The Sunday Salon

My Sunday Salon is being posted on Monday morning!
In the past week I've read all of 2 Chronicles in the NASB MacArthur Study Bible.

I'm steadily packing non-essential things. I'm also getting ready for a garage sale this next Saturday, and I'll be glad to have that behind me. The attic is cleaned out. I'm going room by room and sorting through things, discarding some, giving some away, packing some, and sending some stuff to the garage for the sale.
Our 5 year old grandson Dawson had a stomach virus most of the weekend. Son David is well from the flu and pneumonia.
My husband Jeff is almost back 100% after his concussion earlier this month.

I have 2 book reviews coming up soon: The Place of Belonging by Jayne Pearson Faulkner and The Swiss Courier by Tricia Goyer and Mike Yorkey.

I'm also working on another post about Christian fiction. The theme will be what is Christian fiction, what is the purpose of it, and the goal or mission of it.

Blissful Blogging!
Annette

The Sunday Salon

Good Morning!
My husband is still recuperating from post concussion syndrome. Although he is better, he is at about 60-70% back to normal. He went back to work last Monday; he is a working manager and this problem makes it difficult to perform many duties, often he has to just take a break to collect his thoughts.
We put our home up for sale last Monday, we have had a few to make appointments to look at our home.
I am beginning to box up non-essential items such as books, my shelves are empty and look quite sad. Next I'll tackle the tchotchkes and things in my china cabinet.
I'm also preparing for a garage sale I'll have soon. 
This past week I read 2 Chronicles in the NASB MacArthur Study Bible.

Blissful Blogging!
Annette

My Two Cents on Christian Fiction

Over @ My Friend Amy the author of this blog wrote a post, What Can Be Done About Christian Fiction? Part One.
http://www.myfriendamysblog.com/2011/01/what-can-be-done-about-christian.html#idc-container
The article that she wrote was interesting, intriguing, thought provoking. The comments that people wrote contributed positively to the article.
Amy wrote that there are 2 camps in Christian fiction.
Camp 1---clean fiction. There is "no profanity, no explicit sex, and characters that are ennormously likable and while they may fail, they do not cross certain lines."
Camp 2---fiction that is more gritty, more real. This group wants their books to be more realistic, thought provoking, showing life as it really is in raw descriptive detail.
It appears that clean fiction books make some Christian readers feel that they are being snubbed because of the wholesome scrubbed clean stories.
Some Christians refuse to read Christian fiction because they feel it is boring, out dated, not as life really is.
On the other hand, some Christians refuse to read anything that might would cause them to fall in to sin themselves. These people have strong boundaries in what they will read or watch on television.
Amy felt that there should be branding on the books to give the readers a better idea of where the book falls, so that the reader will know how conservative the book is. (I guess conservative is the right word). 

My thoughts.
First, I think it will be impossible to please both camps of people, and frankly there is probably more than 2 camps of thought. It all is based on what the Christian believer believes about where their boundaries lie. For instance some Christians drink alcohol, they see nothing inherently wrong with having a glass of wine occasionally. Some Christians drink alcohol daily, a beer after work, they too see nothing wrong with this. Then some Christians choose not to drink any alcohol at all, and some of them are judgmental to those who do drink alcohol. It will be impossible for these groups of people to come together as one accord. Each believes they are in the right.

Second, we have to ask ourselves why do we have Christian fiction?
So that Christians will have books to read where they will not have to read about the "worlds" behavior.
As a Christian we have to live in the world, but we don't have to spend money to read more about it in grave detail. 
And I believe so that Christian's can in some way learn something both edifying and uplifting. (Even in giving this reason there are some reader's that just want mindless entertainment).

I read books from both camps.
I call the first camp "bubble gum reads". This means the book has a little flavor and a little bit to chew on, but not a strong flavor and the chewing eventually gets boring. Some of these "bubble gum reads" are lighter on the flavor and chewing than others.
The second camp of books I call "plucky reads", they are more heart pounding, they have a gnarling storyline such as a murder or addiction, they have at least 1 character that is alluring in an evil kind of way.
In this camp there are some authors that push the envelope a little bit more by using sensuality--such as in the book Havah by Tosca Lee. In this book the sensual exotic intoxicating love between Adam and Eve was phenomenal to read.

I believe most readers scan the aisles at a book store or on-line such as at Amazon, not really aware of the books content or if the book will be a good read.They take a chance, not really taking time to read the front and back cover of a book, nor various sections in the book to see if they'll like it. People are busy and rushed.

Amy brought up before in a post about the front covers of books.
I too have noticed on Christian book covers all the women and on a rare occasion men, are all beautiful---visually stimulating. I know it is the publisher that chooses these covers based on sales, sales, sales. To me this is nothing different than secular magazines that have airbrushed models that are only about 1% of the population.

In conclusion Christian fiction is evolving, it has come such a long way from the beginnings, and I feel that it will continue to evolve in to a notable genre of books.


Blissful Blogging!
Annette

Book Review: The Search, Lancaster County Secrets Book #3 by Suzannne Woods Fisher

Link for the book @ publisher:
http://www.revellbooks.com/ME2/Audiences/dirmod.asp?sid=0477683E4046471488BD7BAC8DCFB004&nm=&type=PubCom&mod=PubComProductCatalog&mid=BF1316AF9E334B7BA1C33CB61CF48A4E&tier=3&id=C968715B88314138B5ED29FC19E00BC6&AudId=3A331F1790B648FCA5C3F7C4D716D054
Paperback $14.99

Link for the book @ Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Search-Novel-Lancaster-County-Secrets/dp/0800733878/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1295477403&sr=8-6
Paperback $9.07
Kindle Edition $8.62

Link for the book @ Christian Book:
http://www.christianbook.com/the-search-lancaster-county-secrets/suzanne-fisher/9780800733872/pd/733872?item_code=WW&netp_id=805685&event=ESRCN&view=details
Paperback $8.99
eBook $9.69



Published by Revell--a division of Baker Publishing Group on January 11, 2011/304 pages
Fiction/Amish/Romance/Forgiveness/Redemption

This book was provided to me for free by Litfuse and Revell for reading/review.

For more reviews on the previous books of Lancaster County Secrets:
The Choice
http://awell-wateredgarden.blogspot.com/2010/02/review-choice.html
The Waiting
http://awell-wateredgarden.blogspot.com/2010/10/book-review-waiting-by-suzanne-woods.html

Author's blog:
http://suzannewoodsfisher.blogspot.com/

Author's website:
http://suzannewoodsfisher.com/

Bertha Reihl is the owner of Rose Hill Farm in Stoney Ridge, Pennsylvania. Bertha is a widowed Amish woman living alone. She has a son Jonah that lives in Ohio with his teenage daughter Bess. Bertha tells her son that she needs Bess to come stay with her during the summer. Bess and Bertha are virtually strangers, never having built a close relationship. Bess is not happy to be spending her summer away from her father and with a grandmother she hardly knows. Bess is not at Rose Hill Farm long when she finds out that her grandmother's story about needing her to come because she was recovering from a surgery, was not entirely correct. Shortly after arriving Bess meets a handsome boy named Billy Lapp that is working for Bertha at her farm, the farm becomes much more interesting with Billy there. Bertha and Bess pay a visit to a bakery called The Sweet Tooth, where a young woman named Lainey O'Toole works. Lainey is famous for her cherry tarts. It is apparent on this visit to The Sweet Tooth that Lainey and Bertha have a past, and this past will become the main focus in The Search.

Bertha is the opposite of what I would expect in an Amish woman. Shame on me for thinking that all Amish women are dainty, meek, gentle and mild. Bertha is extremely tall, direct, opinionated, assertive, and loves to drive her buggy fast and take sharp turns. Bertha is a cherry tart herself! She has a kind and sweet heart, but a little tart around the edges!
I loved it that the author created a character that is complex and surprising!
Bess is a lovely young Amish girl, yet there is a hint in her personality of grit and determination.
Lainey is a young woman with a plan for her life, she becomes side tracked she thinks because of a broke down car----but it was not a fluke, it was apart of His plan.
Lainey is a lovely young woman with a quiet steadfast spirit.
These 3 women of differing ages, each with strong personalities, yet each of their personalities are expressed in different ways and add depth and intrigue to the story.
In The Search forgiveness and redemption is told through characters that are not just Amish, but they are people too. They are people that have problems in life just as we all do. They have feelings of injustices and forgiving others, they have emotional problems and addictions, they work hard to put the past behind them and rebuild their lives.
I feel that we can have misconceptions about races, religions, and cultures of other people. Amish are an enigma in American society, what little we know about them is mostly a stereo-type. We forget they are human just as we are. The difference is they wear their Christian beliefs more outwardly, not just inwardly.
I loved this book and have greatly enjoyed this series, The Lancaster County Secrets.


Blissful Reading!
Annette

Semifinalists Announced for Operation First Novel

Semifinalists Announced for Operation First Novel

Missy Buchanan Author and Advocate For Senior Adults

Q&A with Missy Buchanan

 

Even when age creeps up on the body and mind, and life changes from what it once was, is it still possible to have a purpose in life?  When it is no longer possible to venture out and do the things you once loved, can you still find a reason to look forward to each day?  Missy Buchanan, a leading expert and advocate for senior adults, believes that you can.  Buchanan wants to encourage older adults to find their purpose, share their stories, and make an impact on those around them.

 

Q: What made you decide to start ministering to and writing books for older adults?

 

Well, as a middle-aged adult, I never had any intention of becoming an author of books for older adults.  But because of the journey that my own aging parents were on, I realized how they had become disconnected from their church as their lives changed.  They started off as active older adults and then that circle got smaller as they had more needs and physical limitations.  As I would visit them at their retirement community, I would also see so many others that were just like them.  They needed spiritual encouragement.  And so that’s why I got started.  The first book began as a project just for my own parents.  I wrote devotions and kept them in a loose-leaf notebook.   But others started asking for them and things just spiraled from there.

 

Q: What do you think children need to know about their aging parents?

 

What I realized personally was that I had been so caught up in my parents’ physical needs that I had neglected their spiritual needs.  They were no longer connected to their church, at least in regular worship attendance, and that had been such a huge part of their lives.  I almost made that mistake of just totally missing that, and that was the point where I began to write.  I looked and there were other books written about older adults but not very many that were written to them and for them.  So the first thing I would tell their children is to pay attention not only to their physical needs but also to their spiritual needs.

 

Q: What is your opinion about role reversal with children and their aging parents?

 

I hear the whole idea of role reversal where the older parent becomes a child and the grown children become the parent, and I understand what they are talking about because my own parents became more dependent on me.  But I think that when we refer to it as a role reversal, and we begin to think of our aging parents as children, we strip away their dignity.  We rob them of respect and we overlook the fact that they are not children.  They have had a lifetime of experiences that a child has not had.  And I think that is an important difference that grown children need to think about and pay attention to.  It’s more of a role shift in responsibilities and not a role reversal.  I know how much it hurts an aging parent to feel like they are being treated like a baby or like a child. 

 

Q: Other than aging adults, who else has benefited from your writing?

 

A friend of mine in an assisted living facility asked me to bring some books for one of her tablemates.  Her tablemate explained that these books were for her adult children.  “They don’t understand what it feels like to grow old, and I can’t seem to make them understand, but your books say it better than I ever could.”  My books are all written in the first person as if an older adult is speaking directly to God.  There are a lot of adult children that are buying them for themselves and older adults buying them for their grown children. 

 

And I’ve heard of different youth groups that have been reading my books in order to better understand what it’s like to grow old.  Instead of just mocking their older peers, they are learning that they share a lot of the same feelings—feelings of insecurity, feelings of fear.  As a result of reading the books, one youth group in Tennessee has even adopted the residents of the senior living center across from their church. 

 

Q: How can faith change our idea of growing older?

 

So many see aging as a punishment, and they dread it so much.  But even though it is difficult to be limited by an aging body, they need to look at it as a gift that God has given them.  They still have so much to give.  They have great wisdom to share and stories to share.  I always tell my older friends that their story is not yet over.

 

Missy Buchanan is the author of Talking with God in Old Age: Meditations and Psalms and

Living with Purpose in a Worn-Out Body: Spiritual Encouragement for Older Adults (Upper Room Books).

 

Click here to watch Missy Buchanan’s recent interview with

Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts and Roberts’ 86-year-old mother.

 

Visit Missy Buchanan’s website, www.missybuchanan.com, and blog, http://missybu.wordpress.com/.

Become a friend on Facebook (Aging and Faith) and follow on Twitter (MissyBuchanan).

 

 

 Talking with God in Old Age: Meditations and Psalms

 

In Talking with God in Old Age, Missy Buchanan sensitively address the worries, fears, and frustrations of older adults and extends hope, encouraging them to maintain an open dialogue with God. Each reading features:

·         A candid conversation with God

·         A related passage from Psalms

·         Easy-to-read print

 

Seniors grappling with the aging process will readily identify with these reflections and will find reassurance of God’s Presence. Caregivers, family members, and others seeking to understand aging loved ones will gain insight into the thoughts and emotions of the elderly frail.

 

Living with Purpose in a Worn-Out Body: Spiritual Encouragement for Older Adults

 

Birthed out of real-life experience, Living with Purpose in a Worn-out Body is a big does of authentic spiritual encouragement for frail elderly who struggle to find purpose a the end of their lives. These devotionals addressed to God raise in prayer the many concerns of the frail elderly and provide opportunities to reminisce and reflect on their blessings.

 

Each devotional offers the following:

·         Easy-to-read print

·         Reader-friendly format

·         Comfortable, nonacademic language

·         A first-person address to God

·         Brief supporting scriptures from the New and Old Testaments

Looking Back and Looking Ahead

I spent much of this afternoon cleaning up a file folder that holds post it notes, torn strips of paper, and a college ruled notebook. Written on each paper is blogs and websites that I've come across in the nearly 4 years of blogging I've done. Many of the blogs and websites I looked for are gone, vanished. I guess blogger's come and go. Life changes and takes us to other preoccupations and duties. Blogging is certainly not something that we are paid to do (well I'm not aware of anyone that is paid). Blogging is more than a hobby, more than just something to do till something else comes along. To me blogging is an outlet to express my feelings about what I've read; but going a little deeper, blogging is a way for me to reach out in ministry to others about what the Holy Spirit has revealed to me in my readings. I'm not planning on leaving blogger sphere; I do know this year will be full of additional duties for me----we are putting our house on the market to sell tomorrow. I have lived with and cared for my dad since July 4, 2002. Most of this time has been spent apart from my husband because he worked in another city. We would only see each other on the weekends and on holidays. My dad has finally agreed to sell and move (I've tried to talk to him many times over the years about the situation and that it can't go on). We will sell his home and we will buy a home in the city my husband works in. This is an answered prayer! An answered prayer that took many years of patience until answered. At times I questioned my sanity in taking care of daddy and living apart from my husband. My husband has also been in full agreement about us caring for dad. Since July 4, 2002: my mother after living in a nursing home nearly 6 years and having Alzheimer's 18 years died March of 2008, our son David was deployed twice to Iraq, David married, 2 grandchildren were born, younger son Paul graduated from high school and started his career, I had breast cancer and reconstruction surgery, my husband had 2 surgeries and 3 hospitalizations, 3 job changes for my husband, several surgeries and additional health problems for my dad. I do not believe that it was a fluke that all of a sudden on December 27, 2010 dad was finally in agreement about relocating so Jeff and I can live together as husband and wife. I feel that during this "season" the Lord has been at work in all of our lives and what we've gone through has been apart of His plan for us, His plan and of course His timing. Sometimes we're not given a reason for why things go as they do and I'm okay with that, but I do feel that the Lord has been at work molding us in to the image he would have us be and that is what it's all about. It's about surrendering our lives over to His leadership no matter the cost. I could not begin to tell you the many times that the evil one would blast my mind with a pity party on focusing on those things that I'd given up, at times it was exhausting not to mention annoying. Perseverance and surrendering over and over again to the Lord was something I did daily, sometimes several times a day. I have no idea how long it will take to sell this home nor what future home we will eventually live in, but the Lord knows and I'm trusting and relying on Him. Even though "this" season maybe coming to an end, there will be other seasons---but I'm not alone to tarry along in my own strength.
My faith rests in Him and it is on Christ the solid rock I stand.



Blissful Blogging!
Annette

The Sunday Salon

I took my husband Jeff to the doctor on Thursday January 13. He had the staples removed from his head and is released to go back to work Monday January 17. Thank you for your prayers!

This past week I read 1 Chronicles and Isaiah chapters 34-35 in the OT, and I finished reading Romans in the NASB.

My Scripture memory verse for Siesta Scripture Memory Team is,
"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all."
2 Corinthians 4:17 NIV

Blissful Blogging!
Annette

The Sunday Salon

My husband had an appointment this afternoon to see a doctor about removing the staples out of his head and to get a release to go back to work. We just got a phone call that the doctor did not show up for work today. I feel that Jeff needs to stay home a couple of more days, he tires out easily. I am thankful that he is getting better.

It started raining last night and the temperature is still dropping, 41 now (which is the high for today) and 28 tonight. We are not expecting the wintry mix or snow that other parts of the south are getting. I'm hoping the rain will clear up by this afternoon, my son Paul needs to drive back to Fort Worth.

Many of you know, but I have lived with and cared for my dad for 7 1/2 years, all but 1 of those years have been apart from my husband. My husband Jeff works in another city and is with me on the weekends.
I have in the past tried to talk to dad about this arrangement, that it just can't keep going on and on.
On December 27 my dad decided that he wanted to continue to live with us, but that we would put his house up for sale and relocate to Fort Worth where we all can live together under 1 roof!
This is an answered prayer! I've prayed about this since 2002. I've been patient and have waited on God's guidance and direction, often doubting my commitment to this mission of caring for my dad. It has been a long journey with many tears shed and a lot of surrendering to the leadership of the Lord. I have a wonderful loving husband that has loved my parents as if they were his own. I would never have cared for dad if Jeff had not also been equally committed.
I had also helped to care for mother, she died March 2, 2008.
I first started caring for my parents in 1990, by the late 90's I was at their home nearly everyday. I moved in with dad July 4, 2002.
Pray about our current house that it will sell at the right time and pray for a new home. I feel confidant that the Lord is in control of this and He is going to handle it all! Pray that I will rest in Him.

I have 4 books that I will read this month for review:
The Place of Belonging by Jayne Pearson Faulkner
How to Write for Kids Magazines While Working on a Debut Novel by Vickie H. Moss
The Search by Suzanne Woods Fisher
Jesus in the Present Tense, The I Am Statements of Christ by Warren W. Wiersbe

This week I read chapters 1 through 9 in Romans in the NASB MacArthur Study Bible. 

2011 Bible Reading Challenge

Becky @ Operation Actually Read Bible has a great challenge for this year!
To read her post on this challenge:
http://operationreadbible.blogspot.com/2010/12/operation-deepen-faith.html

The first part of the challenge is for us to study 1 book of the Bible this year over what she calls a period of time. Meaning it might be to read 1 book of the Bible in 3 different translations, or maybe 6 different translations, or maybe even 10 different translations, or if a person is willing 14 different translations.
The second part of the challenge is to read theological books.

My goal for this year is to read the book of Romans 10 times in 10 different translations (1 per month which will take me through October). I have already started by reading Romans from the NASB--New American Standard Bible--my Bible is the MacArthur Study Bible 2006.
The other translations I have chosen (all from my own bookshelves):
NIV--Zondervan NIV Study Bible 2008
ESV Study Bible 2008
KJV a 1945 printing, but of course the KJV was first printed in 1600
NKJV
Common English Bible 2010
NLT The Transformation Study Bible 2009 editor is Dr. Warren Wiersbe
Amplified Bible 1987
The New Testament in Modern English by J. B. Phillips 1962
The New Testament an American Translation by Edgar J. Goodspeed 1951

The 2nd part of the Operation Deepen Faith Challenge is to read theological books:
I have chosen 5 commentaries (so far) on the book of Romans. I will space out the reading of these books over the 2011 year.
They are (all from my own bookshelves):
Wuest's Word Studies, Romans In The Greek New Testament For The English Reader by Kenneth S. Wuest
St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans a Devotional Commentary by W. H. Griffith Thomas D.D.
The Letter to the Romans by William Barclay
The Epistle of Paul to the Romans by F. F. Bruce 1982
Commentary on Romans by Martin Luther translated by J. Theodore Mueller 1954

This is a big challenge for 2011 and because of this I have decided to change up what my Bible reading will be. I will finish reading the OT books I did not complete last year which were:
1 and 2 Chronicles, Job, Psalm, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel. Then I will concentrate on reading and finishing the NT.
I am really excited about studying Romans this year, I look forward to what the Lord will teach me through this reading challenge.

I also have a 2nd challenge that I am also involved in.
To read more about this see Beth Moore's blog post @
http://blog.lproof.org/2010/12/siesta-scripture-memory-instructions.html

This challenge is to memorize Scripture.
Memorize 1 verse for the 1st of every month and another for the 15th of every month for a total of 24 verses memorized in 2011. 
The name of the group is the Siesta Scripture Memory Team.
My goal for January 1 and 15 is to memorize 2 Corinthians 4:16-18.
I have a new notebook that I bought and I'm writing the Scriptures out and repeating them often during the day.

"Therefore we do not loose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen . For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
NIV

What are your goals for reading the Bible this year?
My prayer is that you will have a hunger and a thirst to read His Word!

Blissful Blogging!
Annette

New Year Accident

I know you are wondering where I am, this week has not gone as expected.
Last Sunday my husband Jeff had lifted the hood on his company truck to check the engine for a miss he thought he heard (Jeff was an automotive technician for over 20 years), he waited a few seconds, then climbed on to the bumper to look inside, the hood came down on his head.
Jeff has about a 2 inch gash/laceration just above his hairline in the center of his head.
I took him to the ER, his wound required 7 staples, he has a concussion.
Each day he gets better, less fuzzy thinking, stronger.
I'm not letting him drive yet, not sure when he'll go back to work.
Pray for his recovery, I feel he is getting better, but we would love your prayers!

Wound pre-stapling.

Thank you.
Annette