forced rest

Sometimes God brings my life to a screeching halt through the . . .

dumbest

things.

Like a tooth infection ?!?!

Isn't that for people who are . . . y'know. . . gross and just drink pop and eat candy? 

Well anyway,

here I am, in bed, flattened and unable to do . . .really anything. 

It's a great time to catch up on the neglected blog, huh?

I don't have time to rest.

But then, suddenly, you do. 

Between Daniel (my rx go-fer/handholder/medical advice giver) and my mom (who has a direct line to my local Hy-Vee delivery) and my mother-in-law (who is cleaning my kids up from the camping trip among other necessities) (they still reeked of smoke and literally had sand in their hair when she picked them up)  I am being cared for quite well.  

If my mouth would stop being swollen, that would be awesome.  (Is God trying to tell me something? Do I have a big mouth? Hmmm. . .)

Stuff I'm reading right now:

(between school, soccer, piano, toddler-attitude-intervention, awana, and house renovations)


Soul Survivor: How My Faith Survived the Church  by Philip Yancey

Yancey is a fantastic writer and his explanation of why he chose to embrace the Church despite it's many flaws is a collection of stories:  the life stories of thirteen people who have deeply impacted him.  You may recognise some of the names, but others are quite obscure; and some are not even believers. So far I've read through Dr. King, (truth need not be violent) G.K. Chesterton, (humor combined with truth is refreshing) Dr. Paul Brand, (pain is a gift and not a curse) and Dr. Robert Coles (sometimes the greatest wisdom comes from the lowly and obscure). One of the most thought provoking books I've read in a very long time.


Extravagant Grace by Barbara R. Duguid (why do Christians sin?)

Fit to Burst by Rachel Jankovic (motherhood)

The In-Between: Embracing the Tension Between Now and the Next Big Thing by Jeff Goins (learning to live in the space between the "major moments")

7: an experimental mutiny against excess by Jen Hatmaker

Jen Hatmaker is hilarious breath of fresh air to my soul.  I love how serious her walk with God is and the humor that she uses to challenge people to reevaluate their priorities and goals.  My very favorite part of this book is when Jen and her husband splurge and buy each other way-out-of-their-budget cowboy boots (they're from Texas), wear them to a church service where unbeknowst to them, the theme of the morning service is not only giving to those in need, but "leave your shoes at the altar and go home barefoot."  I guess you'll have to read the book to find out what they did.  :)

The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert: an english professor's journey into christian faith by Rosaria Champagne Butterfield

Rosaria was a lesbian English professor at Syracuse University; she did not "become saved and everything was wonderful."  She describes her story as a train wreck at the hand of the Almighty: "Conversion put me in a complicated and comprehensive chaos.  I sometimes wonder, when I hear other Christians pray for the salvation of the "lost," if they realise that this comprehensive chaos is the desired end of such prayers. . . Sometimes in crisis, we don't really learn lessons.  Sometimes the result is simpler and more profound: sometimes our character is simply transformed."  Read this if you want a refresher course in why to open your home (love love love the pastor and his wife who invited Rosaria and her honest questions to their dinner table for years); read this if you want to be reminded that while deeply held beliefs on marriage are Biblical, so is reaching the lost with love and compassion;  read this if you need a fresh perspective on very current issues from a passionately Biblical perspective. 

** not pictured and already given away: (this is what I do with books-- buy them, start them, give them away, buy them again. . . .hahaha)

The Furious Longing of God by Brennan Manning (the title says volumes.  beautiful, intense writing)

Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist (open your home, share your life)

Gods at War by Kyle Idleman (we still have idols today- they might look a little different than golden statues)

To Make a Life by Daniel Walser (grief, loss - stunning parallels between grief and a burning house. Truth.  So healing. )

But who has time to read anyway? 

It's not a secret that I love chalk:  I use it everywhere.  Did you know you can chalk on regular walls and then just wipe it off? That's what I did in Cambria's room:

But then she added a little post-it note to the wall.  When I tried to peel it off, I found that it had been glue-sticked firmly to the wall. 

Jacob dearly wants to have a collection, but doesn't know what to collect.  I told him that a collection just kinda happens.  Suddenly you realize you just love something and then you keep looking for more of that item.  He thinks he's found his collection: metal signs.  :)  3 down, many to come.   (looking at the other things that he loves, it could be worse: furs, animal skulls, handcuffs, ammo boxes. . . . .) The desk? He found it in a neighbor's trash down the street and dragged it home using a little red wagon. He is so my child. 

A million things to write about. . .  back to my forced rest now. :) (there is no swollen face smiley emoticon)

**embarrassed footnote:  I'm also in the middle of Happy, Happy, Happy by Phil Robertson.