Book Review: In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day

In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day: How to Survive and Thrive When Opportunity Roars by Mark Batterson

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Encouraging and motivating, this book is a reality check. It begs us to ask the question, "How big is your God?" Big enough to enable Beneniah to kill a lion in a pit on a snowy day? A resounding YES (2 Samuel 23:20-21)!



I'm facing a lot of unknowns right now, but this book has me trying to be OK with that. After all, lion chasers "don't need to know what is coming next because they know that God knows."



And my personal favorite quote from the book: "God wants you to get where God wants you to go more than you want to get where God wants you to go." Knowing this is true is such a comfort. I know I'm not going to get it right on my own, but I don't need to be too worried about it.


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Bonaire

May was a busy month - we celebrated Dad's birthday and Nick's graduation at Bonaire (one of the ABC islands just north of Venezuela) with some relaxation and SCUBA diving. I just wanted to share some photos with you. If you've never had a chance to put your head in the ocean, there is much to be seen of God's creation under the water! These photos are just a sampling of what we saw. Enjoy!

"Your vocation is secondary, where you live is secondary, your salary, the neighborhood you live in is secondary, the radical heart of it is to be radically like Jesus..."

- Sean Litton

Book Review - Life Management for Busy Women

Life Management for Busy Women: Living Out God's Plan with Passion and Purpose by Elizabeth George

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book really made me rethink my priorities and has helped me to put God first every day. It is a day-to-day effort, and I'm not always 100% successful, but it works wonders! Elizabeth George is a delight to read and she shares how everything we do can only be done better when our spiritual life is in order.



For a timely example, she explains that we will never be able to successfully create and keep a budget if our heart is we do not take a page from Paul's book and learn to be content:



"I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength." - Philippians 4:12-13



There are many great tips for managing all the important areas in our life including marriage, children, finances, house-cleaning (yikes!), health & fitness, friends, work, ministry, and more!


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Marmadenver

A familiar scene...

  
 

The Bible contains...

the mind of God.
the state of man.
the way of salvation.
the doom of sinners.
the happiness of believers.
light to direct you.
food to support you.
comfort to cheer you.

It is...

the traveler's map.
the pilgrim's staff.
the pilot's compass.
the soldier's sword.
the Christian's charter.
a mine of wealth.
a paradise of glory.
a river of pleasure.

You should...

read it to be wise.
believe it to be safe.
practice it to be holy.

It should...

fill the memory.
rule the heart.
guide the feet.

- Edith L. Doan, ed., "The Speaker's Sourcebook"

An excerpt from Chapter 20:

As we become more and more enthralled by the vision of the kingdom of God, it follows that we want to be shaped by God and so live life more intentionally. We start making small plans and taking tentative steps for this change. With God's grace drawing us along, we arrange our lives differently. We give up certain activities because we want time to do thing we're reasonably sure will help reshape us. Here and there, we give up a shopping trip, doing without an item we thought we needed (frugality), because we'd rather reread a book that really spoke to us (study and meditation). We intentionally take stationery with us to the doctor's office so that as we sit in the waiting room we can jot a note to our friend's son who is in jail, instead of reading whatever magazines happen to be there (service). We make a little effort to arrive at church early to greet that stranger who's been sitting alone at the back of the sanctuary (welcoming strangers). We aren't heroic about these things, and we don't turn them into chores, but we take seriously the ideas for disciplines that come to us that are most likely the prodding of the Holy Spirit. As the means help us, our vision and intention become stronger yet.

I've learned from this study that I am drawn to certain disciplines (study, solitude, meditation), but want to continue challenging myself to grow in others (service, prayer, frugality, fasting).