Reading

I'm afraid I haven't been taking pictures and not much has been happening around here. Except our DVD/VHS player died, so I've completely given up exercise until our replacement comes in. Going on a walk with the twins just isn't much exercise and I can't really do it before the kids get up, as I'm milking the goat. Any number of excuses. :) I have been reading, though!
The first book I read was Tim Keller's "The Meaning of Marriage"- I really enjoyed it! He has a really great chapter in there specifically for singles as well. His church in Manhattan has about 6,000 regular attenders, I think he said 4,000 of them are singles. The book is taken mostly from a sermon series he did at his church. My favorite excerpt from the book: "In my own life, I must confess that I had never felt "manly" until I got married. I was a nerd before it was fashionable, playing trumpet in the marching band and staying in the Boy Scouts through high school. Good things, no doubt, but not cool or macho. I was often mocked and excluded, especially during high school, for my uncoolness. But Kathy looked at me like her knight in shining armor. She has always told me, and continues to tell me, that though all the world may look at me and see Clark Kent, she knows that underneath I have on blue underwear. She has always been very quick to point out and celebrate anything I have done that is courageous. Over the years, bit by bit, it has sunk in. To my wife, I'm Superman, and it makes me feel life a man in a way nothing else could." Highly recommended book to just about anyone.
The second book I read was "Idol Lies" by Dee Brestin. I guess I started with high hopes that this book would transform my life, reveal idols in my life and tell me concretely how to get over them, and by the time I was done with the book I would feel victorious. Well, bad expectations, first of all. The things that kind of annoyed me were: she kept talking about having amazing, spiritual friends come visit her at her lakeside cabin to encourage one another and eat pear salad with feta cheese, and in general just being able to "get away" to focus on God...rather unrealistic for this not-monetarily-wealthy mom of 5 in the trenches. As I type, the twins are WWF wrestling and crying on the floor over a pair of mittens. Every chapter seemed to basically say the same thing, that I pretty much struggle in some way with every single idol she talked about: Control, Approval, etc. etc. BUT one common thread between these two books (and our Sunday school class as well, actually) is that the GOSPEL is central. Dee says that our idols will not go away until they are replaced with something else- the Gospel. I can not be effectively used by God if I am not immersing myself in his word and meditating on his grace throughout every day. Which honestly is not something that will happen on my own. I will continue to struggle with these idols for the rest of my life, but I need to get in the habit of repenting and moving on in faith instead of just resigning myself to my struggles. At our Sunday school class I came away with the desire/need to spend time in the Bible whether I feel like I have time or not, whether I feel like God's speaking to me or not.
Third book is by John Frame- Christian's going through this book with a couple teens from our church and because it's at our house I'm going to try to keep up with it: "Worship in Spirit and Truth". Very intellectual and makes my brain feel very stretched. Not sure what to say about it yet, but I think it'll be good.
Anyway. So, I'm processing. I'm trying to love my kids how Christ loved me- While I was still his enemy, he loved me. And continues to love me even though I'm often so ugly in my heart, words, actions. So that's what's going on around here these days. :)