Books

Response to the book tag from ruthieliz of Catharsis

One book that changed your life: Okay, I am really going to fudge in this category because there were several books that had a big influence on me. Each one literally made the light bulb go on in my head and my heart.

The Release of the Spirit by Watchman Nee*
This little book on the Holy Spirit is a very practical and simple explanation of what God wants the Holy Spirit to do in us and how the Spirit works through us. He explains what it means to be filled with the Spirit and to be a person that God can work through. Before I read this book, I was very confused as to who the Holy Spirit was and what the Holy Spirit had to do with me. I found that the book helped me tremendously in understanding the function of the Holy Spirit and of how to be a person that bears fruit in every area of one's life. To paraphrase the book, it stresses one basic lesson every servant of God must learn: that any measure of fruitfulness requires the breaking of the outward man to allow the release of the spirit. I think that this book is very insightful and helpful for anyone who wants to be used by God.

The Normal Christian Life by Watchman Nee - Also an excellent book, explaining the basics of the Christian life.

*Watchman Nee was a university student who became saved through a Chinese evangelist that came to his city in the 1920's. Watchman Nee went on to start many indigenous churches that survived even when foreign missionaries had to leave his country. Jailed on false charges, he spent the last 20 years of his life in a Chinese prison. A gifted teacher and evangelist, his books remind me of C.S. Lewis.

The Power of Positive Praying by John Bisagno
This book was so helpful to me in cutting through all of the confusion about prayer. It's not a formula book or a simple how-to book but gives an excellent basis for understanding prayer. It helped me to know if I was praying according to God's will and therefore, could expect answers. Among other principles, he explains why you should never pray, "if it be thy will."

I Love the Word Impossible by Ann Kiemel
A dean of woman at a college in Boston determines to love people in her world to God. Neighbors, street people, fellow airline passengers, and everyone she comes in contact with is touched by the sweet, gentle love of God. She shows through her own life how witnessing doesn't need to be intimidating but can be just simple, everyday gestures. Her genuine, loving approach gave me the courage and ideas I needed to reach out in my world. An inspiring book.

One book that you've read more than once:

The Body and also Being The Body by Charles Colson
I love Chuck Colson's books. I would call him a prophetic writer who sees how God uses individuals to shape events in history for his purposes. He's an excellent writer so his books are sumptuous to read, full of stories from around the world, but at the same time they're very thought-provoking and challenging to anyone who realizes that God calls us now to be his servants and to join with him in shining the light in the darkness.

One book you'd want on a desert island:

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas because it would take a long time to read it. Just kidding. I'd definitely want to have the Bible.

One book that made you laugh:

Expecting Adam by Martha Beck
I enjoyed this book so much. Written with great wit and humor, I found myself laughing out loud a lot. It's a delightful, eloquent personal account of her experience expecting her second child, a baby with Downs Syndrome, while she was a doctoral candidate at Harvard. An intelligent, educated woman, she isn't sure what to make of her other-worldly encounters, or even what to call them. Very interesting.

One book that made you cry:

Left To Tell by Immaculee Ilibagiza
A university student finds herself caught up in the middle of the ethnic conflict in Rwanda. I'm still in awe of the real message of the book: how Immaculee finds her way from near-death to forgiveness. This is an unbelievable story which I would recommend to everyone. It gave me a real understanding of the ethnic conflicts that still ravage so many countries in Africa.

One book you wish had been written:

The Londborgs: Servants of God to the People They Loved. I would like for my children and grandchildren to know their rich heritage, and the great God who was the motivating force in the lives of my parents. For those of you who didn't know them, one year after they got married, they went to a remote village in the territory of Alaska and stayed in this far-flung area of Alaska for over twenty years. My Dad, a pastor and educator, started a high school for the Eskimos that had a great impact on many young people's lives. My Mom, a nurse, worked tirelessly to care for the sick in all of the villages that they lived in.

One book you're currently reading (and hope to read as long as I live):

The Bible. A book in a class all its own, for it's ability to convict and comfort at the same time, give me not just knowledge but knowledge of the truth. As I read it I find it gives me wisdom for everyday life, hope for my journey, and a relationship with the one true God who really cares about me.

Left To Tell

I have recently read a book so gripping and profound that I have to mention it here. It is the incredible true story of one young woman's miraculous survival of genocide in her country. Her name is Immaculee Ilibagiza and the book is Left To Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust, published in 2006.

As a university student studying engineering in 1994, Immaculee grew up in a close-knit family where both of her parents were highly respected people in their community. The events as they unfold, seem innocent enough at first. However, it quickly descends into a bloody genocide, and Immaculee finds herself the object of a manhunt.

What sets this book apart is that it is much more than a book about personal survival. Immaculee's faith and the unmistakable presence and power of God bring about a transformation so deep that it transcends life itself. As Judith Garten, a child of the WWII Holocaust and now counselor of The 50/50Work said, "Left to Tell is for anyone who is weary of the predictable 'eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth' trance most of the world suffers from...Her story is an inspiration to anyone who is at odds with a brother, a nation, or themselves." Left To Tell is now easily one of my personal favorites.

Illegals and Aliens

I've been thinking about the illegal immigrant situation in our country, and my closest personal interest in it comes from two situations. First of all, the Mexican woman who cleans my house is an illegal immigrant. I'm not sure how long she's been here, at least 4 years, maybe longer. We've never talked with her about her legal/illegal status until just recently when the whole issue came to the forefront of the media.

The second situation involves the pastor of the Spanish-speaking church that we helped to start. Our English-speaking church hired a Guatemalan pastor and his wife and paid for they and their three children to move to the US about 3 1/2 years ago, so that they could pastor our new church. They determined to do everything "by the book" as far as what they could legally do or not do in this country. Therefore, they didn't seek out jobs for several years, because that's how long it took for them to get their work visas. Our English-speaking church supported them during this time, and they lived with our own pastor in his house. It was a frustrating, lengthy period of time for them and they were so wanting to earn some money of their own, but couldn't until those visas were granted. I admired them and felt sorry for them at the same time.

Last week I called a friend who uses the same cleaning lady that I do, to see what she thought about this illegal status. Neither one of us wanted to be in violation of the law ourselves, so she called an immigration attorney about the issue. He said that he didn't think that it was a problem to have someone like that work for you and to pay them in cash, since it wasn't a full-time job, I guess. That eased my mind, because I was trying to figure out a way to tell my cleaning lady who had also become my friend, that I couldn't use her anymore.

I also spoke with our Spanish pastor's wife to get her take on the whole issue in our country. She works at a middle school now and she told me that many of the hispanic kids that attend her school were trying to get her to join the boycott slated for May 1, and they told her that if she didn't, she wasn't supporting the cause. She said that she just couldn't, that she felt an obligation to her employer, and was grateful for her job. She also told me that as far as the illegal immigrant issue is concerned, she feels that if you are living in a certain country, that you should abide by its laws. Period. Work only if you can do so legally, pay taxes, etc. I kind of thought that she'd say that, given that she and her family certainly paid a price for their convictions. She also said that they don't preach this from the pulpit (though she thinks that they have a number of illegals in their congregation), but if anyone asks them, this is their stand on the issue. And I had to agree with her.

So then, May 1st came and went, and Denver had the third largest rally of any city in the country. Very peaceful march, but it still stirred up feelings on both sides.

The next day I was working and had the radio on in the background when I heard these words: "What now after yesterday’s boycott by Hispanics do we surrender to their demands like some occupying force that has invaded and defeated us, or do we tell them this is America and we get to make the rules here?” Listening to the indignation in this man's voice, I remember thinking that this must be a joke. It sounded so inflammatory. The commentator continued with several points. 1) Close the border and keep it closed. 2) Require everyone here illegally to get a biometric identifier that can’t be forged or copied. 3) No more Spanish without learning English. 4) Employers that knowingly employ illegals should be slapped with a huge fine (maybe that would include me).

That was it. This was definitely not a joke. I made a mental note of it and continued on with my work.

About an hour or so later, another voice on the radio caught my attention. This voice sounded calm and thoughtful. The man was addressing the same issue, that of the illegal immigrants in the US. He said that we should consider the heart and mind of God if we claim to follow after him and that it might help to shed light on the whole issue if we try to find out what God has to say. Then he quoted this verse in the Bible, “When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.” (Lev. 19:33-34)

I was surprised that the Bible addressed such a similar issue so directly. It wasn't identical, but it was similar. And apparently mistreatment of the alien was a big temptation. I'm sure that I've read that verse before, but it didn't mean anything to me then. The speaker went on to say that we should always remember that by nature, we're alienated from God, and that he desires to reconcile us to himself, through his Son, Jesus. To make us part of his family, to make us legal, so to speak, by trusting in his Son.

The contrast between the two commentators was striking to me, and made me see the issue in a whole new light. I actually felt differently about it. I think that it was the Spirit of God softening my spirit, reminding me about the loving heart of God. I'd been pondering this issue, muddling through the pros and cons of ways to deal with it, listening to politicians and pundits on the right and on the left. Obviously, there are no easy solutions out there, but it seems to me that to address any issue with an underlying spirit of love for people is more likely God's way of dealing with it than if we try to solve the problem from a position of our own righteousness, pride and entitlement. How can we presume to take that position anyway? After all, it was our "unrighteousness" that got us into trouble in the first place and our continued "unrighteousness" with regard to our own laws that's responsible for the mess we find ourselves in today.

God is Good

God is good, all the time. This Easter I was reminded of this fact again and again throughout the day. In the morning, Mike and I gathered to celebrate our Lord’s resurrection with others in our small, inner-city church. Singing the hymns of the faith I’d sung as a child, I’d just begun to be able to sing them again without the tears streaming down my face. They bring back memories of my childhood, and especially of my parents.

Two years ago at Easter, my parents were with us in this same church, my Mom’s frail body confined to a wheelchair, but her spirit as strong and sweet as ever, my Dad by her side. On the afternoon of that day, we gathered at the home of our oldest daughter, her husband and their two children, and our youngest daughter and her new boyfriend also joined us. It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day, and I certainly felt the warmth of God’s goodness and love on that day. We all enjoyed the good food and the younger generations continued with getting acquainted around the basketball hoop outside.

Within five months of that Easter day, both of my parents passed away from this life and into the next. I miss them so much, but I also know that they’re now realizing God’s goodness in a way that I can only get a small glimpse of here on this earth.

A month after that Easter, a granddaughter was born to our daughter and her husband in Oregon, and we continue to celebrate her lively addition to our family. The new boyfriend of our youngest daughter became a welcome member of our family a year later, and a year after that, another precious granddaughter came to join us. God is good.

This year after our Easter celebration in church, Mike and I gathered again at the home of our oldest daughter and her husband, but this time it was with a different group of people. It was again a beautiful, sunny day, another very special time. Though we missed those who had moved away or who had moved on, it was a wonderful reminder that the God whom we celebrate this day, has not only blessed us with our own families, but has also given us a much larger family to be a part of. God is indeed good.

Preface

Tomorrow will be two weeks since I promised my daughter that I’d start my own blog. Perhaps because I’m a middle-aged person, it's taken me longer than I thought it would to get started. Being a perfectionist doesn’t help, either. But, a promise is a promise. We'll see where it leads me.