Living life with steps of faith

Chapter 5 - "Fading Strength But Standing Strong" 1.  Please share about a time you felt physically weak. 2. How do you recognize God's voice? 3. Aging is irreversible.  As such, what are ways we can embrace it?  What are some aspects of aging that we feel it is okay to fight?  Why? 4. How have you earned your scars and wrinkles? (p. 80) 5. What is the fountain of life? 6.  What is your pace of life?  How has it changed over the years?  How do you see it changing as you get older? 7.  Which of the following perils do you think you are most susceptible to and why:  fear, depression, anger, intense loneliness, being self-absorbed? 8.  "How do we overcome the perils that steal our zest for life?" (p. 89) 9.  What are some of the special joys of old age? 10.  How is God calling you to depend upon Him?

"The Fault in Our Stars" is a brilliantly written book. I especially like how author John Green uses "The Fault In Our Stars" as the resolution to the abrupt ending of "An Imperial Affliction." You could say it is a meta-narrative.  "An Imperial Affliction" ends abruptly mid-sentence, representing the death of the main character but also the fullness of life of all characters.  It's fictional author Peter Van Houten is unable to finish the stories of the other characters, because he is unable himself to finish his own story.  He is as the Dutch Tulip Man, a con, a lover, and a possibly good man, who is stopped mid-track by the death of Anna.  For Peter, life ended when his daughter's life ended. There can be no more to the story.  His inability to even imagine a continuation, except for the hamster, matches with his inability to live past his own tragedy.  "The Fault in Our Stars" offers another answer.  In the midst of the h...

I think Franz Kafka is a beautiful and insightful writer with whom I am just being introduced.  I love the way he is able to describe the un-approached aspects of routine daily living as one who is a keen observer of the unspoken realities of life. "'What if I went back to sleep for a while and forgot all this foolishness, 'he thought. However, this was totally impracticable, as he habitually slept on his right side, a position he could not get into in his present state;..."   "The door could not be heard closing; they must have left it open as is usual in houses visited by great misfortune."  In the first chapter of Metamorphosis, Kafka transforms the external appearance, the body of a man named Gregor to match with his internal sense of other's perceptions of himself.   His body begins to feel and express itself much like his internal sense of well-being.  As one who regularly struggles to wake up in the morning, I identify with his descriptio...

A young man sits dreaming out his window, looking out across the sky at the beautiful sunset and the painted sky.  He dreams of another life and as his mind wanders he dreams of receiving recognition, just once, through the attention of the man his people honor with the title of "emperor."  He realizes that it is just a title, and the man is an ordinary man, but the title still makes this man special and revered.  So special, in fact, that they are willing to move walls and structures in order for people to honor this man.  The boy sits and dreams and imagines this "emperor" as weak and dying and in the midst of his great weakness the "emperor"sends a message to this Chinese boy who sits at the edge of the empire.  To the boy, he recognizes the reality that a thing like this would never happen, but in his fantasy he also realizes that a message like this would never make it to him, because he is too unimportant and too far off and there are too many peopl...

Wow! I am not a fan of assessments personally - I usually find that they tell me what I already know. But this assessment is incredible! I had never before really considered that people have different languages of apology and that different people need different types of apology. This assessment showed me why some people's apologies never fully feel acceptable to me (and even at times seem insensitive) while others really speak to my heart and make it much easier to forgive. Here is the assessment: Apology Language Profile It is created by the same person who wrote about the 5 love languages. My results: 9 Expressing Regret 5 Accepting Responsibility 3 Making Restitution 2 Genuinely Repenting 1 Requesting Apology I also re-took the 5 love languages assessment. What I discovered was that my love languages are different for my husband than what t...

My Bridges of Hope by Livia Bitton-Jackson My rating: 4 of 5 stars This was an enjoyable autobiography that was quite easy to read. It is written in a style that would appeal to a teenager, while carrying the sophistication of a wise college professor. This is the story of a young Slovak girl in the years following her and her mother's liberation from Auschwitz. The reader becomes a witness to Elli's development from a 14-year-old to a very talented young woman. The story gives the reader insight into the challenges of life as a refugee and an immigrant. I was surprised by how learning more about Elli's story made me want to better understand the stories of "illegal" residents in the United States today. View all my reviews

Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace... One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson My rating: 4 of 5 stars Greg Mortenson is blessed with an incredible aptitude for culture. This is the story of his surprising mission to build schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan, starting in the mid-1990s, extending through September 11, 2001 to the present. A great read for anyone interested in sociology, culture, religion, or even gaining a new perspective on the United State's "influence" in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Expect to have your worldview altered! View all my reviews >>

Days of Fire and Glory:The Rise and Fall of a Charismatic Community by Julia Duin My rating: 4 of 5 stars In a narrative style that is enriched with journalistic touches, Washington Times writer, Julia Duin writes about the birth of the 1960s charismatic movement in Houston, Texas and its growth all the way to its demise in the late 1980s and early 1990s. She writes of the power of community and the joys of life experienced through Holy Spirit inspired personal sacrifice. She also hints throughout the book to the dangers of such power not being held in check and warns of how leaders lacking accountability can lead to the demise of a community. She writes historically and she writes theologically. This book would be great for anyone who is interested in church history, movements of the Spirit, church leadership, or community living. I also encourage the reading of this book by anyone who has encountered the charismatic movement but has been left confused by this encounter. Good read. ...

Yesterday I finished my first book since graduating from seminary. Ahhh, refreshing! It feels good to read again just to read. No assignments, no papers, no exams, just personal pleasure and growth. It feels so good that I am back to my pre-seminary habit of reading more than one book at a time, each from a different genre. I'm reading Richard Foster's, "Celebration of Discipline" at about one or two pages a day, for my own spiritual growth. My husband and I are reading together Christopher Moore's "Lamb: The gospel according to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal," for the sure pleasure and shared laugh that Moore offers. And I just completed, Julia Duin's "Days of Fire and Glory: The Rise and Fall of a Charismatic Community." Julia actually sent me this book about a year ago and we finally met today to discuss it. I actually have several books on my "to-read" list that I have been given by authors. I've started several of...

"Religious symbols point symbolically to that which transcends all of them. But since, as symbols, they participate in that to which they pint, they always have the tendency (in the human mind, of course) to replace that to which they are supposed to point, and to become ultimate in themselves. And in the moment in which they do this, they become idols." - Paul Tillich in "Religious Language as Symbolic" on page 438 of Philosophy of Religion: Selected Readings (Third Edition). Note: I am not a big fan of Tillich, but this is a good quote to consider.

"it was the intellectual conviction that only in terms of the Christian view of things could I make sense out of the social history in which we live and the ethical decisions we humans have to make." - Langdon Gilkey Santung Compound , p. 73 (Harper and Row, New York, c. 1966) I am currently reading Langdon Gilkey's Shantung Compound . In my reading, I was struck by how Gilkey describes his acceptance, as a young adult, of the Christian religion. His experience and decision to choose Christianity based upon his interest in what the religious faith stands for and represents stands in contrast to my experience of Christianity as a religion that results from a relationship with Jesus Christ. His description describes so aptly the religious faith of some of my classmates that I am curious to see how his understanding of Christian identity changes (within this cultural study/biography) and how the class discussions about Gilkey's faith will wander and progress. Based up...

Last night I read this brilliant writing of E Auerbach that describes so eloquently the distinction and powerful difference between Greek mythology and the sacred writings of the Hebrew narrative. My eyes were filled with tears as I flipped the pages of this worn-torn book called the Mimesis and noted how the God of the Bible did not see a need to clarify His identity with explicit descriptions nor need to focus on the character of His followers without first noting their relationship with Him. After reading several chapters by different authors critiquing the Genesis text as only a theological writing and not having any historical substance, the writing of Auerbach came as a breath of fresh air. He put to words what I want to claim about my willingness, ability, and desire to approach the Bible as a scholar while still fully having faith in the Divine's creation of the text and the truthfulness of the story. One of my peers, who is ahead of me in the sequence of classes, com...

Title: Postville: A Clash of Cultures in Heartland America Author: Stephen G. Bloom Published: A Harvest Book of Harcourt, Inc. 2000 Reasons for Reading: A hobby of mine is learning more about different cultures. I enjoy anthropology and sociology. While wandering the shelves of the nearest Barnes and Noble I came across this book. I have really enjoyed reading it. I am originally from Iowa, but moved to a larger city, so I appreciate Bloom's commentary from the perspective of one who grew up in a city and then moved to Iowa. I am also in ministry and fascinated with how religion and culture intermix and interrelate. If I were to re-title the book, I'd name it: The current title does a good job of representing the content of the book. If I had to re-title the book, I'd name it "Finding myself in the midst of the Postville Cultural Clash." Quotes I would like a response to: "Small towns don't take kindly to outsiders coming in and passing judgment. But...