Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Old Bibles

Where do old Bibles go when they retire?  This isn't a joke, I really am wondering - when you get a new Bible, what do you do with the old one?  Surely you wouldn't just throw it away, but can you give away a used Bible?  Mine tend to get marked up and would be a hot mess for anyone else to try to wade through. 

See, I am not exaggerating.  This is a page from the Bible I used in high school.

Me, I've saved all mine.  (Of course, I save a lot of stuff)

Some are on bookshelves...


some live in my bedroom...



and on the bookshelf in the bedroom, I think there is one more.  Plus a huge family Bible that never comes out of its box.

It is kind of cool to pull them out and flip through and see how God was talking to me at that point in my life.  Also is fun to look through a Bible you haven't used in awhile and see what you left tucked between the pages.  Here are some recent findings from the Bible in the first picture.
  • Inside the front cover: a letter written to me from younger friend when I was going off to college and she was still in high school.  Haven't talked to her in years.  It was surreal to read.
  • My bookmark was in Isaiah 40 & 41.  Guess I have loved those passages for a long time.
  • Between Matthew 5 and 6, a piece of paper with a friend of mine's address (again, from HS youth group) in my handwriting and a personal message from him in his: "Git [sic] a real life".  On the back of the paper: The Beatitudes.  Quite the eclectic mix.
  • In the back, a Christmas card from 50 Watts, my fave youth group leader; a bulletin from the church we visited on the TPCC senior spring break trip; the playbill from a play I was in (I think senior year?); and a timeline I wrote in 1990.  Unfortunately the time line had no future predictions for me to look back on, but very cool to look back at some past events that when I was 18 seemed like milestone moments in my young life.
So, back on the shelf until next time, I guess...

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Chasing Superwoman. And she just lapped me. Again.

Tricia here: As further evidence of my non-supermom/superwoman-ness, not only am I late with this post, but I haven't finished the book yet, even with the extra time.  I've always done some amount of work outside the home, so I was intrigued to hear what this "working mom" had to say.  So far I am undecided as to my opinion of the book.  Will let you know.  (Assuming I ever finish!)  FYI: The article below was written by the author.



Lawyer
vs
Devoted Mommy

Susan DiMickele gives insight to the struggle between “Cathy Career and Susie Stay-At-Home”
Article written by: Susan DiMickele

Who has it easier, a mother who stays at home, or a mother who works outside the home? Actually, I should probably be asking a different question -- who has it harder. Motherhood is hard work, no matter how you slice it.

As a wife, mother of three young children, and lawyer who works outside of my home in the face-paced environment of a large law firm, I can’t even begin to answer this question. Nor would I want to. Based on my own journey and my limited perceptions about what’s going on in the homes of other women, I can’t advocate one path over another or declare that the path I’ve lived is more or less demanding, exhausting, or rewarding. Sure, human nature is such that I always tend to believe that no one understands what it’s like to walk in my shoes, but my self-absorbed pity party is hardly unique.

The short answer is that all mothers work. And we don’t just work, we work hard. Instead of focusing on the differences between stay-at-home mothers and mothers who work outside the home, I often wish we could focus on what we have in common. Shouldn’t the church be a place where we come together?

Let’s face it, there are certain misconceptions about motherhood and careers. And there has been little healthy dialogue about these stereotypes within the church.

What stereotypes am I talking about? I’ll start with career women, since I fall into this camp. (I not only fall into this camp -- as a working mother in a demanding profession who is likewise very passionate about raising my children, I’m the first to acknowledge the constant tension between my two worlds of work and home.)

Cathy Career is selfish. She’s careful not to have more than two children because they might interfere with her success. Her husband is forced to do laundry and fend for himself around the house, and she doesn’t have time to bake cookies or pack her children nutritious lunches, so her family is always eating junk and picking up fast food. She doesn’t have time to volunteer at church (or get involved in a church for that matter) and she’s lucky if she shows up once a year to volunteer at her kids’ school. She’s intimidated by stay-at-home moms because she assumes they think she’s a bad mother -- that she’s putting herself or her job before her family. After all, what’s more important, your family or a paycheck? Her identity rests on what she does outside the home.

Susie Stay-At-Home is obsessed with her children. She takes her kids to “Mommy and Me” classes and spends her spare time making homemade jam and elaborate family scrapbooks. She never buys any new clothes, spends most of her time cooking and cleaning, and she barely gets out of the house -- except when she is volunteering at church or school. She’s a Sunday School teacher and a proud “Room Mom.” She serves her husband like a king and never makes him do chores around the house. She’s intimidated by career women because she assumes they think she doesn’t have ambition -- or worse, that she doesn’t have a brain just because she’s with her children all day. Her identity rests on what she does inside the home.

Do these stereotypes sound familiar? While I’ve never met Cathy Career or Susie Stay-At-Home, it didn’t take much imagination on my part to write about these two fictional women. Yet, in reality, these stereotypes hold little value. I would go one step further and argue that these stereotypes even hurt us, especially inside the church. Why drive an artificial wedge between women of faith who desperately need one another?

In reality, mothers who follow Christ have much in common. For starters, our identity is in Christ. He defines us. It’s not about whether we work or stay at home. It’s not about us, and it’s not about what we do -- it’s about who He is and what He’s done for us.

And when it comes to our children, we’re all on this road of motherhood together. The world is threatening -- even screaming for -- the hearts and minds of our children. As mothers, we’re striving to protect their innocence, teach them about Christ and model a life of faith so they can be transformed, not conformed, to the world we live in. So we pray that our daughters won’t derive their identity from pop culture and our sons will grow up to be honorable men of character. And while we do our best, we all make mistakes, and we know that God’s grace will far surpass our own efforts every time.

Yes, all mothers work. We all want the best for our children. And, as mothers, we really need to come together. What better place for mothers to unite in faith and values than inside the body of Christ?
The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. I Corinthians 12:1

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Be Compassionate

Tricia here:  As someone who grew up in church, I have heard countless Sunday School lessons and sermons on the gospels. Probably have Luke 2 memorized from hearing and reading it so often. Dr. Wiersbe still managed to provide new info and new insight and help me to think about these passages, not just skim them over out of familiarity.  The book was easy to read and would be good for the young or the mature believer. Dr. Wiersbe gives several verse references in his commentary which were great for going deeper into the lesson and text.  Looking forward to reading my next "BE" book!
 
 
 
Dr. Warren Wiersbe Equips Believers to Meet Today’s Challenges
An exciting group of revised editions of the timeless “Be” series to release this summer

The twenty-first century Christian faces unique and disturbing moral challenges that demand a great degree of Biblical wisdom and understanding in order to successfully defeat a tireless enemy. With greater and faster technology bombarding lives with an ever darkening array of moral depravity, it is essential that Christians be able to discern the enemy’s attack and answer God’s call to share truth and light both responsibly and dependably. Dr. Warren Wiersbe’s “Be” series is filled with the timeless truths of God’s Word, and his books will adequately equip today’s believers with the tools they need to reach a world in desperate need of an eternal hope.

David C Cook’s latest additions to the revised “Be” series include insightful introductions by Ken Bough, updated content for today’s readers, as well as new study questions for each chapter. Each of these expositional commentaries incorporate material from Dr. Wiersbe’s “Be” series into a small group Bible study format and focus on a specific book of the Bible. This effectively updated series of books incorporates topics as they were originally presented in the “Be” books.

Be Compassionate: Let the World Know That Jesus Cares uses the first thirteen chapters of Luke to explore the believer’s responsibility to tell the world that Jesus cares about them in a very personal way. (ISBN 978-1-4347-6502-4/softcover/185 pages/$12.99/July 2010