book review: "happily every laughter" by ken davis

“It takes a lifetime to even learn how to love another person. To figure out what brings him or her deep, sincere joy.” This book is compiled of true stories from married couples, relaying some moments in their marriages when laughter was key to survival. The stories range from newlywed moments to moments with children, home renovations gone bad, getting lost and many other everyday moments that comprise a marriage. One of my favorite stories is about John Pickerl and his wife Cindy. One Sunday morning before church, they uncover that a skunk has been living beneath their porch. They uncover this when the skunk’s spray comes through the furnace and saturates everything in their home – including their clothes. Here’s the conversation on the way to church:

Cindy (sniffing her clothes): Do we smell? I think we smell.
John (sniffing his clothes): Nah. It’s just our singed nose hairs.
Cindy: No, honey. I think that stuff got on us.
Five-year-old son: I forgot my triceratops.
Other five-year-old son: Can I have a cookie?
John: You’ll have toys and treats in Sunday school. Anyway, honey, that stuff couldn’t have gotten on us, could it?
Cindy: I think it did.
Five-year-old son: I need my triceratops!
Other five-year-old son: I don’t want treats in Sunday school!
John (pulling into church parking lot): Don’t whine! You really think so, honey?
Five-year-old son: I need my triceratops! Waaaahhh!
Other five-year-old son: I don’t want treats in Sunday school! Waaahhh!
John (parking the car): Stop it right now, you two! NOW!
Two five-year-old sons (being half-dragged into church, hands protecting their bottoms): Waaahhh!
John and Cindy (trying unsuccessfully to swat their bottoms): I said STOP IT! We’re at church!
Every other parent within earshot (thinking): I’m glad my children don’t behave like that!

And as the story continued, yes, they did smell. As they walked through the church (late due to investigating the source of the smell), they couldn’t ignore the whispers and gasps from the congregation. The point (to this story and most of the others) is to be able to be able to laugh and realize there will be good days and bad days. “Every day is a new teachable moment. If we are really learning anything, we’re learning to adapt better to what won’t change or to what changes at a moment’s notice!”

This was a fun, easy read. Even though I’m not married, I enjoyed the stories. I think the diverse experiences help shed light on the realities of marriage and show that there are highs and lows – it’s all a matter of how you handle them.

safe

I heard this song on the radio this afternoon and though I've heard it before, it caught my attention. It's "Safe" by Phil Wickham and I think the message is one that we need to be reminded of sometimes.

book review: "God never blinks" by regina brett

When I first saw “God Never Blinks” by Regina Brett in the store, I thought it would be about how to deal with waiting on God – what to do when things don’t go as you plan. However, that’s not what this book is about. Brett was diagnosed with cancer when she was forty-one and the experience has taught her to say exactly what she’s thinking – not holding anything back. She came up with fifty life lessons she’s gleaned over her fifty-three years of life and those comprise the book. Some of the lessons are things most of us already know. For example, paying off your credit card each month. One lesson, as an aspiring writer, stood out to me. Lesson 18: A writer is someone who writes. If you want to be a writer, write. She talks about how there’s not a perfect formula to becoming a writer. How you can’t wait for everything to fall into place before deciding to pursue writing. It happens word by word, line by line. If you don’t know where to start, start somewhere.

This was an interesting book. I don’t agree with everything Brett talks about but she makes some good points about enjoying life to the fullest. I think my favorite lesson is Lesson 19: It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else. She lists things to do to re-connect with the kid in us; things that revolve around enjoying the simple things. Things such as going on a scavenger hunt, catching fireflies, flying a kite or drawing with sidewalk chalk. We only have one chance at life so we need to savor every second.

take a break

Things have been a little busy - posting a new blog being at the bottom of my never ending to-do list. I'm currently reading a book titled "God Never Blinks" by Regina Brett. I'll save my thoughts on this book when I finish it but she talks about taking the time to enjoy life now instead of waiting until the proverbial "I'll be happy when ______." It's an important lesson. I don't want to be so focused on needing to accomplish things that I stop having fun. I don't want to be so busy that I'm letting life pass me by. The book is broken down in 50 life lessons Brett has learned over the last 53 years. Lesson 19 is "It's Never Too Late to Have a Happy Childhood. But the Second One Is Up to You and No One Else." She talks about doing things such as eating dessert first or playing on the swings - things to connect with the child that still reside in all of us. I like that philosophy. I can brag and say I already partake in such activities. Things like eating fruit snacks or using a Hello Kitty pen or carrying Scooby-Doo bandaids. We need to take a break from being a "grown-up" every now and then. To enjoy the simple things. To be a kid again.

book review: "plan b" by pete wilson

“What do you do when God doesn’t show up for you in the way you thought God was going to show up?”

What do we do when we feel like God’s not kept His promises? We thought we knew what God was telling us to do, the path He was leading us to take but we’ve hit a dead end. “When life isn’t turning out the way we had hoped, we almost always default to feeling as if God has abandoned us.” Looking at David’s life, Samuel told him he’d be king one day but things didn’t seem to be looking that way. “You’ve had doubts like David, right? You developed certain plans and expectations over your lifetime and as time went by you started to wonder if any of them would become a reality. Maybe you started to get discouraged. Maybe you started to lose hope. Maybe you’re feeling stuck and a little bored.” Can we not relate to David?

Pete Wilson also looks at the stories of Lazarus, Mary, Joseph and Abraham – all examples of waiting on God. He talks about how sometimes we worry about the unknown, which is a faith issue. Will we trust God even when we don’t know the outcome? “Putting it all, including our fear of the unknown, in the hands of the One who knows everything. And then moving forward because we can trust Him. Even in the dark.” Yet even when we feel like everything is falling apart, God is still with us. “He knows what you’re going through. He is right beside you, sharing your pain, even though He may not take it away. And He knows what He’s doing with your life, even if you don’t.” Wilson talks about the significance of the Saturday after Jesus was crucified. Though we focus on Good Friday and Easter, we don’t often think about what transpired on that Saturday. No one realized what was happening. No one thought Jesus would come back to life. As of that Saturday, everyone thought Jesus had abandoned them and they were all wondering “what now?” Yet Sunday was soon coming. “While our hope may be fragile, God is hope Himself.” Your world may feel chaotic, especially when you’re stuck in a Saturday, struggling hopelessly with your Plan B. But no doubt about it, God is still in control. And one way or another, Sunday is about to dawn.”

I liked this book a lot. I’m in a place where I’m going through a Plan B and I needed to hear Wilson’s words. Some of the things I already knew but the reminder was needed. The whole book can be summed up with this line: “The question isn’t can you trust God? Of course you can trust God. The question is can you wait? Will you wait? Will you continue to hope in Him even when His timing seems all off?” Wilson ends the book, wishing there was a way to promise everything will turn out as we hope but that’s not realistic. “Will we ever understand our Plan B dilemmas? On this side of heaven, quite possibly not. Does the way we respond to them matter? More than you will ever know.” Can we trust God confidently, even we things aren’t going as we thought? Even though things in my life aren’t matching the plans I once had, my trust in God has never wavered. Though I sometimes feel like He’s not listening, I know He is and I know I can hold Him to His promises. We just have to understand that our timing isn’t God’s timing. As Wilson ends his book, “God will finish what He started. Wait for it.”

book review: "caleb + kate" by cindy martinusen-coloma

“Since childhood Sunday school, I’ve been told that God is love. We colored it on our papers, banners hanging from the ceiling proclaimed it, we sang songs and used hand motions emphasizing the truth….God is love. He was love and will always be love and is love. It’s simple and also the most profound statement on the planet.”

“Caleb + Kate” is a love story, both between the two main characters but also between Kate and God. Though God isn’t mentioned in the story a lot, there’s an underlying theme that flows through the book of Kate needing to understand God’s love in order to understand the love she feels for Caleb. The story is a modern “Romeo and Juliet” except with a happy ending. Kate’s family owns the Monrovi Inn chain of hotels. Caleb’s father works for the Monrovi Inn but his grandfather wants to buy it – there’s an old feud that still lingers between the families. When Caleb goes to Kate’s prom on a dare, there’s an instant connection between them. He tries to ignore it and prove to himself that she’s as stuck-up as he’s assumed but the more time he spends with her; the more he sees he’s wrong. When their families find out about the blossoming romance, both try to dissuade their children. Caleb and Kate are determined though. Their relationship hits a rough spot, however, when his grandfather is diagnosed with cancer. Since he lives in Hawaii, Caleb has to go there to be with him. Kate worries things will change during his absence. She wonders if he’ll meet someone or his professed love for her will wane. At the end of the book she goes to visit him after being a part for six months and comes to a realization. “Caleb and I are bound by more than an emotion. I am bound to this man by love. A love that was created by the existence of God himself. A love that is God.”

I read this book in two days – my norm for a book I enjoy. Though I’m a bit skeptical of “love at first sight” stories or stories where teenagers are supposed to fully understand what love is, this was a good read. I can identify with Kate who had the view of “what is love anyway?” before she met Caleb. “…doubts about the longevity and truth of love creep over me. Now that I love him, it creates an even greater gulf between dreams and reality. I have not seen what I feel. This is the fairy tale alive and real. I’ve briefly experienced its touch through the pages of a book or while watching certain movies, listening to a song – but this has engulfed me heart and soul.” I think we all crave a love like that. We want someone to love us so completely and fiercely and to return that emotion that we search for it our whole lives. Some of us have found it. Some of us are still searching. I’m still searching for it and this I know: it’s worth the search.

book review: "never let you go" by erin healy

“Never Let You Go” by Erin Healy is about the struggle Lexi Solomon faces between her past and her present. The story has Frank Peretti-like suspense, especially when Angelo (an angel) saves Lexi when a man (who is really a demon) attacks her. Lexi’s husband has been gone for seven years ever since he walked out on her and their daughter. Ward, a man who Lexi had long forgotten about also reappears into her life upon the return of her husband. He was a former business partner with her husband in his selling of illegal drugs. He finds Lexi and tells her he needs the money her husband owes him or their daughter will pay the price. Lexi is also fighting with her need to forgive. Right before her husband disappeared, a former client of his killed Lexi’s sister. The man is now on trial and Lexi is being pressured to testify on his behalf by Ward. All of these seemingly separate situations create a tangled web for Lexi. Angelo tells her she “needs consult love” in order to break free from everything. She doesn’t understand – she just wants her life back to normal. The story ends with her visiting the man who killed her sister and asking his forgiveness. Ward barges into the room, his intent to kill Lexi. As she’s pinned against the wall, Angelo appears, giving her the strength to fight – even if not physically. “She rasped, “You leave us alone. You’re not my jailer anymore.” Ward’s moan grew to a shriek that pierced her ears. Lexi’s breathing quickened as she saw smoke begin to rise from his hair, his hands, his shoes. Lexi craned her neck toward Angelo, having no voice to beg for his help.” Ward then explodes and is gone. Having released the hold he had on her, he could no longer control her.

I liked this book. The underlying message is that love brings freedom from our overwhelming situations – which ultimately means God but Healy doesn’t directly say that. I found the spiritual warfare aspect of the story interesting. Maybe it’s because we can’t see that realm with our physical eyes so we can only imagine what goes on amid our routines and everyday life. To think that possibly demons and angels are walking among us, perceived to be humans is intriguing. It’s so important for us to know who our faith is in when trials come against us.