For All those Last-Minute Gifts...

Maybe my new Amazon Store (Mama Szrama's Book Pics) will help you!  This is in tandem with my book review site, and has links to all the books referenced and recommended on that site.  I hope it helps you find just the perfect book for those precious children in your life, whether they're 18 months or 18 years old!

Dayspring Christmas Cards

Most years, I'm scrambling to get gifts wrapped, our yearly newsletter done, and our cards in the mail.  That last part especially sneaks up on me!  This year I feel pretty on my game for once (maybe not working full-time helps?)-- gifts are for the most part purchased, wrapped and already mailed or delivered to our far-away family; and for the first time EVER, our family Christmas cards are done and sitting beside me!!

I've used various photo Christmas card websites before, and most often have designed my own (using PowerPoint or Picasa), saved them as a jpg, and then ordered photo prints through whomever offers the lowest price I can find.  It's frugal, and more versatile than those in-store kiosks with the 7 backgrounds to choose from.  My method ensured I liked what I got (or at least knew what I was getting), but it is rather more time consuming than those afore-mentioned kiosks, not to mention the necessity of purchasing envelopes in appropriate sizes.  I pondered ordering photo cards through the photography studio that did our family portraits this year, just for ease and so they could be off-the-list, out-of-mind.  But the price tag of 30 for $20 kind of deterred me.

I had an opportunity to review some photo cards for DaySpring, and I was very pleased.  Here are five reasons you should check out Dayspring's Studio:

1. ease of access:  no lines, no fuming when the kiosk deletes your pictures.  Log in from your own desk chair
2. ease of use:  the user interface was simple and straight forward.  (The only thing that was kind of weird was getting your pictures put how you want them in your card, but after dragging the pic around I figured it out.  One thing I wish they had was a way to view all the cards with room for ___ number of pictures.  I knew I wanted to put in three particular photos, so would have benefited from that.  Just don't waste time looking for this option.)
3. variety of design:  whatever your taste, you'll find a card that acurately represents YOUR family.  They really have SO many more options than most sites, too; you can do large numbers of photos on the back or the front of your cards.
4. SCRIPTURE!! It's what all those other sites are lacking.  I loved seeing verses not usually quoted at Christmas applied very nicely to different card designs (not hard to do, considering the whole Bible hinges on the events of that First Christmas) 
5. quality of service:  this area has impressed me about DaySpring overall. Our cards arrived promptly, and look nicer than I'd even imagined.  I opted for flat cards, and I love that, while the front has a beautiful matte photo finish, the back is good card stock so I can actually use them as cards!

Disclosure: I received 50 free Studio DaySpring Cards for free in exchange for sharing about it here. The above photos and opinions are my own. 

Guardians of the Vulnerable-- in three links

My esteemed fellow Hutchmooter, S. D. Smith, has posted 3 posts on his blog recently that sort of tie together.  Two are interviews with Greg Lucas, author of Wrestling with an Angel, whose blog I've mentioned here before. One teaser, then I'm done and you should go read the interview:  Greg & his wife are actively caring for the vulnerable, and it is transforming them.  As S. D. Smith put it,

 "He and his wife, Kim, have a household where art is on display. It is a gallery of love, with portraits of mercy and sculptures of grace filling every space." 

Read  Part 1 and Part 2.

The third post is actually a movie review...a kid's movie about warrior owls.  Sound like a perfect date night?  Well, it might!  The movie sounds amazing to a fantasy nut like me, and every review I've read is glowing.  It sounds like this movie goes beyond cool effects and a good storyline.  It has Echoes of The Story all over it, about the strong laying down their lives for the weak; about mockable faith turning to glorious sight; about treasuring the weak things of the world instead of boasting in the strong. Yeah.  I think I'm gonna have to go see that one.

As Promised...

and it's live!! Check out my new children's book review site...http://www.mamaszrama.com/! It's very much still in progress--lots to fix, tweak, and standardize,-- but there are at least a few book reviews, articles, authors & series reviews up (a lot of them from this website, so you'll probably recognize a few) I'm sooo excited about it! Thank you, WebMaster Sweetie!!

Top Ten

Several new moms have put out APBs asking all "experienced" moms & care-givers to give them tips about the top 10 "must-haves" for baby care, through the first year. Here's ours, in order of age used:

1. Wearable blankets-- we had hoped to get use out of our swaddlers, and we did at first (when she slept on her side), but with a tummy-sleeper swaddling just isn't possible.  So, what do you do with a baby who tosses and turns in a drafty old house?  Put her in warm PJs, then zip up a warm "sleep sack" or wearable blanket on top.  Ta-da! Toasty baby.

2. Natural pain-relievers:  homeopathic teething tablets & Tummy Soothers (Disney brand)-- the former is used almost daily at this stage in Eowyn's life, the latter was given thrice daily for the first 5 months of her life. 

3. Ergo carrier-- as a friend commented yesterday, I am their biggest fan, always recommending it to someone. :)  I didn't even bother with the newborn insert, I just stuck her in there all balled up, sometimes in a blanket.  This kept her toasty, too.  (You can also sit her on a rolled-up blanket or towel as an infant).  In church, I've put E in the Ergo forward-facing (cross-legged), which isn't really officially recommended, but which kept us all happy... I've also used it in the side and back positions.  It's got the versatility and long-term comfort of a Moby or Maya-wrap, but simpler to get on and off.  Keeps babies in the upright position instead of reclining like in a sling.  You can't do without this if you have a colicky or refluxy baby!

4. Paci straps-- great if you have a paci-sucker.  This keeps it attached to baby during nursery stays, trips shopping, in the car, in the crib... wonderful especially when your child falls in love with gravity and chucks everything out of the crib.  There are tons out there, but my friend Bethany makes them here.

5. Small "blankies" (blanditos in our family)-- the small size makes them great for diaper bags and traveling, but what is essential is the combo of silky and soft fabrics.  I now make taggy-style blankets with both these elements as my "standard" baby gift.

6. Freezable teething rings-- the old standby also doubles as a great ice-pack for bumps and bruises.  I'm going to put a bonus plug in for the boo-boo bunnies & bears which have plastic ice cubes in them made of the same material as the freezable teething rings.

7. Sophie la giraffe (by Vulli)-- wow, how did we survive without it? Received as a gift at 5 mos, and pretty much constantly sucked on, chewed on, and squeezed until 10 mos.  Totally worth the price.  Her legs, horns, head, and body all are perfectly sized for reaching any sore gum.  And it squeaks easily which makes babies happy.  Just don't give it to an older child or you will go bonkers.

8. Big bibs-- I mean bibs the size of tea towels, that cover more than 6 square inches on the chest... crucial for saving clothes if your child is refluxy or a messy eater!  My favorite is Aden & Anais' "burpy bibs."  They have a snap so you can make them bibs, or they are perfectly-contoured for over-the-shoulder burping!  If you're more DIY, they are pretty easy to make.  My grandma actually made Eowyn several bibs out of towels, and another friend gave me some she'd gotten that were hand-towels with a t-shirt neck in the middle of them. 

9. Mesh feeders- I was kinda weirded out by these when an experienced mom gave them to me, but wow... I understand now!  Once your baby starts teething, these are a great way to introduce solids (steamed veggies are great), provide a natural teething toy, or give teething relief (put anything frozen, like blueberries or banana, or even just ice).  I often give one to E in her high chair as I'm making dinner, and she sucks on it happily without getting too messy.  (I also emply my friends Mr.s Frozen Peas in this quiet-dinner-prep-endeavor.)

10. Raw coconut oil- the only diaper rash cream you'll ever need.  Make a cloth wipe solution for cleaning messy diapers with it and water...cook with it (in place of butter)... use it for chapstick, in natural deodorant, on chapped cheeks... and it has a really light, pleasant smell...

And a bonus that doesn't apply to everybody:
11. For cloth diaper-ers:  a diaper sprayer!!  Yes, I do survive when we're traveling using faucets, etc., but that is so much grosser than just using this in the toilet!

"North! or Be Eaten!" Blogtour...

Ryan & I LOVE Andrew Peterson's music.

We also love children's books. Especially children's fantasy.


So when we found out that we could get both Andy P & Fantasy in one package, we were eager to try it out. Andrew Peterson has recently begun to try his hand at another form of word-art. Not only is he still writing songs; he's now also writing a children's fantasy/adventure series called The Wingfeather Saga. Ryan & I read Book 1 (On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness) aloud to each other in the first year of our marriage, and lent our copy out to as many folks as we could. Book 2 came out ON our second wedding anniversary (August 18th '09), so of course we planned to order and enjoy our own copy. Imagine our excitement when we got a chance to participate in the North! Or Be Eaten blogtour! Basically, we got our own free copy of the book, and then "have to" write up a blogpost on it during this week. Oh, please don't throw me in the briar patch! =D (Although it does sort of feel like I'm back in school with book reports due, lol.)

This series traces the adventures of the 3 Igiby children; Janner, "Tink" (Kalmar), and Leeli. They live, like everyone else in their land (Skree), under the opression of the cruel, venomous lizard-like Fangs of Dang. Their land is also populated by hilarious and fantastic creatures such as sea dragons, bumpy digtoads, horned hounds, and the notoriously awful toothy cows of Skree. While never truly free, at least the children had a loving home in Glipwood Township with their mother Nia and their ex-pirate grandfather, Podo Helmer... until the day when Leeli's faithful little dog Nugget angered a Fang, and everything went downhill from there. Through a series of wonderfully crazy events, the Igiby family routed & killed a whole horde of the evil Fangs, escaped with their lives, and caused the entire town of Glipwood to flee to nearby Dugtown to escape the wrath of the Fangs. They also discovered that they themselves are the hidden, surviving royal children of the lost kingdom of Anniera, a fabled beautiful Isle across the sea. Called the "Jewels of Anniera," they are sought after by Gnag the Nameless, and his plans to seize them are growing increasingly ruthless. Thus the stage is set for this second installment of the saga.

While I heartily recommend the first book to any & all adventure-lovers, this second one is even better! The characters are deepening, the story is widening, and the author seems to be settling into his stride as a writer. While the last book's humor tended to be bold-faced and silly -- at times a bit over the top, in my opinion,-- this book's hilarity is more subtle; interwoven into the descriptions & dialogue more than in (admittedly funny) footnotes-- though fear not, the footnotes are still there! =D One of my favorite of A.P's little tricks is slipping an incongruous adjective into a list of expected synonyms, with very humorous effect; such as the time Grandfather Podo is said to walk away from kissing the crone Nurgabob (his former sweetheart) with a look of mingled "fondness, sadness, and nausea."

Plot Summary
The chronicle opens with the Igiby family in hiding in the monster-infested Glipwood Forest. They've taken refuge in the treehouse castle (my dream as a child!) of the half-mad "Peet the Sock Man," who they now know and love as their very own uncle, Artham P. Wingfeather-- brother to their late father, Esben the King, and the last Throne Warden of Anniera. He is an amazing fighter, devoted to the children, and his spells of insanity seem to be lessening, though he still refuses to explain how he came to have talons instead of hands, and what broke his mind...

Their refuge soon discovered, they are pursued by Fangs, and must make for the Ice Prairies in the far north, where their reptilian opressors cannot survive, much less fight. There is a rumored gathering of resisters up there, and the family aims to join them, with their old friend Oskar N. Reteep, the book-seller, in tow. Their way is frought with dangers, of course, from the army of pursuing Fangs, and the monsters of the Forest itself. However, this book grows up a bit, with the worst dangers no longer being monsters, but rather the twisted of our own kind: people. First, there are the theiving Stranders, who would sooner kill and rob you than ask your name; later, there are parents so desperate that they try to steal any child for the Fangs in the hope of receiving back their own children-- two replacements for every child they have lost; and still later, there are children who have been so abused and downtrodden that all they want to do is ensure that others, too, merely see themselves as "Tools." The Igibys must also confront the mixed motives and fear in their own hearts which threatens to tear the family apart. Most horifically, we learn that the Fangs themselves- and the newer, hardier Grey Fangs, who CAN survive in the Ice Prairies,- are actually creatures to be pitied. (I won't say more on that for fear of ruining the story-- because I want you to go and read this book!)

Themes

So, besides the good story, why should you read this book, or give it to your 9 year old son to read? There are so many life-lessons packed in amongst the creatures, adventure, and humor. The foremeost themes which I noticed are: that of "Names-" duty & identity; family; honesty, guilt & acceptance; and true living (the search for a home). Let me very briefly take each in turn. Again, I don't want to say TOO much, so that you want to go get the book yourself! :)

Names- from the very first chapters, I noticed an emphasis on people's true names. Nia insists on using Peet's real name-- Artham. At first, each instance triggers an insanity attack, but as time goes on his eyes remain clear and he actually seems to be growing back into his formidable self-- the warrior prince, devoted to his brother the King, whom every maiden dreamed of marrying.

Names are tied up with our truest selves; with our responsibilities, our duties, and our identities. Janner, as the eldest Prince of Anniera, faces the task of defending his younger brother, who will be King, and caring for his sister, mother, and even grandfather (though the latter is far from a helpless old man!). Throughout the book, he wrestles with anger and hopelessness over this responsibility. It's a huge part of his character's growth. "Protect. Protect. Protect. Janner was no longer just Janner Igiby of Glipwood Township. He was Janner Wingfeather, Throne Warden of Anniera, protector of the throne, and protector of those he loved. [...] Artham reminded him that royal blood pumped through his veins, royal not just because of ancestry but because of the love of those who had gone before him and laid down their lives for him." (p. 54) During his captivity in the Fork! Factory, what keeps Janner sane and committed to escape is the remembrance of his name. He refuses to think of himself as "A Tool," but reminds himself of his name, and of the responsibility that goes with it: he must get back to his family, especially his brother. This sense of identity & duty not only leads him to escape, but to aim to rescue others, and in the end, to be responsible for his brother Tink's return to his own sense of self.

In contrast to Janner, Tink runs away, resisting the responsibility of being King, and tries to join the Stranders, whose clan leaders are quite UNresponsible. "A clan leader ain't in charge of anything. He does what he pleases, and the rest of the clan has to do what he pleases, too. Bein' a clan leader ain't about having responsibility-- it's about havin' none at all." (p. 116) Tink's flight from his name & duty very nearly leads to the utter loss of his identity; transformed by the enemy, he doesn't know his own name, his own family, or remember his own history. The tale's greatest moment of triumph, in my mind, comes at the end, as one brother's sacrificial love- as he clings to his duty despite all -saves the other, and brings him back to his own name and acceptance of his own place. I love that in this book "being true to oneself" has nothing to do with selfish self-fulfillment at all. It's all about self-lessly serving others, as your identity demands.

Family- This could go without saying, since the main characters are all members of one family. However, it goes deeper than that. The opression of the land of Skree by the Fangs has led to the degredation of the family, and we see that on so many more levels in this book than in the previous. Families are ripped apart as Fangs steal children in the night, never to be seen again. The desperation of the parents of Dugtown is one of the saddest, most touching aspects of the book. The most depraved group, said to be even worse than the Fangs, is the Stranders. These men are lawless, shirking every duty, and one of the things the children notice is a complete lack of family structure. Strander children fear Strander adults, the clan leader turns on his own mother, and there appears to be no difference between men & women.

Honesty, guilt & acceptance- Two characters have pasts from which they are running: Podo and Peet (Artham). Both have to face their guilt and failings, confess them to their loved ones, and both are shocked to find freedom from their guilt in that confession. "[Podo] moved through the days in peace and wonder, for his whole story had been told for the first time, and he found that he was still loved." (p. 321) There is mercy mixed with justice. Artham is completely freed from his insanity once he confronts his failings, faces them, and embraces his responsibility in the here and now. He is actually transformed into a magnificent, powerful warrior... it's a pretty cool scene.

True Living/The Search for "Home"- Throughout the book, Janner wonders where 'home' is now. They can't go back to Glipwood, they are on the run, and even the Ice Prairies hold no safety. He finally decides that the only home left to him & his family is the one where their kingship lies: the Shining Isle of Anniera. Various members of the family- Tink especially- grumble about wanting to go back to Glipwood, to the way things were, and Podo points out repeatedly that they didn't have a truely free life even then. They were always under the fear and opression of the Fangs. This realization spurs the Igibys on to try to free ALL of Skree from Fang control, as they know that without putting up a fight, no one will ever truly live free. Is it coincidence that 'Skree' rhymes with 'free'?

So there you have it-- my synopsis and mini-analysis of the book. I do hope it made you want to read it. :) It's an enjoyable adventure, and well worth the time. There are wonderful snippets of poetic prose as well as outright poetry. Parts are funny, parts make you think, and as always, the creatures are quite something else. This book is more serious in some ways than its predecessor: the children face real losses -even death- and must deal with them; they must wrestle with dangers from within as well as from without; and we see deep consequences for each person's choices. "Don't just follow your heart," Podo warns them, "your heart will betray you." (p. 51)

Me with Andrew Peterson at his most recent Louisville concert

Hey, Beautiful Girl

So I ordered this CD for 2 little boys in my life- my cousin Luke and "nephew" Noah- and have in the meantime fallen in love with it. (I HAD to check it out before sending it on, right?) It's WONDERFUL!!!! I highly recommend it, if you have small children, or if you have children in your home on any sort of regular basis... or if you are intimidated by children and want to learn how to cuddle, romp and laugh with them! I suspected I'd love it, because one- Andrew Peterson's grasps the vast sweep of "redemptive history" (how God has worked in the world since the beginning). Two, he's a great songwriter, so I knew the lullabies would be solid and sweet, singable.Three, he "gets" little boys. His song "Little Boy Heart Alive" is still one of my all-time favorite songs because I love little boys, and he totally captures why in that song. And last of all, after reading On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness (Ryan & I read it out loud together and LOVE IT!!) I knew the CD would be fun! If you've ever listened to his song "Matthews Begats" about Jesus' geneology in Matthew 1, you know what I mean. I have not been disappointed. He's got a song about an action-packed game of tag ("Who's Got the Ball!?"), one with a hilarious twist ("Tractor, Tractor"), and a great one about getting a baby to burp ("Chicken Wiggle"--it starts out "Burp, burp, chicken wiggle! Don't spit up! Don't spit up!"), all sung with such a "straight face" and legitmately orchestrated that it's even funnier!! So, all in all, great CD. Go get it. On iTunes it's $9.99 for a download, which is the best deal I've found so far.

Quotes from the artists (which sort of tell you what the CD is like): "Parents won't want to stick a fork in their eye when they've heard it for the 10th time in a row." -- Randall Goodgame
"It's the first time I've been glad that my music can put people to sleep." -- Andrew Peterson

Surprisingly, the song on this CD that is currently on repeat, bringing tears to my eyes at times, has nothing to do with anything little-boy or fun. It's a lullaby sung by a father to his baby girl, starting off with the desperate lines "I've got you swaddled/and I've got your bottle/ and you're too loud to ignore./ Your mama is sleeping/ the angels are keeping/ so cry no more." That's all sweet, and so true to reality that it makes me smile. Then came the chorus,

"Hey! Beautiful girl! Daddy loves you!

He loves you!

Most beautiful girl in the whole wide world."

All of a sudden the Spirit whispered to my soul "that is how I sing over you." Michael Card says that he thinks God loves each of us "naively;" like a lover who knows the beloved is unique and precious; like He said of Job "there's no one like him!" We know from Zephaniah that "The Lord your God is in your midst, a Mighty One who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by his love; He will exult over you with loud singing." (Zeph 3:17). As I read the Bible, and especially since going through the book Because He Loves Me (Elyse Fitzpatrick), I have realized more and more that God loves me deeply. Why? Because I am in Jesus. Jesus, the Perfectly obedient Son. Jesus, the Beloved. The One of Whom the Father said, "this is my Beloved Son, with Whom I am well-pleased." (Mt. 17:5, Mk. 1:11, Lk. 3:22, 2 Pet. 1:17). I am in THAT Son! When God looks at me, He sees that Perfect Obedience, and He smiles-- wouldn't you!? Washed clean by Jesus' blood, swaddled in Jesus' righteousness, He holds me close and all He does is smile. A man asked me last week if I loved God, and my impromptu answer was to stammer "Yes! Yes! He loved me first!" He did. He pursued me with His love, and put me into the Beloved... because I got IN to His love quite apart from any merit of my own, I don't have to be afraid of ever falling OUT of it by any of my mis-doings. I am secure. To my Heavenly Father, I am always the "most beautiful girl in the world." Wow.

My throat is all lumped-up just thinking about it.

The God of the Universe smiles and sings me lullabies.

Knowing my self and my persistent, hard-to-kill sins as I do... and knowing that He knows it even more than I do, and that He hates sin more than I do because He is more perfect and completely apart from it (holy)... wow, that makes it even sweeter and more amazing.

Thinking of one of my sisters who is facing so much hurt from those who had sworn to love and protect her in this world, I suddenly wanted to send her this song; to remind her of Who loves her, and Who thinks she is the "most beautiful girl in the whole wide world," no matter what. Not because of anything she does or did or will do, but because she is in the Beloved. For all of you who are in Christ, this is how our Father sings over YOU!!!

"Hey, beautiful girl, Daddy loves you; He loves you- most beautiful girl in the whole wide world..."

Go See It

I don't want to miss time with my family, so this is brief as can be, but it ought to be said:


Go see Fireproof. More later... in the meantime, go see it. It's so refreshing to see a movie that leaves you ENCOURAGED!

Love,
a very happy, thankful wife,

--Christina

Why You Should All Buy This Children's Book

Ryan gave me The Jesus Storybook Bible as a gift on our honeymoon, and we immediately loved it. The illustrations are striking, even humorous, Jesus isn't a pale blonde, and it covered the WHOLE Bible, even less-storified things like Psalm 23 and Isaiah. But as I've used it for teaching this past year, I have realized the huge capacity for worship-building held within its cardboard covers. The thing is chock full of GOSPEL! As I assemble and outline the curriculum for our preschool next year, I've been researching a lot of books and Bible story books we may use. An interview with Sally Lloyd-Jones (the book's author) that I just read just left me speechless. And I don't just say that because I'm the only one home! I just wanted to stop and think and praise the Lord when I read it.

And call all the parents of young children I know. We tend to slap morals helter-skelter onto our kids, taking truisms and do-isms out of every Bible story. But that's totally NOT the point of the Scriptures, Old Testament or New. If you want that, get Aesop's Fables. If you want a how-to- formula, get a home-improvement book or a Geometry textbook. Not the Bible.

"When I first saw that everything in the Old Testament, is pointing to a child—the one who is coming—it blew me away. Suddenly, here was a way to read the Bible without it leaving you condemned (I’ll never keep all the rules all the time) or in despair (how can I ever be as brave as Daniel? or David?).

I found it so moving when I started to discover how the Old Testament is basically one long record of failure—the failure of God’s people time and time again to live rightly, to rescue themselves—and that the stories in the Old Testament are all getting us ready for the One who is coming. They are all signposts to the True Hero, the True King, the True Prince, the True Servant, the greater David, the greater Daniel. The Rescuer.

As a child, I thought the Bible was packed with rules you had to keep (or God wouldn’t love you) and heroes setting examples you had to follow (or God wouldn’t love you). I thought, in short, that the Bible was all about me and what I should (or shouldn’t) be doing. Until I read a Story.

It’s the Story running like a golden stream underneath all the other stories in the Bible: the story of how God loves his children and comes to rescue them. Suddenly, I realized the Bible wasn’t about me and what I should be doing at all. It was about God and what he had done. And it changed everything.

So, throughout the mapping out of the book and writing the stories, I was resolute in my determination to avoid even a whiff of moralizing in terms of applying the stories. The absolute last thing I ever wanted to ask a child was: “And what can we learn from David about how God wants us to behave?” The story isn’t there to be an example for us to follow. If that were the point, Jesus would never needed to have come. We could have saved ourselves. The story is there because it’s true and because it’s telling the bigger story—of the greater David who is coming. To do for us what we couldn’t do for ourselves, to fight the battle we could never fight. To be the Hero we all need. To be our Rescuer.

I wanted children to know this Story—and to meet this wonderful Hero in the pages of this book. Because rules don’t change you. But a story can." [I would clarify: a PERSON, The Person-- God-with-us-Himself-- can]

Now, please don't think that I abhor application in sermons, or that I'm determined to never point a child to the Law or examples in the Scriptures. I distincly remember the facial expression of one struggling five-year-old as I told him, on no uncertain terms "Sin is crouching at your door, just like it did at Cain's, and it wants to have you! But you must master it." 1 Corinthians 10 leaves us quite "in the loop" as to what moralizing purposes the stories of the Bible hold (and aren't you glad He gave us stories instead of dry rules and pithy sayings!?):

"[After outlining Israel's history, we learn] these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it." (1 Corinthians 10:6-13)

That passage says Old Testament stories are both examples to us-- warnings, illustrations, encouragements, reminders that all has already been done before-- AND that they were pointing to something else; the end of the eons, the fullfillment of time. So... go read this "children's" book, and never look at the old "heros" like you did before! :)

Hot Night, Dark Knight

Well, Ryan & I just got back from cleaning up the church after VBS all week. It was nice to be in a mostly air-conditioned building for awhile, as our AC suddenly went out yesterday! I'm very thankful it waited until all our company was gone, and on a day when we'd be out most of the day anyway. Today we headed out and enjoyed the outdoor heat, which at least isn't stuffy :), at a birthday party for 4 one-year-old friends of ours. :) ...then we enjoyed an air-conditioned viewing of The Dark Knight, and a date at Moe's.

Now it's a still a bit too hot inside to sleep (I've gotten spoiled and used to air conditioning!), so I'm lookin' up stuff online about the movie we just enjoyed. It WAS a good movie, with a largely satisfying end...but I will say one thing: it is INTENSE. Two and a half hours long, and it does NOT let up. WHEW!! I'm not sure what I think the movie was advocating, either... As our pastor Ryan put it "your emotions were likely assaulted in a thoroughly post-modern way, and it will take your rational mind a week to sort out what the movie was actually trying to say."

In the meantime, I did find this review helpful and accurate.

Good night!
--Christina

PS- some kids from VBS have said they'd be at church/sunday school tomorrow... pray that they come! Just pray in general that we would know how to follow up with these kids and their families, and see them transformed by meeting the Risen Savior!

--EDIT:--
After seeing the above-mentioned movie, I think this article is even more thought-provoking. That movie played clearly into this author's observance of the lack of heroes in our movies these days. It was pretty much built on the idea of two sorts of heroes... with the true hero being the one cast out as an outlaw, while the hero everybody's brain needs was really quite corruptible. It makes me wonder- are we actually afraid of heroes made out of ordinary people, because they might fall? Because they might actually turn out to be human rather than permanently larger-than-life? Aren't you glad the Bible gives us corruptible heroes -there's the "us"- made holy by faith in The Hero, the Holy One who did not, will not EVER see decay!? (Psalm 16:10)