Courage and The Shack

When you have a dream and you feel like the meaning is about cowardliness, it gets your attention. In the same dream you feel directed to pick up the pen, a message you have felt before. So it was with me.

This time I had just finished reading The Shack by William P. Young. I loved it, but I knew there was controversy surrounding the recently released movie. I don't like controversy, and I certainly did not want to write my opinion down for someone to see. Yet here I am.

I really, really liked the message in this book. Sure some things shocked me at first but as I read I began to see the big picture. God is good! He is creative. He is personal. He is relevant, and he is "especially fond of me!" 

He can do the impossible. He can be the impossible. He, or she as the book presents, is not daunted by anything - time, person, circumstance - nothing, not even a hidden murder.

I understood love, devotion, and relationship in such a new way by reading this book. I grasped the depths to devotion - to adore with no concern for what others think. Relationship, relationship, oh relationship, is the root of love.

I tasted of the Eternal One's limitlessness. I tasted of his love for me. The trinity became alive for me and to even think of the possibility that God himself carries the marks of the cross on him. Scandalous but oh so deep is the love.

Jesus and the Spirit .. I could go on.

Read and decide for yourself.

I'm bbaack.

Summer has finally arrived and homeschool has ended, so I'm back at writing here in the blog. What's news? C.S. Lewis is. I have been reading some of his stuff. His writing about grief has awoken me to his writings beyond the Narnia series. And, oh yea, The Screwtape Letters, but I couldn't wrap my mind around the reverse thinking I had to do to appreciate those letters many years ago. Maybe one day, but back to the subject ...

In Made For Heaven, Lewis writes, "This signature on each soul may be a product of heredity and environment, but that only means that heredity and environment are among the instruments whereby God creates a soul.  I am considering not how, but why, He makes each soul unique. If he had no use for all these differences, I do not see why He should have created more souls than one. Be sure that the ins and outs of your individuality are no mystery to Him; and one day they will no longer be a mystery to you. The mould in which a key is made would be a strange thing, if you had never see a key: and the key itself a strange thing if you had never seen a lock. Your soul has a curious shape because it is a hollow made to fit a particular swelling in the infinite contours of the Divine substance, or a key to unlock one of the doors in the house with many mansions. For it is not humanity in the abstract that is to be saved, but you--you, the individual reader, John Stubbs or Janet Smith. Blessed and fortunate creature, your eyes shall behold Him and not another's. All that you are, sins apart, is destined, if you will let God have His good way, to utter satisfaction. The Broken spectre 'looked to every man like his first love', because she was a cheat. But God will look to every soul like its first love because He is its first love. Your place in heaven will seem made for you and you alone, because you were made for it--made for it stitch by stitch as a glove is made for a hand" (p. 20-23).

For someone who has lost a mother, these words comforted me and compelled me. Oh dear friend, what awaits us in heaven is inconceivable. My mother is happy, and me here on this earth is left to wait and know that I am uniquely made and gifted. One of kind, that's me. I feel valued, loved and equipped. God has made me unique, and so has he made you.

Here is me and my mama. The photo was taken in the late 90's. I placed it inside a plaque about mothers and daughters. That is the curly stuff you see. I think I gave it to her for a Christmas gift. She kept it on her dresser.

I miss my mama.

Scoot over Beth Moore

I completed a Bible study I found in my mother's stuff entitled Nehemiah: A Heart That Can Break by Kelly Minter.

Nehemiah's heart was so broken for those in need that he left the comfort of his Persian palace to help them. This study challenges women to let God break their hearts for a hurting, lost world and move them in compassion to lead people to Jesus. Nehemiah is a 7 week study that includes 7 video sessions and real-life ways to put feet to your faith. Are you ready to let God break your heart for a hurting, lost world and move you in compassion to be the hands and feet of Jesus? Source: LifeWay

Wow, was it different. Video clips. Mission trips. No make-up and more. Beth Moore herself says we need to change it up, and this met the bill.

I had no group to share it with so I had my daughter watch the short videos with me to help me be accountable with my weekly homework. No excuses ... she knew what day we were to watch it!

Check out some video clips about the study. The promo video is the one I had in mind but all three down loaded. Click here and watch one or all of the videos.

So, Beth, I am going to have to scoot your materials over on the shelf to add Kelly's, but don't worry I have your study Believing God up next.

Inspirational Fiction Inspired Me

Once again I have sat in judgement of something that I knew nothing about. Inspirational Fiction, I was wrong.

For Christmas a friend sent me some fun reading. She said that she picked these for no particular reason other than relaxation  ... The Scarlet Thread by Francine Rivers and This Side of Heaven by Karen Kingsbury. She could not have picked a better two books to make me see my ignorance.

Twenty to thirty years ago, I remember some of my summer book reading included Harlequin romance novels and a few Danielle Steel books but I moved on. Somewhere along the way it turned into feeling better than those books.

I even saw "those" types of books advertised in the Christian sale magazines. Yes, I looked down on those too. Lumped them right together with the "trashy novels." Boy, was I wrong.

Did you know? Well, you probably did because you are not as closed minded. Those authors write using biblical principles and even have ministries behind their book writing.

In The Scarlet Thread, I enjoyed the back and forth of the lives of the two main characters. The hardships of the Oregon trail was an eye opener.  Here is the book's description posted on Amazon.



Two women, centuries apart, are joined through a tattered journal as they contend with God, husbands, and even themselves . . . until they fall into the arms of the One who loves them unconditionally. Sierra Madrid’s life has just been turned upside down when she discovers the handcrafted quilt and journal of her ancestor Mary Kathryn McMurray, a young woman who was uprooted from her home only to endure harsh conditions on the Oregon Trail. Though the women are separated by time and circumstance, Sierra discovers that many of the issues they face are remarkably similar. By following Mary Kathryn’s example, Sierra learns to surrender to God’s sovereignty and unconditional love.

In This Side of Heaven, I longed to not be like the characters. What a shock that the story was taken somewhat from the authors's own family life. According to the Amazon description,



Annie Warren always wanted the best for her son, Josh. But years of failure and bad choices created a heartbreaking distance that has grown far worse since the day Josh was hit by a drunk driver. Now on medical disability, Josh has put his life on hold for years, waiting for the insurance company to send a settlement that never seems to come. 

Worse, he believes the story of a scheming woman who claims they have a seven-year-old daughter named Savannah. Despite the unlikelihood and complete lack of evidence, Josh dreams of being a father and is determined to one day claim the child. His family doesn't know the full story. They don't know what happened the night of the accident that was worth the chronic pain Josh suffers every waking minute, or that he is turning his life around. They haven't seen that Savannah's eyes are his, and they don't know how desperately the little girl needs her family. 

When the settlement that rightly belongs to Josh is threatened, Annie sets out to defend her son. But she might find a treasure more valuable than money, one she never expected, one that is the greatest gift her son could ever give her--THIS SIDE OF HEAVEN.

That all lead to reading Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. It is her more modern take on the book of Hosea in the Bible. I appreciated this light read that helped me see some things in a new light. One, the sex trade and how it can emotionally scar. Two, the continual mercy of God and his limitless love.

Amazon description again ...

California’s gold country, 1850. A time when men sold their souls for a bag of gold and women sold their bodies for a place to sleep.  

Angel expects nothing from men but betrayal. Sold into prostitution as a child, she survives by keeping her hatred alive. And what she hates most are the men who use her, leaving her empty and dead inside.  

Then she meets Michael Hosea, a man who seeks his Father’s heart in everything. Michael obeys God’s call to marry Angel and to love her unconditionally. Slowly, day by day, he defies Angel’s every bitter expectation, until despite her resistance, her frozen heart begins to thaw.  

But with her unexpected softening comes overwhelming feelings of unworthiness and fear. And so Angel runs. Back to the darkness, away from her husband’s pursuing love, terrified of the truth she no longer can deny: Her final healing must come from the One who loves her even more than Michael does…the One who will never let her go.  

A powerful retelling of the story of Gomer and Hosea,Redeeming Love is a life-changing story of God’s unconditional, redemptive, all-consuming love.

Those books filled a need for me to just relax and read. Thank you, friend. Thank you, holiday break. Thank you inspirational fiction writers. You have broadened my reading horizon.

Storms and Billy Graham

I have now been through two historic 1,000 year floods. And what I mean by that is watching it rain outside my windows. The first in Nashville in May of 2010 and the second in October of 2015 in South Carolina. The Tennessee reported in Nashville 13.57 inches of rain were recorded for a 36-hour period. About 20 inches of rain fell in a three-day period in Georgetown County, South Carolina.

According to Kate Drew the total rainfall in South Carolina has been calculated at 4.4 trillion gallons of water. So now you see why while at the library back in October I picked up a copy of Storm Warnings by Billy Graham and The Reason For My Hope.

Don't get too impressed about reading two books. It took me so many check-outs at the library that even the librarian said, "You know if we have a hold on this you can't check it out any more." I finally did turn them in yesterday! Now I just have one book ...  Angels by Graham.

About twenty years ago I read Billy Graham's autobiography Just As I Am, and I learned about the man. Now I see so much more.

I must confess I had a simplified view of Billy Graham. As I read his work as a Bible thirsty "AARP recognized" 50 year old, I see such complexity in his knowledge of scripture and world news. That man has the big picture! Yet, he still calls for salvation. His words that we are to be like Noah calling out for the lost until the door on the ark is completely shut really stuck with me.



I have fallen short on that call focusing so much of my energy on and in the church. This is a "saving" faith. Saves all from eternal damnation. From hell. How have I forgotten that, Lord? 1 Timothy 2:4 tells us that God desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of truth.

Yes, there is work to be done in and among believers, but have we lost the fire of evangelism?  Are we where we need to be?

 Keep turning my lens, Lord.  Bring into focus what I need to see.

A New View From The Stable

A friend, Jeff Brothers, posted this information he authored on his Facebook page back in 2011.  It was so insightful.  It stuck with me.  He reposted it this Christmas.  I read it again still amazed at the wonder of it all.

This morning I thought of it again so I decided to paste his post here.  It is a pattern for me to follow as I pursue a similar type question on another person in the Christmas story.  More on that another day.  For now enjoy a new view from the stable ...

A belated Merry Christmas to everyone!

Bethlehem Insight: Very Rich

December 19, 2011 at 1:22pm

Who were the shepherds who first received the news of the birth of the Messiah?

A thought came to me. Why did the Heavenly Host appear to the shepherds in the field who were watching their flock by night. After Yeshua was born there appeared to the shepherds an angel/messenger of the Lord saying, "Fear not for behold I bring you tidings of great joy which will be to all of the people. For to you is born this day in the town of David (Bethlehem) a Savior, Who is Christ (the Messiah/Passover Lamb) the Lord! And this will be a sign for you [by which you will recognize Him]; you find a Baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger [feeding trough]."
Story account in Luke 2:1-20

So why these shepherds. We know that God does nothing without purpose and every detail is complete. So why did the angels proclaim the birth of the Christ to these particular shepherds?

I started wondering if maybe these shepherds were raising temple lambs. Ones that would be sacrificed at the next Passover. From Hebrew tradition and records Bethlehem did have flocks of sheep being raised for temple sacrifices. I found many articles and have added part of one in this blog.

We know through scripture that the Lord provided the sacrifice for Abraham when he was to offer Isaac. We know that in Genesis 22:14 the Lord says I will provide the sacrifice.
We also know that Yeshua is the Lamb that takes away the sins of the world. He was born in the place where the sacrificial lambs were being raised.

Here's part of one of many articles I have found:

The popular conception that the word "manger" refers to a trough where animals were fed may be accurate. However, it could mean simply a stall. The Greek word, which is translated in our English Bibles "manger" is Yatnh phat-ne (pronounced fat'-nay). The definition of the word is of a "stall" where animals are kept and in Luke 13:15 is translated as such. In the Septuagint (Greek translation of the Old Testament) the word means a stall or a crib (See Proverbs 14:4). The question is what kind of "stall" or manger is the New Testament referring to and what kind of animal was fed or housed there.

Although the New Testament does not tell us where in Bethlehem Jesus was born, the Old Testament does. Micah 4:8 states, "And thou, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem." ....

The phrase "tower of the flock" is the Hebrew phrase "Migdal Edar" [mig-dawl ay-der] and means a "watch tower of the flock." In ancient times this was a military tower to view into the valley just outside of Bethlehem to protect the city. Several of these military towers are recorded in the Old Testament (See Judges 8:71, 9:46, 9:51; 2 Kings 9:17, 18:8; Nehemiah 3:1) The tower at Bethlehem is first mentioned in Genesis 35:21, "And Israel journeyed, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Edar ("tower of Edar" - migdal edar). After Jacob left Bethel he came to Edar (the tower) and there Rachael began hard labor and as she delivered Benjamin she died and was buried there in Ephrath which is Bethlehem" (Gen. 35:19). After burying Rachael, Jacob moved his flocks beyond the tower of Edar. This would pinpoint the location as being near to what is present day Bethlehem. Clearly, this establishes that Migdal Edar, "the tower of the flock" was in Bethlehem in Bible times.

This watchtower from ancient times was used by the shepherds for protection from their enemies and wild beasts. It was the place ewes were brought to give birth to the lambs. In this sheltered building/cave the priests would bring in the ewes which were about to lamb for protection. These special lambs came from a unique flock, which was designated for sacrifice at the temple in Jerusalem.

According to Edersheim in The Life And Times Of Jesus The Messiah, in Book 2, Chapter 6, states, "This Migdal Eder was not the watchtower for the ordinary flocks that pastured on the barren sheep ground beyond Bethlehem, but it lay close to the town, on the road to Jerusalem. A passage from the Mishnah (Shekelim 7:4) leads to the conclusion that the flocks which pastured there were destined for Temple sacrifices..."

In addition, Migdal Eder is also mentioned by the Targums and is translated "The Anointed One of the flock of Israel". Thus, Targum Yonatan, cited by Rabbi Munk, paraphrases Genesis 35:23 and Micah 4:8, "He spread his tent beyond Migdal Eder, the place where King Messiah will reveal Himself at the end of days." What are we to make of all of this information from the writings of the rabbis? First, we know that Migdal Eder was the watchtower that guarded the Temple flocks that were being raised to serve as sacrificial animals in the Temple. These were not just any flock and herd. The shepherds who kept them were men who were specifically trained for this royal task. They were educated in what an animal, that was to be sacrificed, had to be and it was their job to make sure that none of the animals were hurt, damaged, or blemished." These lambs were apparently wrapped in "swaddling cloths" to protect them from injury – the same type of cloths used to wrap the baby Jesus.

Thus, with the establishment of Temple worship in Jerusalem, the fields outside of Bethlehem became the place where a special group of shepherds raised the lambs that were sacrificed in the Temple. Being themselves under special Rabbinical care, they would strictly maintain a ceremonially clean stable for a birthing place. The Tower of the Flock was used for birthing ewes, and the surrounding fields were where these shepherds grazed their flocks. These shepherds customarily kept their flocks outdoors twenty-four hours a day every day of the year, but brought the ewes in to deliver their lambs where they could be carefully cared. It was to this place that Joseph took Mary. It was in this special stable at "Migdal Edar" that Christ was born! How do we know? The Micah 4:8 tells us so!

Prophetically, "Migdal Edar" is the exact place in Bethlehem for Christ to be born. Micah was God's prophet who was warning Israel of the coming captivity. He used the authenticating prophecy of the Assyrian captivity of the Northern Kingdom (soon to occur when he foretold it) to serve as a reminder to Israel of God's promised Kingdom. God wanted them to know that even though they would be taken from their land because of their disobedience that He would restore them in time. Micah 4:7 establishes the context of the passage and clearly is a Messianic prophecy of the coming of the Millennial Kingdom when Jesus Christ will reign over Jerusalem forever. ". . .LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever." In other words God was assuring Israel that He would fulfill His promises to them of the Kingdom. In Micah 4:8 the word is rendered "tower of the flock" (marg., "Edar"), and is used as a designation of Bethlehem, which figuratively represents the royal line of David as sprung from Bethlehem.

In this setting, Micah (Micah 4:8) uses the prophecy of the Babylonian captivity of the Southern Kingdom as a pledge to guarantee (authenticating prophecy) of the birth of Christ at "Migdal Edar" at Bethlehem which is exactly where it took place! Micah prophesied that as surely as Assyrians would soon carry away Israel in the North, so the Messiah would come and establish His kingdom, the "first dominion, the kingdom shall come to Jerusalem." The verse states that as surely as Babylon would carry away the Judah, in the South, into captivity, so the Messiah would arrive at the Tower of the Flock. This prophecy was but one other evidence that later proved that Jesus was the Messiah, but one that Israel ignored in rejecting Him as their Messiah.

Who were the shepherds who first received the news of the birth of the Messiah?

Luke 2:8-18 records that there were shepherds in the fields keeping watch over their sheep by night. Who then were these shepherds? Without question these were shepherds who resided near Bethlehem They were none other but the shepherds from "Migdal Edar" who were well aware that the Targum hinted and many of the rabbis taught that Messiah might well be announced from "Migdal Edar" at Bethlehem. The angels only told the shepherds that they would find the Babe wrapped in "swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." There was no need for the angels to give these shepherds directions to the birth place because they all ready knew. These were the men who raised sacrificial lambs that were sacrificed in the Temple. When the angelic announcement came, they knew exactly where to go, as Luke 2 indicates, for the sign of a manger could only mean their manger at the tower of the flock! You cannot explain the meaning or direction of the sign they were given or their response unless you have the right manger and the right shepherds!

Typically, "Migdal Edar", (the tower of the flock) at Bethlehem is the perfect place for Christ to be born. He was born in the very birthplace where tens of thousands of lambs, which had been sacrificed to prefigure Him. God promised it, pictured it and performed it at "Migdal Edar". It all fits together, for that's the place the place where sacrificial lambs were born! Jesus was not born behind an inn, in a smelly stable where the donkeys of travelers and other animals were kept. He was born in Bethlehem, at the birthing place of the sacrificial lambs that were offered in the Temple in Jerusalem which Micah 4:8 calls the "tower of the flock."

John the Baptist in John 1:29 proclaimed of Jesus, "Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world." Jesus is presented in the Bible as being "in type" as a sacrificial lamb. It was not by chance but by choice that Christ identified His death with the time of the observance of the Passover. Peter spoke of our redemption as wrought by the "precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot"( 1 Pet. 1:19); and Paul told us that "Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us" ( 1 Cor. 5:7). Even the first fulfilled type by which Christ is to be revealed in Heaven is as the Lamb (Rev. 5:6-13).

God in Micah 4:8 prophetically foretold that Jesus the Messiah would be born at the Tower of the Flock (Migdal Edar) in the place where the lambs were raised that were used in the Temple sacrifices in Jerusalem approximately three miles away. It was to the shepherds that tended these special flocks that the angels appeared to and first proclaimed the birth of the Messiah, Jesus. Luke's account does not record that the angels told the shepherds where the manger was, because they already knew where the lambs were born. It was in the "tower of the flock", where there were ceremonially clean stalls, carefully maintained by Temple priests who oversaw the birth of each lamb. It certainly was not a smelly unclean stable full of donkeys and other animals. This was a special sheep birthing place where Jesus, "the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" was born. (John 1:29, 36). God in His plan could not have chosen a more appropriate place for the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ.
(End of this article)

So you can see that nothing happened without a perfected design. Right down to very letter. The Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world - was born among the other Passover lambs.

Only thing - He would be the Only Passover Lamb once and for ALL!


P.S.  You can read about Jeff's latest book at http://www.singled-in.net/.

The Giving Tree

I had a unique experience in the library a few weeks ago. I was helping my daughter gather some books for her science paper. We start with children's books since they distill loads of information down to manageable nuggets.

The librarian brought me a book with the biggest grin on her face. She said to me that it was her most favorite book on trees. It was a fiction book, not what I needed, but her joy made me so curious I checked it out.

The Giving Tree was written by Shel Silverstein. The tree analogy was a bit weird but it did express the giving roll of a parent to me, and I saw the selfishness in the child turned man which was disheartening.

I asked my daughter to read it to see if she had the same sad but sweet emotional reaction I did. She liked it but it did not move her emotionally. She did decide to use it in her paper. This should be interesting.

Curious about the author I looked up his web site. There they recount this book had a hard time becoming published because some people felt the book fell between adult and children's literature. Harper & Row finally published it in 1964.

But then ... digging deeper I saw controversy over this book. Lovers and haters all weighting in. Plus analysis of his life experience to book theme. Wow, who knew?

For music lovers, this is the same guy who wrote  “A Boy Named Sue” for Johnny Cash and “The Cover of the Rolling Stone,” sung by Dr. Hook.  Who knew that?

All prayers are appreciated for a new song. The idea has been rattling around in my head for more than 15 years.