An Heir of Grace » Books & Movies

Update: Missouri

December 8th, 2008

Three seasons have come and gone since my last post. I have wondered many times if I was ready to hang up the keyboard and find a final resting place for my archives, but deep down I knew the desire to write would surface yet again—and it doesn’t surprise me at all that it happened at three o’clock on a dark, chilly, December morning. Some things don’t change.

I actually began thinking about blogging again when I met a young man who is a good friend of Bren’s from school. He has taught himself web design and I thought it would be neat to have him customize my blog for me. It will be awhile since I’m still working on the design details, but I decided not to wait for the new blog to begin writing again.

To briefly summarize the past eight months:

Read the rest of this entry »

1f50

Posted in Family, href="index.html?cat=11" title="View all posts in Books & Movies" rel="category tag">Books & Movies, Military Life, Blogging | No Comments »

Books & Clothes: The Sacrifice

April 13th, 2008

One of the BEST feelings in the world to me is waking up in the morning/afternoon, thinking I don’t have to get up, and sleeping for another couple hours. I fully deserve any curses that come from the love of sleep.

So yeah, I did get up at noon today. Bren fell asleep on the couch last night while we were watching The Devil Wears Prada and since she had taken her contacts out, I left her sleeping on the couch when I went to bed at about 3:00 a.m.

It was heart-wrenching, but I managed to pull around fifty ~~unwanted~~, ~~unneeded~~, ~~unloved~~...I manged to pull fifty books off my shelves that I could part with without becoming emotionally distraght. My books had been sitting patiently, stacked in a laundry basket at the end of my bed for over a week, so Rick finally boxed them up and dropped them off at the Literacy Council when he went into town this afternoon. Amazingly enough Rick only joked once that I hadn’t even made a small dent in my collection by sacrificing fifty. Psh.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in General, Books & Movies | No Comments »

Girl’s Night Out

April 12th, 2008

Bren and I had a really nice time out tonight doing our regular biz in town. I got off work at six and by seven we were headed for Fairbanks. Rick had gotten up at 3:30 a.m. to help with a breakfast fund-raiser at the club this morning, so he was pretty much useless this evening and looked forward to getting an early night. It was all good—he doesn’t have what it takes to hang with Bren and me on our marathon reading sessions at The Mother Ship anyway.

The bookstore was really quiet and enjoyable this evening. After a couple hours, Bren finished reading Love Walked In which she loved. Once when I looked up from my book and over at her, she was holding her finger on a page and had a pouty lip. I asked her what was wrong and she said, “I’m about to read the last sentence but I don’t want to because I don’t want the book to end.” Since I am reading Belong To Me, the follow-on to Love Walked In, I pointed out that she has the next book to look forward to when I’m done with it. I discovered that my point was just a slight consolation when she finally did read the last sentence, closed the book, held it to her chest and got teary-eyed. Make no mistake about it—this girl loves good books! The real consolation was Bren being able to get up and comb the book shelves for her next read.

After B&N we went to see the scary movie Prom Night with about fifty million other teenagers. We sat, ate popcorn, jumped in our seats, Bren yelped a few times, we wondered why the fleeing damsel in distress ALWAYS trips and falls while being pursued; we criticized the ending, and then it was all over. It was a short movie.

Girl talk on the thirty-minute drive home was the highlight of night. With soft sounds playing on the car radio accompanying Bren’s voice, and the Northern Lights dancing around the dark starry sky, I thought to myself I hope I remember this night with my daughter, April 11, 2008, forever.

Posted in General, Family, Books & Movies | 2 Comments »

Handwritten Letters

April 10th, 2008

C.S. Lewis’s full name was Clive Staples Lewis (1898-1963). I did not know this.

Currently I sit in an overstuffed chair by the fire at The Mother Ship (Barnes&Noble) in Fairbanks scribbling these random thoughts on a piece of graphing paper I ripped from Bren’s still unpaid for math notebook. After reading fifty pages in my current read Belong To Me, I paused for a stretch and made my way to the restroom at the back of the store. On my way back to my seat I swung by the theology section to see if Piper, MacArthur, Sproul, Packer, Willard, or Strobel had anything new published since I’d last checked. With negative results, I turned to walk away when Yours, Jack, by C.S. Lewis caught my eye. Beautiful dust jacket.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Family, Books & Movies | 5 Comments »

Still In Holiday Mode

December 27th, 2007

1f49

Bren came in to work with me this afternoon at one o’clock. There were only three girls in the teen room watching T.V. when we arrived, so I knew I would have plenty of time to take all the Christmas decorations down and clean real well, which is nearly impossible to do with a room full of kids.

I worked non-stop, cleaning for four hours while Bren read her Beth Moore book, watched a movie, and played Guitar Hero on PS2. Rick came and picked her up at 5:00 so they could go home and get ready for their date. As a Christmas gift, Bren wanted to take her dad out to our favorite Thai restaurant in Fairbanks. Bren and I have eaten there sevearl times, but Rick had never been. He loved it.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in General, Family, Books & Movies, Bible | 5 Comments »

Christmas Day

December 26th, 2007

I’m never letting Bren go to bed early on Christmas Eve ever again. She woke up a little after 5 a.m. this morning and lay there in bed until exactly 6 a.m., at which time she woke us up. I had only been asleep for three hours. Yes, I realize that was completely my fault, but still. Six a.m.?

The gift-opening session was a blur, but I do remember opening this, and being very surprised:

My friend, Kim, has one of these coffee makers and makes me a great cuppa coffee every time I visit. I’ve been wanting one for about a year, and now I have one :)

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Family, Books & Movies | 5 Comments »

To Be Read (TBR) Challenge 2008

December 19th, 2007

I’m glad I dropped by Jen’s blog this morning and discovered the annual TBR Challenge. There are many books I have had for years that I either haven’t read at all, or began reading and didn’t get very far. With this challenge I will at least get to 12 books I “have been meaning to read”.

The List

Praying, J.I. Packer & Carolyn Nystrom
Driven By Eternity, John Bevere
Scripture Alone, R.C. Sproul
Assured By God, Burk Parsons
Luther The Reformer, James M. Kittelson
Lessons From A Lifetime Of Writing, David Morrell
The Spiritual Secret of Hudson Taylor, Dr. & Mrs. Howard Taylor
Heaven, Randy Alcorn
The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan
The Color of Water, James McBride
Perilous Pursuits, Joseph M. Stowell
Saving Fish From Drowning, Amy Tan

Alternates

The Thirteenth Tale, Diane Setterfield
The Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan
Like Water For Chocolate, Laura Esquirel
A Bed Of Red Flowers, Nelofer Pazira
A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, Betty Smith

Posted in Books & Movies | 4 Comments »

Winter, A Movie, A Book & A Tree

December 17th, 2007

Okay, we’re done being spoiled with the “warm” weather (by warm I mean above zero) Winter is here. The “coldest in clear and calm valleys” comment…that would be us. Now where did I put my long johns?

This weekend was the most enjoyable one we’ve had in quite awhile, mainly because we spent most of it together. Bren had a wonderful time at the sleepover party with her friends, and we were so happy to know she was out having fun. Rick and I indulged in a Stuffed Crust Supreme pizza at Pizza Hut (although the silverware was dirty and the place needs to be bulldozed at the earliest convenience, the pizza was sooooooo good!) Afterward, we rented Ocean’s 13 from BlockBuster, and relaxed on the couch under a warm blanket for the evening.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in General, Family, Books & Movies, Alaska | 1 Comment »

Greatness

November 18th, 2007

I can’t remember the last time—if I ever have—pondered the question What makes a person great? I found the short answer in Faithfulness and Holiness, by J.I. Packer, who writes passionately about the 19th Century Bible teacher and Puritan Bishop, John Charles Ryle.

Not all men (or women) with good qualities deserve to be called great. What makes the difference? What are the further qualities that distinguish a great man from other good men?

1. Achievement. Great persons make their mark in their own sphere, whatever that is.

2. Impact. Great persons become inspirers and energizers of others, benchmark figures whose personal ideals and ways of behaving set standards for others that were not set, or at least not taken seriously, before. (Think John Wesley and Winston Churchill).

3. Universality. Great persons transcend the limits of their own age, and embody insight and wisdom for all who come after them (Think Augustine and John Calvin).

By these criteria Ryle was most certainly a great man.

Posted in Quotes, Books & Movies | 1 Comment »

Wake Up With Phlegm

November 11th, 2007

Coughing until I gag and throw-up is high on my list of things to do today, so I thought I would spare my dear church family and stay home. Listening to another person’s phlegm rattle is just disgusting (and reading about it is too, I suspect, lol) Rick had to go to Fairbanks to attend a Memorial Day ceremony, so I still had to get up to make sure Brenna and Faith were getting ready, then we picked Erik up and I dropped the load of ‘em off at church.

This weekend is going by fast already. Brenna and I slept in yesterday, spent a few hours doing homework and cleaning house, then the two of us went to town. Famous Footwear is having a Buy One – Get One ½ Off sale, so Brenna got a few pair of much-needed shoes.

After getting the car washed and visiting Cold Spot Feed, we sat by the fire and read at Barnes & Noble for a couple hours. I was able to finish Eat, Pray, Love, and began my next-on-my-list book How Starbucks Saved My Life, by Michael Gates Gill Not long ago I saw Michael Gill and his boss doing an interview, telling the story of his descent from being a top marketing executive to washing toilets at a New York City Starbucks, and I wanted to read the whole story. It’s a quick read – I should finish it today – as well as honest and fun. I love real life stories.

Well, I suppose I should turn off this 34 – 0 Green Bay/Vikings game, turn off the computer, and get my studying done. After I pick the kids up I think we’ll spend a nice quiet day here at home.

You all enjoy your Sunday. Blessings to you.

Posted in General, Books & Movies | 5 Comments »

Good Night/Bad Night

January 20th, 2007

The movie The Queen was awful. Don’t waste your money or your time. I give it a half a star solely for the excellent portrayal Helen Mirren gave of Queen Elizabeth. Abbie, Bren, and I had planned to go see Miss Potter, but the film hasn’t made it to our local theater yet so we had to choose an alternate. Wrong choice.

After the movie we went to Wally World, Fred Meyer, then to a Thai restaurant for dinner which had a very relaxed, quiet atmosphere. Eating at places like Chili’s on the weekends stress me out because they’re so busy and noisy and the food takes forever to arrive. The Thai place was perfect.

I fear I was lousy company this evening for Bren and Abbie as I have been feeling poorly for a couple days now. I hope I can shake this real soon.

I should have mentioned that the quote below is something I came across while looking into predestination and man’s ability or inability to repent and accept Christ for salvation of is “own free will”. Does the bible teach faith—> regeneration—> repentance—> salvation, or —> regeneration—> faith —> repentance—> salvation, or something else, and does it matter, if so, why?

Just thougth I’d clear that up as context is everything dahling!

2dfb

Posted in General, Bible Study, Books & Movies | 10 Comments »

Much About Today

January 16th, 2007

Good:

Bren’s first ASL class at the college went well

It was a beautiful day! The sun was shining.

I made my bed

A friend drove me around Fairbanks to show me shortcuts to the college

I discovered that I am not the only closet Calvinist in our Independent Baptist (very Arminian) church

Rick is busy and happy at work

Bren is making great progress in her studies

Not So Good:

I felt bad today; I was tired and my stomach was mad about the Chinese food I ate last night

I’m behind on my bible study and class is in the morning.

Bren was a pill today. That’s what I get for letting her stay up too late.

Most of the news

Surprising:

Nicholas Cardot at The Watchman joined the Army. My prayers are with you and your family, Nicholas.

I didn’t get lost today

Enjoyable:

Stopped by Starbucks at Safeway with Bren this morning to get coffee and muffins

Reading Chosen By God and taking copious notes

A nice afternoon nap

Talking about the Lord with my friend as we drove

Received emails from my parents and sister, and comments on my blog :)

Read Bren’s science text to her while she ate Ramen noodles

Taking pictures of the beautiful scenery on base

Wanting:

Volunteer work with the elderly

Looking Forward To:

Bible study with Bren in the morning

Church tomorrow night

A good night sleep

Feeling better tomorrow

Posted in General, Bible Study, Church, Family, Books & Movies | 7 Comments »

Frigid Friday

January 6th, 2007

It is nearly 2 a.m. now but it doesn’t feel like it. Bren and I returned home a little late tonight and so it doesn’t quite seem like bedtime yet.

Bren is sitting on the couch with her laptop browsing bn.com and eBay for works of Oscar Wilde who receives credit for the quote Wisdom comes with winters. (I heartily agree with the gentleman!) She spent the evening in the company of our church youth at the pastor’s home for a movie night, and I went into town with a new friend, Addy. We planned to see The Pursuit of Happyness this evening (the movie was deeply moving; I highly recommend it), and left early so we would have time to stop by Michael’s to sign up for a knitting class, and then on to The Mother Ship (Barnes&Noble) to browse and drink. Yes, as a matter of fact I did buy two books; this one and this one, thanks for asking.

Bren and I abandoned Rick for this Friday night, but we left him with a casserole, one of those banana-pudding-coolwhip-nilla wafter dessert things, and sole control of the remote.

The dogs are miserable. It was really really cold today so we couldn’t take them out for a walk or to play ball. Climbing back up the back porch stairs after they’ve gone potty has been difficult for them, so I put their booties on to protect their feet better, but they were afraid to go down the stairs with them on. Poor poopers.

This is our forecast for the next few days. I’M READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL!

Posted in General, People, Quotes, Family, Books & Movies, Sports | 8 Comments »

He Is Lord Over All

December 8th, 2006

Thank you all for your prayers. I know God hears.

My mom gave me the news last night when I called her on our way to church. I did my best to push it into a closet in the back of my mind so I could hold myself together during worship. There is a lot going on in the lives of our family members, some of it very bad, some a bit grevious, and one in particular is a cause for great rejoicing. A family member has been going through great trials physically and the Lord has used that in her life to draw her to Himself.

I pray the Lord will draw Justin close so he will be able to make it through the horrible days that lie ahead of him.

O, thou Father of my spirit,
thou king of my life,
cast me not into destruction,
drive me not from thy presence,
but wound my heart that it may be healed;
break it that thine own hand may make it whole.
~From The Valley of Vision: The Cry Of A Convicted Sinner

Bren’s correspondence courses arrived on Monday. We ventured out into town on Tuesday to pick them up and stopped by the college to inquire about a sign language course being offered for the Spring semester. Bren has been wanting to take sign language for quite awhile, and now that she’s studying at home she has time to do so. We received permission from the instructor for Bren to take the class, so we went to town this morning and enrolled her. I now have a highschool freshman that thinks it’s pretty cool to be taking her first college course, especially since her friend Rachel from church, who is also homeschooled, is enrolling in the class as well.

The chickie is also staying very busy with drama class these days as they are getting ready to put on a production next week. Bren has been staying after school every day to help the instructor. We arrived here too late for Bren to audition, so she’s been working on the set, make-up, running errands for the teacher, and standing in for kids that don’t show up. She loves theatre.

While in town today we stopped by Barnes&Noble to pick a CD I ordered, Shadow of Your Wings: Hymns And Sacred Songs, by Fernando Ortega, my favorite artist. Bren and I were so overwhelmed by the beauty of the music that we worshipped the whole thirty-minute drive home. Bren, who told me before I put the CD in that I wasn’t allowed to cry, cried all the way home. This CD is a soothing balm for the spirit and I highly recommend it. If you have never heard Fernando, check out his website and have a listen. (And as a side note, the CD is less on his website than what I paid for it at B&N).

My compulsive book-buying will come to an end someday, but that day was not today. I have to give great big kudos to the buyers at this particular store, as the Christian/religion section has a very good selecition of books worth reading. I finally got a copy of The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions, and Luther The Reformer, by James M. Kittelson. This latter find has caused me to change my reading plans and dive headlong into the biography of this great man. Oh joy!

I spent the remainder of our evening reading over the introduction to Bren’s science course with her, and setting up her lesson plans. She’s going to be a busy gal, but welcomes the work without having to put up with all the garbage. I can see a difference in her demeanor already.

1f92

Posted in Prayer, People, Quotes, Books & Movies | 5 Comments »

Just Keep Reading, Reading…

December 5th, 2006

There isn’t a Bren in sight. The computer is mine, mine, all mine!

For some reason Bren’s laptop has lost it’s ability to access the internet even though it’s connected to the wireless. I haven’t a clue about these things so I haven’t gotten it fixed yet and Bren has pretty much taken over the home PC. By the time she goes to bed I’m too tired to write, so my blogging has suffered. I suppose I should kick her off for my blogging time each day.

The highlights of the past few days—

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Church, Books & Movies, Blogging | 7 Comments »

A Few New Books

November 30th, 2006

I bought a cool book tonight at Barnes and Noble. The Intellectual Devotional provides an exercise in learning for every day of the year (The first entry is on the history of the alphabet). Monday’s devotionals are on history; on Tuesdays – literature, Wednesday – visual arts, Thursday – science, Friday – music, Saturday – philosophy, Sunday – religion. The entries are short; it shouldn’t take more than five minutes to read one. When I got home tonight Bren and I thumbed through it and are excited about beginning our daily readings tomorrow.

We have been reading a poem a day from this neat book, so we decided that Bren will read the poetry aloud and I will read from the Intellectual Devotional.

Into my bag also went this litte book. I got it as a companion for Bren’s course in Alaska History (now mandatory).

I spent a few hours tonight sipping coffee in the cafe and reading through Bren’s school materials. The store was comfortable and quiet tonight and it was only 5-below, so I enjoyed being out. My treat on the drive home was a nice view of the Northern Lights. I really need to stop watching God’s show while I’m driving.

Posted in Trivial, Books & Movies | 8 Comments »

Frigid Tales

November 26th, 2006

I have really enjoyed our weekend so far and look forward to worship at church in a few hours. I’m up much later than I would like to be on a Saturday night – I don’t like being drowsy during church – but I didn’t want to put off blogging. My thoughts these days tend to grow wings and fly away after hanging around my brain for a very short while, so I want to get it in writing that I did indeed live life these past few days and thought it was worth mentioning.

I don’t have a calendar in front of me at present, so I’m not sure how many days it’s been since we moved here (almost 2 1/2 months worth), but it happened sooner than I expected. I figured either Rick, or more likely, Bren, would make some cold-induced declaration of their hate of Alaska sometime during the winter. It was Bren, and it happend last night.

For three days this weekend Fairbanks was holding their annual Holiday Celebration (I will post many more photos and review of events on my Alaska blog later today). The roasted chestnuts and hot cider from 4 – 7 p.m., and then fireworks at 7:00 sounded great. We got all our winter gear on (or so I thought), and I spent a good amount of time talking Bren into wearing her parka. She finally conceded and wore it, but she refused to put on a hat because she didn’t want to mess her hair up.

(Bren at 20-below)
When we got to the park it was too cold to stay outside. We were literally freezing and it hurt. We managed to grab a hot cup of cider and Bren got a very cold and squishy chestnut. We watched a few of the fireworks by looking over our shoulders while we quickly made our way into the auditorium inside where a local jazz band was to perform. We got there a little bit early, so we sat and finished our cider and ran our hands under warm water to defrost them in the bathroom. It was at this time Bren looked at me like she was angry and said, “I AM NOT staying here forever; I HATE THIS!” She had never been that cold in her life. I don’t think she’ll be volunteering to go snowshoeing anytime soon.

Read the rest of this entry »

1f41

Posted in People, Family, Books & Movies | 5 Comments »

11/16/06

November 16th, 2006

This morning before Rick left for work I made sure he went in and woke Bren up at 6:30, then I dozed back off since he didn’t need breakfast today. I woke up at 7:00 and knew Bren hadn’t gotten up. I called to her and she stumbled out of her room with her eyes barely open.

“What time is it?”

“Seven”

“What!?”

“Your dad went in and woke you up at 6:30.”

“I just laid back down for a few more minutes!”

“Well, I guess it turned into thirty minutes, didn’t it? You better move so you’re not late for school again.”

Why don’t people like us ever learn that “just a few more minutes” is just torture? We feel awful in the morning no matter what time we get up, so why don’t we just get up and feel awful and get it over with? Oh yeah – because we don’t want to. Sigh.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in General, Church, People, Books & Movies | 3 Comments »

A Book And A Fire

November 11th, 2006

We were blessed to begin our day with brunch in the home of friends, Kent and Leah. They live just past a short path through the woods behind our house, so Rick, Bren, and I bundled up and made the chilly trek over. Not much feels better than entering a warm home from the arctic cold.

When we returned home, Kent and Leah returned with us so the manly folk could move a heavy piece of furniture to the basement, then hook up the water filter to the ice maker. As the men tinkered, I sat with Leah and looked through photo albums for pictures of people from the Philippines to see if there were any people we happened to be mutual acquaintences of. In our discussions this morning we discovered that I was stationed in the Philippines the same time they were and she had dated my sponsor. That’s pretty amazing we knew the same people back in the mid-80s.

After our company left, Rick was ready for a nap and Bren was ready (with allowance in hand) for me to take her to town to shop at thrift stores, so we took off. We only hit one store, then made our way to Barnes&Noble with the laptop so Bren could work at leveling her mountain of homework a bit.

The atmosphere in the store tonight was intoxicating. The fire was warm, the cafe not so busy, and to our great delight, there was a a group of four violinists playing classical pieces (I took a photo which I will download when I get home). We settled down in the overstuffed chairs with our books and hot coffee, and let the rest of the world go.

Just a bit ago Bren got my attention and said, “Mom, listen to this…

“Give me,” said Joe, “a good book… and sit me down afor a good fire, and I ask no better. Lord!” ~ Joe Gargery in Great Expectations

She thought it was a pretty wonderful dialogue in the story being that at present we are sitting around a fire reading good books.

It is currently 13 degrees below zero outside now, and I wonder when I will get so used to the temperatures here that it no longer occurs to me to mention it in my blog posts.

Posted in People, Quotes, Books & Movies | 6 Comments »

A Rimy Morning

November 3rd, 2006

Rick took this photo of Bren and me before church last week. I love the snow! It is a bit chilly tonight; a low of 16 below zero is expected, with a high of 3 degrees F tomorrow. Brrrrrr

Bren is reading Great Expectations for her English class, and loves it. Yesterday she came to me and said this was the best simile she had ever read:

It was a rimy morning, and very damp. I had seen the damp lying on the outside of my little window, as if some goblin had been crying there all night, and using the window for a pocket handkerchief. ~ pg. 17

I have to say I like it as well! I love it that Bren loves and appreciates good writing. It’s making her a better writer herself.

Posted in People, Books & Movies | 4 Comments »

December 8th, 2008

April 13th, 2008

April 12th, 2008

April 10th, 2008

December 27th, 2007

December 26th, 2007

December 19th, 2007

December 17th, 2007

November 18th, 2007

November 11th, 2007

January 20th, 2007

January 16th, 2007

January 6th, 2007

December 8th, 2006

December 5th, 2006

November 30th, 2006

November 26th, 2006

November 16th, 2006

November 11th, 2006

November 3rd, 2006

Pages

Categories

Blogroll

Interests

Ministries

Admin