The Bookworm Project #4: The ESV Study Bible

The ESV Study Bible

It has happened.  As some would say, I have seen the light.  As some others would say, I have been bitten by the bug.  As still others might say, I have drank the Cool-Aid.  One night, at our college and young adults book study of Knowing God by J. I. Packer, I had raised a "devil's advocate" question.  Yes, I am that person.  I like to ask those questions to understand better and be able to have a response for when the tough questions are asked of me.  After spurring some very interesting discussion our company adjourned and my boyfriend and I went back to his house to hang out.  He and I continued discussing my question on the drive home and on arriving he quickly retrieved from his room his ESV Study Bible.  Having been in RUF for several years I had certainly heard of the ESVSB.  I had heard people sing its praises and tout its wonders but I had never really thought much of it.  I already have a Reformation Study Bible that R.C. Sproul's ministry had produced some 15 years back (Whoa! Suddenly feeling old...) and I figured that one study Bible was like the rest.  Well boy was I dead wrong.  As Mark and I began flipping through the pages researching my question I was more and more drawn in to just how many references we were coming up with.  Verses were being connected from all over the Bible.  The commentary was fascinating.  There were detailed maps.  There were extensive notes.  It was love.  I had to have this Bible.  

A few weeks later I promptly went out and bought my own personal copy.  I absolutely love it!  Now, normally I don't write a book review for a book I haven't read all the way through yet.  But since this is a Bible and that could take a year at least for that to happen I figured I would review it anyway and let you know that if you do not have one of these in your library you should invest in one.  It is a wonderful, easy to understand, resource to deepen your knowledge and love for the Scriptures.  

SWF seeking GOD: The Gospel in Ephesians

So I have been listening to a sermon series by Clay Werner, a friend of my boyfriend.  Clay is the senior pastor of Lexington Presbyterian Church in Lexington, SC.  He was also an associate pastor here in Chattanooga at Lookout Mountain Presbyterian Church for several years.  He has been doing a series at LPC in SC on Ephesians and I have been listening.  I just wanted to share these sermons with you because they are something that everyone needs to hear.  

There will be new personal posts coming.  I am terribly sorry I have been so lax.  There have been a lot of crazy things at work and many other exciting and distracting things going on in my life lately.  Note the word "boyfriend" in the first paragraph, so don't you worry I will be filling you in as soon as I get some time to organize my thoughts for a moment.  

Grace And Peace To You - Clay Werner, Lexington PC 

(Jan. 1, 2012)

To The Praise Of His Glorious Grace - Eph. 1:3-10 - Clay Werner, Lexington PC 

(Jan. 8, 2012)

We Love Him Because He First Loved Us - Eph. 1:11-14 - Clay Werner, Lexington PC 

(Jan. 15, 2012)

Eyes Wide Open - Eph. 1:15-23 - Clay Werner, Lexington PC 

(Jan. 22, 2012)

The Bad News - Eph. 2:1-3 - Clay Werner, Lexington PC 

(Jan. 29, 2012)

But God - Eph. 2:4-10 - John Crosby, Lexington PC 

(Feb. 5, 2012)

God's Blueprint For His People - Eph. 2:17-22 - Clay Werner, Lexington PC
(Feb.19, 2012)

The Unsearchable Riches Of Christ - Eph 3:1-13 - Clay Werner, Lexington PC 

(Feb. 26, 2012)

A Prayer To Know Christs Unknowable Love - Eph. 3:14-21 - Clay Werner, Lexington PC 

(Mar. 4, 2012)

Gospel Transitions - Eph. 4:1 - Clay Werner, Lexington PC 

(Mar. 11, 2012)

Gospel Character That Maintains Gospel Unity - Eph.4:1-6 - Clay Werner, Lexington PC 

(Mar. 18, 2012)

Grace Equips Us To Serve Others - Eph. 4:7-16 - Clay Werner, Lexington PC 

(Mar. 25, 2012)

Hope y'all enjoy these as much as I did!

TTFN

REE~

The Bookworm Project #3: The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

It has been a while since I have written a review.  This is not because I haven't been reading mind you!  Even though my life has picked up considerable moment since starting work and finding a church and friends and the like, does not mean that I am over the whole "reading for pleasure" thing or the Bookworm Project.  I am still reading and loving it!  Now, I must say that I have gotten out of chronological order of books completed though.  There are actually 6 or 7 book reviews still waiting to be written but since I literally just finished this book about 20 minutes ago and I have energy and don't feel like going to bed yet, gosh darn it I'll just write this now instead of putting it off.  So here we go.

If you know anything about ancient middle eastern culture, and let's face it who doesn't, right, you will know that women and men lived very different and separate lives from what modern day Americans call normal.  There are still cultures that hold to many of the same traditions as their ancient ancestors but as time goes one even their strong heritage and love of tradition have bowed the knee to progress in some form or another.  The Red Tent is a fascinating look into the life of women in Old Testament biblical times.   This book is written from the perspective of Jacob's only daughter, Dinah.    In your Bible she is a blip on the map really.  A side note.  An after thought.  She is portrayed merely as a way of explaining why Israel was greatly feared in Canaan.  If you do not know her story you can find what little there is in Genesis 34.  An entire life wrapped in one chapter covering one event and a horrific event at that.  She is numbered among the blemishes of Jacob's offspring and quickly forgotten.  I remember reading that chapter and thinking, "Is that it?  Is that really all there is to be said of the only daughter of Jacob?  What happened to her after that?"  It appears Diamant had the same questions.  Now of course this is all fiction and pure speculation and for the sake of an interesting story.  But it still would satisfy the imagination of many of reader.  

Although it is written about Biblical characters, do not expect to find Christian values or themes. The author has taken the liberty of sprinkling in her own ideas and extra-biblical details that work fine for the narrative.  Just don't expect to use this book as a cross study of Genesis.  It is fiction remember.  The title "The Red Tent" refers to the tent that women enter for their time of the month (sorry to any guys reading this, I am sure this is exactly what you wanted to read about tonight).  A woman was considered unclean during this time and so it was customary and required of her to remove herself from the rest of the tribe until her menstrual cycle had run its course and she had been purified.  Now, as all women know when you run in a pack you all tend to get on the same schedule so for 3-5 days out of the month the tribes entire female population was holed up in the red tent to chatter, gossip, have their cat fights, and share their pain.  The tent was also where births happened.  This book gives you a fly on the wall glimpse into what life might have been like for Jacobs 4 wives and daughter as they gave birth to the 12 tribes of Israel, as they had miscarriages, fed the husband that they all shared, and as their lives played out before one another in such close proximity.  

A friend recommended this book and it is certianly an interesting read.  Although the book's story line itself is fiction, from what little I know of ancient history, I would not be surprised at the cultural accuracy.  I do not foresee myself reading this book again but it is definitely an intriguing perspective on what life as a woman was like back then.  As a lover of history with a vivid imagination, this book painted a lot of fascinating pictures of life as Old Testament women that I would have never considered on my own.  Be forewarned there are a few scenes that are pretty racy that you might do well to skip over but as I said from a historical and also anthropological standpoint the book certainly peaked my interest in studying more about the women of that century and culture.

The Bookworm Project #2 - The Lovely Bones

It might be a surprise to you that I read this book.  Especially, considering how different it is from the last book I posted about.  If you heard about it, saw the movie or even saw a preview you knew that this book was not a light and happy-go-lucky story.  Pretty much anything with the word "bones" in the title you know probably is going to be a little on the dark side, at least.  Well, this book is no exception.  I first saw the film.  I was not overly impressed with it but the story intrigued me intellectually.  I knew that it had originally been a book and I wondered how it had been altered from the original narrative.  I had spoken to a few people who had seen and read the story and the general consensus was "the book was better."  Big shocker there, right?  

First off, I would like to say that I have an odd quirk about me.  I absolutely love TV shows that have anything to do with crime, typically murder.  So does my mother, so I blame her :)  My dad refers to them, mockingly, as our "killer shows" even though we secretly know he has to fight getting sucked into them himself :)  The science of criminology and watching them catch bad guys is really interesting to me and I have to admit that I am also interested in knowing how the crime was committed.  You probably had no idea that I was that dark, huh?  Sometimes I think I should have been a criminal justice major and gone into law enforcement of some kind.  My favorite shows are Bones, Castle, Body of Proof, NCIS, etc. The original NCIS, mind you! Not to be confused with NCIS: LA. Don't even get me started.

All that is to say, The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold was not a stretch for me in my line of interests.  To warn you plainly this book is not PG13.  I do not recommend this book for the faint of heart, particularly anyone who is closely acquainted with the crime of rape and/or murder of a family member.  I can imagine that this book would be incredibly painful.  It was painful enough for me, who by the grace and mercy of God has been spared such tragedies.  The book is written in the perspective of the victim, which coupled with Sebold's portrayal of heaven is largely what intrigued me about it.  There are not many stories written in the perspective of a murder victim for obvious reasons.  It was fascinating to see how the tragedy affected a family of unbelievers and how each character in the book processed and ultimately healed from it without turning to God as a source of comfort and strength.  

The theology was pitiful but to be expected of a writer who for all intents and purposes appears to be an atheist.  Sebold definitely has a very hedonistic view of heaven, which is to be expected.  It was wonderful to get a better understanding of how a non-Christian would try to explain the after-life and how they picture heaven.  I found it fascinating to watch Sebold try to reconcile her idea of perfection with the snags she would naturally run into with her theories.  Her theories were rather predictable but at times I could almost feel her stumbling on how a humanistic version of perfection could ever logically exist.  It felt like at times that she was questioning her own ideas through her characters, but would have to quickly dismiss them and move on for the sake of the story not getting caught in a theological struggle.    

To summarize, I would say that I came away feeling benefited by the book solely for the purpose of having a deeper understanding of a non-Christian worldview.  Sebold is obviously a talented writer no matter the subject matter.  I found the characters dynamic; the writing perspective unique and Sebold's concept of heaven thought provoking.  Proceed with caution if you decide to read this book. It might, however, intrigue and interest you on the same level and for the same reasons it did me.  If so...

Happy reading!

TTFN~

REE

Becoming A Bookworm

So to preface this and subsequent posts, I would like to say that I was not an avid reader growing up.  I am a creative and active person and when I was younger the thought of sitting for hours at a time devouring a book just seemed torturous to me.  I loved and still love to draw, color, sing, have long and thought provoking talks with people.  I love being outside, playing with kids, getting dirt under my fingernails, cooking, playing pretend (which turned into a love of theater), and generally doing everything that the right side of my brain could think of.  Those things were always what kept me most entertained and interested.  Lately, however, I had been wanting to start expanding my horizons.  I had all of those things that I loved but now it was time to add something else to the list of hobbies and interests.  So I began to read and I am finding that I am loving it!  So each week for as long as I have time I want to post my thoughts on books that I am reading.  Depending on the book, I am averaging about a book a week.  I think this will also keep me going on this and it might expand into something entertaining for us both!  So here we go!

 

Book 1

Now to begin this, I must say that I consider myself quite knowledgeable about the story of Jane Eyre.  I have seen the movie that just came out in this year; I have seen the musical performed live; I own the soundtrack and now I have read the book.  I must say that this is by far my favorite fictional narrative I have ever come across.  This book is haunting to say the least.  

Let me say that I am not your average girl in that I get warm and fuzzy toward stories of couples seeing each other across a crowded room and just knowing deep in their hearts that they have found their soul mate.  I do not believe that you can fall in love in an instant or that you can know you will marry someone just by locking eyes with a stranger across a crowded room.  I am sorry if you would like that to be your story or if you think that is your story.  I would have to disagree with you on that one but that is another argument for another day.  

My ilk leans far more to the realistic stories, ones that are not all sunshine and roses.  Life is crazy and not always pretty and when it comes to love stories there is a vast lack of realism in most.  Jane Eyre's love story is a messy, messy story.  There are hard decisions made.  There is actual love lost.  There is unyielding commitment.  There are morals and values.  That is what I love so much about it.  I can sympathize with Jane in tough decisions she had to make.  I can respect her for enduring the heartache that she felt in standing firm in those decisions.  And I can see and admire the beauty in her respect of herself and of the man she grows to and learns how to love over time and whom she chooses to love and stand beside come what may.  I am not going to spoil anything for you in this post so don't worry.  But there is no fairy tale in this book.  But there is love and loss; there is redemption and hope.  Even though Jane Eyre is a fictional book filled with fictional characters I have a lot of respect for many of them and especially for Charlotte Bronte in writing such interesting and deep characters.  Bronte gave Jane, specifically, a very carefully weaved and dynamic soul that is almost palpable. I walked away from the book feeling incredibly attached to Jane.  I felt like I had watched a dear friends life play out before my eyes and I was almost grieved to see it end.  It is definitely a book that I will be reading over and over again.  

So put on some cozy cloths. Get a cup of hot chocolate and snuggle up for a riveting story of a girl, most peculiar.  Happy reading! 

TTFN~

REE