There's a Green Plastic Monkey in my Purse

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Motherhood is full of surprises! Although you never expect to hear yourself say, "There's a Green Plastic Monkey in My Purse" author Jessie Clemence shows in her book that we should be prepared for the kind of mother we want to be for when those unexpected things happen.

Clemence takes topics that every mom struggles with, like being happy, smart, productive and organized and gives insightful, practical and biblical advice on being the best mom you can be in those areas.

This book is not an in depth study of any particular area, but covers broad topics and through humor, she shares thought-provoking ideas for improving in several areas of motherhood.

Clemence uses Scripture well and for those unfamiliar with it she explains the story within the whole context of the biblical story line.

This is a great book to share with non-Christian moms because every mom deals with these issues. In a fun and encouraging way, Clemence presents faith and hope in Christ as the solution to our struggles in motherhood.

What's In Your Purse?

This is what I shared at our Mother/Daughter Banquet last night:

 

Theme: What’s in your purse? Looking at the inside instead of the outside

 

The stage of life you are in determines a lot about what you carry in your purse:

A Teen’s purse - comb, lipgloss, mirror, cell phone, bubble gum

A Mom’s purse - diapers, wet wipes, crackers, small toys, hand sanitizer

A Grandma’s purse - hankie/kleenex, candy, reading glasses, lipstick

But for the Christian woman, no matter what stage of life you’re in, what’s in your heart should remain the same: Let’s look at Galatians 5:16-26 (ESV) to see what should and shouldn't be in our hearts:

¹⁶ But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

It’s easy to look great on the outside, but still be a mess on the inside – and nobody knows. Have you ever been searching for “that thing” on the bottom of your purse and you have to dig to find it? It requires focus to find “that thing”. It also takes focus to follow the Spirit and not the flesh, as v. 16-18 points out to us. How do we stay focused on following the Spirit? We “dig in” to Bible study, prayer, and Christian fellowship. Those things will help us stay focused on walking in the Spirit.

 

¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, ²¹ envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 

 

Who likes to clean out their purse? All the gum wrappers and Kleenex that get shoved in the bottom make it hard to find what we’re looking for. Sometimes cleaning out the purse is needed, even if it’s not very fun. V. 19-21 tell us clearly what not to carry – the works of the flesh. It’s easy to skip over these because we don’t want to be convicted or our pride keeps us from seeing we struggle with any of these issues – but our flesh/old self is constantly at war with the Spirit in us, so we need to check our heart and repent or “clean out” when and where we fail. 

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

²⁵ If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

 

Isn’t it fun to get a new purse? The strap’s not broken and the bottom of the bag is not all sticky or stained. You check out all the pockets and pick things out of the old purse to put in the new one. When we repent of our sin and trust in Christ as our Savior, the Bible says we are a new creation, we get a new heart. And what should we put in this new heart? V. 22-23 tells us what to carry – the Fruit of the Spirit. You are probably familiar with this Fruit, but these things don’t come naturally to us, because of our struggle with the flesh, they require practice and desire – as v. 24 says when we are in Christ, we have killed fleshly desires. Then, we must replace them with Spirit desires/fruit. When we are focused on growing the Fruit of the Spirit in our lives thru Bible study, prayer and fellowship – then v. 26 will be true of us – we will not be conceited, provoking or envying but we can truly encourage each other in love, kindness, and gentleness and be the body of Christ as He desires us to be. 

Bound Together

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If you asked me three weeks ago what the word solidarity meant, I would not have been able to define it. I understood the concept but never really thought much about it. After reading Chris Brauns book, "Bound Together", I now have a much better understanding of how we are intertwined or "roped together". Brauns calls this connection we have to others the "Principle of the Rope" and through careful examination shows the dangers of radical individualism and benefits of Christian solidarity.

After clearly defining the "Principle of the Rope"', Brauns describes the two most extreme examples of the concept. First, the most negative example is that of our connection to Adam through original sin. For those who have a hard time understanding the fall of man, Brauns does a wonderful job of explaining the reality of our connection to Adam. Second, Brauns gives the most positive example of solidarity, which is union with Christ. Here the author clearly shows that Christians have hope that our union with Christ is stronger to save us than our connection to Adam is to condemn us.

Next in his book, Brauns gives several applications of the Principle of the Rope. Using examples from the Pauline epistles, he clearly proves that joy in the Christian life is experienced in direct correlation to the community of faith known as the local church. The Principle of the Rope can also help readers to understand and appreciate the marriage relationship better. Understanding this principle also explains why the death or sin of a family member is such a deep hurt, but reminds the reader that there is hope in Christ.

Brauns concludes by explaining that only New Testament churches can offer the true solidarity that people are searching for. People know they need  healthy relationships but don't know how to cultivate them because they are so blinded by radical individualism - the idea that "it's all about me".

I love how Brauns writes from the perspective of a pastor - he allows Scripture to make the point, then he clearly explains the deep theological implications, and then reexplains in layman's terns and analogies so any reader can fully grasp the concept and learn a deeper insight by putting the three together. Plus, he is gentle and caring toward those readers who may initially be opposed to the ideas presented.

I  found "Bound Together" to be a wonderful, eye-opening perspective on life, especially for generations like mine that have been raised in such a self-centered culture. To view our union with Christ and other Christians as a desired treasure should help us overcome disappointment in our relationships and be more intentional about building unity in our local church families.

*Special thanks to Cross Focused Reviews  for providing this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Most Important Thing Happening

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Some rollercoaster ride that was! I've never read a book quite like "The Most Important Thing Happening" by Mark Steele. You know when you first get on a rollercoaster and you feel kind of queasy and scared, yet the thrill and excitement keeps you going!? That's exactly how I felt after reading the first chapter of this book.
Each chapter is so unique, it felt like I was just getting to know the characters and then we moved on to  a "new" story. Once the puzzle started to take shape in Chapter 6, I had several "aha" moments as I began to see how all the individual stories were actually related. The plot of this "several stories, one novel" book is so unusual, it would take another reading for me to really connect all the dots.
I was slightly disappointed at the end because like a rollercoaster, it seemed to come to an abrupt stop. Granted, all the missing pieces fell into place just perfectly. So I don't know if I was just sad that it was over, or I didn't really understand everything that happened or if the perfect ending just didn't really fit in with the rest of the book?!
Although there was nothing explicitly gospel-centered in this book, there were strong undertones about sin and it's deadly effects and how forgiveness can change a person.
If you're looking for a book outside your normal reading comfort zone and that will make you think about solidarity - this is it!
(P.S. My favorite story was Chapter 2)

*Thanks to the publisher, David C. Cook for sharing this book with me through Net Galley for my honest review.

6.2 What's Hiding Under the other bed?

How do you clean the room of an artist and a preteen? One pile at a time!

Step 1: The Demise of the Dollhouse - For my 16th birthday my grandparents gave me one of those beautiful handmade dollhouses you see on the top shelf at Hobby Lobby. They had actually made one for me when I was like 2 or 3, but that was the very first one they made, spent so many hours on it, my grandma just couldn't give it up (this is the grandma I inherited my packrat skills from). Anyway, my beautiful purple dollhouse has survived cousins, nieces, daughters and 7 moves - my daughters loved it to pieces, literally. The poor thing looked like an old abandoned mansion you hear ghost stories about. So one afternoon, I took a deep breath of bravery and went into the girls room with a trash bag and we tore apart the dollhouse and threw it away. I hated it and cried, but it needed to be done. Now we have a large space to add a bookshelf with containers filled with Legos, Barbies and Polly Pockets so that my 7 yr. old has her own space in the room to play with her things instead of shoving them under the bed.

Step 2: The Preteen Desk - my almost 12 yr. old has a desk with stuff piled high on top. Why? Because the drawers are filled with more stuff. (She's kind of a packrat like me.) So I used the 3 box rule and dumped everything out of the desk and we sorted together - keep, donate/sell, trash. I did it with her to help her make wise choices ("Do you really need that?") and to stay on task ("We are going to finish this pile before you paint your nails with that favorite polish you thought you lost!") Ahhh, much better - now she can sit in the chair at the desk and paint her nails on a clear space!

There's alot more to tackle here (like the closet, yikes!) but those 2 steps were huge in creating a clean, peaceful space for my girls to enjoy their room!

Freeing Tangled Hearts

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"Only by taking our eyes off of ourselves and focusing on God can our tangled hearts truly be freed"

Freeing Tangled Hearts by Delores Kimball has incredible insights and wisdom for every woman I know! I didn't even get through the introduction before I pulled out my pen and started underlining. There are so many wonderful things to remember, quotes to post on my bathroom mirror and wisely used Scripture I need to memorize.

Kimball understands that the hearts and minds of women are stressed out, overwhelmed and confused, or as she puts it, "tangled". But instead of platitudes and cliches that we've all heard before, she is very straight forward about the issues women face.

Kimball challenges readers to examine their faith and then realize that the Christian life is a battle. She then tackles the negative emotions of doubt, guilt, anger, bitterness and envy one by one. Showing how these emotions can control us, she proves that freedom from them can't come from within, but only from the Holy Spirit. Every point she makes is backed up with Scripture. It is not awkwardly inserted or taken out of context, but is beautifully woven into her writing.

I love how she uses logic to disprove our emotionally based thinking and adamantly promotes living based on the truth of God's Word. As I read this book, I kept thinking how much I could have benefited as a teenager to learn to think based on truth and not  my feelings. I'm so thankful I now have this resource to share with my own daughters as they grow into young women who need to learn to navigate their emotions. I've already shared insights from this book with my oldest daughter, friends, and Bible Study groups. This is a book I will refer to and recommend often!

*A free study guide for the book is available at www.freeingtangledhearts.com

*Many thanks to Cross Focused Reviews  for providing this book in exchange for my honest review.

Communicating with Love

Human relationships are based on communication. In order to love someone well, you have to communicate well. Verbal and nonverbal interactions can build up and strengthen a relationship or tear it to pieces. So whether it’s your spouse, child, friend or neighbor, use these five communicating principles to show love and respect to the relationships in your life:

1.     Overlook what you can when you can. Sometimes we just have to drop the cookie, let it go, get over it and move on. It will spare us many unnecessary arguments.

2.     Build up, don’t tear down. Nagging never works and whining is childish. Apply the golden rule: speak to others how you want them to speak to you, with kind and encouraging words. (And like my mom always said: If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.)

3.     Be quick to listen – concentrate on what the other person is saying (don’t just formulate your rebuttal while they are talking), ask clarifying questions to show you are listening and to make sure you understand, follow-up with a reflective statement ("So what you are saying is…") and wait to respond (don’t interrupt).

     4.     Consider time and setting to address conflict – the best time to discuss an issue   is not when the other person is tired, upset, or preoccupied; make sure you have plenty of time to finish the discussion, that there are no distractions and do it face to face. In other words, schedule your fight!

     5. Use wise words – go into a discussion prepared – take notes on what you want   to say (topics, feelings, solutions), be clear and gracious, anticipate their reactions and use “I statements” ("I feel that…" NOT "you always…").

May your relationships be filled with love and grace as you learn to communicate with love!

*Principles learned from Peacemaking for Families by Ken Sande