Finishing Books: the 2016 Reading Challenge

Last year around this time I came across a post by Tim Challies that encouraged people to read more in 2016 by following a reading challenge.  I was so intrigued.  I had gotten into a really bad habit of starting books, but not finishing them.  I even have a shelf on my Goodreads account that is called, "Started But Not Finished".  Yuk!  

As a result of this terrible habit and that inspiring post I set out to finish 26 books in 2016!  I say "finish" because I was already reading some pretty great books that I didn't want to abandon.  That would still challenge me to finish a book every other week.  I copied the lists below into my bullet journal and kept track of my "every other week" goal on my monthly spreads. Here are the results:

The Light Reader 

• A book about Christian living - "Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands" Technically I still haven't finished this one, but it is on my list for this month!  This is an excellent book and should be required reading for all believers.
• A biography - "Out of the Depths" A good, hard read that was recommended to me by a church friend.  
• A classic novel - "Uncle Tom's Cabin" - started, but never finished. To be continued in 2017.
• A book someone tells you "changed my life" - I tried to read "Interrupted" by Jen Hatmaker because several people recommended it, but I couldn't get past page 8.  
• A commentary on a book of the Bible - "Because the Time is Near" This was an excellent book on Revelation that I enjoyed very much!
• A book about theology - "Delighting in the Trinity" Hoping to finish this one in December.  It is a really good book that explores the relationship between the three persons of the trinity.
• A book with the word "gospel" in the title or subtitle - "What is the Gospel?" Our church hands these out in their visitor bags and I can see why.  It really lays out the Gospel in an approachable way.
• A book your pastor recommends - "Your Child's Profession of Faith"  So many books I read have come as recommendations from my pastor.  This one is great for parents.  Whether or not you have a child that has already professed faith this book is super helpful when thinking about how to talk to your child about their own profession.
• A book more than 100 years old - "Emma" This was my first Austen read.  I'm not gonna lie, it was hard to get into, but after halfway I really enjoyed it.
• A book for children - "Red Wall" Ethan has read so many of these books, but I hadn't read any yet so we listened to this on audio book this summer.  The audio book is a full cast of actors and was really engaging to listen to. All the kids enjoyed it, although most of it was over my four year old's head and I had to explain some to my six year old.
• A mystery or detective novel - "Hounds of Baskerville" I really enjoy the new Sherlock show from the BBC and I wanted to see what the original novel was like.  This book did not disappoint and I loved all the changes that were made to modernize the story, yet the heart of it all was kept in tact. 
• A book published in 2016 - "Do More Better" I cheated on this category since it was technically published at the end of 2015.  I would say if you've read Tim's productivity posts you don't need to buy the book as it was largely and expansion of those.  He does include how to set up digital tasks, but I found them to be tedious and I went back to just using my bullet journal.
• A book about a current issue - "Hands Free Mama" I want to be more present with those around me and this book challenged me to do just that.

The Avid Reader

• A book written by a Puritan - "Mortification of Sin" - Unread, on my list for 2017.
• A book recommended by a family member - "Teach Them Diligently" Actually started this one with a friend who is like a family member, but we didn't finish.  It is a serious parenting book that you can't just breeze through!
• A book by or about a missionary - "William Carey"  This book took me the longest to finish!  It was inspiring to read about such a godly man and the struggles he went through in ministry, but I did think it could have used some better editing.
• A novel that won the Pulitzer Prize - "Germs, Guns and Steel" Unread, it is at the top of my list for 2017.
• A book written by an Anglican - Never found a book that fit this category that I wanted to read, but I'm open to suggestions.
• A book with at least 400 pages - "Seveneves" 880 pages of great science fiction!
• A book by C.S. Lewis or J.R.R. Tolkien - "Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe" Technically, I've read this before but the kids and I listened to it on CD and really enjoyed it.
• A book that has a fruit of the Spirit in the title - "The Hardest Peace" This was one of the hardest books to read, but I'm so glad I did.  I even read another book by this author because I enjoyed this one so much.
• A book with a great cover - "Ready Player One" If you are a child of the 80s (or close) and played any video games, you are going to love this book.  They are even making it into a movie in 2017.
• A book on the current New York Times list of bestsellers - "The Martian" I saw the movie before I even knew there was a book. Even though I knew what was going to happen, not only did I enjoy this book, but it had me on the edge of my seat at the end!
• A book about church history - "Church History" Unread, on my list for 2017.
• A graphic novel - "Drowned City" I grew up in Louisiana and watching Katrina unfold from Knoxville was so hard.  This was a personal look at what happened the the great city of New Orleans.
• A book of poetry - Never found one for this category

Other books I finished: Even though Tim supplied great topics on the challenge, there were still books I wanted to read outside of the suggestions above.

• "A Life of Principled Obedience" Technically this is just a pamphlet, but it is a great one!
• "Harry Potter" I had read this already, but this summer I wanted a really easy read and this answered that need!
• "Simply Your Spiritual Life" This was a great book!  I read it on the Kindle and I really need to transfer all of my highlights to my Evernote so I can make some tasks from them for 2017.
• "Just Show Up" This was a follow up book to "The Hardest Peace" and I really enjoyed it.
• "Green Ember" and "Ember Falls" I really enjoy reading fiction before bed and I loved these books.  My 9 year old also ate them up and we are excited for the author to continue the series.
• "Mr. Popper's Penguins" This was a cute novel that we listened to in the van this summer.  All the kids (4-9) enjoyed it.
• "Jurassic Park" and "Lost World"  Especially in the summer months I just want good books that I can read and enjoy.  I remember Jurassic Park being one of the first novels that I read as a young girl and loved so I read through it again this summer.  This year I also read the sequel and found it equally exciting.  

Other books that I've started, but haven't finished yet:

• "12 Years a Slave" As I'm reading this book I can't believe it's a true story!
• "Heart of Anger" Philip and I are reading this great book as a result of some discipline issues that came up this summer.  It is super helpful in helping parents help their kids walk through their anger issues.
• "The Peacemaker" This book is so excellent.  Right along with "Instruments.." it should be required reading.
• "When People are Big and God is Small" Looking forward to finishing this book as soon as possible.

Summary:

• Books finished: 25!  Only one away from my goal and I have three weeks in the year left.
• Books to finish in 2016: 2 I'm going to try and finish "Instruments..." and "Delighting in the Trinity"
• Started, but haven't finished: 8  This is a large number, but with a plan I think they will all be finished this year or next.

Even though I haven't finished this challenge yet this was a huge success for me.  I can't believe I've read this many books this year!  To continue with my pace I do plan to 

to write my own reading challenge for 2017.  This year the categories will be based on my areas of responsibility and roles in those areas.  I'm going to read books that pertain to my personal growth, Biblical counseling, parenting, diabetes, etc.  I'll post that list in a future blog post.

What did you read this year?  If you want to read more in 2017 I highly suggest making a plan and then sticking to it!

Loving the Little Years: Motherhood in the Trenches

At our church for the past six months we have been taking this amazing parenting class!  Amazing and challenging...some days I would walk out of class feeling like I was challenged and needed to change some things about my parenting, but most days I would walk away convicted of my sins and feeling somewhat like a failure.

One of the neat things about my Amazon wishlist is that when I hear about a good book I put it on my list.  Years (or just months) go by and I don't remember how I heard about the book or who recommended it to me, but I leave it on the list thinking, "It must have sounded good or else I wouldn't have put it on the list."  So it goes with this book.  I don't remember putting it on my wish list, much less who suggested it to me or how I found out about it, but I'm so glad it made it's way on there!!

My friend Rebecca bought me this book for my birthday last year and I had a chance to read it on our trip down to Louisiana for Christmas.  It is great!  It was just the encouragement I needed to balance out our parenting class at church.  The chapters average about 2-3 pages and take you 3-5 minutes to read.  Sounds like the author knew her audience!  Chapter Two was my favorite and lucky for you, if you download the sample Kindle book, you can read the whole chapter for yourself.  She compares motherhood to life in a rock tumbler.  We are always being rubbed by the (little) people around us and our sins are constantly being exposed.  Instead of it becoming overwhelming, we need to view it as an opportunity to become more like Jesus.

Whether or not you are the mother of little children I think the illustrations Rachel lays out will be an encouragement to you.  Relish this time you have with your littles and let God work in your life and theirs.

The Jesus Storybook Bible

I've never written a children's book and I certainly have never tried to write one about God's word.  It is with humility that I write this post; I'm not trying to bash the author or question her motives but instead, point out some places where this story book Bible took liberties that other children's Bibles have not.  I'm not mad at anyone who reads or loves this Bible.  I just want to raise a warning flag about some certain problems I see with this book.

Problem Number One: Quotation Marks

I'll admit right off the bat that I'm a recently converted grammar lover.  I hated grammar in grade school, but after reading Eats, Shoots and Leaves several years ago I have loved investigating and learning the grammar rules that govern the English language.  Some might think that this is a nit-picky thing to mention, but if you follow my logic you will see that it can have more serious implications than you might think.

If you remember from English class quotation marks can be used when directly quoting what someone has said or, in a story, they can indicate when a character is speaking.  They are useful in narratives to set the dialog apart from the rest of the story.  The problem comes in this book when the author chooses to put God's words in quotes but does not directly quote Him.  Page 18 is the first place this appears, but just for comparison sake here is a quote from page 19 of the text:

God said, "Hello light!" and light shone into the darkness.  God called the light, "Day" and the darkness, "Night."  "You're good," God said.  And they were.

We know what God said at the creation of the universe. What God really said is written down for us in the first chapter of the book of Genesis:

3 And God said, "Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

This difference might be a small one.  Does it really matter if God said, "Hello light!" or "Let there be light"?  Maybe it doesn't but this is not the only time this literary technique is used.  In almost every chapter in this book, God is quoted but His actual words are not used.

To try and quote God but not include the actual words that He used seems to imply that God is merely a character in the author's story.   We know what God said and it seems best to me that we should only use quotes when we are directly quoting Him.
 
Problem Number Two:  Speaking where the Bible does not speak

In addition to adding words to the things that God has said, this book also seems to go beyond what is necessary when adding details to a story.  It almost seems like a Hollywood version of Scripture.  This next quote is from the story of Abraham and Isaac:

Abraham felt his heart leap with joy.  He unbound Isaac and folded him in his arms.  Great sobs shook the old man's whole body.  Scalding tears filled his eyes.  And for a long time, they stayed there like that, in each other's arms, the boy and his dad.

Was Abraham relieved when the angel of the Lord called down to him and told him not to kill his son?  I'm sure he was!  The Bible however, does not mention any of the details that this story book does.  I don't necessarily think there is any harm in this embellishment of the Scripture, but why do it?  What is the purpose of writing about something that we don't know happened?  I think in this case (and others) these embellishments are unnecessary and can hurt the validity of this book with older readers.  The other points that the author makes about this story (that one day another son will climb a hill and again God will provide the lamb) are great, but with these added embellishments the truth of God's word seems to be drowned out.

Problem Number Three: Inaccuracies

Going a step further than the first two problems, inaccuracies in the text are the biggest area of concern for me.  After the world wide flood on page 46 God is quoted as saying,

"I won't ever destroy the world again."

This is not what God promised after Noah left the ark; instead what God said was:

"I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”  Gen 9:11

Is there a big difference or am I splitting hairs?  The problem with the first quote is that it implies that the earth will never again be destroyed.  My five year old pointed out during the reading of this particular story: "Except at the end, right Daddy?"  He is right.  God will destroy the earth again.  John saw it and recorded (Revelation 21:1) what it will be like when this earth is destroyed and God makes a new heaven and earth.  Also, 2 Peter 3 tells us that

¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
¹¹ Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, ¹² waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! ¹³ But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

Problem Number Four: Using language the Bible does not use

...which can lead to doctrinal errors.  An example of this occurs in the story of King David.

No, David made a big mess of his life.  But God can take even the biggest mess and make it work in his plan.

Is that what happens?  Do we mess things up and then God makes it work in his plan?  Some people would say there is nothing wrong with this phrase, but I think you might be hard pressed to find this language used in the Bible.  Instead the Bible says in Genesis 50

²⁰ As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.

Maybe I just would have chosen different words for this passage.  There was an opportunity here to highlight God's sovereignty in all circumstances, even those we seemed to have made on our own.


Another example is in the story of Ezra:

"God wants us to be happy!"  Ezra said.

This is a very popular half truth in our culture today: "God is love and He wants you to be happy."    What Ezra really said was:

 "...And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10b

God is love (1 John 4:8), but God is also just to punish those who do not repent and believe (John 5:19-29).  Ezra wasn't telling the people God wanted them to be happy for happiness sake, he was telling them that God wanted them to find their joy in the Lord. 


Finally, on page 329 the author is describing Pentecost and saying:

...-- and Jesus himself was coming to live inside them.

Jesus lives in our hearts?  The Bible says (in Acts 2:4):

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

When we study the trinity we see that the Father is God, Jesus is God and the Spirit is God, but Jesus is not the Father, the Father is not the Spirit, and the Spirit is not the Son.  Jesus does not come to live in our hearts.  The Holy Spirit comes to dwell in our hearts at the point of our salvation.  In John 14 Jesus explains that God will come to dwell with us, and that will be through the Holy Spirit:

²³ Jesus answered him,“If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. ²⁴ Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me. ²⁵“These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. ²⁶ But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

Jesus is now seated at the right hand of the Father (Matt. 26:64, Mark 14:62, Luke 22:69, Eph. 1:20, Col. 3:1, Heb. 8:1 and 12:2).  To use Jesus's name interchangeably with the Holy Spirit does not follow what Scripture tells us.

Problem number Five:  Wrong emphasis

Several times during the New Testament stories (page 220, 235, 278) there is an emphasis on how Jesus came to heal the sick and show people that God was pleased with them.  When Jesus healed the sick or lame, even raising people from the dead, he performed those miracles to show his deity.  The point of these miracles was to show that He had power over creation, not that He was going to fix everything for everyone who is alive or even everyone who believes in Him.

Another stark omission is the mention of sin or repentance.  The only time I believe sin is mentioned is in Ezra, right before Ezra tells the people God wants them to be happy.  When we talk about Christ and what he did for us, how can we leave out the fact that our need to follow Him is really our need to repent of our sins and turn away from the life we have led before?  On page 258 the author goes as far as to say that God's love is:

...a gift and, as anyone can tell you, the whole thing about a gift is, it's free.  All you have to do is reach out your hands and take it.

While salvation is a free gift, it is obtained by a God given repentance of our sin and faith in Jesus’s work on the cross alone, and this concept is not explained well.  She does go on to say later in the Bible that salvation is not truly free, since Jesus paid the cost.  Still, no mention of salvation being tied to repentance.


What is right?

This book does a great job at a couple of things:

• Every Old Testament story points back to the overall story, the redemptive work that Jesus accomplished on the cross. 
• Bible references are listed in every story.  I love it when children's Bibles do this because it makes it easy to find the story in the original text.  This is very helpful for parents and for older children who can look up the original text and read all of God's truth.
• Artistically this book is beautiful.  The illustrations are great and changing the orientation of the text and image so that very tall images could be portrayed fully is neat and unique.
• The book points out to the literal meaning of baptism: "he plunged them in and out of the water"

Your conscience:

I wrote this blog post not to discourage anyone from reading or purchasing this story book, but instead to offer a warning to my fellow believers about it's content.  There are plenty of other good children's Bibles out there that try to stay as true to the Word as possible.  One of my favorites is The Big Picture Story Bible.  We've had the The Jesus Storybook Bible for quite a while and I don't have any plans to get rid of it.  Instead we will probably only read certain stories from it and (as with all books) use discernment and wisdom when explaining these stories to our children.

How about you?  Do you love this storybook?  Are there things I (and the author) missed?

Disciplining Through and with Scripture

For my last birthday (or was it Christmas??) by friend Betsy gave me two wonderful things that I think every Momma should pick up.  The first was "Don't Make Me Count to Three!" by Ginger Plowman.

 

I don't know of many books that attempt to cover spanking and Ginger does a wonderful job.  Do you know how to spank correctly??  I certainly thought I did until I read this book.  It is a light read (you can get it done in one sitting) and if you want to borrow a copy of this book please just let me know!

The second item was also written by Ginger and is an expansion of what is already included in the book.  It is called "Wise Words for Moms" but Dad's could certainly use it too.

 

This is sort of a calendar sized pamphlet that you can hang on your wall somewhere for easy access and reference.   One of the big things in the book is that we spank, not because our children are disobeying us, but because they are breaking God's law and we love them too much to let them continue with their sinful behavior.  In this pamphlet Ginger outlines 22 behaviors that need correction.  For each behavior she gives parents a "Heart Probing" section that lets us ask self-reflecting questions of our children, "Reproof ("Put off")" section that gives a scripture verse about an undesirable behavior, "Encouragement ("Put on")" section that gives a scripture verse about the correct behavior and then finally and "Additional Verses" section that contains more verses on the topic.

Here is an example from a behavior we see almost hourly in our house: Complaining.

If you click on this image it will open a full-resolution version and you'll actually be able to read the sections!

What I love about this chart is that instead of "Mean Mommy" saying, "Stop whining" over and over, I instead ask Ethan, "Do you have a thankful heart right now, or a complaining one?"  I know this isn't exactly what she has down for "Heart Probing" but it's pretty close!  He almost always will say honestly that he does not have a thankful heart.  Then I will quote one of the verses.  He already knows the complaining verse by heart from the Steve Green CDs but now I've been able to add, "God wants you to be thankful and joyful in all circumstances."

The "Wise Words for Moms" is only $4 and is on sale now 4 for the price of 3 on Amazon.