Lifeway provided me with this picture book, The Marvelous Mud House by April Granley, for an honest review.
All I can say is Yes! This is the perfect time of year for gifting this book to a child, grandchild, niece, nephew or any other child who needs a message on abundance. Beautifully written, it is the story of the hungry household where there is a constant want for more and the contented family in the marvelous mud house. It’s about discovery and joy and looking beyond yourself to see a greater need.
Not only is the story well done, but I was captivated by the illustrations – rich colors and appealing designs. Children will love discovering all of the interesting things on each page that point to the different cultures. And the song the mother and her son in Kenya sing declaring their great wealth (though they have little compared to the hungry household) is beautiful.
The ending is perfect. “Two houses that night rang with laughter and dance, one marvelous mud house on a mountain, and one happy house on a ranch!”
What a beautiful story to teach the value of fullness and joy. I highly recommend this book be placed under every Christmas tree, in every church nursery and on every grandparent’s bookshelf. It is sure to become a classic read.
Lisa Harper’s book, The Sacrament of Happy, What a Smiling God Brings to a Wounded World, is a fast but truly valuable read.
What I love about this book: It’s not a textbook on how to be happy, it’s not a make-you-feel-guilty if you’re not happy book, and it’s not a super spiritual do this and you’ll be happy book. It’s practical, it’s amusing, it’s real. Sometimes life circumstances make us unhappy but happy isn’t about life circumstances. It’s about perspective.
I’m currently suffering through a few weeks of recovering from an injury that has me on crutches and – worst nightmare of all, unable to drive. This was the perfect book for me to review at this point in time.
Lisa opens with a chapter called Is Happy Even Holy? And – you’ll be happy to know it is. She points out that happy is “a covenant state of being for God’s people.” And then goes on to ask Is God Happy?
This was my favorite chapter because I’d never grasped before that a perfect God would have to be happy. And how that is proven in scripture when it says He takes great delight in us. A delighted God is a happy God.
Further on Lisa explains how we get happy, how we stay happy even in sad times, and how we regain happy when we’ve lost it. Some of her illustrations are eye opening, I never thought of that kinds of revelation. For instance, in her use of the Good Samaritan story in chapter four she points out that the priest, the very one who passed the injured Samaritan by, had probably been burning incense and offering sacrifices all week in pursuit of God’s guidance and favor. Clearly God tells us how to be happy but so many times, like the priest, we walk right by the opportunity.
I loved her “momma, I lub your breasts” story and the reminder that God laughs (Ps 2:4a). I loved her emphasis on the outward expression of happy through dancing and arm waving.
Lisa ends this book with some great thoughts on cultivating happy by taking our thoughts captive and remembering it’s the pouring out of ourselves that bring the best return and builds the happiness that withstands the hard blows of life.
I highly recommend this book regardless of where you are on the happiness scale at the moment. If you are up, you’ll need the information contained between its pages to help you when you’re down. And if you’re down, you will be inspired out of your dark place into a place of light where you can learn to laugh again.
I was provided a free copy of this book in return for my honest review.
Best book I’ve read on what God’s mission for His people is and how we are to respond.
In the very first chapter the authors make clear what the mission of God is by Israel’s mission in the Testament, “to live its life in such a manner that people would want to be saved by their God”; the mission of Jesus, atonement certainly, but to show us a life to imitate in order to lead others to God; and our mission, “God intends for His people to make disciples of every nation including our own.”
The book is concise and to the point. It is broken down into small chapters that cover where I am called to go with my church, my neighborhood, the nations, my job and anywhere else.
I loved this statement in chapter one, “Our mission is upward, inward, backward, forward, and outward.” Capturing people for God through His word along with gospel-motivated and gospel-centered actions is the basic theme. And each chapter ends with a fill in the blanks Call To Action.
I found the chapter on the church to be profound in it’s clarification of what church is and how to find a “real” church. And this: “Today on planet Earth King Jesus is the head of a body that the Bible calls the church. It is truly an incredible organism animated and empowered by his Spirit. It has a mind that can think his thoughts and have his perspective. It has eyes that can see the needs of neighbors. It has ears that can hear the cries of the nations. It has a mouth that can proclaim the good news of the gospel. It has legs that can walk to the hurting. It has arms that can embrace those in pain. It has hands that can serve those in need. It has feet that can be blistered and backs that can be whipped, all for the sake of a King who did all of this for us and so much more. This body called the church makes Jesus Christ real to this world.”
I could go on and on with the thoughts and the quotes. But I will just say this – every church needs to order some of these and make them required reading for at least the Board and the ministry leaders.
NOTE: This book was received free of charge from B&H Publishing in return for an honest review.
It’s 4:00 a.m. on Christmas Eve and I never expected to be so heavy on this day with the things that are weighing on my heart. I’m not the only one I know. So many are facing much greater burdens and much greater life challenges. This season of joy and love and peace doesn’t always live up to it’s reputation, does it?
Well – actually it does. The TV specials are sparkly and white and soft and beautiful. We are led to believe that for Christmas to be Christmas we need the perfect outfit, the perfectly decorated tree, the perfectly wrapped gifts and the perfect loving family around the table. But today I’m realizing again that although the birth of Christ was the climax of that Bethlehem night, there are so many subtle lessons surrounding the momentous event.
Stress, worry, pain, shock, disappointment, confusion – all the things we live with today were in existence then. I would guess that a few sharp words may have been exchanged between Mary and Joseph along their journey, brought on by exhaustion and the weight of responsibility. Stress does that to us – brings out the irritation in our voice, the too quick answer, the sharp word.
I suspect that as Mary and Joseph made their way through the streets of the city on their way to the stable they fought crowds that had flooded the city. You can’t tell me the merchants didn’t take advantage of the opportunity to expand their line of products and overflow their streetside stalls. To purchase a simple meal Joseph would have had to stand in a long line, with impatient shoppers, wailing children, tired, cranky clerks. Been there?
And as gentle as Mary appears in scripture, there is no way she didn’t crinkle her nose and give Joseph that “You’ve got to be kidding me” look when they entered the barn. Eating isn’t the only thing animals do in a barn, people!
God sent His Son in an ordinary way because He wanted ordinary people to be able to relate and accept this incredible gift. He wanted the poorest to know poverty doesn’t keep us from Him. He wanted the rich to know you must bow not buy your way to Him. He wanted the clean freaks to know even filth and unpleasant smells can’t keep Him away. He wanted the simple to know it’s not complicated, and the wise to know it doesn’t take a masters degree to find Him.
And the gifts – if you are anything like me, you have been wracking your brain, scouring the stores, scanning the internet trying to find the right one for each person on your list. I know Christmas isn’t about the gifts – but then again, it is. If I stopped shopping and tried to explain to my family from the 5 year old on up that I didn’t do gifts this year because Christmas is about the birth of Christ – I don’t think that would go over well. They know that but it doesn’t mean they are willing to give up gift giving.
So how can we take all of the not so wonderful things of Christmas and make them a part of the wonder, the miracle and the message? Here’s what I’m trying to do.
First, I’m taking my burdens, stress. irritations, frustrations and worry and I’m putting them in a gift box lined with prayer as tissue paper. I’m not skimping on the tissue paper either. I’m stuffing that box full until it pretty much overflows. Tissue paper is cheap. Prayer costs even less.
Next, I’m putting the lid on that box because I know if I don’t I’ll be reaching in and taking those burdens out again and again to rearrange and ponder and carry them around for a while before putting them back. I’m taping the lid down so it won’t come off.
Then I’m pulling out the most beautiful wrapping paper I can find and covering that box with it because I want it to be visibly worthy of laying at the feet of Jesus. I want Him to know I’m serious about handing it over.
And the next thing I’m doing, after I walk away from the box, is pulling out every bit of kindness and gentleness and generosity I can find in my clothes closet and that’s the outfit I’m wearing today and tomorrow and hopefully beyond this weekend so I can bring the missing joy, peace and love to those around me.
Because I’m learning the lesson of Christmas. God knows the pressure. He is aware of the demands on my time. He understands the things that make my heart heavy and my tears flow. But He set the Star of Bethlehem in the sky to show me the way to the Son of God in the manger and allow me to discover the truth of Christmas.
It’s putting my trust in the Baby who became the Savior,
so I could travel from the Manger to the Cross,
and let Him come from Heaven to my Heart,
to make peace where there is none, to bring joy where there is sadness, and to give hope when things appear bleak. He gave Himself to me and I’m paying it forward.
This morning I looked out my office window to see the first deer of the season snacking on a big birch tree just a few feet away. Gentle, graceful creatures with soft gray hides and inquisitive eyes, they always brighten my day. I am blessed to work in a facility that is surrounded by meticulous landscaping, about a hundred trees and a scattering of wildlife that often frequent the area. As pleasant as the arrival of deer is, the sad thing is it signals the nearness of winter.
Winter is not my favorite season by a long way. I hate being cold. But winter scenery is another matter. I do love the beauty of billowy clouds, snow on the evergreen, even the bare tree branches against an azure sky. I love the first sign of twinkle lights in windows and the first sound of Christmas carols on the radio.
What I don’t like is coming to work in the dark and leaving work in the dark. I vote against bitter wind, sleet and below zero temperatures. I’d like to ban storms or at least limit their visits to when I’m already cuddled in front of the pellet stove with a cup of hot chocolate and a good book.
Alas, every season, every activity, every hobby contains the good parts and the bad parts. I’m a writer. It’s what I love to do. I love the light bulb burst of a new idea and I love the furious flow of words from my brain to the paper or computer screen. I don’t love writer’s block, editing for the tenth time or getting to the middle of a great manuscript and finding myself at a loss of where to go next. If only writing were fun and productive all the time. Or for that matter, parenting, cooking, working, teaching, reading and so on and so on.
Jesus certainly faced the same challenges in His life on earth. I would guess He loved the opportunity to heal but didn’t care for the moments when healing didn’t happen because of someone’s lack of faith. I’ll bet he loved spending time with his closest friends and followers, but hated the moments when it seemed they hadn’t learned a thing from Him; when they questioned who He really was and failed to accept the power in His very name.
Today I spoke with a friend who is really under attack right now and it’s no surprise. She has had a renewal of faith and is on fire with hope, enthusiasm and joy. I don’t imagine satan likes that much. So, he’s out to shake her up. She’s finding herself in the not so likeable part of the Christian walk. It’s a reminder that there’s work to do to stay focused and motivated through the ups and downs of life. Here’s the workout program. Repeat as often as necessary until you feel those spiritual muscles bulging.
1) From a kneeling position, inhale deeply, exhale and pray. Pray early, pray late, pray always. Pray when it’s going well and when it’s not. This will build strength within.
2) From a sitting position, lift your Bible as often as possible and read. This will strengthen your mind and your resolve.
3) Spread your arms wide and reach out to others. This will strengthen your commitment and build your confidence.
4) Ask others to join your fitness club. Ask them to pray with you, talk with you, share with you, commiserate with you and praise God with you. This will build up your joy and inner peace.
And remember this – if you weren’t on the right path, satan wouldn’t pay you a bit of attention. He doesn’t care what you’re doing as long as you aren’t doing what God wants you to do. He doesn’t have a plan for your life. He just wants to make sure you aren’t following God’s plan for your life. A good exercise program like the one above will keep him from achieving his goal.
You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord Himself is the Rock eternal. Isaiah 26:3-4
message on abundance. Beautifully written, it is the story of the hungry household where there is a constant want for more and the contented family in the marvelous mud house. It’s about discovery and joy and looking beyond yourself to see a greater need.
fast but truly valuable read.
![bth_MarywithBabyJesus[1]](https://i0.wp.com/climbingoutofthevalley.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/bth_marywithbabyjesus1.jpg?resize=280%2C210&ssl=1)
It’s 4:00 a.m. on Christmas Eve and I never expected to be so heavy on this day with the things that are weighing on my heart. I’m not the only one I know. So many are facing much greater burdens and much greater life challenges. This season of joy and love and peace doesn’t always live up to it’s reputation, does it? 
