Romans, Holman Christian Standard Bible

 Ah, the book of Romans, written by the Apostle Paul, to the Christians in Rome. There is so much good stuff in this book I don't think one can retain it all in one time through it. In the first chapter, Paul tells us that the depravity in the world comes from seeing evidence of God in this world and rejecting him, causing hearts to be hardened, thinking becomes nonsense, and their senseless minds become darkened. Claiming to be wise, they become fools, exchanging God's glory for cheap counterfeits.  And it is for this reason that God turned them over to depraved minds including homosexuality, envy, murder, pride, boasting, inventing evil, parental disobedience, undiscerning minds, untrustworthy behavior, being unloving and unmerciful (paraphrased). Paul lays it all out from the get go and he's pretty blunt. He was speaking to the early church in Rome, a center for immoral behavior, and I am sure that many new converts came from that culture where immorality was just an acceptable part of daily life. He had to make sure they understood that this was not acceptable, especially as followers of Christ. He then proceeds to make sure they know that ALL have sinned and need Christ, from the decadent Roman citizen to the Pharisee in the synagogue, and that true righteousness comes through faith in Christ.

I will probably hit other areas of Romans the next time I read it, I just wanted to share this opening part of it. Note that nowhere does it say that because Jesus loves them, that sinners can stay in their sinful lifestyles and still be part of the body of Christ. We all must turn away from our sin  and not pick it up again. We can't turn away from it if we don't recognize it as sin. And we can't do that without God showing it to us.

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Painted Garden Art Anyone Can Do by Lin Wellford

Painted Garden Art, Lin Wellford, ArtStone Press

This is not my first Lin Wellford book but it is just as delightful as the rest. These garden art projects look like so much fun, I really want to try them! Being a semi-pro artist, I feel like I don't have time to do things for fun, I have to constantly be creating art to sell or show, but I really want to do some of these projects for my own yard. I love the elephant border, the iguana stone, and the koi pond. Who knows, maybe I will put aside everything else and just do it!

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The Girl Who Wrote in Silk, Kelli Estes

The Girl Who Wrote in Silk, Kelli Estes, Sourcebooks Landmark Publishing

I LOVED this book. This is yet another fictional storytelling of Chinese American history. This book is based in the Seattle area and Orcas Island, going between present day and the late 1880's-1900's during the Chinese Exclusion Act. 

A young Chinese woman escapes genocide by being pushed into the water near Orcas Island and is rescued by a kind man. This is her story, and she embroiders her history and the story of her family on a silk robe, part of which is discovered years later. This story profoundly affects the family that discovered it, as well as the professor who researches its history. I am not going to say much more because you just need to read it.

Absolutely worth reading. Even though it's fiction, it gives one an idea of how the Chinese were treated. It makes me think about the Lilly White mine, near where I live in Baker City, Oregon. The mine was worked by Chinese slaves, and instead of paying them, when the mine was mined out, they sealed the workers inside and blew it up with dynamite, literally killing hundreds of Chinese.  It's sad and atrocious what mankind has done in our country's history. Reading things like this helps us remember and strive not to let things like that ever happen again.

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The Book of Acts, Holman Christian Standard Bible

 The Book of the Acts of the Apostles, written by Doctor Luke, a history of the early church from the time of Jesus' Ascension to Paul's travels. 

Acts 2, with an outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the believers in Christ, Peter gave a sermon, and starting at verse 37, the people "came under deep conviction" and asked, "Brothers, what must we do?"

"Repent," Peter said to them, "and be baptized , each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call." 

I think we as modern day Christians complicate matters too much. We are told to believe and be saved. And we are told to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus and we WILL receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. It doesn't say you will receive the gift of speaking in tongues. It doesn't say you will fall down and convulse. It doesn't even say you will visually manifest a supernatural gift in that moment. But that doesn't mean that you don't have the gift of the Holy Spirit. That will become evident in your fruit. When you bear fruit of love, joy, peace, and the other fruits of the spirit, that will be your evidence. It will be in how you live your life, both when you are being watched and when you aren't, and will bring focus and glory to God through Jesus Christ, not on your own attempts to manifest the Holy Spirit. 

Let's get one thing straight. We don't manipulate the Holy Spirit into moving. We don't control the Holy Spirit. Living in the gift of the Holy Spirit requires living in obedience to the Word of  God, living in humility, and running any thought or idea we have that we think might be God speaking to us, through what His Word already says. If it doesn't line up, it isn't the Holy Spirit. If it doesn't bring focus to God, better rethink what you are going to say. 

For example, a "godly man" told this teenage boy that God revealed His word, that this man was going to marry his daughter. This boy said absolutely not, God never told him such a thing. Then this "godly man" told another teenage boy the exact same thing. Neither of these boys married her. Was that the Holy Spirit working through him? He was a leader in a church, well respected. He may have meant well in finding a mate for his daughter, but manipulating the "Holy Spirit" is wrong on any level.

I believe you will more likely see real movements of the Holy Spirit in those who are the most humble. those who don't seek to do things to cause attention on themselves. Sometimes the quietest people are the most obedient and in tune to what the Holy Spirit wants. After all, in the Old Testament, didn't God speak in a still small voice rather than in the storm and wind? 

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Caring for Yourself While Caring for Your Aging Parents, Claire Berman

 

Caring for Yourself While Caring for Your Aging Parents, Claire Berman, Owl Books

For the past few years, I have seen a change in my elderly parents. My father went through a lot, about 18 years ago he had prostate cancer, and his health and mental clarity started slipping around that time. About 10 years ago, he had a hemorrhagic stroke that resulted in brain surgery, as well as physical disability and dementia. My mother has taken care of him all along, doing the brunt of the work herself, as that's how she always wanted it. 

However, in the past three or so years, I noticed small changes in my mother. Inability to make decisions. Refusal to make phone calls. Asking me to write checks for her. Then she would show up to appointments 3 hours early and just sit there and wait, because she didn't know how to tell time. Couldn't tell the difference between 6am and 6pm. Numbers, mostly.

I took her to a doctor as this worried me, and she took a MOCA test...and failed. The doctor suggested a brain scan. There were family members who denied this, didn't want to face it. I get it. I didn't want to face it either, but I couldn't deny it.

She kept telling me that she couldn't remember how to turn off the car, how to put a seat belt on, and she almost hit cars multiple times on my last drive with her in the driver's seat. Family members didn't want to see this, after all, who wants to give up their right to drive? But in order to protect her, I talked to her doctor, who agreed, and had her license revoked. I hated having to make that decision but it was for her own good, as well as for others. I was terrified at the thought of her killing or injuring someone or herself. It would have happened.

She was on dementia medication for a while and it helped slow the progression, but it was giving her massive headaches. So she was taken off, and her dementia has progressed rapidly. She forgets to bathe. Forgets my dad needs food, and care. Forgets names, what day it is. 

It breaks my heart, seeing my parents become this. My Dad was a senior sonar chief in the US Navy, then a postal carrier, retired from both. Highly intelligent, great sense of humor, would give anyone the shirt off his back. Loving, kind, goofy, and had a strong faith in God. My mother was very creative, devoted her life to children--raising us kids, then teaching in a school and as children's church pastor for years. 

It's like a long term grieving for the children. You love your parents, they are still in there, but it's like watching them slowly disappear. I feel helpless, wishing I could do more. Since he broke his hip, I can't lift my dad, so I can't really stay there when the caregiver is gone because I can't clean or move him.

 I have a lot to mourn over. My parents. Loss of relationship with some of my family. Family dynamic makes things difficult.

But my parents are still alive and still need constant care. 

This book goes over many topics including what options may be available, support groups, how to manage sibling conflict, financial challenges, and end of life decision making. Reading this book let me know that I am not alone in the things I feel, in the grieving at their decline. 

Although most of the care is out of my hands and up to someone else, I still care. I still want them to be okay. I still want to be in their lives, after all, I love them, and always will. 

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Masters of Painting Their Works/ Their Lives/ Their Times by Bernadine Kielty

 

Masters of Painting, Bernadine Kielty, 1964 Doubleday

This large format book was published in 1964 and touches on art and artists from Byzantine times through Impressionism, and just slightly touching on modern art, as it was still relatively new in 1964. I have read a few art history books that are more comprehensive than this one, but I like that this volume tries to touch on the artists personally and give a little more insight into their lives. The one drawback to this book is that almost all the pictures are in black and white, rather than in color. 

I would like to share the last thought from this book by the author:

    "On the walls of the museums and galleries of the world hang pictures from all these centuries. Some of these pictures the gallery-walker likes, others he dislikes. But the final judgment as to which picture is truly great rests not on how many people like it, but on the personality of the artist who painted it. No way of painting is superior or inferior to another. It is a matter of whether or not the style expresses the painter. Old masters portrayed madonnas. The moderns portray apples. No matter what the period of time, no matter what the beauty or ugliness of his model, regardless of technique, the value of the painter's creation depends on the worthiness of his ideal, and the degree to which he has made that ideal clear in his finished picture. In today's art we may not always understand what the artist is saying, or recognize the object he is painting, but we sometimes can feel the urgent desire which prompted him, and we must look in his picture for its fulfillment. As a wise man Venturi said, "We must look with the eyes of the mind into the painter's soul."

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1 Chronicles, Holman Christian Standard version

 First Chronicles is pretty much a history book for Israel, chronicling important genealogies in their history, of their tribes and priesthood, and kings. It goes over a lot of events that happened in David's life, goes through some instructions and setup for the Temple, who was assigned what roles in Temple service, and ends with Solomon's reign. 

This book is not exactly the most enjoyable reading, but is filled with great information if you are doing an in depth historical study of Israel.

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