The Signs and Wonders Movement -- EXPOSED

This is a book report I did as part of a Spiritual Life assignment at Steinreich Bible School.

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The Signs and Wonders Movement—EXPOSED is authored by Mark Haville, Chris Hand, Philip Foster, and Peter Glover, each of whom discusses a particular aspect of the “signs and wonders” movement/Word-Faith Movement. Haville shares his personal experience as a former Word-Faith minister, Hand about the “Toronto Blessing” and its fruit, Foster about what is really happening when leaders perform many so-called signs and wonders, and Glover about what the Bible says about signs and wonders and their place in the church today. What I would like to discuss further is the character of many “signs and wonders” leaders, what is actually happening at the meetings, how it compares to what the Bible teaches, and some more personal reflections. This is something I was often very suspicious of when I heard about it or saw it on videos, and this book has given me the confidence that what I see is not the working of the Holy Spirit.

First, Haville gives a lot of insight as to who the leaders in the movement really are and what their lives look like. Many of these preachers experience great personal fame and fortune, and a lot of the money raised for them at meetings only serves to increase their personal comforts. Their “seed sowing” teachings aren't benefiting the givers, but serving to line their own pockets. Many claim exaggerated numbers of converts, many of whom are never seen in churches again. Also, Haville noticed that many preachers wanted nothing more to do with ordinary people after their meetings were over. This kind of character and lack of integrity in leaders is enough to raise serious questions among believers. However, many also claim to have received personal revelations directly from God, which are not necessarily supported by scripture. All of this, completely apart from the fact that what they're doing at meetings is merely a performance, falsely taught as the working of the Holy Spirit, is enough to ask if they're really preaching according to God's will, or if they're actually wolves dressed in sheep's clothing.

What is happening at many Faith-Word meetings is far from “manifestations” or “anointings” of the Holy Spirit. These so called “manifestations” are often characterized by people falling over, laughing or shaking uncontrollably, becoming rigid like statues, having visions, or experiencing emotional and physical healings. (Also, interesting to note is that 95% of people have a “good trip” in a trance, but 5% have a “bad trip”, whereby they are often damaged for a long time.) What is actually happening though is stage hypnotism, where the leader draws people into alternate states of consciousness. This is a process leaders have been taught by other leaders, and many don't even know that what they're doing is related to occultic practices and opening people up to dark spirit worlds. The preacher has to be in complete control of the proceedings, build expectation, and create an atmosphere that brings people into trances. Music is a big part of how they do this. Attendees are taken through a process where they are encouraged to empty their minds, not to think, not to pray, not to analyze what is happening to them but rather to “just drink.” In the end, what people experience can all be achieved by hypnosis, and the physical healings people claim are temporary, something that can also be achieved the same way. Also, Haville points out that a lot of modern speaking in tongues is nothing but gibberish, something that can be learned as well, whereas genuine speaking in tongues can't be done randomly at a person's own will. These explanations all make it very clear that this isn't God moving; not on His own, and not through occultic practices.

What the book analyzes as well is what does the Bible teach about signs and wonders and how does it compare to what is really happening. A big emphasis, which I think is very important, is how the Holy Spirit is the primary focus in these leaders and at these meetings. However, the Bible clearly states that the purpose of the Holy Spirit is to testify of Jesus, not of Himself. Also, signs and wonders in Acts were performed primarily by apostles and a few others closely connected to them; it was not common or normal for all believers, nor should we expect it to be today. “We are not called to expect on-going signs and wonders. The sign-gifts were for a very specific purpose and attached to a very specific office—that of the apostle.” (pg. 91) The authors do believe that God still works signs and wonders today, but that they are not the norm and are performed at God's will, not man's. The Bible also never tells people to empty their minds, stop thinking, or stop praying, but rather to pray, be watchful, sober, awake, and to test the spirits. Although there are indications in Acts that it was a significant event when believers received the Holy Spirit, it never tells of people being unable to control themselves, falling down, or laughing hysterically as a result. What I'm not sure of is if I agree with all of Glover's points about how little place there is for signs and wonders or apostolic gifts now. I would not call myself a cessasionist, but I think he brings out good points of what we need to beware of, and I believe that a large amount of the spectacles we see are not actually God at work.

There were some things I personally noted through reading the book that also helped me to see more that the “signs and wonders” movement is not of God. In having to be in complete control of meetings and “anointing” people at their own will, it became clear to me that many of these leaders are seeking to put God under their control, rather than placing themselves under God's control. They want to decide what God does and when. Also, throughout the book, I had to consider what people are seeking at these meetings. Foster explains how people become addicted to the euphoria they experience in their trances and return to meetings, seeking the same experiences again and again. This reminds me a lot of the “high” people often seek in drugs and sex. Could it be that most are just seeking a self-fulfilling “feel-good” experience? And finally, what is noted in the book, and I also see in the Bible is that a lot of people just want a show. They want to see something exciting happen. It's nothing new; people came to Jesus repeatedly seeking signs, but He knew their hearts and knew it wouldn't cause them to believe in Him. I would venture to say that overall, the hearts and intentions of many leaders and attendees of these meetings are just not right.

I would be quick to recommend The Signs and Wonders Movement—EXPOSED. It's something I have long been suspicious about, and now I understand that was for good reason. Many of the leaders don't deal with integrity and they are (knowingly or unknowingly) deceiving thousands of people by telling them they're experiencing the Holy Spirit when really they've been trapped in occultic practices. They encourage practices and produce results not found in scripture, but rather engage in occultic practices that the Bible forbids. The results produced by these “anointings” are not scriptural. Also, leaders seem to be trying to make God their servant, and attendees are seeking self-fulfilling experiences to make them feel good. I'm glad I read this book and now understand what many of these so-called “signs and wonders” are really all about.

"One of the Few" Review

"One of the Few" is the account of Marine fighter pilot Jason Ladd's journey to faith and the belief system he has come to embrace. It follows his story from childhood through college, and well into his adult years, taking the reader to many locations around the globe. Jason recounts his younger years, being passive to the idea of God, until he was forced to think about what he really believed when challenged by his wife. With time and searching, he comes to embrace the faith that he further presents in the his book.

Aside from his personal testimony, Jason uses his experiences to draw comparisons between military service and the life of a Christian. He tackles many engaging topics, including Christians serving in the military, the transgender movement, pornography, marriage, alcohol abuse, and why various worldviews have become so popular. This variety does make for an engaging read.

Jason finished the book better than he started. The first part was less engaging for me. This was partly due to all the military terminology, which I am largely unfamiliar with, although he does try to explain as much as possible. I found that many of his illustrations didn't flow well. He touched on some subjects, but didn't discuss them fully, leaving me with questions. There were also inconsistencies in some details, causing confusion, and some incorrect facts were overlooked.

However, the style did improve as I progressed and the author was more successful in engaging me. Jason shares his beliefs with strong conviction. He is not afraid to share what he personally believes. He doesn't shy away from sensitive topics and chooses to speak up against them, rather than stand on the tolerance fence. The reader is left without a doubt that the author has truly been transformed.

"One of the Few" is a worthwhile read, exploring the life of a Marine, questions about faith, and the answers with the power to change a man. It provides a well-informed perspective on various worldviews and emphasizes the importance of holding to one, as well as teaching our children, instead of leaving them to search for answers on their own. This is a book that will perhaps challenge you to get off the fence and choose where you stand.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author and was in no way compelled to write a positive review.

As posted on Amazon.com.

What Did I Do?: New Accomplishments

The last couple weeks have once again been a busy flurry of activity. I am happy to say that, aside from a few finishing touches, the redecorating in my room is completed and it's reorganized. It's imperfect like I am, but I'm happy to call it home. That means I'm slowly able to return to everyday life again, although it's filled with catching up on a lot of things that have been left behind.

April 30: I tried making myself a smoothie using kefir instead of yogurt. This eliminates the need to add juice or almond milk to thin it out. I discovered that mango, banana, pineapple, and mango coconut kefir makes for a delicious combination.

May 1: Do not attempt to work with wood stain without using gloves. However, if you do try this, and get upset like I did trying to wash it off, scrub your hands and fingers with olive oil. That works to clean them.

May 2: pedagogical: "of or relating to teachers or education."

May 3: Emmer is a type of wheat, as I learned in my devotions in the morning. I also had questions for my mom about how colonies are divided in Mexico, trying to understand names of places and how they relate to each other.

May 4: I recently started reading a great book called Too Small to Ignore: Why the Least of These Matters Most by Compassion International's President Dr. Wess Stafford. It has been teaching me so much about African culture, and is giving me a very different perspective on children. It's a book I would highly recommend.

On May 4, I read about the author's childhood in the village of Nielle in West Africa, and how they hunted baboons:

"Tradition dictated that the smallest child involved in the hunt got the most delicate part of the beast--the hands. In fact, it was a great honor; the little guy would sit there proudly chewing on a hand that looked just like his own except bigger and now roasted over the fire." Dr. Wess Stafford, Too Small to Ignore

May 5: Seeing as it was Cinco de Mayo, I learned that the holiday celebrates the Day of the Battle of Puebla, which occurred on May 5, 1862. It's observed by Mexicans and Americans.

I learned something else I didn't intend to learn. It's what happens when a grease trap is full. Yuck. And I didn't even know we had such a thing at work!

May 6: Back to Too Small to Ignore, I learned how different the culture in Nielle, West Africa treated certain human activities than we do in North America. Bathing, defecation, and nursing babies were done openly. Rather than covering up, it was each person's responsibility to protect the dignity of others.

I also learned a little about the pentatonic scale, which uses only five notes per octave. The hymn "Amazing Grace" is written using only the pentatonic scale.

May 7: I mounted a curtain rod above the window in my room. This took a whole lot longer than it should have, as I read the instructions over and over, and measured over and over. But I wanted to be sure to do the job right.

May 8: I was proud of myself last Friday at swim class! I swam backstroke the whole length of the pool, from shallow to deep end! That meant for "chillaxing" and gloating a little bit, before I attempted to swim back front crawl. That attempt didn't get very far. I'm still getting used to the deep end, where I can't just stand up if I panic and sink. I also found pink heart-shaped sunglasses in a shoe store and tried them on. :)

May 9: On Saturday, I starting reading the Bible in Low German, which I also learned in the last couple weeks is now an official language! It takes some getting used to the written language. And I have realized quickly that I have a very limited vocabulary in my mother tongue.

May 10: riparian: "of or on the bank of a watercourse."

I also heard a story about a girl who planted a seed and grew a 40 pound cabbage, which she donated to a soup kitchen. This inspired planting a garden and using the produce to feed the homeless. You can read more about her story at Katie's Krops. Children can make a difference!

May 11: technobabble: "technical jargon."

May 12: I learned how to ride a lawn mower. I know this may sound pathetic, that I had never ridden a lawn mower before, but as far as I can recall, I hadn't. It was actually really intimidating for me, but I braved learning something else new.

May 13: On Wednesday afternoon, I had the task of mounting a towel bar on a kitchen cabinet beside the kitchen sink. This sounds easy, but it was awkward to figure out how to position myself to get the control I needed with a drill. The solution? Climb up and sit on the divider of the kitchen sink, with my feet in the sink! The job can be done much easier now!

I also learned that a solopreneur is "a business owner who works and runs their business alone."

So, that recaps the last two weeks! It doesn't seem very exciting, but I did try things I would typically avoid or like to pass on to someone else.

What Did I Do?: Red Shoes!

I had an interesting week, although I kept my New Year's resolution a little more low-key. It will likely be that way for the next while, since I have a lot going on right now and it may be hard to get really adventurous in the midst of the busyness. But I will try to be creative where I can.

April 2: Has anyone else ever wondered what Throwback Thursday is all about, or was I the only one who hadn't exactly figured it out yet? I had a bit of an idea because the pictures I often saw on Facebook, but I now understand this social media trend a little more. I found out that "Throwback Thursday is the name of a weekly social media posting trend and hashtag game that users participate in to share and look back fondly on some of their favorite memories--hence the "throwback" theme. In this case, the "throwback" component of a post can pertain to basically anything that happened in the past." (webtrends.about.com) I thought about trying this, but that would mean digging out pictures from the 90s or something. Cute, but naw. At least not now anyway.

Thanks to Anne of Green Gables, I learnt that elocution is "the art of clear and expressive speech, esp. of distinct pronunciation and articulation" or "a particular style of speech." And I learned that "kerwollops" is not a word. While first at Queen's, Josie Pye talks about a French professor giving her the "kerwollops of the heart." An online search led me to believe the author made up the word, since I couldn't find it defined in any dictionary, and anything I found referenced to this instance in the book. But I think the context gives me a pretty good idea of what she meant. 

April 3: Good Friday was a good day, but I was a slacker. While having lunch, I look out across neighbouring yards to see turkeys and other fowl come through the neighbourhood. It really was a sight to behold! There were a number of white birds and I was trying to figure out what they were. Ducks, geese, swans? One was bigger than the rest, and my mom suggested it was a turkey as well. "There's such a thing as white turkeys?! I didn't know that!" Clearly, I do not know my birds. Indeed, turkeys do come in white, as well as dark colours. It reminded me of Staten Island days when I would be driving down the road closer to the beach and would have to stop and wait for the turkeys to cross the road. And listening to them gobble is so hilarious! It often takes only little things to make my day!

April 4: This past weekend, we had another hockey tournament at work, and these are usually accompanied by various vendors selling clothing, pictures, hockey memorabilia, knick-knacks and other items. There was one such vendor set up across from the concession, tables arrayed with lots and lots of leggings, in some very bright and bold styles! But there were certainly none like the leggings being sported by the half manikin standing behind him. And I got one of my CRAZY ideas! I mentioned it to my co-workers, who I fill in on some of the things I've been doing. At a quiet moment, I made my way casually to the table, explained my intent, got a pair of said leggings, and made my way for the bathroom. I would not come out of the bathroom wearing them, nor will I make my photo public. All I will say is that they were black, white, purple, fluorescent orange, lime green and bright yellow. Not only that, but these were the colours that made up a collage of various animal print patterns in diagonal stripes from top to bottom. I don't know how else to describe it. They were intense! This was my first time trying on them tight leggings that are so popular now.

However, I did feel like I owed the vendor for my experiment. I decided that I wouldn't mind having a pair for a few purposes, and realized that they could keep my legs nice and warm at the beach the next morning. So I did go back and buy a solid black pair. These were different. I don't intend to wear them on their own as pants, but upon trying them on at home, I understood why many girls do. They are way comfy! And part of the fun in doing stuff like this is having fun writing about it later. :)

April 5: This Easter Sunday, I got myself out of bed way early to attend my first Easter sunrise service on the beach with my church.

April 6: Again, thanks to Anne Shirley, I now know what a chaplet is. Sort of. I think. There are a few definitions for the word "chaplet." It can be "a wreath or garland for the head" or a string of beads, similar to a rosary, used for prayers, among a few other definitions. I think Anne was likely referring to a wreath, especially since she isn't Catholic. 

"But Anne, with her elbows on the window sill, her soft cheek laid against her clasped hands, and her eyes filled with visions, looked out unheedingly across the city roof and spire to that glorious dome of sunset sky and wove her dreams of a possible future from the golden tissue of youth's own optimism. All the Beyond was hers with its possibilities lurking rosily in the oncoming years--each year a rose of promise to be woven into an immortal chaplet." --Anne of Green Gables by L.M Montgomery

April 7: Sometimes you just need a pair of red shoes!

I'm not usually this bold, and although I liked the black ones, my first reaction to the red was "Ugh! No!" But I tried them on and went "Heeeeyy!" and thought of the numerous possibilities. So I bought them. I could have fun experimenting with these. I also tried a plain cappuccino at work. I liked that it wasn't as sweet as flavoured ones, but I do like other ones more I think.

April 8: I will talk about another book now. Aren't you all so relieved? I conveniently forgot to look up the words I was wondering about Tuesday night in The Edge of His Cloak by Kevin Abell. Kevin talks about a young man he met during his first year at university, whom he refers to as "the first person in my life I knew to be a 'Christian.'":

"Knowing what I know now about the faith, I often wonder what he would pray about when he knelt beside his bed at night. He should been praying for the hellions that shared his alcove. However, years later, I found out that he was primarily concerned with removing the log from his own eye." --The Edge of His Cloak by Kevin Abell

When I read the word "hellion", it didn't sound very good. And "alcove"? Well, that reminded me of "cove" and this wasn't talking about any water body or anything. So I figured it out today. A hellion is "a disorderly, troublesome, rowdy, or mischievous person." Hellions are also fictional characters in the Marvel comics. And "alcove" just referred to the space they were living in.

This book has been a blessing to me and continues to be to me. If you're interested, I would definitely recommend it.

What Did I Do?: Raw Sushi!

I'm finally back! I got a new laptop, had a busy weekend, and now I'm hoping to finally be able to reorganize and catch up on things. It was a hard week. If humiliation could kill me on the spot, I would have been done last week. I am thankful for grace, even when I lose sight of it and try to keep my head above the water myself.  A bit more on that later, but first, what did I do?

February 12: On Thursday, my whole morning started bizarre. I stole (I mean, ahem, picked up) a shield from somebody's car that had gotten stuck under my car and was dragging along the road, which made me stop on a busy city road to get out and dislodge it. Yeah, that's a mouthful. I also had a Coffee Culture craving for some time, which I don't indulge easily because it's a little more pricey. But I needed to try something new, so I got a Chocolate Chai Latte and a Spinach & Feta Twister. Two lattes and said pastry cost me a whopping $14. It was good, but certainly overpriced. I came home only to discover my laptop seemed like it had finally died. It lasted five and a half years and had given me fair warning that it was in its last days, so I had most of my important files backed up. Even so, such things are an inconvenience. And I learned, never splurge on unnecessary things because I think I'll be okay financially. Always be prepared for the unexpected.

February 13: Working at an arena, I serve a ton of fries with those little wooden fry forks. One of the condiments we put out is malt vinegar. I don't get what the deal is with malt vinegar, or why people want it on their fries. I couldn't recall ever having put even white vinegar on my fries. So, in a little time to breathe, I threw in some extra fries for me and ate fries topped with malt vinegar and a little fry fork.

Rest assured, I don't serve such epic proportions of food to my customers. I merely wanted a taste, lest I shouldn't like it. But I found it rather enjoyable. Then I took the rest of the fries and turned it into a poutine. I don't easily crave it, but did it ever hit the spot. And then my craving was satisfied for some time.

February 14: On busy days, I take it pretty easy. After having some awesome sweet potato wedges and ribs for dinner, I had a "double date" on Valentine's Day. Translation: I took my nephews to a hockey game and they loved it. I'm not sure I've had sweet potato fries or wedges before, but these were certainly the best ones I've had.

Also, just to fluff my day, I pulled out a dictionary. Yay for printed dictionaries when the computer is down.

curare: a resinous bitter substance prepared from certain S American plants, paralyzing the motor nerves, formerly used to poison arrows by Aboriginals of S America, and as a muscle relaxant in surgery

February 15: Sunday was definitely the highlight of my week! I heard a faculty member from Heritage College & Seminary, had a shift a work, and then had a special sushi outing for dinner. I had a Japanese teacher one year in grade school, and she introduced us to a California roll kind of sushi, so I had had sushi like that before. But one thing on my list this year was to try raw sushi. I had never been so excited to eat raw meat!

Of course, I had to take pictures for my readers. I started off with some sort of crab sushi.

This is a spicy salmon roll.

This, I believe, was the spicy dragon roll. This was one of my favourites. The orange sprinkles are fish eggs. They added some texture. So now I've had raw fish AND fish eggs.

A yummy fried tempura shrimp. It was so good I just kept eating. Then I noticed something crunchy.... Don't eat the tail!

I had some of whatever this is too.

This here was as hardcore as I was able to go: a slice of raw salmon on top of rice. I had two little bites of one piece and I was done. I determined I am not ready to brave sushimi, which is just a piece of raw fish.

I even braved a teensy tiny bit of green wasabi.

Fiddled with chopsticks and dropped one of the floor. Had a mango salad, which was good aside from the fact that the mangos were green.

I tried green tea ice cream for dessert and finished with a cream puff and some cheesecake. All that was missing was the coffee.

February 16: pareve: "(of food) being or containing neither meat nor dairy and so kosher for use with either, according to the dietary laws (includes fruit, vegetables, fish, etc.)"

Pareve is an adjective pertaining to Judaism, but does anyone else find that definition confusing?

February 17: I made Garlic Bubble Loaves on Tuesday to go with a pasta casserole for lunch. It was one of the funnest breads I have made. You shape the dough into little balls, and then roll them in melted butter mixed with garlic powder and parsley flakes, then place them in loaf pans. It was super fluffy.

Carbs are supposed to make up the largest part of my diet, right?

February 18: And finally, I was reading Anne of Green Gables on Wednesday, where Anne talks about a piece of poetry that she likes, or rather two lines in particular.

"Quick as the slaughtered squadrons fell
In Midian's evil day."

Anne doesn't know what 'squadrons' means, and it occurred to me that I didn't either, although I had a slight idea. So I looked it up.

"squadron n
1. a principal division of an armoured or cavalry regiment consisting of two or more troops.
2. the basic administrative unit of an air force, usu. consisting of two or more flights.
3. a formal unit in a navy consisting of a number of ships.
4. often jocular an organized body of people or things."


Now, back to one of my thoughts from the beginning. In the midst of a slightly crazy week, this song was on my mind a lot last week. I go to music a lot when I'm down. This is probably my favourite song so far from For King & Country.

"My help comes from You
You're right here, pulling me through
You carry my weakness, my sickness, my brokenness all on Your shoulders
Your shoulders
My help comes from You
You are my rest, my rescue
I don't have to see to believe that You're lifting me up on Your shoulders
Your shoulders" --"Shoulders" by For King & Country

What Did I Do?: New Desk, Snow Head, and The Message

I've had a busy and eventful week. I feel like I've accomplished some things. This post is late because Thursday I found myself without a functional laptop, and then I had a really busy weekend. I'm hoping to get a new laptop this week, but I can't promise my next post will be on time. So my updates may go back a little ways.

February 5: I tried my first bottle of Vitamin Water. I'm not a fan of flavoured water, but this is a little different. I chose the lemonade flavour, which is the most popular flavour where I work. It was pretty good. I'm getting a good dose of vitamins in liquid form for my body to be able to absorb easily. It had a pretty good flavour, but that is because there's also 32 grams of sugar in a bottle. So...you're being healthy, but only kind of.

February 6: On Friday, I finally decided to get rid of the old office desk I was using and buy a new one. The desk I have been working on for the last year in a half was in really sad shape. I had to clean my room and office, and I figured getting rid of the old desk was a good start. One less thing to clean, right? So I took all of it apart, and took all the wood out to the garage. Then I headed to the store in search for the desk I had seen advertised in their flyer. It took awhile. There was one in stock and it was in a trailer, so I decided to buy the product without actually seeing it. As the employee loaded it into my car (the box just barely fitting into my back seat), I asked about how heavy it was. He gave me an estimate of about 60 pounds, maybe more. My next thought is, how am I going to get this big, awkward, heavy box into the house and up the stairs to my office? The box was a LOT heavier than 60 pounds, and after getting it into the house with help, I unpacked it on the kitchen floor and carried the pieces up to my office.

Late that afternoon, I began the task of figuring out all the pieces and getting the frame together. Anyone who has seen me try to use tools and do physical work that requires thinking of this sort would understand the significance of this. Luckily, all I needed for tools were two screw drivers and a hammer. I really wanted to finish it Friday night, but after 10pm and still quite a ways to go, I decided it was best to call it a night if I wanted to function the next day. And when I did that, I realized I had done something wrong with the drawer I had started assembling. Well, for my first time trying to put together a desk, I figured I was doing all right.

I finished it the next night, after working for a couple more hours and getting the drawers put together right. I must say I felt rather proud of myself. I could follow instructions after all...for the most part!

February 7: Aside from finishing my desk, I consulted Knowledge Nuts once again to learn something new. I learned that during the prohibition, the U.S. government ordered manufacturers to put poisons into alcohols, especially those commonly used to distill into other drinks. An estimated 10,000 people died from it and thousands more became seriously ill. That's bad. Just saying.

February 8: Sunday afternoon, I ventured outside into the cold and freezing rain intending to build my first upside down snowman. My determination wasn't as strong as I thought. I'm a wimp when it comes to cold. But hey, "Do you want to build a snowman?"

Well, I couldn't get the snow to pack together enough to build a body. And it was cold, and windy, and icy. So it ended up being a photo shoot with a snow head. Hmm.

"Strawberry lips, shining in the summer sun." It's more than just a song. Oh wait, it's winter.

Does anybody else look at these pictures and want to scream "Wilson!"

And anybody who thought perhaps I was crazy but wasn't quite sure is a little less doubtful now! There are days I'm amazed I don't die laughing at myself.

Oh, and I learned what a pangolin is, although I only learned how to spell it now while writing this. Looking at a picture of the animal, it reminds me of an armadillo. The meat is considered a delicacy in Vietnam and China and the pangolin can only be found in six zoos around the world.

February 9: Monday I braved icy conditions to go to my swim class again. The technique my instructor was determined to get me to master was learning to swim on my back, roll over to a front crawl, roll onto my back to breathe, and roll back to a front crawl. That was not the end goal of this exercise. I think I have to wait until my next lesson to get there.

In the evening, I enjoyed going to visit some friends for dinner and had Brazilian Cheese Buns. These are a unique, gluten free bun, with a nice cheesy flavour. They complimented the tasty soup well.

February 10: On Tuesday morning, I put aside my religiosity and read The Message for my devotions. My response to this is very lengthy and I shared it on Wednesday in my article "You're NOT Hopeless (Despite What The Message May Suggest)". I encourage you to read it if you haven't already done so.

I also had the opportunity on Tuesday to read Fifty Shades of Loved edited by Rachel Starr Thomson. It's a good, quick read that points to a true Love, as opposed to this world's counterfeits. One of the writers shared something that gave me a good laugh and I think it describes the mindset of a lot of single young women.

"I am in distress at all times and in a myriad of ways--I'm broke, I'm lonely, I'm fat, I'm hungry, I can't carry all the groceries, I can't lift my sofa to retrieve my remote, etc.--and I have been waiting for Mr. Save-My-Life to sweep me off my feet, solve all my problems, and make me feel good about myself. I try to put myself out there and let him know where I am and what I am doing based on my iPhone locator. When is that dude on FB I've been creepin' on going to get the hint from my damsel-in-distress status updates?" --Fifty Shades of Loved

Yep, that pretty much sums it up!

February 11: I tried a new recipe for Oatmeal Drop Cookies. They had quick oats, oat bran, raisins and walnuts. They're okay, but not on the definitely-have-to-make-these-again list.

Random note: Now I get excited when I see other people learning something new, or even aspiring to learn new things.

What Did I Do?: Tears, Hormones, and Hair Treatment

It's been another rather low-key week, picking out small things I learned or did differently through the course of my days, although I've had some other thoughts brewing. I'm excited to be registered for the Justice Conference this year in Chicago! I'm looking forward to my mini summer vacation and hearing some awesome speakers and artists. That trip will make for a lot of new things to share.  But for now, what about last week? I've got one month down now!

January 29: I tried brushing my teeth with baking soda. I can be rather picky about my toothpaste when I can afford to be and like to avoid fluoride. Since I was out of good toothpaste, I thought I'd try an alternative I already had. Although I like the idea, it would be hard for me to always brush with baking soda. Aside from it being distasteful, I found it was harsh on my gums. I may keep trying it occasionally, or I'll just find good toothpaste again.

January 30: After a long day, I found this intriguing article again on Knowledge Nuts entitled "The Different Types of Tears".  That's right! There are different kinds of tears for the different things that make you cry! Emotional tears flush out stress hormones, while reflex tears caused by irritants contain antibodies. Tears also have an effect on hormones. The smell of a woman's tears reduces testosterone levels in men. This fact reminded me of the time years ago when I learned that the smell of a man's sweat affects a woman's hormones. Crazy stuff!

January 31: When you don't have a funnel at work, use a slushie cup lid! I can't take credit for this idea because it wasn't mine, but it definitely helped me get more mustard in the bottle, than down the sides, like my initial attempt.

February 1: Sunday morning in church, a footnote in my Bible grabbed my attention. It explained that when LORD was spelled in all capital letters in my Bible, it means YHWH. This was according to a footnote pertaining to Exodus 3:15. I have so often wondered why LORD was often capitalized and had speculations, but never actually knew what it meant. Now I know. I also did a little further research later on and found out that YHWH is the most holy name for God. Jews even hesitate to use it because it is so holy.

February 2: Monday morning, my swim class was cancelled due to a winter storm, and so I ventured to try my hair treatment. I've wanted to try this for years, but never had, and I recently picked up the Bulk Herb Store treatment mix from a local retailer. It's an herbal mix that is to be combined with vinegar or lemon juice, eggs, and olive oil or mayonnaise. It's supposed to repair damage, make hair soft and shiny, and bring out natural highlights. You can use vinegar for red highlights, or lemon juice for blonde highlights. Since I haven't cut my hair since June, it was seriously in need of some help. I naturally have curly, frizzy, crunchy hair that is hard to manage and make it look good, especially without styling products.

I like the idea of red highlights, and although I have a little dark red tinge in my hair, I wanted more. My plan was to do the treatment with apple cider vinegar, although I can't stand the smell of it. But I hadn't gotten to buying some, and I really wanted to try the treatment Monday. I had lots of lemon juice though and I resigned to the idea of going for blonde highlights. In the end, I just wasn't sure I was ready for that and I settled for just using white vinegar instead.

If you ever decide to do a treatment like this, I will warn you: IT STINKS!! The smell of the herbs and vinegar mixture is certainly not tantalizing and it looks like manure. I was on my own to get it in my hair and it was interesting to figure out just how to do that and get it evenly in there. Unfortunately I don't think I had the mixture hot enough, and it dried pretty fast. By the time I was done, I was reminded of a "Little House on the Prairie" episode of what Nellie and Laura looked like when they were done fighting in the mud. That was me. And there were crumbs of mud-like gunk all over the bathroom floor and vanity. I wrapped around plastic bags and a warm towel and waited about an hour before rinsing it out, after which I had to rinse dirt out of the shower. I waited several hours and shampooed it before going to work to get the olive oil out. The smell didn't come out after shampooing it, but by the next day I didn't notice it, much to my relief.

In the end, I didn't get the highlights I was hoping for, although I do have more red shine than I did before. My ends could still handle a trim. Most people wouldn't notice a difference, unless they have been secretly studying my awful hair.  However, it is now incredibly soft, which I love! That crunchy feeling is no more. I haven't tried leaving it down yet and let it dry without product, but I love how soft it is on its own. People may not notice that though, and I can't walk around asking everybody "Ya wanna feel my hair?!!" Well, I could. But that could be weird. I still have enough herb mix for a couple more treatments, so next time I think I'll try the lemon juice and see if I can go brighter.

February 3: I tried a new recipe again. Anyone notice how I really like to bake? This time it was Oatmeal Raisin muffins. They turned out well, but not as great as the ones I baked last week.

February 4: I learned that the goblin shark is the world's rarest shark, according to this Yahoo article. However, I don't believe all the claims they make about this rare deep-water shark.

And I'm embarking on reading the entire Anne of Green Gables series this year, and I started the first couple chapters Tuesday night. It turns out the fiery Anne Shirley has some good insight that's relevant to my goal this year.

"Isn't it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out about? It just makes me glad to be alive--it's such an interesting world. It wouldn't be half so interesting if we knew all about everything, would it? There'd be no scope for imagination then, would there?" --Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery

Literary Mission 2015

So one of the things I would like to do in 2015 is read all my books I haven't read yet.  And that's a lot. I pulled them off the shelf and photographed them.

I have classics, biographies, novels, books on social justice, Christian living and more. A few of them I have read in the past, or I've started, but need to finish.  If I read one book a week, I have enough to get me through the summer, or most of it. I keep telling myself not to buy any more books until I've read all of mine, but that usually doesn't happen, especially when something new comes out, or I browse the book section in a thrift store and can get them for 50 cents.

Last week I finished reading The Locust Effect by Gary Haugen. Yesterday I started reading God's Gift to Women by Eric Ludy. Although I could argue the theology of men being God's gift to women, I won't. Yes, it's written for young men, but I'm reading it anyway. Two chapters in. It's great!

What are you reading in 2015?

What Did I Do?: Selfies, Swim Class, and My First Flute

So my first week of trying to learn, try, or do something new every day has been quite adventurous so far. It's been a challenge already, but also a lot of fun.  Here's the recap of my first week.

January 1
I learned where New Year's resolutions started and shared about that in my introductory post. Later in the evening, I was reading The Locust Effect by Gary Haugen. It's a pretty research intense book dealing with a lot of global issues, particularly the issue of violence against the poor. I came across a number of words I didn't know and looked them up: counterinsurgency, ad hoc, and opacity. Mind you, even though I wrote down the definitions, the next day all I could remember about counterinsurgency was guerrilla warfare. Ad hoc didn't stick. Opacity did. It's when something is opaque. I guess you can't say "opaquity".

January 2
On this day, I was going to go sock shopping, and I thought it would be awesome to get toe socks. They were such a fad when I was a kid, but I've never had a pair. So I headed to Ardene, thinking that would be the sure store to find them. But they didn't have any. Neither did Marks or Wal-Mart. I learned that Wal-Mart continues to disappoint when I couldn't find some of the products I was looking for. I also wanted a beach towel for my swim class and was really hoping for an Olaf or minion one.  Yes, I think Olaf is like the cutest snowman ever and I'm also partial to minions for their cuteness. I'm convinced big eyes, over-sized heads, and cute voices and giggles sell, and not just to kids.  The closest thing Wal-Mart had was an Angry Birds towel. I'm not a Star Wars fan. The Angry Birds one made it into my basket, but I ended up settling for a blue and green crocodile print one that was more adult sized instead.

But I still had to do something new, and Day 2 was coming to an end. As I headed back into the mall and looked at Ardene passing by, my eye caught something. One of the things I wanted to try this year was going to a mall and trying on a bunch of fashions I despise. Go in and search out ugly. And now my eye caught it. (Please don't take offense at my fashion opinions. I'm rather conservative.) I picked up the article of clothing and headed for the fitting room. I chose to consider this my first fitting room selfie, since I still want to indulge in more of this activity.

The tag said "THIS IS FOR YOU". No, it's really not.

Afternote: This photo was not the first one I took, but it was my favourite. It took me a few shots to figure out how to get the one I wanted, and I had to play with facial expressions. :)

January 3
I tried a pomelo, which I bought the day before. I had never had one of these giant citrus fruits before. It's similar to a grapefruit and it's so big, I ate from it for days, with help. The hardest part is peeling the really thick skin. But they're good. I would get one again.

  
January 4
This day was already a challenge with my schedule. I want to sleep a little later, go to church, then I had to go work right after church and only got home from work at 9:45pm. So what I did was, instead of reading my Bible as I usually would, I read the first verse of every book of the Bible and wrote down notes about what I learned. I did the Old Testament in the morning, and the New in the evening after work. I had to check the Table of Contents to make sure I didn't miss any, which was good, or else I would have missed Ruth. My notes are pretty long, so I will share them in a separate blog post later on. I also plan to do the same thing with the last verse of each book.

January 5
It was a freezing, windy, blustery winter morning and I packed my beach bag. Oh yes, that was one cool thing I got at Wal-Mart, on sale for a buck! I started my first swim class on Monday. Swimming was an activity not encouraged when I was a child, but I've really wanted to learn for years. I can't swim yet, but I'm working on that. Since I'm the only one that registered for this class, I have one-on-one instruction. My instructor told me that your eyes don't actually burn from the chlorine in the pool water, but from the difference in pH.

 January 6
Tuesday was an unbelievable highlight and I was able to take a big one off my list, in a different way than I had anticipated. I turned 23 a week earlier and spent the day with an awesome friend. We've exchanged gifts for our birthdays for years. She told me I had take a rain check on my present, since it hadn't come yet. Hmm, what could she possibly be ordering that she was waiting to ship? Well, it arrived Monday and she wanted to get together as soon as possible to give it to me. She came over for supper and I made one of my favourite soups (see recipe here), and made cornbread for the first time. I'd had cornbread before, but never made it myself and had a recipe from a health book I wanted to try, which called for cornmeal and whole wheat flour, as opposed to white flour. A successful new recipe.

It was good, but that isn't what I want you to get all excited about.  This is what I want you to get excited about!

This shiny silver instrument is my very own Andreas Eastman flute! I had this feeling for a couple days that this was what my friend was getting me, but I wanted to be realistic and not be too hopeful. One look at the package wrapped in pretty pink paper told me I was right! I used to play the flute when I was in school, but was never able to get my own and I forgot how to play. It was amazing to put it together that night and play it for the first time. I kept a lot of my music from school, and I was surprised how quickly it came back, although I have a lot of practicing and re-learning to do before I can play like I once did.

January 7
I took it a little more chill this day. I sat down for over half an hour in the morning and worked on learning to shuffle a deck of cards properly, which I could never do before. I'm still no pro at it, but I certainly improved. And I learned that after shuffling cards for half an hour straight, your fingers get sore, especially when you have dry winter skin to begin with.

I also picked up my book The Locust Effect again. This time I learned about how corrupt the New York City police were in the 1890s, and the meaning of the word "pogrom," which is the organized murder of a lot of helpless people, typically for ethnic or religious reasons.


Hopefully this gives you some inspiration and new ideas. If you ever want recipes for anything I post on here, just leave a comment and I'll post it. Try to do something new this week, eat, play music, or whatever. Or just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming . . . .  Now you'll be thinking about Nemo. Hehe. :)

School Reflections on Mennonite Culture and "A Complicated Kindness"

This post requires a brief introduction so you will understand what you're reading. In the last few months, I've been working on upgrading my Grade 12 English credit. In the course, I had to read two of three novels, and write three reader response journals for each. One of the books I chose was A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews, a novel set in a Mennonite community in Manitoba in the 1970-80s. I was intrigued by a book about my culture and thought it would be great to connect to. I did have to meet a few content requirements, but I liked how the format of this assignment allowed me to express my views and write about Mennonite culture, and I decided to share one response journal on my blog.

Having said that, I want to add that I cannot recommend this book. Readers that know me personally will quickly understand why. The more I read, the more disturbed I became and it certainly had an unhealthy effect on me. However, I also appreciated how the author exposed some of the problems in Mennonite cultures and I really connected to some of the points she brought out. I have tried to be as sensitive as possible in detailing these. Please understand that this is a personal perspective and reflects my understanding and experience of being a Mennonite.

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Reader Response Journal 1 for A Complicated Kindness Chapters 1-10

So first I want to vent about how I feel about this book. On a whole, I haven't been impressed. It's a mockery of not only Mennonites, but particularly of the Christian faith. The only way the author can get away with all the use of profanity, including profaning God, is because the story is told from the perspective of a girl who is rebelling against her culture. Having said that, Toews effectively tears down the outward image of Mennonite culture and gets a lot of points about the culture bang on!

While I'm on the topic of my reactions to this book, I may as well expand more. Although I grew up in a different Mennonite culture in a different time, I can understand a lot of what Nomi is working through. I understand that although the characters profess religion and go to church on Sundays, there is a huge youth culture full of sex, drugs, alcohol and rebellion. What happens down at the pits is really not far-fetched. What did surprise me was the author's use of profanity, and particularly using the names of God as swear words. This is generally not acceptable in Mennonite culture, or the Christian faith. The reason she uses it though is to show the Nomi who inside has completely turned away from everything she has been taught growing up, as well as to authenticate characters like Tash and Travis. This was definitely a big disappointment to me, but it does show Nomi's troubled life, as well as the youth culture among many Mennonite groups.

Something that surprised me in a good way was the community's focus on third-world missions, aside from the fact that people are often compelled to serve out of guilt or because of manipulative threats. Depending on the community, this is something that is certainly not always common. In fact, in some churches, actively proselytizing can be very looked down upon. However, on the flip-side, in many Mennonite circles, serving the poor or reaching out through missions is an important way of demonstrating faith.

I don't feel very warmly about the characters. Nomi's a rebel who describes herself as a "sad, cynical pothead." (p.32) I don't find much about her likeable. But at the same time, I pity her, because she, along with her family, and all the people around her are trapped in a religion that is all about dos and don'ts, but it doesn't actually change them. They have the Bible pushed down their throats, but they don't "get it". The result is, of course, misery. I like her dad, Ray. I can't say I'm drawn to her mom, or sister. Travis seems like the kind of guy who will, sooner or later, be most interested in getting into Nomi's pants. Although a little more thoughtful about things, he seems to encourage her increasing substance abuse. I don't like him either.

There are things that Nomi says that really hit the nail on the head, specific ideas and mentalities I could really connect with. "We've been hand-picked. We're on the fast track, singled out, and saved." (p.17) What Nomi describes here is the idea that is common in some Mennonite communities that they're a sort of elite people, almost like a special people to God that will be saved, and everyone else will be condemned. Very wrong, might I add. In Chapter 7, Nomi describes the town she lives in, in relation to the museum village. "It's right next to the real town, this one, which is not really real. It's a town that exists based on the idea of it not existing in the world." (p.47-48) Nomi understands that their community denies the pleasures of this world so they can enjoy the next, but she doesn't know what they will be. She makes a good point here. When having a conversation with her teacher, she hits the nail on the head when she says, "I want to know what it's like to be forgiven by another human being (I was stoned, obviously) and not have to wait around all my life anxiously wondering if I'm an okay person or not and having to die to find out." (p.48) This statement really describes her confusion. In the church I grew up in, and in many Mennonite churches, a common belief is that a person cannot know if they're saved and going to heaven. We were taught that Jesus died for our sins, so we could go to heaven, but that was about it. The rest was up to us. We had to try to live a good life, make our good outweigh our bad, and hope, that maybe, just maybe, we'd make it into heaven. Hell was used to scare little children when they did something bad. If a person claimed to be saved or born again, they were gone off the deep end, and quite possibly rejected by their family. This seems to me to be at the heart of what Nomi can't understand and why she sees their faith as fantasy. It's a "reject-everything-here-in-hopes-of-something-better, in-hopes-we-can-make-it-in" way of life. This is what really saddens me about the culture.

I really appreciated when Nomi said, "Somehow all the problems of the world manage to get into our town but not the strategies to deal with them." (p.52) This is so true. Mennonites are human, just like everyone else, and many of the same problems exist, whether it's drug addiction, alcoholism, depression, abuse, or promiscuity. But many communities do not seem to have solutions to deal with them, aside from discipline or excommunication, which doesn't actually help the people.

There were other little things that made me excited, like chocolate puffed wheat balls. At home, we press it into a pan and cut it into squares. Simple, but always a nice light snack. I got a good laugh when she mentioned how Mennonites stare! Can they ever! Although this is likely largely stereotypical, I can almost see a line of little Mennonite kids standing at the border line of the neighbour's property, just staring! And Knipsbrat, which I learned later was called crokinole in English. I played that as a kid. It was one of those safe, acceptable Mennonite games. Oh, and can't forget the messy, bloody, and smelly job of butchering chickens. Like Nomi, I can't imagine doing that for a living!

What I found interesting and somewhat surprising was that children read Narnia books, and Ray gives Nomi a copy of The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis. This may really vary by community, but fiction books weren't of great value when I was a child, and fantasy in particular can be a controversial genre in conservative Christian/Mennonite circles. Lewis can be a controversial writer, and people have mixed feelings about Narnia. The allegory is probably the main redeeming factor, and that the witch is actually depicted as bad. Personally, I enjoy Lewis's work, but I was surprised that this is part of the education system in Nomi's community.

I also connected to Nomi's love and desire to see New York City, but for a reason totally different from hers. I was never drawn, per se, to big cities as a kid, but in the past year and a half, I spent over 20 weeks in Staten Island. What brought me there was actually the fact that I was a Mennonite. I was volunteering with Mennonite Disaster Service while they were helping clean up and rebuild homes damaged by Hurricane Sandy. I loved being in NY, I got to see different sights, and I loved volunteering with this organization I hadn't hear about before. It also greatly challenged the way I viewed my Mennonite heritage, which I had lost a great deal of respect for. To be quite honest, I didn't even like being considered a Mennonite anymore. But working with other Mennonites in a disaster relief project helped me to see many of the different Mennonite cultures from Canada and the U.S. I also got to know and made friends with people from churches I had little to no respect for, and began to see them differently. I saw that there were people who actually had a genuine, active faith. It did exist among them, even if it wasn't the case with nearly all of them, or at least among the ones I knew. This experience also resulted in something else interesting. I had the opportunity to share my experiences at a number of fundraising and awareness events, and my audience was many times, people from the culture I came out of. Yes, like in Nomi's story, the women sit on one side of the church, while the men sat on the other. It is certainly not the norm to have a young, single woman speak to them! I have often been amazed at the opportunities I had to share with this culture. I am curious to see what will come of Nomi's desire to see New York City and how it will impact her.

The style of A Complicated Kindness is unique and surprising in some ways. It's told in the first-person narrative, Nomi being the narrator. It's effective, because the reader can get right into her head. The story is written free-form, and is somewhat fragmented. Nomi talks a lot about the past, and the past is often interspersed with what's going on in the present. She has a hard time dealing with her mother and sister leaving, and it really affects her life, so naturally, she talks about it. I find that as the story goes on, the focus shifts more to what's happening in the present. However, she jumps from one topic to the next, and many things she talks about are very random. It's almost like the book is Nomi's diary, and she's just writing about her life and what has happened to her.

One thing I noticed right in the beginning was that Nomi speaks about her parents by using their first names, rather than speaking of them as Mom and Dad. This is unusual. Also, the author very rarely puts dialogue in quotations. I wonder why she chose not to do this. Perhaps this is because a lot of the story is just Nomi processing things, or because it reads in many ways kind of like a diary. The author's writing style strikes me as modernist in some ways. She uses assonance quite a bit, mostly when Nomi is talking of riding her bike. In Chapter 8, Nomi frequently repeats "I like to ride my bike" and tells of the places she goes. The author really gets on a roll with the modernist style on page 37: "We'd stand by our front doors yelling stuff like shalom and Faloma and nice aroma let's build a snowma in the dark, we'd just go on and on, in early Menno rap style, until his dad asked him if he wanted a smack. A smack attack jack? Get back on track!"

A literary device used a lot in this book is sarcasm, especially with Nomi being a cynical character, disgusted by her community. There is a dark mood, over the story. Nomi is to a great extent sad and depressed, with a negative outlook on her life and the world she lives in. The author uses wit, especially in the way that Tash responds to their culture and the aspects that make no sense to her, like when she points out they can't dance but they can have sex with extended family members. (p.49) I'm not used to such closely related people marrying, but the girl certainly makes a great point!

I am interested to see where Nomi will end up, and also how this small glimmer of appreciation she has for her community, in the complicated kindness she experiences, will grow or fade.

Is College Worth It? by William J. Bennett and David Wilezol

In Is College Worth It?, William J. Bennett and David Wilezol "expose the broken promise of higher education."  They examine the financial crises caused by student loans, the rising tuition costs, how tuition money is being misused by universities and how many students are often unable to find employment with their degrees after accumulating thousands of dollars of debt. They take a hard look at the quality of education students are receiving and whether or not a college education is worth the investment. Alternative post-secondary educational options for various types of students are also discussed.

There were several aspects of this book that I appreciated, like how they exposed the misuse of student and taxpayer money at many universities to pay presidents and faculty outrageous salaries, offer programs and courses with little academic value, and improve campus aesthetics.  It opened my eyes to how much our culture looks down on blue-collar jobs, when there's actually a great need for skilled workers to fill those positions.  It also points out that classic literature, disciplines and character training are no longer being taught, nor do students learn to effectively write, speak, teach or make decisions.  Tolerance and diversity has become the great mission of many universities, meanwhile identity studies are actually damaging to individuals and societies.

However, despite the positive qualities, I also found the book to be quite boring at times.  I recognize that statistics and numbers are necessary to prove where the education model is lacking, but I think the information could have been presented in a more interesting manner.  Although the book is definitely informative, I don't think a teen considering what kind of post-secondary path to pursue would likely read through the book far enough to make an informed decision. Overall, I would rate this book 3 out of 5 stars.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through www.Booksneeze.com and was not required to write a positive review.

Gods at War by Kyle Idleman

In Gods at War: Defeating the Idols That Battle for Your Heart, Kyle Idleman makes the argument that idolatry is not an issue, but the issue.  He explains how all sin and issues we face in our Christian lives are the result of idolatry and that it's not a matter of if we worship, but rather who or what we worship.  He goes on to examine in detail nine gods that are prevalent in our culture and in the church: food, sex, entertainment, success, money, achievement, romance, family, and me.

Kyle uses a conversational style in his book and helps make his points through stories and fact/research study boxes. He looks at a few gods that are perhaps not often addressed within the church.  I appreciated the Idol ID boxes with questions that helped identify whether or not something has become an idol in your life, followed  by a section on how to replace that idol with Christ.  I did find Kyle was a little repetitive at times.  Some of the stories and humour gave me a good laugh, but there were some points I thought were a little "cheesy."

I thought this book was good, although not amazing.  It helped me come to terms and address some idols that have taken hold in my life.  It provides a good evaluation of which gods may be present in your life if you're willing to look at yourself honestly.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through Booksneeze.com and was not required to write a positive review.

Who Do You Think You Are? by Mark Driscoll

Who Do You Think You Are: Finding Your True Identity in Christ by Mark Driscoll is essentially a study of Paul's letter to the Ephesians.  As the subtitle suggests, it's about understanding our identity in Christ and each chapter focuses on a different aspect of our identity.  He starts each chapter with a story and uses scripture to help the reader understand that we are in Christ, saints, blessed, saved, reconciled, afflicted, gifted, forgiven, loved, victorious, etc.

This book captivated me from the first chapter.  Mark is very direct, his message comes through strong and clear and his words are thought-provoking.  Yes, the book is fairly theological, but not to the point where it's difficult to understand.  It helped me to better understand my position in Christ and that my identity is not shaped by the things I do, but rather that understanding my identity will shape the things I do.

The setup of this book is great.  Mark references a lot of scripture, but he puts the references in footnotes, so it doesn't clutter the pages.  Notes and references at the end of the book allow you to dig deeper into things without them being distracting.  This makes it easy for someone to simply read through or study on a deeper level.

There were some theological points I didn't quite agree with, but nothing that would hinder me from recommending the book to others.  I would definitely encourage all Christians to read it, and keep a notebook and pen handy so you can learn as much as possible.  This could be a great tool to help Christians understand their identity and live victorious lives.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher through Booksneeze.com.  I was not required to write a positive review and the views expressed are my own.

Why Pro-Life?

Here is my latest book review on Why Pro-Life?: Caring for the Unborn and Their Mothers by Randy Alcorn.  This is a short, informative book that the average reader could read in just a few hours.  In it Randy covers a lot of the hot and difficult questions surrounding the abortion issue.  Is the fetus really a human?  Is the fetus alive?  Is he part of the woman's body?  What makes human life meaningful?  Do we get to choose what happens to our bodies?  Do we get to choose whether a baby lives or dies?

He not only covers these topics, but also discusses the effects of abortion on the woman afterward, and the effects it has had on our society.  He doesn't shy away from the circumstances where some believe abortion is justifiable due to rape or extreme medical conditions.  He also shares the salvation and forgiveness a mother can receive if she has had an abortion, as well as suggestions for what people can do to get involved in helping the unborn and their mothers.

Randy keeps his chapters short and concise and his arguments based on medical evidence and research.  It's a great resource for anyone who wants to learn more about abortion and the pro-life view, or to become equipped with answers to the frequently asked and difficult questions that arise with the topic.  I definitely recommend it.

Responsible Single: Keep Learning

One of the things I have greatly enjoyed in my single years is learning after I completed my secondary education.  I have decided not to pursue a formal post-secondary education, largely due to financial reasons, but I have greatly enjoyed learning at home.

When I say keep learning, that can mean several things, and depending on your personality, it could mean something totally different than what it means to me.  For me, it has meant studying literature and working on my writing.  This past year, I became involved with IJM and read several books on justice issues.  I've also started learning more about abortion and the pro-life view.  I consider that a part of my learning.  I'm growing my knowledge and understanding of issues I didn't know as much about before.  For many learning may mean a formal education at a university.  For others it could mean learning a new skill, developing a talent, learning a new computer program, practicing a household skill, or learning how to make something creative whether it's with needles and tread or yarn or wood, or whatever you use.  For some, it may be researching a topic that interests you or even just taking more time to study God's Word.

Unfortunately, my job right now doesn't allow me to do as much learning as I want to.  But when time allows, I have lots of unread books on my shelf, some of which I want to study, I want to work on my writing skills, and perhaps one day I will further study such things as philosophy, political science, justice, or other social issues.  Writing this post is exciting and frustrating for me because it reminds me of everything I want to do and I miss working part time and having the time to do them.

For those of you who have want to pursue post-secondary education but can't afford it, or it doesn't seem to be a reasonable choice, I want to share some things I have found that can be very helpful.  One of the reasons I haven't pursued university is because most of what I would study there I can learn at home at a fraction of the price.  I just miss the opportunity for discussion, having my work graded and getting the credits.  If I want to study literature and writing, I can walk into Chapters or go onto Amazon.ca and buy my education for a fraction of the price of an institution.  But there are also an abundance of free online resources that I began discovering last year.

If you have iTunes on your computer, you can go to the iTunes store and under the menu there's a cool feature called iTunes U.  iTunes U is a great collection of university lectures covering a wide range of subjects, a lot in video and most of it's free.  You can also search for this on some university websites.

Something else I got really excited about this year was when Biola University, a Christian university in California, added a whole section of free content open to the public called Open Biola.  There is so much there I'd want to watch and learn that I could spend months there.  It's awesome that Christian universities are giving back in this way.  We live in a time where so much is available at our fingertips. You don't have to go to a university or even a library anymore. Use it wisely and make the most of it.

It doesn't matter so much what you're learning about, but that you're thinking.  Don't neglect to exercise your mind.  Having said that, use discretion.  Learn about things that will build you up and allow you to build up others.  Spend your time on things that matter and are profitable.  Filter what you're learning through the Word of God so you're not being deceived or swept away with worldly, unbiblical views that sound good to our fallen human nature or wander into things that will cause you to sin.  Let Philippians 4:8 be your guide:

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think abut these things."

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