The Minister's Wooing by Harriet Beecher Stowe

It is pretty obvious by the title that this is about a minister, but it's also about very religious New England puritans, living at the time of Aaron Burr. Yes, he shows up fictionally in this story as an example of someone who does not follow God's way. 

Even though I finished this book many days ago, I've been pondering one of the things brought up. I enjoyed all the theology that she discusses in this book, some of it I agreed with, and some of it I did not. But one thing is stuck in my mind. In this story, one of the main characters loves someone who does not believe and has not given his heart to Christ. In her prayers for him, she offers her own soul in exchange for his soul. She tells God and others that she would be willing to suffer eternal punishment if only he could be saved. This is mentioned a lot in this story. It was one of the things the minister brings up in a sermon that they all discuss (Romans 9:3). That our love for others should be so great that we would be willing to give up our own souls for their salvation. I am not willing to do this as much as I love. But I realized in prayer that I'm willing to give up my LIFE. To suffer the rest of my life as long as my soul can be in heaven when I die. That's as far as I can go. I talked this over with my pastor and he brought up that my soul is not my own to give for the life of another. It has been purchased by the blood of Christ. So even if I did pray, “Lord, take my life in exchange for another”, it would not be granted.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Am I selfish to want to spend eternity with my Lord, and with my precious loved ones who've gone before me? One of the reasons I pray for those who are “not saved” is so that I can be with them forever. 

Big answer to prayer!

 

I've just read the most epic book ever! Not only do I love it for its own sake but I love it's author and I'm so grateful to the Lord!

Around 1989 I had a miscarriage and I prayed at that time the Lord would give me a child to be a witness for Him either a pastor or missionary. I didn't realize that God answered my prayer when he gave us a disabled daughter in 1991. But 1st Corinthians one says so. 

Unfortunately, she is nearing the end of her life, but she has written 2 books that contain the gospel. One is her memoirs: 

https://app.thebookpatch.com/BookStore/ryn-achilles-memories-and-thoughts-about-life/6769cf49-49d4-474c-982a-e0bd12b07a32?fbclid=IwAR1PvnqZ_PDDDQmeYXdEVSz8k8eNhjuMlLBF7ldgqU8DZUsxjuaNVVoD0_Q

 and the other is a Christian fantasy book she's worked on since 2009. 

https://smile.amazon.com/Miracle-Mell%C3%BDndale-Cathryn-D-Achilles/dp/B0BTKSLGVL/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1675451745&sr=8-1

Book description: Each of us is defined by many things in the eyes of the world– our appearance, our choices, our station in life. But those labels are rarely true. How can we know who we really are? For one ordinary young woman, the answer lies in another world, on the other side of a miraculous adventure.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cathryn D. Achilles prefers to be called Ryn. She is a life-long daydreamer, who has been writing stories since childhood. Often, she wrote to be understood. Ryn was born with an incurable neurological disorder called Ataxia-Telangiectasia (A-T), that made her dependent on a g-tube by age nine and landed her in a wheelchair just after her tenth birthday. Ryn describes growing up with A-T as a “suck it up, buttercup” experience–she had to embrace her limitations early and learn what really mattered. She knows she could not have endured without the Lord. In her perspective, A-T is a mark given by God, to set her aside for Himself. Mellýndale and its residents have been a work of passion and an escape for Ryn since 2009. She hopes the story carries the truths she has received from the Holy Spirit to its readers, to refute the lies of the evil one.

Unbroken Faith

"They said to each other, 'Did not our hearts burn within us while He talked to us on the road, while He opened to us the Scriptures?'” Luke 24:32. 

Have you ever felt like this while reading a book? It very rarely happens to me. But this week, oh man! Every chapter of Unbroken Faith by Diane Dokko Kim was like that for me!

I tried to read some excerpts to my husband, but got so choked with emotion, I could hardly read aloud! I had to stop and compose myself several times. I have read so many books dealing with disability, etc. Most of them do nothing for me. One of them promoted by Focus on the Family years ago was so wrong about God that it made me angry! Although it is geared toward parents of special needs children, the message in Unbroken Faith is HOPE amid tragedy or hardship of any kind.

This book is so uplifting, encouraging, and enriching! The author is so honest, but at the same time weaves humor into describing life with disability. She points me to Jesus and the Bible for REAL answers and help to live this life. There is someone who UNDERSTANDS!

Like page 97, “We long to fit in like everybody else, but “normal” now feels hopelessly out of reach. For us, normal has become the new weird.”

On page 99, “Special-needs parenting is an uncommon experience. Our children drive us to cling to Him daily with an unceasing desperation “normal” parents may never know.”

Page 139, “We are “just a mom” like God is just a Father… What feels like prison, God can repurpose into a pulpit.”

I can recommend almost no author living today more than Diane Dokko Kim. If you have suffered circumstances in your life that shake your faith, you will find help to restore that faith in this book.

The Shack

I just watched the trailer for the new movie. I will probably watch it someday when it is on Netflix or something. I read the book years ago, when it was a very hot topic among my circles.

 I found it thought provoking, but also disturbing. It is primarily disturbing that the crime committed at the beginning of the book does happen in real life. But let’s face it. Nothing else about the book can be related to real life. It is fiction. It is art. Art is all about how it makes you feel, right? Who can criticize someone else’s art or feelings? Just because I do not share those feelings, does not make them invalid to the person who does feel them.

It is disturbing or even offending if this story is taken at all literally. It blasphemes God. So, if you don’t want to get angry, don’t take as word-for-word truth.

Books like this are only dangerous and harmful to one’s walk with Christ if we take it seriously, and try to apply it to our life too much. The overall impression I got at the end of reading the book and thinking on it for a while was that EVEN THOUGH BAD THINGS HAPPEN, GOD IS STILL GOOD. And HE will help us through when we choose to cling to Him, instead of blame Him or stay angry with Him. That is a very edifying concept.

So will you go see the movie?

Leaf by Niggle by J.R.R. Tolkien

This short story is completely fiction. It is art. It is like The Shack. If you don’t take it too far, it can not only be entertaining, but make you think. But, don’t take the allegory and relate it to truth. It can’t be done. We can’t work our way to heaven, for example. But I do appreciate how what Niggle did on earth affected heaven. There are no verses in the Bible that say that specifically, but the concept is one to ponder. On the one hand, it can be comforting to think that the relentlessness of the mundaneness of my life has some positive eternal meaning that I cannot see right now. But it is frightening to think that I will forever regret in the afterlife that I did not prepare more for it.

I love the transformation from pride to humility. I long to be the way on earth right now that Niggle got to be when he reached “heaven”.

The ending is so “feel-good” and satisfying. I love it. And who can read it without relating to it at least a little bit? Especially for me with the caring for a disabled person. Wow.

Little Dorrit

I have decided is my favorite Dicken’s long book. My favorite Dicken’s short story will always be A Christmas Carol.

 Cathryn and I just rewatched my favorite movie version of Little Dorrit (and yes, I have read the book, just not recently). I realized this morning after finishing it last night that I identify so much with the main character in a way that astounds me. Her prayers were answered when her father inherited a large fortune and got out of debtor’s prison after so many years. She had the hardest time adjusting to the new life of wealth, and hated it. I confess to you that I feel imprisoned often – and I know Cathryn does too, by her disability. But I realized how difficult it would be for both of us if Jesus answered our prayers and healed her after all these years. We would both have to go out and get jobs, and we don’t know how to do anything else. This is what we know best and what is most comfortable. Surprisingly, this gives me peace and more strength to carry on without complaint!

 PICTURE When we were in England this past summer we found in London the last remaining wall to the Marshalsea prison that Dicken’s writes about in this story. His father was imprisoned there when he was a child.

What I learned from Frankenstein

This past Halloween I reread Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.

The first time I read it was almost 10 years ago when San Benito High School was going to make my precious firstborn daughter read it! I was ready to protect her from this evil and ask the school to let her read a different book perhaps. I thought I should be armed with facts before I protested, so I read it first. I was so pleased after reading it that the high school was requiring it! I gave it my wholehearted approval.

The first thing that struck me as I read was how VERY DIFFERENT it was from what I thought it was going to be! I realized I had been deceived by the media images portraying what others thought of the book, not necessarily what was actually written. The story and the creature are nothing like the old black and white movie starring Boris Karloff, and especially not like VeggieTales’ FrankenCelery. Wasn’t there even a breakfast cereal? Franken Berry?

I realized that this is—sadly—very much how some people view the Bible. So few actually read it, but they base their opinions on it as if they were SURE of what is in it because of what others have fed them. Don’t be guilty of this! Let’s all read the originals whenever possible and make our own conclusions!

The second thing that struck me is how Mrs. Shelley illustrates the depravity of man all over again with the creature. I was reminded of Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel in the garden. In this book the monster starts out knowing no evil, but as the story unfolds he learns it by experience and uses it because he “deserves” better. Oh how often we entertain sinful selfish thoughts because we disagree with how our Creator is dealing with us! We often act as the monster —a big selfish, scary, baby — doing damage to others because we can’t have our way. Unlike the creature we usually don’t resort to murder, although the news broadcasts often that many today do. While Viktor Frankenstein (he was a student, not a doctor) represents the exact opposite of what God is like in how He created and cares for us, the nameless monster is actually very like the human heart.

We are not God. We do not create the plants in our yard or the children in their cribs. Although we might have had something to do with them, they are God’s, created by Him and for Him alone. We are only given the task of caring for them for a little while. When we step beyond that and try to be God, we create only misery.

This book is full of descriptions of powerful emotions -- not only fear, suspense, horror and sadness, but ambition, longing, empathy, goodness and love. The author follows the feelings of the creature and his creator. I actually found myself almost evenly feeling for both of them.

Mary Shelley gives us no explanation of how Frankenstein creates the monster. That is obviously not the point on which she wants us to focus. Much higher spiritual, mental, and emotional points are explained. Because of this, I heartily recommend everyone read this book. It is not the horror story you may think it is. It includes no gory details. Frankenstein makes you think, which I suppose may horrify some people.