there is too many good books to read to spend over-long on one that needs to get to the point. That said, there is some good content. For more info visit Chase the Goose.

I have one copy of Wild Goose Chase to give away to a reader. To enter your name please comment with one book you've read this year that strengthened your faith or impacted your understanding of God. Please make sure there is some way via blog or otherwise that we can contact you. You have until midnight on Wednesday, August 27th when I will randomly choose a winner.

Note: I will not publish any comments with email address but those names and books are being noted down! Thank you...

Anticipating October

There are several reasons that I am eagerly looking forward to October this year. Not only is it the month when the weather at home is simply scrumptious and perfect, it's the month of my birthday, and that of my sister-in-law. Fall is at its peak with apple cider and campfires and hikes through fallen leaves.

But this year I am counting down to October 15th in particular. That is the date that the ESV Study Bible is being released. Surely you've heard about it by now...right? Personally, it is my favorite translation, though the NET Bible and the NASB are still too beloved to part with too.

This Bible is such a refreshing change from the lightweight, pop-devotional style popular in recent years. 20,000 notes, 80,000 cross-references, over 200 maps, 200 charts, and that's just the briefest of summaries. You can read more at the blog. There's also an option to read the Introduction to the Psalms. Granted, the notes should not receive more attention than the text itself. But this is still a true treasure, and more information and teaching than people in many parts of the world would ever hope to see in a lifetime. Let's take advantage of it. The publisher has also produced it to last a lifetime. And be sure I will be talking more about this come October...

“Get Married” – A Book Review

There’s a lot of discussion on this blog about marriage and singleness. As far as I can tell, most single girls who visit this site deeply desire marriage – and many feel “stuck” in a prolonged season of singleness. We often lament, “Where are the men? It’s not like there’s anything I can do about my single state. After all, I’m a woman, and the men are supposed to initiate, right?” What’s a girl to do?

Enter Candice Watters’ outstanding new book Get Married: What Women Can Do To Help It Happen. As the founder, former editor, and advice columnist for Boundless webzine, Candice understands the issues single women face. She writes with warmth and encouragement, taking a no-nonsense approach to a woman’s place and responsibility in pursuing marriage. To quote from the back cover: “Marriage. It’s good and natural to want—and it’s something most of us are called to. But if that’s true, why are so many women single beyond their expectations? And what, if anything, can they do about it? Plenty! . . . You can be content with where you are today and still desire marriage in a way that honors God. And there are things you can do to help it happen.”

Sound good? It is! No more self-pitying refrains of “. . . but there’s nothing I can do.” This book will give you fresh hope and encouragement, no matter how long you’ve been single. And you’ll find plenty of Scripture to help deepen your understanding about relationships.

Please note: This is not a feminist, “girl-power” book. “[It] isn’t a book about desperation or the hyperactivity of joining every dating service and singles group. You won’t find a list of a hundred tips for meeting a hot man or five things you can do today to help you get married tomorrow.” If that’s what you want, keep looking. But if you want to examine your mindset, understand more about God’s plan and reason for marriage, and learn to live like you’re planning (not just hoping) to marry, this is the book for you.

Now there’s no excuse. If girls read this book, they’ll no longer say “there’s nothing I can do.”

Go for it, girls! Marriage is a worthy and honorable goal – Get Married!

- by Jeannie Castleberry

Love as a Way of Life

For decades Dr. Gary Chapman’s best-selling books have shown readers how to speak the “love language” of those they care about. In his newest work, Love as a Way of Life, Chapman presents poignant stories of real people who have discovered the joys of living out the seven characteristics of authentic love: kindness, patience, forgiveness, humility, courtesy, generosity, and honesty. Enhanced with eye-opening self tests, practical ideas for building daily habits of love, and inspiring examples of love’s power to change lives, this book guides readers in putting love to work in all of their interpersonal relationships.

Dr. Chapman writes:

I first recognized the need for Love as a Way of Life when in a counseling session a husband said to me, “I’ll tell you right now, if it is going to take my washing dishes, and doing the laundry for my wife to feel loved, you can forget that.” I had just explained to him the concept of the five love languages and that his wife’s primary love language was ‘acts of service’ and that these acts would deeply communicate his love to her. I realized that he lacked the will to meet his wife’s need for love. He was locked into his own perception of what his role was to be and it did not include washing dishes and doing laundry. I knew at that moment that there was something more foundational than simply knowing a person’s love language.

Love as a Way of Life is designed to help the person who sincerely wants to make a positive impact in the world. I believe that is most of us. Our biggest problem is that we don’t know how and we keep getting tripped up by our own selfish ambitions. The purpose of the book is to help us break free from the prison of selfishness and come to experience the satisfaction of truly loving others as a way of life. It is little acts of love that build up to a lifestyle of service.

Fiction for a Midsummer's Day

Early spring days at our little family antique store can be a bit slow, lending themselves to rearranging the displays, dusting the tables, and reading some good old books. (It would really be unpardonable to read a new book behind the counter of an antique store, would it not?) Three of them stood out as special favorites--all fiction, yes, but fiction that leaves a lasting imprint. These aren't the dime a dozen paperbacks (my husband can hardly bring himself to read a paperback, assuming there can't be much good inside anything but a hardback!), these are the meaty fiction of yesteryear.

First there was The Virginian by Owen Wister. The title intrigued me at a book sale last spring. The entire tale kept me reading when I finally opened it this spring. The Virginian is definitely the best Western I've ever read. It had all the key ingredients for a Louis L'amour or Zane Grey--good guys, bad guys, a pretty girl, and plenty of horseflesh. But for once a Western delved in deep to develop characters and storyline and a love that stays faithful despite the odds against it. And I was continually sharing with my husband all the anecdotes that made me laugh. I'd love to find more of the author's work. If you don't have a hankering for a good Western once in a while, you won't like this book. But how can you go wrong with a Western published in 1902 and dedicated to Teddy Roosevelt?

Next I found myself picking up The Calling of Dan Matthews. It turned out to be a sequel to my favorite of Harold Bell Wright's books, The Shepherd of the Hills. But I didn't know it was a sequel until I started reading of "the trail that is nobody knows how old." Instead of being set in the Ozarks, The Calling of Dan Matthews is primarily centered in the little town of Corinth. (No, not that Corinth, but I think Dan Matthews felt much kinship with Paul in his own Corinth!) Though published in 1909, it could just as easily be written today, set for publication 100 years later. The fact that Harold Bell Wright was a preacher makes me think this book was a lot more biographical than he may have admitted. From the "politics" of the church to the way a church body could be so deeply intrenched in traditions they cared more for the way they'd always done it than how Jesus did it, the author showed great insight into the human nature of church members. Some rather different perspectives on ministry and the church, but definitely thought-provoking.

As the sun set on June 24, Midsummer's Day, I was finishing the last pages of The Twenty-Fourth of June. It was a re-read, brought to mind by mention of the upcoming first day of summer. It had been too long since I'd read this sweet tale of love, family, and home by Grace S. Richmond. It will be on my daugher's required reading list in sixteen years or so. For now, I'm going to pass it on to my sister and sister-in-law. When I read it at that age, I suppose I was caught up more in the love story. This time, the beauty of the peaceful home and happy family struck me in full force (and the love story made me feel like I was falling in love with my husband all over again--which is what every good love story should do for a married girl!). The Twenty-Fourth of June puts a happy family on paper. The author describes the kind of home atmosphere I want my family to feel in ours. And yes, the love story is of the more unusual strain--all centering around that Midsummer's Day, The Twenty-Fourth of June. Originally published in 1914, it's been reprinted, so you have no excuse for not reading it! I'm curious if anyone has found any of Grace Richmond's other works?

Lest you think I read nothing but dusty old tomes, I should admit that the next piece of fiction I open may be not only paperback, but a bit of modern Christian "chick lit" as well. A book whose main character shares my name may just prove too tempting if our local library has Melody Carlson's A Mile in My Flip-Flops. (Having met the author, since she and I spoke at the same writer's conference once upon a time, makes it seem a bit less like I'm just reading some random paperback. As the old adage has always reminded us, you can't judge a book by its cover!)

Gardening – Part Two

This should have been part one, but I accidentally mixed them up! Enjoy all the same...- Natalie

How many kinds of wildflowers grow,
In an English country garden?
We'll tell you now of some that we know,
Those we miss, you'll surely pardon!
Daffodils, heart's ease and phlox,
Meadowsweet and lady smocks,
Gentian, lupine and hollyhocks,
Roses, foxgloves, snowdrops, and forget-me-nots,
In an English country garden!

- English Folk Song

Spring has been slow in coming our way this year, but it has given us more time to look at gardening books and catalogs. I’ll discuss our vegetable garden in a future post, but for now I’d like to share a little about our flower garden.

Mom and I both enjoy the look of “English cottage” gardening. While that can be a bit hard to define, it’s basically the opposite of a “formal” look. English cottage gardening utilizes old-fashioned plants like bleeding hearts and hollyhocks, and herbs like lavender and catmint. Instead of a perfectly shaped tea rose, we delight in climbers and ramblers. So cottage gardening might be described as relaxed, informal, and homey. At least that’s how Mom and I view it!

There are several great books on cottage gardening. My favorite is Margaret Hensel’s English Cottage Gardening, worth buying for the pictures alone! There are chapters on selecting plants, color combinations, and garden layout ideas. One of the best parts is the gardens you get to “tour,” seeing exactly how people have made such beautiful spaces.

Another great book (especially for ideas and general oohing-and-ahhing) is Tasha Tudor’s Garden. This lady has the most lovely garden! Mom and I get inspired every time we page through this book. Both of these are at our local library (although we never check them out since we have them in our personal library as well).

I would post a picture of our garden, but at the moment there are just little green tufts here and there. I should call them little green toughs, because they are braving the cold and even snow that continues to hang around. As I write this, it’s 40 degrees, and we had yet another dusting of the white stuff this morning! When things warm up a bit and the garden looks better, I’ll post some pictures. For now, I’ll list some of our favorite plants:

bleeding hearts (pink and white)
columbine
Jacob’s ladder
creeping thyme
catmint
hollyhocks
purple coneflower
mountain bluet
cleome
... and of course the spring bulbs – tulips, daffodils, crocus, etc.

- by Jeannie Castleberry
March 28, 2008

C. S. Lewis's The Four Loves

Sometimes when you are in the middle of a relationship (family, spiritual, friendship, or romantic) it is impossible to see what is happening within it. Emotions can be very blinding. C.S. Lewis’s The Four Loves provides a detailed study of those four loves, and examines their faults and virtues.

Some passages that impacted me the most are those which deal with falling in love with love. He says,

Theologians have often feared, in this love, a danger of idolatry.... The real danger seems to me not that the lovers will idolise each other but that they will idolise Eros himself....'These reasons in love's law have passed for good,' says Milton's Dalila. That is the point; in love's law. 'In love,' we have our own 'law,' a religion of our own, our own god.

Where a true Eros is present resistance to his commands feels like apostasy, and what are really (by the Christian standard) temptations speak with the voice of duties- quasi-religious duties, acts of pious zeal to love. He builds his own religion around the lovers...It seems to sanction all sorts of actions they would not otherwise have dared...The pair can say to one another in an almost sacrificial spirit, 'It is for love's sake that I have neglected my parents...' These reasons in love's law have passed for good. The votaries may even come to feel a particular merit in such sacrifices; what costlier offering can be laid on love's alter than one's conscience?

Even the strongest lady has been tempted to commit a sin that may be disguised as something loving, whether for a friend or beloved. An amazing point that Lewis makes throughout the book is that love is good! It was commanded by God that we should love one another, but the problems arise when we love others more than we love God. C.S. Lewis doesn’t give a step by step, foolproof plan to escape this, like so many writers today. I think he believes that by understanding the dangers, we are more likely to avoid them.

Naturally, in a book about love, including married love, there is an occasional mention of the physical aspect of it. Actually, when Lewis first wrote the articles for radio broadcasting, the religious group that had first asked him to write them wouldn’t let him read them over the air because the group was outraged that he mentioned sex. Lewis doesn’t talk about it in detail, but for what it is: something representing the Savior and the Church, and something coveted for marriage. Personally, I did not find it “objectionable” at all, but if it is something you stumble with, I may suggest you don’t read the chapter titled Eros (the discussion of sex is concentrated primarily in the first half).

Overall, I find the book highly encouraging and insightful, full of advice that you may not notice for yourself when you are in the situation. The Four Loves is written from a Biblical perspective, but it makes many good points that are universal, so I would also recommend it for non-Christians.

- by Chelsea Wichert

Something Tookish - Part Two

Imperfect analogies have a force that their cousin, the allegory, sometimes lacks. They demonstrate the universal potency of Truth, under other circumstances than our own, on unfamiliar ground, even in different worlds. There are pictures and symbols of the Christian life, with all its raptures and perils, woven throughout the Lord of the Rings. Frodo’s quest spoke vividly to me of the supreme challenge of Life in this fallen world. I saw in the hardships that he and his friends encountered an image of each faithful Christian’s experience upon the earth, ‘creeping upwards’, often upon hands and knees, sometimes even carried by fellow pilgrims. A life blinded by tears; a mission that those closest to us may never understand or even recognize. (One of the most poignant moments in the films, to me, was the wistful look that passed between the four hobbits, at home once more in the Shire, as they sat in the Green Dragon surrounded by kith and kin that had absolutely no idea what Frodo and his friends had been through for their sakes. And the gentle sigh of acknowledgement that they never would know.)

As believers, the most intense battles often rage within the secret of our own minds and hearts, and yet they can be no less terrifying than the fires of Mt. Doom, or hopeless-seeming than that last valiant diversion at the Black Gate of Mordor. Our enemies are not orcs and trolls, but ‘the world, the flesh and the devil’. Our aid lies not in elves and wizards, but in the prayers of our compatriots, in angels from heaven, in, above all, the promised help and presence of the Holy Spirit. But reading these books has made me long to ‘fight the good fight’ with more perseverance than ever. It has reminded me of the valor required of the servants of Christ, and the futility of any campaign waged against the victory He has already secured. It has made me long to throw my hat in the ring for Beauty and Truth and Goodness, not only for the sake of this tired, hurting old world, but because I believe in that which is to come.

Of all the tools at a writer’s disposal, none, perhaps, is more effective than that great device of perspective. An author must consider carefully the vantage point from which his tale is to be told: which character or characters will lend their inmost thoughts to the reader and which ones will be more remote, supplying only actions and gestures and words to convey their response to the unfolding events. In Tolkein’s hands, point of view is the blade of a sure swordsman, striking true to its mark with a keen thrill of insight. From our first acquaintance with Bilbo Baggins to Sam Gamgee’s last contented statement, the effect unfolds with great simplicity and authority, until we realize at the end that the characters we identify with more than all the others are the hobbits. They are the only ones that we get inside of; they are the ones that awaken our deepest sympathies and over whose triumphs we rejoice most ardently.

I can’t help but believe that this was entirely intentional: of all the marvelous creations of Tolkein’s fancy, hobbits are the most like us. Frodo and his ilk are the least likely of heroes; they are little and simple and great fanciers of creature comforts. But their halfling stature conceals a sturdy soul forged of steel, capable of rigors and valors unlooked-for in the common hours. In the hobbits, Tolkein paints an endearingly accurate picture of the average Christian and what he or she is capable of; they illustrate most poignantly the exquisite heavenly irony of God using something so puny as a human on a divine mission.

Like us, hobbits are very much of earth. And yet their nature sings of eternal adventures—irresistibly so. In The Hobbit, the placid Bilbo is first awakened to this inner yearning by way of the mysterious songs of uninvited dwarves around his fireside:

And as they sang…something Tookish woke up inside him, and he wished to go and see the great mountains, and hear the pine trees and the waterfalls, and explore the caves, and wear a sword instead of a walking-stick…

No matter how quiet and ordinary and Baggins Bilbo may have desired his life to be, the untamed blood of his Took ancestors would not lie dormant in him forever. We, too, are often surprised by longings that flame unexpectedly within our prosaic earth-bound little bodies, soaring heavenward like vanishing sparks and taking with them any hope of our being content on a mere temporal plane again. Some latent Tookish trait wakes up to the essential Romance of being alive and being in Christ, and with a shout of joy and a brandishing of heavenly steel, we’re up and off on the adventure of eternity, without a thought of the tame, terrestrial existence we’ve left behind. It’s that great pilgrim spirit of Christianity that proves we are citizens of another country and have sworn our allegiance to another King:

And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.

Hebrews 11: 13-16

Like Frodo and his friends, we’ll all have our battle scars to show at the end of days, no less valid for the fact that our Lord may be the only one who knows of them. And like the hobbits, we’ll celebrate with a joy to which all our joys have been but a prelude when we finally see our King come into His kingdom. It’s that blessed hope that makes of this life an epic adventure, with an ending that lends a reflection of truth to the finest fairytales and puts the poets’ best dreams to shame. And the fact that we already know the climax of the story doesn’t take away one shade of the surprise.

Godspeed, sisters, on our common Quest. May you know what is the hope of His calling and the exceeding greatness of His power to us who believe…

Hard Things

"This country will not survive another generation of Christians that fit in."

Josh Harris said it. His little brothers are spreading the message.

My husband picked up Do Hard Things at the library for me yesterday, and I've already read it cover to cover. Not that I'm biased towards homeschooling Oregonians, but those Harris brothers write good books. This book is subtitled "a teenage rebellion against low expectations." And even though I'm much closer to a quarter of a century than to being a teenager, the message was hard-hitting for me, as well.

Counterculture. Rising above the norm. Doing hard things. The Harris twins share their eldest brother's gift of using the written word to impassion others to go out and live life for the glory of God. Where Josh called teens (and adults) to a higher standard in romance and relationships, Alex and Brett are raising the bar all across the board.

"Being considered a good teen only requires that we don't do bad stuff like taking drugs, drinking, and partying. But is it enough to be known for the negative things we don't do, or should we also be known for the positive and difficult things that we do?" (pg. 97)

I know I linked to their "Rebelution" blog when I first heard about it. But I was busy wedding planning, then I became a farmer's wife without internet, and was busy doing my own hard things: talking to customers (aka strangers), learning all about the vegetables and antiques we sold, trying to drive stick shift, and taking care of my husband when he broke his leg. Needless to say, I don't think I've visited therebelution.com but once or twice since. But everyone was talking about their book, so I had to read it.

And I found that Alex and Brett put into words what I'd been feeling since I turned 13. They even used the YLCF's theme verse, 1 Timothy 4:12.

But they got right down to the heart of the matter. It isn't enough just to be better than average, just to be the one that everyone says is such a good girl. We can and should be doing more for Christ. That's where the hard things come in.

The problem is, the guys made it clear that doing hard things doesn't really stop with the teen years. Just because I started a teen magazine and worked in a political office when I was a teenager doesn't let me off the hook.

Being a wife and mom involves a lot of the "small" hard things. Doing the dishes, picking up after your husband, coming up with a creative menu for dinner, walking a crying baby when you're so tired you can hardly see straight.

But there are more hard things I could and should be doing: finding ways to work Christ into my everyday conversations with customers and finishing that stick shift driving lesson (we started that the day before Merritt broke his leg).

One of the closing illustrations in the Harris brothers' book really summed up my life right now. 18-year-old Brittany Lewin wrote:

"'As much as I love politics and campaigning, there is not a single political job I could find that would match the joy and satisfaction that comes from following God's special call to be a dedicated wife and mother. Campaigns are won and lost; elections happen every year. I can only do so much by myself. What's more inspiring to me is the thought of rebelutionaries across the world raising lots of counterculture, God-fearing, low-expectation-defying children who are constantly doing hard things for God's glory.'" (pg. 198)

Just read my blog posts from four years ago. I was eating and breathing politics. But Brittany is so right. Nothing can match the precious tasks that fill my daily life right now: those of my job as wife and mom.

Politics is still important to me. Maybe even more so, because the political decisions affect our freedom to own our own home and homeschool our children. I'm sure I'll have a political blog post or two this fall, and you can bet I'll be discussing politics across the counter at our store. But most of my time is spent raising a little political activist (she just doesn't know it yet).

I'm not a teenager with time for door-to-door campaigning or missions trips overseas right now. I'm a mom, trying to do the hard thing God calls all moms to: not just raising obedient children, but raising children who do hard things for the glory of God.

Read the book. Do hard things. And join the counterculture who's raising another generation of Rebelutionaries.

Something Tookish - Part One

When Philip and I finished the last book in the Lord of the Rings trilogy I sat in silence for some time, the tears chasing one another down my cheeks, wrapped in a lovely melancholy over the end of the Third Age and the pilgrimage of the fair folk beyond the Grey Havens. I couldn’t stop brooding over what it must have been to have had a mind like Tolkien’s: crammed with such beauties and terrors: the birthplace a world so real that a reader’s heart literally breaks over not being able to journey there and see the shining heights of Minas Tirith or race on a flying charger across the plains of Rohan or chat with a hobbit beside a companionable fire over a pipe and a pint. What a master Tolkien was. It is not lightly that I say I thank God for him. Truth lives in his work, at times shimmering and glowing, at times piercing with the sharp and often painful flash of lightning.

We both wanted more of Middle Earth, and of our dear friends we’d adventured with for so long. And so we treated ourselves to an absolute Tolkien movie fest one weekend. (Remember our ‘no movie till we’ve read the book’ rule? Well, we managed to hold out, in spite of a world that seemed conspired against us to spoil both books and movies before we’d had a chance to experience them for ourselves!) The movies had a beauty of their own, and cast a spell while not nearly as potent as the books, (what movie ever could?) yet compelling in their own right and rendering me dreamy-eyed for days upon days. To actually see the long travail of Frodo and his friends, the tears of dear Samwise and the slow smile of Gandalf, the absolute horror of the evils they faced, all just seemed to seal the strong beauty of this tale upon my heart.

Long afterwards I am still mulling over the insights that continue to appeal to me, blooming under my feet as it were, like the lowly, lovely elanor in the glades of Lothlorien, smiling up at me as I walk along the way. There are vast stores to be mined here, and great critics have done it better and more thoroughly than I ever could. My reflections are of a humble nature, and perhaps simplistic in the light of the scholarly treatment already devoted to this work. But I cannot help but make this story mine through the acknowledgement of its verities, claiming its meanings and symbols for my own.

The Lord of the Rings is not a perfect allegory or anything of that sort, any more than Lewis’ Narnia was. And that’s why I love it so, why I believe it carries such power at its heart. He doesn’t spell everything out for us; he doesn’t merely recast true but familiar stories in a different mold. He makes us think, and ache and search—he speaks first to our hearts and then our heads, in a way that, for me at least, was a humbling and intensely personal experience.

...to be continued next week!

7 down, 3 to go

My list of 10 books to read in 2008 is shrinking! Granted, I keep getting sidetracked with many other excellent books, but sooner or later I return to the tough ones. The ones you cannot read so much for relaxation as for the desire to experience the work's greatness.

We have discussed our books as we complete them. Plato so far is my favorite. The most recent finished title for me is Dante's Divine Comedy. We've also discussed Augustine's Confessions, Virgil's Aeneid, the Epic of Gilgamesh, and more.

My next stop is Milton's Paradise Lost. If you have read this, or some of the other works mentioned above, do stop by HeartThoughts and join the conversation...

Favorite Books of YLCF Readers

Note: As always, use discernment in your reading. This is a list of books enjoyed by YLCF readers and the YLCF does not necessarily endorse every title or content therein.

Gifted Hands - Ben Carson
Girl Talk - Carolyn Mahaney & Nicole Whitacre
Quest for the High Places - Natalie Nyquist
Rx for Addiction: A Doctors Story of His Battle With Drugs - Robert Gehring
Sex Is Not the Problem - Lust Is - Joshua Harris
- Debbie F.

My favorite book is Hidden Rainbow by Ccarrhristmas Carol Kauffman. I've read it countless times and each time with pleasure. Who Gets the Drumstick? by Helen Beardsley and God’s Smuggler by Brother Andrew are two others. Another favorite book of mine is Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham. Even though it is written at a child's level, adults enjoy it as well. It is one of the favorite read aloud books in my family. I enjoyed nearly all of Jane Austin's six major novels but Pride and Prejudice and Emma rise above the others.
- Katy

I love 18th century literature, and my recent top favorite read was Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell. It was such a charming and beautiful story. While I was reading it, I was so into it that I was dreaming scenes from the book! It's a very long book though, took me several months of reading while I nursed.
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins: I just recently watched the movie of this and it reminded me of how much I enjoyed the book. It was the very first detective novel, I believe.
Another old classic that I recently read: The Cutters by Bess Streeter Aldrich. A sweet family story that reminded me of the value and worth of being a mother at home.
- Jessica

The Magic of Ordinary Days - Ann Howard Creel: A beautiful tender and unlikely love story set during World War 2 on the homefront. One passage best skipped over (I have it whited out of my personal copy) but otherwise beautiful reading.
Thorn in my Heart
Fair is the Rose
Whence came a Prince
Grace in Thine Eyes
by Liz Curtis Higgs
A tender and emotional re-telling of the story of Jacob, Rachel, Leah, and Dinah set in Scotland during the 1700's . I have cried with pain and joy with Leana, her unrequited love for Jamie touches my heart with it's familiar pain but it is her courage in surrendering that love to her Heavenly Father throughout the circumstances of her life that have inspired me as well. Ultimately Leana comes to find that only her Savior can fill her completely. I highly recommend these books for young women older than eighteen, no younger, just because of the twists and turns of the story (it follows the Biblical account rather faithfully)and it does have it's mature parts. I promise you will cry like you've never cried for a book when you read Fair is the Rose.
I also greatly enjoyed and was challenged by The Legends of the Guardian King series by Karen Hancock.
Black, Red and White by Ted Dekker are also fascinating, encouraging, eye-opening allegories that will literally make you look at the love of God in a totally new way.
- Anna T.

Emma - Jane Austen
Redeeming Love - Francine Rivers
The Last Sin Eater - Francine Rivers
Courting Trouble - Deanna Gist.
- Anna F.

Eight Cousins - Louisa May Alcott
Hope Was Here or Rules of the Road (It's a tie!) - Joan Bauer
Authentic Beauty - Leslie Ludy
-Rebekah

First favorite is the Bible. The others aren't really in any order.
Anne of Green Gables/Anne of Avonlea - by L.M. Montgomery
Walk Across America - Peter Jenkins
Grandma's Attic series - Arleta Richardson
Little House on the Prairie books - Laura Ingalls Wilder
Mr. Popper's Penguins - Richard and Florence Atwater
- Elizabeth

Emma - Jane Austen
The Scottish Chiefs - Jane Porter
The Shadow of the Bear and Black as Night - Regina Doman
- April

Evening Star - Sigmund Brouwer
The Fallacy Detective - Nathaniel and Hans Bluedorn
Safely Homthe - Randy Alcorn
Little House on the Prairie books - Laura Ingalls Wilder
(These are well known, but our family recently finished reading the series, and I was amazed at how good they really are, especially The Long Winter.)
Death of a Guru - Rabi Maharaj
The Wide, Wide World - Susan Warner
Ester Ried - Isabella Alden
Home-Alone America - Mary Eberstadt
Mama's Bank Account - K.A. McLean
- Abigail K.

My favorite book, far and away, is How They Kept the Faith by Grace Raymond (who also writes under the name Annie Raymond Stiller, a married name). It's set in one of the richest periods of Protestant history, the French Inquisition, and is undoubtedly the most well-crafted novel I've read. It follows, principally, a young protestant girl and her fiance through their personal quest to love of God and one another. The book has deep characters, impeccable writing style, and conclusions that often defy expectations, both in satisfying and dissatisfying ways. I recommend it heartily. (You can purchase the book inexpensively directly through the publisher by visiting www.heritagebooks.org.)
On Message by Mark Crutcher is an important book addressing abortion in a systematic, while simultaneously fascinating, manner. The writing style is reverent (for such a difficult topic) and Crutcher handles it with a great deal of agility.
To Kill A Mockingbird is probably an over-recommended book, but it really is one of my favorites. It has such unforgettable characters and the whimsical writing style is irresistible.
- Nicole H.

The Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis
Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
In His Steps - Charles Sheldon
- Naomi

Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
Christy - Catherine Marshall
A Circle of Quiet - Madeleine L'Engle
Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen
The Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis
Till We Have Faces - C. S. Lewis
The Blue Castle - L. M. Montgomery
The Betsy-Tacy books - M. H. Lovelace
A Room with a View - E. M. Forster.
- Sarah R.

Gilead - Marilynne Robinson
The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien
- Melody

My Cook Book Shelf

"Food prepared with a light heart and in a happy frame of mind is often the best food. Preparing the special foods that are favorites of those you love...making just a little effort to garnish the salad with a sprig of parsley, a bit of grated cheese, or a wild strawberry from the nearby meadow. This says 'you cared enough to do the little extra things.' This makes cooking pleasant and satisfying."

-"Meal Planning," Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book, 1956

My cook book shelf is filled to the overflowing. A yellow plastic shelf that began its useful life in my mother's college dorm room, it then became my toy shelf, and now more than 20 years later holds a place of honor in my kitchen as the home of my cookbooks. There are glossy magazines from MaryJane's Farm and Taste of Home, antique hardbacks, three-ring binders, spiral-bound collections of friends and church family, and a stack of copied recipe pages that should be organized into that Mary Engelbreit notebook sometime when I'm not cooking. There's an authentic Mexican cook book and a Chinese cooking school cook book right next to Jan Karon's Mitford Cookbook and a menu for Afternoon Tea.

But if I was stranded in a kitchen with only one cook book, I would want the expertise of Betty Crocker or Fannie Merritt Farmer at my fingertips.

Everyone knows that Betty Crocker is the ever-young, ever-fashionable, most versatile cook in the U.S.A. I, however, prefer the vintage 1950's Betty Crocker, who had just discovered the value of photographs in cook books. Not only does Betty Crocker teach the beginning cook how to do everything from scramble an egg to making a meringue (complete with pictures), as well as set a table and plan a menu, she has so many versatile recipes that even the pro will always be turning back to her pages.

The antique versions of this famous cookbook are best, because back then they knew how to cook from scratch--not from cans and boxes. (See "Recipe for a Good Cook Book.") And what I love about the older versions of Betty Crocker (in addition to the wonderful way it is organized!) are all the key recipes--they tell you how to make a basic recipe, then give you several variations. And once you master the key recipe, of course, you can experiment to your heart's content. At the moment, I have only two copies: a spiral-bound Betty Crocker's New Picture Cook Book (first edition, third printing, copyright 1961), and my favorite, a hardbound copy of Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book (second edition, second printing, copyright 1956). But being a collector of antiques as well as cook books, I pick up a Betty Crocker whenever I find a good deal, and sometimes I even let one go as a gift to someone I know will appreciate it as much as I did.

I'll admit the reason I first picked up Fannie Merritt Farmer's Boston Cooking School Cookbook was because Merritt is the name of the man whose heart I wanted to win (and we all know the way to a man's heart is through his stomach). But when I finally got my own copy it became an invaluable tool in my kitchen. I like to compare Betty Crocker's recipes to Fannie Merritt Farmer's, often ending up with a combination of the two. I'm guessing Fannie Merritt Farmer was the more gourmet of the two back in their day, but either is gourmet compared to today's home-cooking standards. Fannie Merritt Farmer was apparently the first to bring "level measurements" into popularity--her original cookbook was published in 1896 (mine is the tenth edition, revised by her niece, from 1959). You won't find photographs in her cook books, but the black and white facts of every culinary art will be a great asset to your cooking.

As you can see, though I have two especial favorites, there are more cookbooks on my shelf...

Back in 1995 my grandparents gave me a Reader's Digest cookbook called Like Grandma Used to Make. Often as I flip through it, I find the little sheets of menu plans my cousin Melissa and I made up for one of our fancy dinners for the family (which usually turned out to be semi-disasters, with Gretchen making the messes and Melissa following her around with a dish rag). This book is filled with delicious, down-home recipes you'll always have the ingredients for. It may not have every recipe you'll ever want to make, but it has a lot you'll want to try. Whenever I'm lacking creativity, I turn to the pages of Like Grandma Used to Make.

If you're a working mom or have little time and lots of freezer space, Once a Month Cooking by Wilson and Lagerborg is for you. I used this method for my family when I still lived at my parents', cooking 30+ meals in one day, and filling the freezer with a variety of menu items that lasted over a month. Now that I'm just cooking for two, I've modified the method--I cook lots each meal, and freeze the leftovers for hurried days when I don't have time to cook. For more, read my blog post "Dinner's in the Freezer."

Make-a-Mix Cookery (by Eliason, Harward, and Westover) is an amazing book I've only skimmed the surface of. My mom always made the best pie crusts--straight from this book. The best part was, she made enough dough for 10 pie crusts at a time. Then, when we were ready for a blackberry pie (with berries fresh from the field!), she would take the dough out of the freezer, thaw it, and roll it out. And that's just the beginning of the mixes you'll find in the pages of this book!

It took me one look to fall in love with The Farmer's Wife Cook Book. My grandma gave it to me my first birthday after becoming a farmer's wife. The redhead waving to the man on the John Deere tractor looked just like us... One of these days, I would love to find an original copy of that issue of The Farmer's Wife: a magazine for farm women (published from 1893 to 1939). Meanwhile, I enjoy the recipes from the magazine, compiled into a new cookbook by Martha Engstrom. With old advertisements and photos, and original articles from The Farmer's Wife (such as "Use Butter Generously" and "Why Not Hominy?"), it's a trip into the history of the farm kitchen. My farmer and I especially enjoyed the article on "Choosing a Refrigerator", from a 1930 issue of the magazine. It stated that there were really only two or three months out of the year when a refrigerator was necessary, and at least 5 cubic feet of storage space would be a good idea for a family of 4 or 5 (these newlyweds started out with 14.3 cubic feet of refrigerator space, 12 months out of the year!). If you can't find a vintage Betty Crocker that will fit your budget, The Farmer's Wife Cook Book will at least give you a flavor of good old-fashioned cooking methods (you might discover some new favorites--like baked custard or rice pudding). (And if you see a copy of the magazine with that tractor cover picture, I want it!)

Church Suppers, coupled with a casserole dish and insulated carrier, was one of the most creative and practical wedding gifts we received. A huge notebook of recipes for church potluck and home alike (by Barbara Greenman). The best thing about it is the selection from across the country--from down-home Southern cooking to a variety of New York cheesecakes.

Better Homes and Garden's Vegetable Recipes and Fodale Press' The Green Thumb Cook Book are thrift store finds with recipes organized alphabetically by vegetable--great for fresh ideas for that veggie that's practically coming out of your ears!

For this winter squash fanatic, Reader's Digest's Pumpkins and Squashes by Caroline Boisset was a delightful discovery. There just aren't enough recipes using squash--but this is a book full of them, as well as pictures and descriptions of all varieties of summer and winter squash.

Williams-Sonoma's Best of the Kitchen Library is a bit more on the gourmet side, but any of the cookbooks in this collection are enough to inspire you to new heights. And then there's Gourmet magazine. It's a very inexpensive subscription (especially for us because we borrow my sister-in-law's!), and the magazine is full of mouth-watering recipes. Or, look for Gourmet's "best of..." recipe book collections on sale. Your cooking will wow your friends. And even if you don't have all the ingredients each recipe calls for, you can usually figure out a substitute.

Lorenz Books has an amazing line of cook books, too. I only own the Potato book, but it's true to its name: "the definitive guide to potatoes and potato cooking." The recipes are gourmet and down-home at the same time. I'm sure I'll have to pick up another at a garage sale one of these days.

And then there's the next cook book I'll buy... Every cook knows she can never have enough cook books. There's always one more, with yet more recipes to stir your creativity. Like the library's copy of Ed Wood's Classic Sourdoughs that is making me want to find its twin for my own.

But enough about cook books. I need to get cooking! I'm making curried carrot soup from Church Suppers to go with the "Lowell Inn Crescent Rolls" from Betty Crocker. And my man will be home for dinner in just a few hours...

"The momentous question of 'What shall we eat,' which comes to the housekeeper three times every day and which must be met with a well-supplied table--whether everything else in the house goes undone--becomes monotonous and wearying. We hail suggestions as a ship-wrecked mariner does the distant sail."

-"Table Talk," The Farmer's Wife, May 1912

Recipe for a Good Cook Book

Flipping through a new cook book, just glancing at the pictures can make your mouth start to water. But before you pay for it based on salivary appeal alone, take a second look, and see if you can actually make the recipes included. Is it so gourmet that it calls for ingredients that aren't in your cupboard, let alone in your food budget? Or is it so modernized that it calls for boxes and cans and packages, instead of from-scratch ingredients?

Here's a recipe for a good old-fashioned cook book you'll reference the rest of your life...

Turn to the index, and find a recipe for spaghetti. If it calls for a 16-ounce jar of spaghetti sauce, don't even give it a second look. If it tells you how to simmer your own spaghetti sauce, the cook book may have some promise.

Next, look up minestrone soup. If it calls for a 15-ounce can of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed, forget it. If it tells you the proper dried measurements for soaking, rinsing, and cooking your own kidney beans and chickpeas, you're onto something.

Finally, sniff your way through the pages to pumpkin pie. If it calls for a can of pumpkin, it still fails the test. If it tells you how many cups of pureed pumpkin to use, it's a good cook book. If it mentions substituting winter squash as well, you've really got a winner.

Anyone can open a can of beans in the interest of speed, or follow the recipe off the can of storebought pumpkin. But only a good cook can substitute the perfect from-scratch with-plenty-of-garlic spaghetti sauce when the recipe just calls for a 16-ounce jar. And every gardener knows that squash pie is better than pumpkin any day.

Coming soon: Gretchen's favorite cook books... Stay tuned!

HeartThoughts offering "Waiting for Her Isaac"

As many of you know, we've carried Team Member Jeannie Castleberry's novel Journey of the Heart ever since its publication. Because fiction of this sort is a rarity in today's market, I recently added another of the books in the courtship series to our bookstore: Waiting for Her Isaac. This book is the first Castleberry book I read and I immediately bonded with the main character, Beth. In addition to being the same age, the story takes place not far from where I was living at the time, and much of Beth's experiences and challenges through a move and courtship were ones I had also encountered. It is a sweet book and I look forward to getting it into more girls' hands.

A Sense of the Greatest

But one of the things I, at least, think most people should do in the time that they spend on this planet, is have a sense of the greatest that’s been given to us. A life itself is the greatest gift, to have an immortal soul is extraordinary, but in beginning to understand what that means, I think you’ve got to turn to the greatest writers who can give you some sense of what it’s all been about, why you’re here, what it means and where you’re going. And that means you’ve got to delve into the great writers.

-David Allen White, cross-posted from HeartThoughts

Quest for the High Places - Updated Edition

Spring is here! With it comes the release of an exciting project for HeartThoughts. Several talented friends lent their energy and creativity to help me in a complete overhaul and update to Quest for the High Places. Though you will recognize the theme and contributors, the book's entire layout and design is new, and every line of the text has been edited and considered to ensure that the message is clear and true.

This 350 page book is now carefully tied to and laying the foundation for a sequel which is currently in the works. We will announce a release date as soon as possible; for now you can read more here and pre-order a copy to be shipped the day of the release.

Bookshopping

It was a feast for a booklover's eyes. Row after row of bookshelves over ten feet tall, filled with old books. And not just old books--antiques, first editions, hardcovers.

I could have spent a week there. But alas, Merritt and I had a plane to catch the next morning. And somehow it didn't seem his parents would understand if we didn't show up for work because we were stranded in a Nebraska bookstore.

We were exploring all the book and antique shops in the Old Market section of Omaha. And we found treasures untold at Jackson Street Booksellers. A Dr. Seuss book Merritt didn't have yet, another original Sugar Creek Gang book for my collection. A gorgeous Boy's Story of Lindbergh. A compilation of Booth Tarkington's Penrod stories for Merritt. An original Raggedy Andy Stories to go with my Wooden Willie book (now I just need an old copy of Raggedy Ann Stories to complete that set). An adorable Little Folk's Ettiquette. And a new copy of A Treasury of Dick and Jane (since the originals are so hard to find, and beyond our budget even if we did see them!).

We spent the whole afternoon wishing Phillip and Lanier were with us. After a delicious Italian dinner with them the night before, a day of bookshopping would have topped off our visit. Lanier would have spotted the Gene Stratton Porter books at the same time we did. And I know she would have shown us some "new" old authors to try.

But maybe someday, they can take us to their favorite book shops in Georgia. Everything's just a bit older back there. Not quite as many "old" things made it out here on covered wagon. We have our share of good used book stores (though my favorite has now changed hands and become just another used book store), and of course there are some very cute antique shops (especially here in my corner of the world). I'm sure we have more first edition Zane Grey and Rex Beach books than they do back East. But I've only ever seen two copies of St. Elmo out here, and never an original Elsie Dinsmore.

That's okay. I'm a farm girl. I love Mission style furniture and old Western novels. And I can always visit the old South in a good book...

coming...