Book Review: Amon's Adventure

Arnold Ytreeide has written a series, three so far, of books for Advent. Each is set during the time of the birth of Jesus. We have loved every one of them and recommend them highly.

For the first time, Ytreeide has written a book for Lent. Amon's Adventure tells the tale of a young Jewish boy who has just become a man. He is a student of the rabbi Gamaliel and is a brilliant scholar and inventor. The story is set during the time of the ministry of Jesus. 

There is much confusion about who Jesus is and Amon's intellect struggles with his spirit as he sifts through all the events he witnesses. Will he choose to believe or will his mind refuse to receive Christ as the Messiah?

Each of Ytreeide's books is filled with hair-raising adventures and excitement, sprinkled with a good deal of humor that never ceases to cause lots of laughter at our house. The clever story lines and use of historical figures gives authenticity to the tales and allows the reader a view into the life and times of the characters. 


This one is definitely our favorite so far. I couldn't finish reading it without weeping. The kids know when I get started crying, they just have to wait it out. The way Ammon's life intertwines with the Crucifixion is quite compelling. Ammon is brought to a crisis of belief, just as the Disciples of Christ were. 

Even if you do not celebrate Lent, the story can be read as a tale of Christ. Ytreeide ends each chapter so that you hold your breath, then closes it with a Scripture and some very thought provoking questions, all of which point to having a deep relationship with Jesus. 


At almost 200 pages, it wasn't enough! We wanted this one to go on forever. 


I am linking up to two places with this one. The first is a lovely site called A Path Made Straight, where Elise reviews books on Mondays. 

And for the 52 in 52 challenge, this is number 16.

The Gratitude List: April 25

Things I'm thankful for this week:

1372. The fun the girls had with Jeremiah and Hannah's dog, Posh 
1371. Mackenzy bringing a friend to church

1370. Kregg has the heart of a teacher

1369. The blessing for Jeremiah and Hannah of another baby shower

1368. The fact that boys are learning such a great work ethic
1367. Seeing all the projects the kids helped with
1366. The fun the kids had with Hannah and Jeremiah this week
1365. Lingering hugs after several days apart
1364. The time to go and pick up the four youngest kids

1363. Silly husband faces

1362. Silly Caleb faces 

1361. Happy flowers
1360. Caleb passing his motorcycle license test (I think it's a blessing)

1359. A gift for Caleb from a friend (I'm trying to think positively :)

1358. An afternoon spent with prairie dogs 

1357. A precious Seder dinner
1356. A thunderhead on the distant horizon, hoping someone is getting
         rain
1355. A tender precious heart fighting hard to truly surrender the future
         into His hands
1354. Forgiveness humbly requested for the failure to give honor
1353. The joy of my children walking in the Truth
1352. A precious phone call from a loving, concerned friend
1351. The cry of a mourning dove
1350. Dinner with sweet friends 

1349. An amazing assortment of leaves
1348. Shepherding hearts praying for the Body
1347. A phone call telling me Caleb won an essay contest with a $500 prize
1346. Several days to spend in quiet thought
1345. The chance to help my son-in-law with a project
1344. A precious phone call from Hannah telling me what a blessing her
         four youngest siblings are to her

Loading up to leave

1343. Hannah and Jeremiah wanting the four youngest to come for a visit
1342. A relaxing dinner out with Kregg
1341. A quiet house 

Here's the rest of my list.

All Authority In Heaven and On Earth

"For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay 

down My life so that I may take it again.

No one has taken it away from Me, 

but I lay it down on My own initiative 

I have authority to lay it down, 

and I have authority to take it up again. 

This commandment I received from My Father."

John 10: 17, 18 

Historical Fact:  Jesus Christ was crucified.

Historical Fact:  Jesus Christ was buried.

But the Resurrection still provides the "sticking place" for many.

Examining the arguments:

If the tomb was still occupied, why wasn't the body produced? All arguments would have been proven false. The powers in authority at the time knew that the Resurrection was predicted. The guards were set in place. Doesn't it follow that if they could have produced the body, they would have?

If the body was merely stolen, why were all the disciples willing to die for their belief in Him? If it was all a hoax, what was it that completely transformed the lives of the disciples after His death? They tended to be rather timid and unfocused, immature in their understanding during their training while the Lord walked among them. But after the Resurrection, they boldly preached the Gospel with a power that did not come from any source within themselves. A faked Resurrection couldn't have produced the conviction that would empower them to that degree.

Why was Jesus' brother converted after "the fact?" 

What caused Paul, the Jew's Jew, to believe? What could have caused him to turn his back on the very foundational belief system of his life?

In the end, one of the most compelling arguments for the validity of the Resurrection was the witness of the lives it transformed. And that is still the case. 

"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."
— C.S. Lewis (Mere Christianity)

Book Review: The Knowledge of the Holy

Okay, I'm just going to start from the very beginning by saying this:

There is NO WAY I can "review" this book!

A. W. Tozer's The Knowledge of the Holy only has a little over a hundred pages. But in those few pages are now splattered every ounce of "gray matter" that used to reside inside my cranium. 

There are twenty-three short little chapters with titles like these:

• The Self-existence of God
• The Immutability of God
• God's Infinitude
• The Love of God
• The Holiness of God
• The Divine Transcendence

Are you beginning to get the picture? Do you now understand why I can't do a "book review" here?

I have posted this quote before, when I first began reading this. But I want to include it again here because it helps explain the inexplicable nature of the task before me:

"When we try to imagine what God is like we must of necessity use that-which-is-not-God as the raw material for our minds to work on; hence whatever we visualize God to be, He is not, for we have constructed our image out of that which he has made and what He has made is not God. If we insist upon trying to imagine Him, we end with an idol, made not with hands but with thoughts; and an idol of the mind is as offensive to God as an idol of the hand."  (pg. 8)

So I would tend, at this point, to ask myself the question, "Then why try to understand Him?" Tozer replies to my question with this:

"The yearning to know What cannot be known, to comprehend the Incomprehensible, to touch and taste the Unapproachable, arises from the image of God in the nature of man. Deep calleth unto deep, and though polluted and landlocked by the mighty disaster theologians call the Fall, the soul senses its origin and longs to return to its Source."                                      (page 9)

The last chapter of the book is called "The Open Secret." After going through and discussing the incredible characteristics of our Holy God, Tozer explains the urgent importance of His Body truly being able to bring Him Glory. To do this, we must "Acquaint thyself with God."

"To regain her lost power the Church must see heaven opened and have a transforming vision of God."                 (page 114)

Tozer goes on to explain the conditions that must be met to be able to receive the "knowledge of the Holy." The conditions, however, are not easily met because our sin nature will war against that knowledge, so that it may continue its sway over us. 

The book concludes with a charge to Christians:

"There is a glorified Man on the right hand of the Majesty in heaven faithfully representing us there. We are left for a season among men; let us faithfully represent Him here."                         (page 117) 

I cannot comprehend Him, but He will reveal Himself to me. The question is how much of Him do I really want? Am I willing to stand in the purifying fire of His Revelation? Or am I content with my happy little life, holding Him at arms' length until I "need" something?

It's not an easy read. But it is such a powerful one. We, as His children, should long to gaze intently into His Face. This little book stirred up that hunger in my spirit. I am so thankful.


This is #15 in my quest for 52 in 52. 

So Very Creative

I cannot even begin to imagine how much time it took to build this. It is so fun!

5 Minute Friday: The Hard Love

My precious sister and brother-in-law

On 5 Minute Friday posts, you just jump in and write. And that five minutes flies by. Sometimes the words come, some time they don't. The challenge is simply to let your thoughts flow and the words spill onto the page. Today's prompt is The Hard Love. So here it goes . . .

She received the phone call from the ER. Her husband had had a stroke. She boarded a plane and arrived to find him in ICU. He was there for 26 days. She sat at his side. She slept curled up in a chair in the corner of his room. She prayed and asked for wisdom to make all the hard choices. She was alone. But never alone, because her life is grounded in His Life. The doctors wanted to do surgery for the massive bleed inside his skull. She prayed and felt that it would not be best. It was a hard place to be. But afterward, the surgeon told her she had made the right call. 

He has finally left the hospital. 25% is how she describes his physical abilities. But she knows that He can either heal him or continue to give her the Grace to serve him as he is. 

The hardest part is dealing with the emotions. He has always been an "in charge, take charge" kind of man. Now, he has to depend on her for everything. The fear is overwhelming for him. She is worn and weary, but firm in her resolve to continue to serve him in every way possible. 

I love her dearly and I am so very thankful she is my sister. 

West Texas "Meerkats"

This week has been unique in the annals of motherhood, here on the "Conderosa." Hannah and Jeremiah, our daughter and son-in-law, came for a visit last weekend because some sweet ladies had planned a baby shower for her. They went home on Sunday and they took ALL FOUR OF OUR YOUNGEST CHILDREN WITH THEM! Jeremiah was going to be on a business trip for several days and Hannah wanted her little brothers and sisters to come for a visit. That is one SERIOUS benefit of homeschooling: the ability to schedule school around the important things in the life of your family. And since we have school year round, we can take a week off here and there and still put in a lot more days than the school system does. 

All that to say, I have actually spent several hours this week in my house ALL BY MYSELF! I am practicing thinking in complete sentences. There's not much chance for that much complexity of sentence structure when everyone is here.

Many of my friends, knowing what a rare event this is, have asked me what I have been doing with all this time on my hands. I told my sister I had ordered another case of bon bons. Not really. But it has been nice to be able to choose what to do. I do not ever get bored. There are too many fascinating things to explore and pursue. 

Last weekend while driving Hannah around, I spotted a prairie dog village and I told her then that I would love to try to take some pictures. Yesterday, I got the chance. The wind, which has been really bad, was not blowing above a light breeze. Thank You, Lord. And so it was possible to be outside without having your skin sand-blasted and your camera and lens ruined.  

I know people driving by had to wonder what this gray-haired woman was doing, sitting flat on her backside in the dirt, stickers and ants, in the middle of the afternoon, in the middle of a field. Doesn't bother me a bit! Because, LOOK WHAT I GOT!

This little guy just played "look-out" the whole time.

They're so cute and cuddly. Did you know they can be domesticated?

So, I'm sitting there trying to be really still and quiet, waiting for some of them to grow brave enough to offer me good photo ops, and then I saw THIS!!!

It's a TINY BABY ONE!!!

He was just checking out the neighborhood.

He looks like a meerkat, don't you think?

I could not believe he stood up for me! So adorable!

Going . . .

Going . . .

Gone!

This guy never ventured farther out than this and chirped the whole time.

If I had super-duper equipment, I would have tried to capture the most amusing thing I saw yesterday. Off in the distance, there were prairie dogs standing on their hind legs and then, with both front paws raised, leaping into the air! It looked like they were dancing. I think they were screaming, in a really squeaky voice, "HALLELUJAH!" It could happen.

Twins!! But they never came any closer.

I think they are so adorable! And I had a glorious time, even with stickers in my behind. Thank You, Lord for such a precious opportunity to marvel at Your Handiwork. 

                       

Future Job Applicants, Part 2

To those young ladies who long to receive godly husbands from the Lord:


Let me tell you a little about some of the qualities you need to possess to be a blessing to a godly young man seeking a bride.

Have you laid marriage on the altar? Have you come to the place where you are whole in the Lord alone? Are you willing to be single, if that is what He asks of you? Or do you need someone to make you whole, someone to make you complete? If you cannot honestly tell the Lord that you are willing to never be married to anyone but Him, you should not enter a marriage relationship. Only when you come to the place of complete dependence on God to meet every need and desire in your heart are you truly free to receive the fullness of the blessings He has for you in marriage.

Do you honor your parents? Are you submitted to their authority? Do you have peace in that position? If you cannot answer "yes" to these questions, you are not marriage material. The Lord placed you under the authority of your parents to teach you the right relationship to Him and to your future husband. Your ability to honor them does not depend on how they treat you. Your ability to honor them is made possible through the Grace of your Father. He expects you to honor the position they hold, even if they are personally undeserving of honor because of a lack of character. There will be temptations in marriage for you to challenge the authority of your husband. If you have not learned how to properly submit to authority, trusting only in the Lord, then you are not ready for marriage.

Have you cultivated a servant's spirit? Do you walk in true humility: not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less? Do you delight in being poured out as a drink offering, holding nothing back as you serve wherever He calls you to serve? Or does your service need to be acknowledged? Does your willingness to serve, or your attitude in that service depend on how you are treated? If you do not understand the true position of servanthood in the spirit of a wife, then you best ask the Lord to teach you the lesson well. You will be called to serve selflessly from the moment you say, "I do." The Glory potential in your marriage is largely dependent on your understanding of this principle. If you allow Him to use You however He sees fit, your marriage will bring Him great Glory. If you, however, insist on a specific "job description", you are not ready for marriage.

Are you self-disciplined? Do you know the responsibilities the Lord has already given you? Are you faithfully fulfilling those responsibilities? Or do you allow what you want to do come before what you need to do? Do you take care of your room? Do you take care of a specific list of responsibilities within your family? Or do you need constant reminders and external motivation to complete your tasks? As a wife, you will be responsible for many things. Your home should be a well-ordered refuge of peace, running efficiently so that you may minister to your husband, future children, and those the Lord sends to you to receive the gift of hospitality. Your training ground for these disciplines is the home of your parents. Seek to learn these skills well while you have a "safety net". The transition to being in charge of your own home will be smooth and relatively painless if you "own" these things from the beginning and already understand how to structure your time and energies to effectively and efficiently carry them out. 

Have you allowed the Lord to lead you into an intimate relationship with Him? One that communes with Him on a daily basis? Do you pour your heart out to Him? Do you wait at His Feet? Do you spend time in His Word daily? You cannot stand under the assaults of this life if you are not grafted onto the Vine, drawing your very life, every breath from the Source. This relationship must come first for you to be able to fully, freely enter the covenant of marriage.

Do you understand a covenant? This is foundational for marriage. Our world has no idea what this type of relationship is about. When two people "cut covenant", they actually cease to be individuals. They become one with each other in a way that cannot be undone. Ever. When people end a marriage, they don't simply go their separate ways, a little bruised and battered. Because of the union that takes place in a covenant, the only way to separate the "two who became one" is to literally rip that relationship in two, permanently scarring both halves. Pieces of your heart will go with his heart and pieces of his will stay with yours. The covenant of marriage must be approached with the understanding that there will be no "out." Your commitment from Day One is essential. You must not entertain any thought of walking away. In entertaining that thought you are give

Does Joy overflow your heart? Your husband, strong as he is, will need this from you. He will need to know that, regardless of the circumstances you face together, your Joy is the fixed attitude of your heart as you walk in gratitude and thanksgiving. There will be hard times. He is designed to protect you. He wants to "fix" things so that you are happy. But that is impossible if your happiness is not rooted in Joy. Your husband wants a cheerful, fun companion. He wants to be free to enjoy your company. He needs to know he can trust you with his heart. But if you are not grounded in Joy, he won't have that freedom to let you see the things that scare him. He will try to shield you from anything he thinks will upset you instead of allowing you in to the deepest reaches of his soul. He needs to know you are brave, to face whatever comes with him. That helps him be brave. It sets him free to go out and fight those fierce battles real men fight. Joy in your spirit allows him to fully engage the responsibilities of his life.

I had a very interesting conversation with our oldest son this morning. It was completely unsolicited, he just started talking. He told me the Lord is calling Him deeper. He has already come to the place where his life is not his own and he believes the path the Lord is preparing for him may cost him his life. He has Peace about that. Yes, you might be thinking, "He is young. He doesn't really understand." And you would be right. To a point. He is young. And none of us truly understand what that Path will cost us. But he is serious. And the Lord is tempering him in preparation for complete obedience. 

As a natural part of this calling on his life, he has told the Lord that his future does not belong to him. He has laid marriage on the altar. "I am whole, complete in Him. I need nothing else. I need no one else to complete me. The Lord has already done that." This is what he said this morning. He then went on to tell me that none of the young ladies he has known understand this principle of completion. He was actually wondering if there are any young women out there who do. I told him there are. But that they are rare. 


Those are the wives we ask the Lord to provide for our sons, if the Lord calls them to marriage. We know there are young women who are being raised to be wonderful, godly wives. But they are rare. "A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies."        

Young ladies, as you contemplate the choices before you, understand that dying to self, dying to your future are the only ways to truly receive the desires of your hearts. There are young men worthy of such a sacrifice. There are young men who will rejoice greatly, if you allow the Lord His Way with you. But in the end, the greatest reward for a life lived for Him is Him. 

I did not know these things when Kregg asked me to be his bride. I am so very thankful he is patient and He is patient. I offer these things to you as a gift, a blessing, hoping they will be received in that context. I have not been a good example of all of these things over the years, but He is Faithfully revealing more every day, every moment about how to be the wife He has called me to be. If, through His Grace, you learn to walk this path early in your life, your heart and the heart of your husband will be spared much pain and grief. The Lord will accomplish these things in You if you ask Him. He longs to bless you. And me. 

Future Job Applicants, Part 1

"God Be Praised"

If the video distracts from your worship, you can simply close your eyes and just let these words wash over you. Caleb shared this with me.

"You saved my life from death
I was all but defeated
You spoke Your promises
And brought life to my weakness
Came as a conquering King
And You warred for my freedom
My soul can’t help but sing
Hallelujah

You opened up my eyes
For the first time I saw You
Your love commanding life
And deserving devotion
You told me who I am
Now in faith I believe it
My soul can’t help but sing
Hallelujah

You’ve made a place for me
Silenced all my accusers
Leading me forth with peace
Filled with joy I will follow
Your cross demands my life
Now Your grace is my anthem
My soul can’t help but sing
Hallelujah

Hallelujah, we’re redeemed and made free
By the blood of the Lamb We have won
Hallelujah, we will sing victory
Jesus conquered the grave
God be praised"

The Ministry of Parenting

Jesus, as He walked this earth, modeled the life we are to live. I love the saying I heard years ago, I cannot remember where:

Jesus Called 12

Graduated 11

And Focused on 3

What does that mean to me?

What should my ministry look like?

Jesus ministered to the multitudes on many occasions. That ministry profoundly changed many lives. But His primary focus was on His disciples. And the way He did this is so instructive. He could have set up a "school" where he had hundreds of students taught in a lecture format. After all, He knew He would only be here for a short time. Wouldn't it be more efficient to teach large numbers of people so they could have a larger influence on more people faster? That's what most experts would probably have recommended.

He didn't do it that way. Instead, He called twelve men to walk beside Him and watch Him live. They "did life" together. They ate together, slept together, walked together, talked together as He trained them to accomplish the purpose He had for them. The entire time they were together, He was influencing them, directly through His Words and indirectly as they observed Him interact with the world. To truly change hearts, it would take intense, focused attention and training. That normally isn't accomplished through "mass production." Complete transformation in His immediate circle would have an exponential effect not possible by a "lesser dose" with a greater audience. 

So what does that mean for me?

I believe my ministry is to focus on a few at a time, those He specifically gives me. It is not a misuse of my time to spend intensive resources on a few for the season He defines. Yes, I can speak into other lives in limited ways as He directs, but if I go out and try to "gather" more than the number He sends, do I risk the impact that He intends me to have on the few? Do I really believe I can "disciple" more effectively than He did? 

And, here comes the exciting part: for this season of my life my primary focus is on my children. As a mother, I believe I am responsible first and foremost to disciple the children He has made me responsible for. For this season my primary circle of influence is my own kids. As I am focused on these children, He often brings someone to me for a small window of time and the kids get to observe how He asks me to minister to someone else, but the focus of this season doesn't change.

It is tragic to see how many parents allow other things to take the place of their primary field of ministry during the formative years of their children. Ministry is often allowed to take precedence over parenting. The Lord never asks us to serve in ways that interfere with the primary responsibilities He gives us. That is a tool of the evil one. That sounds harsh, especially when those "other ways" are ministry related. But if parents allow themselves to be pulled away from the training and nurturing of their own children to minister to someone else they are missing their primary calling. And there will be consequences. 

Some people believe that if they see a need, they are the one who is supposed meet it. That is not necessarily the case. Many times well meaning people, out of a true desire to help, step in where they are not supposed to step in. As parents, when we see a need that will involve a significant investment of time, we need to ask the Lord if He is putting it on our list. If the answer is "yes", the Grace will be provided to minister to that need without neglecting our primary area of focus. If the answer, however, is "no" then, no matter how good our intentions, the Grace will not be available to accomplish that specific thing without negative consequences in our primary responsibility to our children. 

The principle of the "seasons" in our life has to provide the filter for our commitments. During the season of parenting, we should not add any responsibilities He does not specifically give us. We can't add something to the life of our family just because it's a "good thing." If it does not enhance our ability to effectively accomplish the main goal of the season we are in, then it is not supposed to be added to that season. 

Often times, when we take on an "ill-fitting" thing, we are actually interfering with that need being met in a more productive way. If we step in when the Lord was actually calling someone else to minister to that specific need, we can interfere with many potential blessings: the blessings for the person who was supposed to minister in that area, and the blessings of that need being met in a more fruitful way. Often, we step in to relieve the "tension" created by a need. What we have to understand is that just because we feel that tension doesn't mean we are the one who is supposed to relieve it. God often creates that tension specifically to move the one He is actually calling to meet that need to step up and engage it. If we step in without His specific instruction to do so, the person who He was calling can miss out on that opportunity.

It all comes back to recognizing the primary responsibility for the season of life the Lord has us in. Nothing He calls us to do during that season will damage our ability to faithfully, fruitfully accomplish that responsibility. Anything He does ask of us during that specific season will enhance our ability to accomplish that primary responsibility. 

So for us, this season of parenting defines our primary ministry. And any ministry opportunities that present themselves must be evaluated and prayed over from that context. If that specific ministry interferes with our parenting, then it is intended for someone else to do, or for us to do in another season of our lives. Intense, intentional focus as parents produces the fruit intended for this season. If I don't get this season right, His ability to use me in the future is diminished because of my lack of faithfulness here and now.

We need to ask the Lord to purify our schedules and our commitments. We need to ask Him to help us stay focused on what He has called us to now.

What season are you in?

What is the primary responsibility for that season?

Have you taken on things intended for someone else, or for another season?

Bill Gothard said years ago that our job is never to expand our ministry. Our job is always to deepen our message. The Lord will expand our ministry in His Perfect Timing for His Glory. 

Grow deep roots where you are. Grow deep roots so that the fruit He can bear through you is abundant and filled with Life. Your influence, under those circumstances, will be far greater than you can ever imagine. There is always time to wait on Him, to allow Him to teach you well in this season.