Best laid plans...

Ok, so here's the thing, life doesn't go according to your plans.

Inspired thinking there, huh?

Right now I'm sitting here writing a post that I've been longing to write for the past week when I should be doing any of six other things- and it's frustrating. But of late, my life has been a Series of Frustrating Events. I don't like it and I think its time I sat down and dealt with it (but that's another story). A week and a half ago I had what I thought was a Brilliant Idea for a blog post and have been trying to get it written out but life, real life, has been thwarting me and I am ready to throw in the towel and forget that I still have another batch of cookies to bake and cool, forget I haven't finished (much less had any progress starting) my BSF lesson this week, (again!*headdesk*), and that I have two books from Bethany House waiting my attention- not to mention the two others I got for Christmas and haven't had time to touch and just write what comes to heart...

So here was my Brilliant Idea: This February is Leap Year.
This February is the one that comes every four and gives us an extra day.
This February I will have one extra day to Do Something.

The Psalmist makes a point of telling us: 'This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it' (Ps. 118:24) but I wonder in how many of our days we heed that? As I started thinking about what Leap Day is or means I wondered if Leap Day was a day that comes every four years and acts like a wake up call for us- or could act like a wake up call for us.
We live our lives day by day, we pack in all the activity and busyness and life, real life that it can hold and we move into the next day on the calendar, usually asleep, day by day by day.... What Leap Day has reminded me of this year is that each day no matter the measure of productivity or busyness or level of frustration is a day given to me by God.  It's a day to rejoice in, be glad in. A day to redeem with service to God.

When I posted my Brilliant Idea I really wanted to be able to say I had figured out how to do that. I wanted to be able to say that I had thought of something amazing to do on Leap Day that would redeem my time, that would be useful and good and inspiring... The thing is, right now I'm working on the rejoice part and the be glad part. Thing is, I'm (still!!) working on life not going according to plan.

So if today when you wake up and stare Leap Day in the face and try to treat it the same way you treat every day take a second look at it. Take a second look at how you can redeem it and Do Something in it if you can. But if like me, you have been having a Series of Frustrating Events take a look at Leap Day and say Today is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad it in.


And in four years, maybe I'll have it together enough to be just a bit Brilliant on Leap Day....

The Final Five – or is it One?

Disclaimer: This post is REALLY long. My fingers got carried away -

but please bear with me till the end!

Scene: The year was 2007 and I was one girl in total turmoil. The reason? Well that was simple- and not so simple at the same time.  It was spring, and the time had come for my states election primaries. The problem was that however much I wanted to go and however much I knew I needed to go I didn't want to go and vote – at least not for any of the people who were left on the ballot.

My choices had come down to John McCain or Mike Huckabee.

As an establishment old blood liberal Republican there was no way that I was going to vote for John McCain. And as much as Mike Huckabee had become the darling of the Christian conservatives I'd never trusted that man as far as I could throw him. Don't ask me why – I just never did.

With that being said, however, I had a choice to make. It was a choice I agonized over. I was that strange girl standing in the ballot cubby fidgeting and squirming and on the very verge of tears. I honestly considered casting my vote for the candidate I had been supporting all along, even though he was no longer in the race. In the end my vote went to Huckabee and I felt like I'd made a deal with the devil.

In my mind, the problem lie in the fact that every state had a different primary day. By the time the primaries got to my state most of the candidates had dropped out.
I was so mad.
Why had this happened and why couldn't I change it? I seriously considered writing a letter to every Sen. and Congressman I could get an address for and demand they write and propose a bill stating that every primary in the nation should be held on the same day – just like we do with our general election in November. It's a letter that never materialized but one I probably should've written- and probably should write even today.

This election cycle I will not let that happen again. I believe that only a true Conservative (ie: one who honors and believes in the Declaration and the Constitution, one who believes that these documents define and promote liberty, limited government and Christian values; one who believes in life and hard work; in abundant American energy and low taxes so free enterprise can flourish; and one who believes in you) should be the GOP nominee. This year I believe there is a clear Conservative candidate who should be recognised and I am choosing to support him from now until the very end. That end I hope and I pray will be the White House. Because if it isn't, and our nation is controlled by a Liberal or Progressive or Socialist - one who does not understand or one who seeks to 'fundamentally change' those things that make us great- for another four years I don't know if we'll recognize our nation or even the world five years from now. We are standing on a great pivot point of world history one that will become a fixed-point in time that future generations will look back on and say-for good or ill- 'that is where it all changed'.

But before I tell you who I am voting for, let me tell you why I am not voting for the other candidates.


#5–Ron Paul.
I know, I know, many Christians out there today are throwing their support behind Ron Paul, believing him to be the only "Constitutional" choice, but I cannot. In fact, narrowing down his unsuitable qualities to just a few reasons is like sending a woman in her first week of a six-week diet to a dessert buffet Vegas.
My biggest problem with Ron Paul is that he is a man who does not understand the times he is living in. Some days I think he literally lives in his own little world. Our nation and our world is facing rapid sociopolitical changes. These changes will radically make over the world as we know it today if they are not stopped. In Ron Paul's world, however, the only reason that Middle Eastern peoples dislike us or "hate" us is because for decades we have "bombed them" and "occupied their lands".  He has even gone so far as to suggest that the cause of 9/11 is directly related to the "fact" that our 'troops occupied Muslim "holy lands"' from which one must logically conclude he feels that 9/11 was our own fault! In Ron Paul's world the situation we find ourselves in has nothing to do with the very core of Islam's beliefs being to kill or put under subjection any peoples who will not convert to their beliefs, and it has nothing to do with their desire to literally rule the world. It is his position that we should remove our presence from all foreign lands. In Ron Paul's world it's okay to put all the horses back in the barn and lock the door because the tornado can't possibly get us when we are 'minding our own business'.
The problem with this is of course that the tornado has already started to strike the barn.

I may be able to agree with Congressman Paul on his desire to end the Fed (and return to sensible biblical based money and economic practices), the Department of Education and the EPA. What I cannot agree with him on is his foreign-policy stance. You think a man his age would be able to tell the difference between a drop of rain and a storm that threatens to flatten us all, but apparently not..

The second and final thing that I will take issue with Congressman Paul here is what I believe to be his utter hypocrisy on the issue of spending. In case you didn't know, Congressman Paul's district has the highest per capita spending rate of any in the nation! How is this possible for a man known for being 'so strong' on cutting spending?! As it turns out it is Paul's habit, when he knows a bill is coming to the floor whose passage is sure will vote in committee to pack it with as much pork for his district as possible! When the bill reaches the floor he votes against it keeping his hands "clean" of spending increases.

#4- Newt Gingrich.
Mr. Newt. Some of my earliest political remembrances center around that name and around the Congress of 1994. And while I'll be one of the first to tell you that many good things were done during that Congress (balanced budget and welfare reform) I will also be the first to tell you that a man can't base his presidential bid on one period of leadership from 17 years ago. If he expects goodwill to flow from the conservative heart based on remembrances of the past and make it easy for him right up to nomination – then he's got another thing coming. Because as Susie Conservative walks down that road of remembrances she falls straight into the couch, and lap, of Nancy Pelosi – you know, the couch that finds her setting right next to Mr. Newt? For any Conservative to propagate the myth of  'man made climate change is unthinkable to me! Period. But aside from all that, as this campaign has progressed, I've come to find things I liked and disliked about him but more and more evidence has piled up of Mr. Newt himself holding to Progressive ideals not Conservative ones. Since his time in office, Mr. Newt has become a historian and historical writer so it puzzles me to hear him describe Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson as his favorite presidents. Men who are the poster boys for progressivism – how can he not know that or what it represents?! The only explanation I can think of is that he does know them and I ask myself- how can he support that? It also has troubled me from the beginning of his campaign to hear him debate back and forth over how much healthcare should be mandated by the government- landing on far too much of a mandate for my comfort. Obamacare must be defeated definitively. Nothing like it must ever take its place in any way, shape or form. How can he effectively root out this scourge when he debates what the disease is and prescribes something far too akin to the actual disease? It's like prescribing botox to a patient writhing in agony from botulisim poisoning! And that is a far too risky proposition in my opinion.

Finally, my biggest problem with Mr. Newt- from the beginning of his race- is what I consider to be his complete moral failure. Learning in recent years of this mans marriage history was shocking to me. I honestly don't know how you seriously consider for the highest office in the land a man who has been divorced and remarried twice! On top of that when you consider the sources and circumstances of those divorces being his blatant infidelity- while at the time he went after Bill Clinton for adultery leaves me incredulous! Breaking his marriage vows and keeping his second wife as mistress to the first and the third wife as mistress to the second is reprehensible and exposes his lack of character and willingness to be governed and restrained by the moral laws as (at that time) he supposedly held to as a Southern Baptist. In my book this issue alone disqualifies him from becoming president.


#3- Mitt Romney.
I'll tell you right up front Mitt Romney was my choice last election cycle. I remember the first time I heard him speak. It was some months before he threw his hat to the race but when he was still being considered as a possible candidate for the upcoming race. I liked him a lot then. When I heard him, he spoke about America. He spoke of our greatness. Our hope, our potential and her future. He spoke of the things that used to make us great and still do make us great. It didn't sound like anything that had been spoken of in years. He reminded me of great presidents of the past and I loved him for that.
This year I've gotten to know "my" candidate better though.
This year, he is the one that receives the title of the establishment and old blood. I don't want a candidate that thinks they are next in line because they waited for it. I don't want a candidate who is  being picked by all forms of media as 'inevitable'. And I don't even want a candidate that's being picked by the Republicans. We need a true Conservative representing America- one who will drastically slash the size and spending of the government- not just take the cherry and nuts off of the banana split. As much as I believe Mitt Romney does love America and is sincere when he speaks of her – he isn't the candidate that can turn the banana split into a simple sundae- he's the one who will add sprinkles on top giving us a prettier image image to look at. He is not the Conservative in this race.



#2 Rick Perry
(Yes, he dropped out- but that was after I wrote this and my points still stand.)

The first few weeks into his run every time I heard Rick Perry speak all I heard was George W. Bush coming out of his mouth.
It was of course that universal drawl bred into every Texan from birth that I heard but in hearing it I found it difficult to judge the man accurately. For me there is something comforting behind that accent. I know it is just my associating it to the security in crisis that I always feel around GW, but still it took some time to get around the accent to the real man.
This summer, believing he was about to run. I reserved myself a copy of his book "Fed Up" from the library. It took me weeks to get through that five disc audiobook set. In the beginning I nearly shut it off but as it turns out that was merely because the narrator hadn't clearly delineated that the book began with a forward. That forward was written by none other than Mr. Newt Gingerich and was some of the driest stuff I'd ever heard. Getting into the book, though I found myself agreeing with many of the things that were laid out. However, as the man himself entered the race and began to speak and debate in public I couldn't reconcile the man in the book with the man on stage. As time has gone on Gov. Perry has gotten better at articulating his positions, but I still don't understand how a man can write so passionately and clearly in a work he puts his name to and not be able to just as clearly, passionately and articulately communicate that to real live people.
If it was only Gov. Perry's style that I took issue with I could probably gladly support him in this race, but it's not just style I have issues with. Three big things stand in my way of being able to support this man. One – I do not like the Gardasil issue or the way he has dealt with it. Gardasil is a dangerous drug and giving it to minors is a dangerous premise. Every issue like this that comes up should be taken back and compared to principle. In Gov. Perry's case he is a professing Christian and as such should be basing his principles off of the Bible. We should be operating off of the premise that young girls will not be sexually active. We should be operating off of the premise of promoting purity. We should be operating off of the premise that parents have the right to both know and choose what is best for their child. Don't tell me that having an opt out clause (instituted afterward by the legislature) makes this mandate ok – when did you ever enjoy doing government paperwork? The public should know that while it's not widely advertised I have heard numerous stories of girls that have taken/been given Gardasil with tragic health consequences. The point here is this. We cannot allow any government agent or agency to mandate health, healthcare, and our health choices. To top it off what makes me squeamish about this story is the semi-shady details surrounding the former aide who influenced the governor's decision.
Two – I cannot support another border governor who does not know how to deal with the border. I cannot support a man who will support amnesty for illegal aliens. I cannot sport a man who will not build a fence to protect our people. As he well knows the Mexican-American border is a war zone. It is just as important to protect us on that front as it is on the foreign ones. We must be secure from outside forces and from forces who are now within. This issue must be dealt with decisively but I don't think Gov. Perry is capable of dealing with it if he hasn't done anything about it in the his 11 year tenure as Gov. of Texas.
Three- When Gov. Perry had the chance to deal a hard blow to the TSA in Texas he weaseled out of it and refused to bring it to a vote even though there was the necessary votes to pass it. In doing this he allowed the TSA to continue to intrusively scan and grope airline passengers in his state. If he had led the charge in this important issue instead of backing down I believe that Texas would have been the first of many states to pass similar laws restricting the TSA's power, instead the TSA is now making inroads to placing full body scanners and agents in train and bus depots and even at points on state highways! It is my belief that knowing he was about to announce his candidacy he traded doing the right thing for getting in good with a broad audience.


Now here we are at the end, as all the others have rolled out of the bed littlest one now says "all alone"! In this race it likely will come down to the littlest against the mighty but as it is said -the bigger they come, the harder they fall! I think there's a lot of shaking up to be done so I can't wait for that fall! Over the last several months. One man has consistently articulated Conservative principles on social, moral, economic and international fronts. That man, and my candidate, is none other than Rick Santorum.

#1- Rick Santorum
Faith. Family. Freedom.
For the last eight months Sen. Santorum has run his campaign on those three principles. Before he began his presidential run I didn't know a lot about Santorum or his record or his beliefs but being the political junkie that I am his name in my mind had the lasting impression of being a good guy, one who had worked hard during his time in the Senate. Since then as I have gotten to know him better I have like more and more of what I learned and saw. He truly bases everything he does off of his principles and when he has a conviction he sticks to it. On the other hand on issues he has been wrong on in the past (like supporting No Child Left Behind) he has corrected his course and been open stating he was wrong and I like that. He has proven to me that he is not just a man of principle but a man of great character and great moral conviction. I have found those three principles he is running on of faith, family and freedom both grow from and encompass his understanding of our founding documents- and the fact that those documents are based on Scripture. Realizing he understands our freedoms come from God, society is based on the traditional family and that family is driven by faith you then see how all that is reversed and expressed outwardly in the way he approaches governing and policy making.
Watch here to see Santorum speak on his view of how the founding documents actually work:

Faith is a large part of who Santorum is. Now, to deal with this up front, I'll say right here that he is listed as a Catholic but I have heard him refer to himself as a Christian and I must say that while my highest preference is to have a born-again believer running if that is not an option I will judge a person by his fruit and choose the most charactered and moral man I can find.
From everything I have seen- Rick Santorum's fruit is good. Almost every time I hear him talk about an issue he can/will trace the reasons he believes something- pro or con- back to the Bible- because that's what the founders would have done.

When we look at Santorum's family we get an up-close look at this. I have never seen a politician speak of their children with such open tenderness, it's a quality that makes him human and it helps to define for us why he takes the stances he does on life.
Allow me to give you an example...

Now, that's a man that understands the preciousness of life- don't you think?  Living out being pro-life in real and living color is is much harder to do than just talking about it. Even before being blessed with a special needs child Santorum has been a first rate advocate for the unborn and consistently fought for life and was the author of the 'partial birth abortion ban' and the 'born alive protection act' while in the senate. Another important aspect of his standing for life is the story of his still born son Gabriel. I searched for a link to the debate where he told that story but was unable to turn one up- I do  however have a tape of that debate if any one was interested in viewing it. In the end I feel it is incredibly refreshing to see a man who is unequivocally committed to life! 

There is a second issue regarding his family that I love. I am the product of the first generation of homeschoolers and as such I have great admiration for any man who has chosen to educate his children at home- it takes a dedicated man to become a homeschooling father! It really surprised me then when I found out that Sen. Santorum is in fact the homeschooling father of 7 children! Personally I'm excited at the possibility of having homeschoolers in the White House! It think it puts him in the position of being able to address issues of education in a way no other candidate can.

Also stemming from the issue of the family is the anti-family. Santorum has been vocal in opposing homosexual 'marriage' and allowing 'gays' to adopt children. He has and would support a constitutional amendment to define marriage as the Bible does. He has stated in the debates that traditional marriage is the building block of society and when we break down marriage we break down society. In another debate he also stated that the poverity we see today (esp. in black communities) is because of the break down of marriage and family.

As important as social issues are Santorum isn't just a one note candidate- he is my candidate because of  his stand on national security and terrorism. National security and terrorism is really a three pronged fork which both deals with the border (he's in favor of building a fence and properly patrolling it combined with refusing amnesty for those here illegally) and being energy independent coupled with a through understanding of terrorism and the mindset of the Middle East and Islam.
Here is a taste:

Where other candidates fail to see the whole picture or around the bend he does. His worldview matches mine, the glasses he sees the world with are the same ones sitting on my shelf.  I believe he is truly a man who understands the times he is living in!

Now I could go on and on in singing Rick Santorum's praises- but I'll restrain myself! I urge you to check him out! His plans for issues like Obamacare (repeal!), getting regulations and government out of peoples way to bring jobs back and cutting the size of government, taxes and entitlement programs are worth finding out about. Find out what he believes for yourself don't just believe me- but I will tell you now that he is the true Conservative in this race. We deserve a real Conservative in the White House. Rick Santorum deserves your support and your vote.

When it comes down to it we have the power to change the course of not just this race but of our country by supporting Santorum. If we give in now to the easy paths and 'answers' and candidates then we will have failed to pass on those most important principles of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And in case you're wondering- we can win the race with a man like Santorum because he will articulate Conservative principles and every time they are espoused with conviction they work and they inspire and they win. Obama can be defeated if we choose to fight for what we actually believe in and not go for the convenient candidate but the Conservative candidate.

As Santorum's eldest daughter wrote:

"I am here because I believe. I believe in America’s greatness. I believe in her exceptional people. I believe that my Dad is the right man for the right moment in our history. Like my Dad always says, in 2008, America elected someone they thought they could believe in. Now, in 2012, America will elect a president who believes in them."

Someday when I tell my children about the 2012 election I will not be telling them I felt like I was making a deal with the devil when I voted for Rick Santorum. I will tell them that I voted for the man that God brought to this race for just this time. I voted for the man who believed in God and America. I voted for the man who believed in me.

What will you have to tell?

Book Review: "A Lasting Impression"

This review contains some spoilers. Read with caution! ;)

"A Lasting Impression" A Belmont Mansion Novel by: Tamera Alexander


I should probably make a full disclosure right up front- I'm a Tamera Alexander devotee. I love her books! I love her writing style, her characters, the way she uses words and the way she seamlessly weaves in a Spiritual theme without making it forced and preachy.
I along with other devotees have been waiting for 2 years (2 years!) for this book to come out and with waiting so long I was afraid I was putting too much into my expectations and hopes for what I would read when I finally opened it up. I was afraid I would be disappointed, but ya know what? I wasn't. Not even a little bit!
Yet again Tamera Alexander has outdone herself.

The book is the story of nineteen year old Claire Laurent a painter who forges masterpieces for her father's art gallery in New Orleans. Claire aspires to paint and display her own work and knows what her father is asking/demanding of her is wrong but finds no way out especially now that her mother is dead. Through a series of circumstances Claire finds herself alone and fleeing New Orleans bound for Nashville. When she arrives she finds herself with no place to stay and takes refuge for the night in a church. That one decision changes the rest of Claire's life. The pastor and his wife help Claire and before she knows it she not only has a job with the prominent widow Mrs. Adelicia Acklen of Belmont mansion (as her personal assistant) but she is falling for Mrs. Acklen's handsome- but unavailable- property manager and attorney Sutton Monroe. Claire relishes the fresh start and chance to prove herself but finds herself looking over her shoulder wondering if her past is going to catch up with her.

One question that Claire is faced with as she takes her first halting steps into a life of faith is one that becomes the capstone of the book. The still small voice in Claire asks: "Would you paint if you knew you were painting only for Me?"  It is a striking and poignant question that begs the reader to ask it of themselves. Would you continue to do or exercise your gift or passion if you were only doing it for God and His pleasure? Would you do it if you received no glory or praise or admiration for it but only the pleasure of the knowledge that it was pleasing to God? It's a question that hits me right where I live and has made me think.

One nit-pick I did have with the book is with some of the art pieces described and discussed in the book. Several of them are nudes or semi-nudes such as Ruth Gleaning and I must question whether it belongs in a Christian book? I believe not...

Two other notes about this book I'd like to make- first: with Sutton's story line I learned several things about Reconstruction in the South after the war that I didn't know. I was shocked to learn that the North actually took away peoples property- that had been in the family for generations- seemingly simply as punishment for their 'rebellion'. It has piqued my interest in the subject and I intend to study up on the subject! Second: From following TA's blog I knew she was a member of Bible Study Fellowship the same Bible Study I myself attend in my own area. Last year we studied the book of Isaiah and throughout this book I can see how bits of it rubbed off in her work. It was a delightful suprise and a reminder of what I learned last year!    

For readers new to Tamera Alexander's books I encourage you to pick up and start with this one as it is the first in the new "Belmont Mansion Novels" series. And I must say that I for one am eager to see where she goes from here and hope I don't have another two year wait!

From beginning to end "A Lasting Impression" lives up to it's name and is a real treat. It's characters are real and warm and relatable with real problems and real growth over the course of the book. It made me laugh and cry and think. It is not to be missed for any reader of historical fiction who enjoys a well crafted tale with heart, humor and romance!

Rating: 4.5 stars!



I recieved a copy of this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review and opinion of the product.
 
 

Book Review: "Behind the Veils of Yemen"

A while back I found out that Bethany House publishers have a cool program where you can sign up to get books from them in exchange for an honest review on the product.
To a book lover like me it sounded like heaven!
So now from time to time I'll be posting reviews of the books I've selected to read.

We will begin with: "Behind the Veils of Yemen: How an American Woman Risked Her Life, Family and Faith to Bring Jesus to Muslim Women" by Audra Grace Shelby.


To begin: When we consider the title of the book- or more specifically the subtitle- a myriad of questions spring to mind.
*Why would an American family go to Yemen as missionaries?
*How were they put into life threatening situations?
*How was her faith risked? and
*How did she reach out and reach behind those veils?
Those questions along with the cover art immediately drew me in and made me eager to discover what was inside. Unfortunately, by the time I reached the end I really wasn't sure what to make of what I had just read and I can't say I had any of my questions answered satisfactorily.

In the first two chapters of the book we are introduced to several different story lines. As the book opens Audra and her family are flying to the Middle East to begin their missionary journey. The story then jumps back to Audra's response to her husband feeling God's call to overseas missions- in Yemen. We discover that although she was raised on the mission field she is incredulous that God would be calling her husband- and her- to that as well. She resents this new direction and digs in her heels not wanting to follow her husband or God. When she finally 'gives in' it seems it is still with gritted teeth- an attitude I think continues in different ways throughout the book. From there the narrative again jumps, forward a bit, to the Shelby's missionary board candidacy interview where Audra's husband suddenly and unexplainable falls gravely ill. Audra is sent into a tailspin of doubt and anger with God, not understanding what is happening and why. As Audra prays in the hospital chapel she has a vision of God saying her prayers will be answered so she returns to her husband's bedside where he begins to improve. While I firmly believe that God speaks to us through His word and that 'still small voice' I don't know that today He reveals Himself literally as she seems to describe. For me it was rather uncomfortable reading such an 'experience'.
Overall, I'm not sure what this beginning part of the book is meant to convey and how it adds or becomes pertinent to the rest of the story as she only relates them as pre-events and not as a real means to say this is how God changed my heart and led us to his will for our future.

The next section of the book is chapters 3-10 and focus on an 18 month period where the Shelby's are in language school. Audra takes lessons with a newly married young local women, Fatima. This section, which is the bulk of the book, follows Fatima and Audra's relationship. They shop together; attend a Muslim wedding (where the men and women never meet and celebrate separately); they visit other women together and deal with Fatima's marriage, extended family and sick newborn problems together. Sometimes her attempts at influencing Fatima are good. When she discovers Fatima's husband is addicted to pornography -a vice that hurts his wife deeply- she reacts as any of us would condemning the action as wrong for any husband of any culture. When Fatima's first child is born with health issues that would be treatable here in the US but was ignored and passed over with a promise that if Allah willed the child would get better Audra is appaled. The diagnosis (or lack of one)breaks both women's hearts and for the first time Fatima opens up and asks Audra to pray for her son because she believes in the power of and behind her prayers.                 
This middle part of the book is mostly filled with stories that touch the reader as you get glimpses into the life of a Muslim women and wonder at the hopelessness and bondage of a culture against Christ.

The final four chapters of the book center around the Shelby's finishing language school and beginning over in their permanent city of ministry before going back to the States for Audra to give birth to their fourth child.   

When I finished the book I thought "Behind the Veils of Yemen" read more like a excerpts from a personal journal than a inspiring missionary story. To begin with it isn't until the publishers note at the very back of the book that we begin to understand who Audra Grace Shelby is. From the beginning of the book we are thrown into her story without knowing or understanding any of her background that led her to this point in her life. Even after making plain her fighting to stay 'home' we are never given the whole story on how she and her husband came to the decision to go to the field. Once on the field we never settle into her life there and only get snippets of how her family functioned in a very foreign land.  Through the course of the book it is never explained how Audra befriended the women she met/ministered to until the end when we learn it was through sewing- a detail that would have made so much more sense if explained earlier.    
Also, Audra's attempts at sharing the Gospel and influencing Fatima with Western thinking often come off heavy handed (for lack of a better term) and she scares Fatima off in the beginning. Audra seems to expect instant results and that bothered me. Shouldn't a missionary know ministry on a field like this one is a long term thing where you build bit by bit? Also troubling to me was her seeming forgetfulness/lack of knowledge of some cultural customs that led to roadblocks. It made me wonder if they had been properly prepared for immersion into the culture. On the other hand I was suprised at her acceptance of customs like wearing the hejab and balto (cloak) which are religous symbols of Islam and mark her as being a subject of the very false religon that wars against Christianity. I believe she could have dressed in a completely modest way, giving deference to the culture, without compromising her own religous beliefs- and I wonder at the mission board (assumably) asking this of her.


In the end I felt that "Behind the Veils of Yemen" was not about any of the things I was promised in the title/subtitle. While I did learn a little more about Middle Eastern women this story isn't about these women- it's about Audra. Much of the story I was supposed to get is eclipsed by Audra's fighting God, Audra's fighting the culture, Audra's crises of faith,
and Audra's family's multiple health crises. It leaves the reader wondering where is Audra's relationship with God? Where is Audra showing He makes a difference as she reaches out to these Yemeni women?  Where is the hope that sharing Christ should bring? And what was/has been the fruit if the Shelby's labour?
"Behind the Veils of Yemen" causes the reader to ask many questions but leaves them with answers to few of them.

Final Rating: Two Stars  (out of five)

Western GOP Debate

If you know know me at all you probably know that I am a passionate political observer. Day to day I keep abreast on local, national and world politics and I enjoy giving my opinion (through Biblical worldview glasses) on just about any story you come across- just ask me and you'll make my day!

With the 2012 presidential race heating up and the GOP candidates debating on a regular basis I thought it would be helpful to have a record of sorts on what was discussed and what I thought of each persons performance and the substance of their message. I will be 'live blogging' tonight and for each of the successive debates to follow. I hope that this process is helpful to you too as you put your brain in gear and bow your heart in prayer. This is possibly the most important election of out time and how you vote in it matters, take the time now to get to know your choices!

I will assume that you are familure with who is running and with that assumption in mind I am going to be using abbreviations for each of the candidates names. If you have questions about how I have abbreviated something just ask... :)

Here we go!

Imperfection, Hindsight and The Single Girl

I've been in a mood today.

Yes, me, in a mood! Today was just one of those days where I felt like 'Will you people just get out of my way?!-- I have stuff to do--- I have plans and I'm not getting anything done!'

Now, don't look at me like that- you've had a day or two like that too I bet!

But tonight when I sat down to check all my email and news feeds what did I find waiting for me but a post from one of my favorite blogger-author-spiritual thinkers Jasmine Baucham. I eagerly clicked through to her post to see what words of wisdom awaited me this time and...as always...found myself struck, humbled and starting over at square one.

Jasmine's question was a simple one- "What would have happened if you got married at nineteen?" but it stopped me cold in my tracks. So much has happened to me since I was nineteen that if I was married then I think my life would be radically different now.

If I was Married at Nineteen:

• I would have been right on track with my timetable and planning a wedding not planning to go to culinary school (apprenticeship).
• At twenty I wouldn't be learning endurance and graduating with a group of people I still call family.
• At twenty-one I wouldn't be learning patience and helping to take care of my dying father.
• At twenty- two I wouldn't be learning Jesus is the light in your darkest self-dug pit.
• At twenty- three I wouldn't be starting in Bible Study Fellowship (Matthew) and learning Jesus requires of us obedience and understands all our weaknesses and struggles because as a man He experienced all we experience.  
• At twenty- four I wouldn't be available to give my Gran the care she needed after her four-broken-fingers accident and I wouldn't have the opportunity to devote my summer to reading and studying.
• At twenty- five I made big plans- for my life, for my business, for my personal habits but I learned in John (ch.11, again BSF) that just because Jesus delays in answering our requests (demands!) that it doesn't mean He's forgotten about us- it just means He has a bigger and better plan then we can see.
• At twenty-six I wouldn't be writing a letter that set a church on fire and contributed to uprooting people from a cancerous body; I wouldn't be able to 'redeem' my (business) time in the kitchen continuing to voraciously devour audio books and every single Vision Fourm lecture and conference I could get my hands on increasing my knowledge of church history and theology.  
• At twenty seven He wouldn't be teaching me to be humble and that I am to trust Him when I have nothing just as much as I trusted Him when I had (fairly) good health, good finances and good business prospects.

Next month I turn twenty-eight. (Twenty-Eight!) I am well aware, much like Jasmine, that the person I am today has been shaped month-by-month, day-by-day by the events, lessons, teaching and actions that I have experienced. I'm sure that if I had married at nineteen God would have gone about His teaching/sanctification process of me with different events, lessons, teaching and actions, He could have chosen to teach me the things I have learned, to grow me, to mature me in a different way. The daily life of a wife and mother way... In my minds eye I can see the brood of children daily gathered around me. Jam stained faces, piles of phonics books and a smattering of Character Studies flash cards, family dinner prep and mealtime....

However, I didn't marry at nineteen or twenty or twenty-one or twenty-seven- didn't even have the chance too....

What I have gained in this 'waiting time' is more precious though. It's more precious because it was His choice for me. All the things I have learned have been taught at His good pleasure to do so. He chose to teach me! He chose to mould me!

At twenty-seven I'm so much more me now then I ever was at nineteen.

Right now I'm enjoying growing (mostly :) ) and I don't plan on stopping- even if the next year or two brings something different along my path. Right now, with God's grace, I'll keep quoting with Jasmine:

"Keep from me Thy loveliest creature, till I prove Jesus' love infinitely sweeter." ~Charles Wesley, Written during his courtship with Sarah Wesley.

And, while I'm at it, I hope I learn how to have fewer moody days...   

Where were you when the world stopped turning?

This morning my alarm set off my radio at 8:15am. Through the heavy blanket of sleep the voice of a reporterette pierced my semi-aware consciousness with the words 'There has been an explosion at the World Trade Center'.
What?! my inner voice said.
Wake up! You have to wake up now! What is she saying? My voice continued as I hauled myself to an upright position. I remembered the terror alert that had been issued last night I began to pray and say 'God, no! Not again!'  I forced myself to focus and focused in on what was pouring out of my radio as the woman's voice changed to another reporter's, a newscaster's and sounds off the streets as an explosion reverberated through the airwaves.
My brain finally caught up. Thank you God! It's just footage. It's not real.

Not real.

Except that it is.
This morning it was not real, not happening again but it did happen and ten years ago it was very real.

After taking a few moments to wake up more fully I went to my bookshelf and rummaged for only a moment before setting my hand on a oddly patterned grey and blue and mauve colored spiral bound hardback notebook. I crawled back onto my bed and traveled back into time. Opening to the first entry I didn't need to look to know the date carefully and neatly penned at the top.

"September 11, 2001  For a long time now I have been wanting to start a journal because I have been learning how important it is to keep a record for future generations. Today something horrible happened to our country which I feel the need to record. At 8:42am this morning terrorists attacked the World Trade Center in New York City by flying a hijacked plane into one of the two towers. We had the radio on in the kitchen when the news broke and we went and turned on the TV to watch and see what was happening. Then at 9:03am as we watched this streak came across the screen and hit the second tower and there was a huge explosion which was very frightening....Everyone here was speechless....I could not believe it and all I could think of was all the people that had just died or were dying with no hope of escape...."

I finished reading the entry that detailed the entire day's events and set the book aside. I went about by morning routine and just couldn't seem to shake the feeling of dread that had jolted me awake. My inside voice decided that I just needed to turn on the news to see that everything was fine and then I could move on with my day. I obligingly flipped on Fox News and quickly sunk down into the nearest chair as the unmistakable tones of Ronan Tynan blared through the still darkened living room. He was singing "God Bless America" and for the second time today I was sucked backwards in time. For those who don't have a road map to my mind here's the thing... Ronan Tynan was a member of the group The Irish Tenors who I loved in my teen years- and still hold a great fondness for. One of the things I'll never forget the week following the attacks when there was a memorial at Yankee Stadium. Ronan was one of  of the featured performers and sung "God Bless America" to thunderous approval. This morning his clear tones again rung out doing justice to the soaring words. See it here.

The next program to come on my radio this morning again began to cover the anniversary of 9/11 as well and more and more remembrances and emotions began churning in me. The thing is, although the remembering and the emotions are painful to feel all over again I don't want to push them away I want to remember.
9/11 is a day of horror but it is also a day of hero's and hope and I don't want to forget any aspect of that day. Today we live in a world that is entirely different than the world we lived in on 9/10/01 and only those of us who were there on both sides of the dateline can act as witnesses. We cannot forget. We are the ones who can tell what it was like before. We are the ones who can tell what it was like that day. We are the ones who can explain why we are different today. There are children today who don't know and there are ones who are born day by day who must be told. If we stay silent because it hurts less not to relive that day then we allow that pain to control us, we allow those terrorists to control us.
As I reflect I am reminded of my younger self (and current self) who asked grandparents about the wars they experienced and lived through. I wanted to understand but I was never given satisfactory answers when I asked those questions. I don't want to repeat that when cycle when someday my children and grandchildren ask me about 9/11. I want to tell the truth. I don't have or want to live in the past- but 'those who don't know the past are doomed to repeat it' and I don't know about you but I don't want them to repeat it.
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 are real.
We lived them.
We mourned them.
We changed because of them.
We rose above them.

Perhaps if you haven't before then this year on the tenth anniversary it's time to sit down with your own journal and write about that day.

Perhaps it's time to answer the question that still hangs in the air and that future generations will echo: "Where were you when the world stopped turning, that September day?"