March books

I found out about The Kommandant's Girl by Pam Jenoff while reading Niki's blog several weeks ago. She had started the book and gave an interesting introductory review of it which made me think that would be a book I'd enjoy. Which I did! I was at the library the other day and happened to find it. I was looking for something else entirely, but saw this and decided I'd read it. The story takes place during the Nazi occupation of Poland. Emma, the main character, is a Jewish woman who changes identities and becomes a gentile Catholic named Anna. It's exciting when she gets the opportunity to work for a Nazi officer though I sense her frustration in having to work for the enemy. Anyway, I liked this book. Although the characters were fiction, I could not helped but be moved thinking of the real-life Jews who had to endure life in ghettos and - worse - being sent to death camps. I actually stopped a couple times in amazement that that really happened ... not just to a few people, but to millions. Simply because they were Jews? Or in some cases sympathized with them or were less than "perfect" in the Nazis' eyes. It's tragic how people can mistreat fellow humans this way.

A few things that I made note of ...

from page 115 -- Emma recalls her father telling her not to blame people (such as Poles who worked for the Nazis or Jews who policed the ghettos) for what they do; "These are desperate times, and people are only doing what they need to do to survive."

Pages 123-4 -- Realizing the Jews were no match for the powerful German armies, Emma questions the purpose of the resistance realizing it's only symbolic; when asked "why are we doing this", Marta replied, "Because we have to do something. We can't just sit here and let our people be destroyed."


Emma's reasoning why she did what she did -- "To get close to the killers so that we can try to stop the killing." (pg. 197) -- I must admit what she did was rather predictable. I still liked the book for the sake of an interesting story. Perhaps I like some predictability.

Around page 316, I noticed all the times resistance, occupation and the use of a bomb and killing a few Nazis at a popular bar brought up images of current conflicts in the Middle East. Interesting parallels in my mind though I know they aren't exactly the same by any stretch. Still, it was so interesting to hear (read) those same words and ideas.

"There is always a choice. . . We have to take responsibility for our actions. It is the only way we can avoid becoming victims and keep our dignity." (pg. 373)


I finally finished What the Bible Is All About, a Bible handbook by Dr. Henrietta C. Mears that I've mentioned in the past. It's not that this book was so dreadful that it took me a long time to read it. Simply, it's around 700 pages, and I read it off and on although more purposefully the last couple of months (minus our days in Syria). Dr. Mears discussed the main themes, characters and teachings of each book of the Bible. I took notes on some of it which I may talk about in future posts. The is a great reference tool if you want a simple-to-understand overview of a particular book of the Bible.


Shopaholic & Baby by Sophie Kinsella -- definitely chick-lit; light reading; main character has great wit; I enjoyed reading some English phrases that are different from Americans ones


Dispensational Truth by Clarence Larkin is an over-sized book with lots and lots of charts! The author was a mechanical engineer and architect so I guess that explains it. This book was copyrighted in 1918 so it was interesting to read Larkin's point of view from nearly 100 years ago. Especially since this was written prior to the current state of Israel's establishment some thirty years later. Some of the stuff was a bit odd to me, other things very familiar. One thing that stood out was the realization that Isaac's wife Rebekah was a Gentile! I never really thought of it before. I enjoyed the discussion of the fig tree on page 157 and 158. Also the discussion of the Laodicean church on page 132 was interesting.


Almost Home is an exciting novel by Pam Jenoff. (She wrote the first book mentioned above.) The story is about an American diplomat who revisits her past when she takes a position in London. As she investigates the drowning of her college boyfriend, she comes to realize how it ties into her current investigation of an Albanian mob with ties to the Kosovo Liberation Army. When Jordan is reading a case report from the Balkans and learns of some of the atrocities, she reflects on her own life. "Guilt rises up in me. Growing up Jewish, the lessons of the Holocaust were deeply imbedded in my consciousness. 'Never again' was a familiar refrain. My parents, though not religious, saw this as their personal mandate. They had marched with the civil rights movement in the South in their younger years, protested on behalf of the Soviet Jews not permitted to emigrate during communism. Social justice, my father told me once at Passover, was our obligation as Jews, to free all people from the bonds of oppression as we had once been freed. But we are still failing" (pg. 189). Exciting book.

Acts: He is still working

First of all -- Happy March!

Awhile back I mentioned a 700-page book I was reading that discussed the various books of the Bible. I've been reading on it for some time and here lately a bit more regularly. The other day I was reading about Acts and how it was misnamed in most Bibles as "Acts of the Apostles" when in reality it's Acts of the Holy Spirit through the apostles. The Spirit was given to the believers in Acts and it is evident how He changed their lives when you read this wonderful account of the spread of the gospel among the known world.

This picture has some significance to me.*

Last year I felt for the first time that I really appreciated the Holy Spirit of God and His role in my life. I'd always had a deep appreciation for Jesus. What good little Baptist girl doesn't grow up loving the One who healed the sick, raised the dead, forgave sins, saw the goodness of child-like faith and loved children being in His presence? Not to mention the incredible died-on-the-cross-for-my-sins thing that Jesus did! What love and selflessness!

But I'd never given much thought to the Person of the Holy Spirit until last year when God started making His Spirit more wonderful in my heart and life. I still remember my pastor spoke a series of messages on the Spirit and how I thought for the first time I really had been missing out by ignoring His work all these years.

Back to my book and how this relates ... the chapter on Acts deals with the Spirit and how He worked through Peter, Paul, Philip, Barnabas, Stephen and others. And at the conclusion of this chapter, the author writes,

Acts is the only unfinished book in the Bible. Notice how abruptly it closes! How else could it close? How could there be a complete account of a Person's lifework as long as He lives? Our risen and ascended Lord still lives. From the center, Christ, the lines are still proceeding in every direction, but "the uttermost part of the earth" is not yet reached. The book is evidently a fragment. The gospel of Christ moves on! You are still living the Acts! (pg. 455 -- What the Bible is All About by Dr. Henrietta C. Mears)

For some reason that caught my attention. And I liked that. It rang true and I found it truly exciting! We read Acts and are amazed at how God worked through dedicated followers. Why can we not experience the same things today? Perhaps some are and I am just missing out because I lack faith and am not walking in the Spirit on a consistent basis. (Perhaps my fear and worry have much to do with that?)

God is at work in the world today! While He doesn't need my help, He has chosen to work through His followers. I want to be yielded to Him. I want God to use me for His glory.

How can I live "The Acts"?


* Last year when my preacher spoke on the Holy Spirit, he said in the Bible the Spirit was often represented by a few different elements like fire, wind, oil and wine. I remember praying for God to send that "wind" to Damascus. Remember that Syria is overwhelmingly a Muslim nation and often a crescent is used to symbolize Islam. So when I saw this picture ... the one thing looking like a presence moving somewhere and then noticed the crescent ... maybe I'm just weird, but I liked this picture and decided to put it here. :-)

Love Gives!

I am reading a book I purchased many months ago, What the Bible Is All About, a handbook by Dr. Henrietta C. Mears. I read parts of it a while back and just recently picked it up and hope to read it a bit most days so I can eventually finish it! What a goal! (It has over 700 pages.)

I was reading the chapter on Esther and came across this question:

"Why has God allowed me to live at this particular hour?"




I would like to further expand upon this and also wonder "out loud" why God has allowed me to live where I do and have the blessings and privileges that He has given me. I've been reading Children of Hope by Vernon Brewer and his daughter Noel. It's about the HIV/AIDS pandemic and the many civil wars within Africa and how it has particularly affected the children. Did you realize in a span of just 100 days approximately 800,000 people were killed when two tribes clashed in Rwanda? That's nearly a million people gone in just over 3 months!

And suffering abounds elsewhere in the world from the Hmong people hiding in Laotian jungles to North Koreans persecuted by their government to Gazans starved by cruel Zionists and fellow Arabs, on and on and on. I'm not saying we don't suffer in America. We have much suffering with our families being destroyed by addictions and immorality and cultural decay and so forth. But at least most of us don't have to worry about not eating today. Or not having clean water. Or a basic education. A warm place to sleep. Electricity. We even have toys! Cars, computers, books, ipods, lots and lots and lots of stuff! We are a blessed nation!

So why did God have me be born now? And why here in America to this family that I did not choose for myself? Why am I blessed materially when many others are starving? And some are wearing home-made flipflops (see above) while we have choices of Adidas, Nike, Reebok, New Balance and the Wal-mart brand to name a few!

As my preacher challenges us often, I'll leave you with this Brian classic:

"How many of you know God doesn't pass us the gravy so we can drown in it?"

And this from Jesus . . .


Matthew 25

34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

46"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

Perhaps Jesus was serious when He told us to love one another. Love isn't a feeling.

Love gives!

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.