Humble Roots

Humble Roots by Hannah Anderson is a must read by anyone who is a Christian! It was super convicting, challenging and comforting. It is a beautiful look at who we are, who God is and uses nature to help us to understand deep truths. Hannah has a very personal touch that is extremely relatable, and brings it home with the truth of God's Word.

In a culture of independence, Hannah reminds us of our dependence on God. The intro has this quote that I think sums up heart of what she is teaching well:

"We must never forget that looking like God does not mean we are God. We are made in His image, but we are made nonetheless."

Hannah's writing style is very easy to read and easy to follow. This is a book that men and women of all ages can read, relate to and learn from. I cannot recommend this book enough. I read this in January and I already need to read it again!

5  Stars for this wonderful, Spirit filled book.

Frankenstein

I read Frankenstein as part of my Back to the Classics this year, in the category of Gothic or horror classic.

This is a book I have wanted to read for quite a while, and it was a really good read. I was pleasantly surprised by this read as I had heard things here and there about this book and wasn't really sure I would like it. It was a very good book and extremely interesting.

I loved the depth of the book and the narrative of the story. It was clear and easy to follow. What I enjoyed the most was the clear spiritual journey that was being worked through as Shelley wrote this fiction work. You could see her wrestling with who she is, who God is, how everything in life is connected. I greatly enjoyed seeing this struggle and allowing this to let me work through things. From the beginning to end it is a clear story.

I really appreciate the ownership of the story being told in first person and the full circle of the story. It begins with a narrative of finding Frankenstein and comes back around to him in the end. It also overlaps the stories and has stories within stories. You can feel the depth of emotion as the stories connect and how all of the characters are deeply connected.

I also enjoyed the writing style. It was easy to read, which is always nice. I really appreciated how she explained the development of the monster in a really basic way. The story-telling was such that even a young person could understand but sophisticated enough to hold the attention of an adult.

I would give this book 4 stars.

The Drive

Sunday afternoon, our family loaded up after 7 years in Louisville to drive back to GA. For this move I needed to drive to GA in the car alone. This was my choice, but I'm more comfortable with the car than the van on long drives.

Having my entire family driving in our large 12-passenger van in front of or behind me got to me a little bit. When you're alone it's easy to let your mind get crazy, and Satan likes to take the opportunity to make you think the worst.

A very good friend of mine was killed in a car crash on a family trip in a similar style van. Satan was playing with my mind thinking that could be my family while I was safely in my car. I prayed for protection, fought these terrible thought, but it was a struggle.

And then, just after we got on the interstate for the last leg of our trip, I saw the top of a rainbow peeking over the mountain. God began speaking to my heart, reminding me of His promises to be with us no matter what! We go around the mountain and the rainbow is stretched across the sky. I broke. God met me in that moment. The promises filled my mind and I knew that we would make it, but even if we didn't I would be OK.

That's when the rain drops fell out of a brilliant, sun-filled sky. A friend once told me  that rain is God showering His blessings on us, and that is what God brought to my mind. He was there, blessing me with life, with safety in that moment, with family, with Himself.

This is the God I serve. The God who is all powerful, the Creator of the universe and is still right there with me in a moment of fear and speaking to my frail and fragile heart. God is good. He is merciful when He doesn't have to be. He met me where I was ans spoke peace to me.

Where is God meeting you today?

7 Years in Louisville, A Chapter Closed

7 years ago, our family of 4 loaded up with my parents and our great friends, Winston and Anna, and took a leap of faith to move to Louisville, KY for Jim to attend seminary.

Today, our family of 9 is loading up with my parents and taking a leap of faith to move back to Smyrna, GA.

7 years to the day! It's incredible that it's been 7 years. So much has happened. So much has changed.

In the Bible, the 7th year is the year of Jubilee. 7 is the number of completion. 7 is the number of rest. It is quite a significant time period, in the Biblical narrative. And today it is significant to us.

I'm still digesting what all of this means, but when I think about it, my soul leaps. God, in His perfect ways, had us here 7 years. It has been good. It has been hard. At times it has been terrible. But in all of it God has been growing us, teaching us, conforming us to the likeness of His Son.

At 5 years we had no idea what was to come because everything was different from what we expected. Even as we prayed over what to do next, we honestly thought we would stay here until we were ready to go overseas. But during this last year God made it clear, we would be moving back to GA and rejoin our church family there. We still hope to go overseas one day. But God clearly has more work to do on us and for us to do here.

And we are OK with that.

Why? Because it's about God's Kingdom and God's Glory and doing what He calls us to do. We are excited for the next adventure as we return home and to see what God is going to do.

We have been so blessed to be in Louisville. Sojourn is a wonderful church. Home For His Glory has helped us navigate homeschooling. Southern was wonderful for delving deeper into the academic side of our faith. I will miss being able to get anywhere in the city in 30 minutes or less. We will miss the local food. We have made incredible friends that have forever touched our family.

Now to reconnect with friends who have cared for us from a distance, acclimate to heavy traffic, become active at FBC Smyrna, discover a new homeschool community and find what God has planned for us in Smyrna. Here is to the next ____ years, as we follow God on this adventure of a blessed life He has given us in Jesus!