Mary Vogelsong's Blog, page 9
September 28, 2019
Review of Grace for the Unexpected Journey: A 60-Day Devotional for Alzheimer’s and Other Dementia Caregivers, by Deborah Barr
Deborah
Barr, author of Grace for the Unexpected Journey: A 60-Day Devotional for
Alzheimer’s and Other Dementia Caregivers, says the caregiver can sometimes
face spiritual and practical challenges others do not face.
Barr had the
caregiver in mind as she wrote this devotional. Each day’s devotion starts with
a passage of scripture, followed by a few thoughts by Barr. She then asks a
couple questions related to the scripture and how they apply to you. There is a
journal section with blank lined writing space for you to record your own
journey as a caregiver, or anything else you want.
Each day
Barr focuses on a different topic, with titles such as Why?, Irritations,
Cherish What Remains, What About Me?, The Power of Music, Feeling Guilty,
Gratitude, Caregiver Depression, Bitter or Better?, Live in Peace, The Loss of “Us”,
and Silver Lining.
This is a
quality hardback book put out by Moody Publishers, suitable as a gift for
someone faced with the overwhelming task of caring for a loved one with
Alzheimer’s or dementia.
September 27, 2019
Jesus in Me: Experiencing the Holy Spirit as a Constant Companion, by Anne Graham Lotz
Anne Graham Lotz is very open and vulnerable in her book,
Jesus in Me. The title comes from the simplified way she describes the Holy
Spirit. She says the Holy Spirit is God, the same as Jesus without skin, living
inside of me.
In her many personal illustrations, Anne is candid and
vulnerable, writing about the Holy Spirit’s work in her life during some of the
most traumatic and emotionally disruptive changes she has recently experienced.
Anne blamed herself for not going out to the pool sooner to
check on her husband, who she found drowned. But the Holy Spirit helped her
work through the false guilt. She misses her husband of 49 years, but realizes
God is bringing her into a new season of relying on Him.
Anne felt like not only a widow after her husband’s death,
but when her father, famous evangelist Billy Graham, died, she also felt like
an orphan because her mother had passed away by then too. Anne says the Holy
Spirit helps us cope with our loneliness.
Almost a year ago Anne announced she had been diagnosed with
breast cancer. She has needed to rely on her “Constant Companion” even more
during this time of treatment. She has solicited prayers from Christians
world-wide, and she anticipates a good outcome. She wants others who are going
through similar trying circumstances to know that “Jesus living on the inside”
will be there for them too.
Jesus in Me is a
good resource for those wanting to learn more about the Holy Spirit, and
especially for those who may be experiencing trials like Anne and want the
closeness of God living inside them.
September 22, 2019
Review of The Library Book by Susan Orlean
No one took the fire alarms seriously on April 29, 1986 at
the Main Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library, because the alarms were
always going off without provocation. People left their personal belongings and
exited the building. They knew the drill; most of them had been through this
before. The firemen would come and reset the alarms and give the all-clear for
everyone to reenter the building.
Even the firemen thought it would be a routine trip to the
library, and at first they couldn’t understand why the alarm wouldn’t reset.
But this time was different. This time there was a real blaze, and the
library’s old fashioned configuration helped feed oxygenated air to the flames
as over a million books were damaged or consumed.
Susan Orlean picks through the ashes, picks through history,
and picks through lies to try to find out what happened. You’d think a fire
like that would make international headlines. But a problem in the Chernobyl
nuclear power plant diverted everyone’s attention. So if you missed it when it
happened, or if it was before your time, pick up The Library Book.
@simonschuster @SimonBooks @susanorlean
September 21, 2019
The Essential Jonathan Edwards: An Introduction to the Life and Teaching of America’s Greatest Theologian, by Owen Strachan and Douglas Allen Sweeney
The Essential Jonathan Edwards: An Introduction to the Life
and Teaching of America’s Greatest Theologians, is a biography of one of
America’s best known early ministers. Edwards, who came from a line of
ministers, was schooled in Latin and other subjects by his father from a young
age. Edwards took his faith and his schooling seriously, giving the valedictory
address in Latin.
Edwards is perhaps best known for his sermon, “Sinners
in the Hands of an Angry God”. It is said that while his delivery may have
been dry, the congregants cried out in fear at the picture he painted of their
nearness to hell.
Edwards was a part of several revivals and spiritual awakenings
of his day. Still he met with frustration in matters such as his parishioners
assigning seats in the church based on wealth, his inability to force a young
man to marry the young woman he had impregnated, and negotiating for a salary
raise.
Besides being a biography of the famous preacher, this book also takes a look at Edwards’ doctrinal positions. The information is presented in a scholarly manner, citing references. If you want to read about early American church history or about Jonathan Edwards this book affords a great opportunity.
September 19, 2019
Ruby’s Hope: A Story of How the Famous “Migrant Mother” Photograph Became the Face of the Great Depression, by Monica Kulling and Illustrated by Sarah Dvojack
Ruby’s Hope: A Story of How the Famous “Migrant Mother” Photograph Became the Face of the Great Depression, by Monica Kulling and Illustrated by Sarah Dvojack, is a 9.75×11 hardback with “bleak yet beautiful illustrations” which were drawn with graphite and colored digitally.
Kulling calls this children’s book a “biography of a
photograph”, and a “partially imagined” story about real people, or
historical fiction.
The story is built around the American Depression of the
1930s and the drought and dust storms that made it difficult for farmers to
make a living. Many families packed up everything they could and moved west,
looking for work along the way. (Think: The Grapes of Wrath)
Photographer Dorothea
Lange was taking pictures as part of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Farm Security
Administration (FSA) program. When the Migrant Mother picture was published in
the newspapers, people saw the hunger and need of the migrant workers in the
camp. Soon the federal government sent 20,000 pounds of food for the people in
the camp.
A real family left Oklahoma during the drought of the 1930s.
The mother of the family is the one whose image became known as the Migrant
Mother. She was Florence Owens Thompson, a Native American of the Cherokee
Nation, born in Oklahoma in 1903.
Kulling used the real names of the people in this family,
but imagined the events that led up to the taking of the picture. In real life,
by the time the food arrived in the camp, the family had already left.
Teach the children what their ancestors went through to
survive in this land. Teach them the cultural significance of a photograph.
Teach them that they have a heritage. 5 Stars.
September 16, 2019
Review of It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way: Finding Unexpected Strength When Disappointments Leave You Shattered, by Lysa TerKeurst
Lysa’s life wasn’t turning out like it was supposed to. After raising their kids and watching them fly away to college and lives of their own, it was time for her and her husband to enjoy the empty nest. But that’s when he admitted to an affair. So instead of date night any night of the week, now she was home alone, crying into her pillow.
Then the rumor mill started. Lysa was head of a national women’s ministry, but she and her husband were breaking up? Lysa had tried to keep the matter private while she and her husband worked things out, but news or at least half-truths were floating around and now she had to deal with that too.
Then Lysa developed severe abdominal pain that would not go away. For days she lay in the hospital in agony. Finally she was rushed into surgery to remove most of her colon. The surgeon said she had come very close to death. It was actually her pain that let the surgeons know what was wrong and where.
Then Lysa’s town made her move her driveway at her own expense so they could put in a new turn lane.
Then her doctor called to say her mammogram didn’t look right. Yes, it was breast cancer.
Have you experienced an, “It’s not supposed to be like this,” series of events in your life? One of my favorite quotes from this book is Lysa saying,
“God isn’t ever going to forsake you, but he will go to great lengths to remake you.”
Lysa is still fighting some of these battles, and you may be dealing with long-term, seemingly never-ending, compounding problems that just keep stacking up. If that’s you, I recommend this book. It won’t solve all your problems, but it can help you obtain a godly perspective on your trials.
August 29, 2019
Beautiful gift under $20!
Ask me about volume discounts on a custom calendar for your business!
August 28, 2019
Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs
Augusten Burroughs, as he renamed himself once he reached leagal age, is a highly intellegent man who suffered a childhood of abuse and neglect under his biological parents. His father was a college professor who became a mean drunk every evening, and his mother suffered with mental illness which included hallucinations of demons.
His brother, John Elder Robison (Look Me In the Eye), has Asperger’s Syndrome and made up names for everyone. He called his brother Varmint. After his parents divorced, Burroughs’ mother signed his custody over to her psychologist, a Dr. Finch who from all accounts was as nutty as any of his patients and eventually lost his license to practice medicine.
Living in the Finches’ house with an assortment of non-blood related misfits was chaotic and unrestrained. There were no rules. No one told Burroughs when to go to bed or to school, or that he had to go at all for that matter. Respect of his elders was not insisted upon and nothing was off limits or sacred.
When Burroughs felt depressed, Dr. Finch reached to the shelf behind him and without looking picked up a drug sample and tossed it to Burroughs. Dr. Finch told him to take that until it was gone and he would be feeling better. Burroughs had already decided he was gay, so he figured the answer to his depression was a new boyfriend. Somehow that didn’t fix things either.
I was depressed at the sad state of affairs in the lives of these non-fiction characters by the end of this memoir. I was binge-reading his brother John’s books on Asperger’s Syndrome and thought I might get a little more insight from Burroughs’ book. There wasn’t any insight about Asperger’s, just a sad sick feeling that comes from a life without boundaries.
This book does have sexually explicit scenes and crude language.
#ChrisRobison #mentalillness #Snort #Varmit #depression
August 19, 2019
Review of The Overdue Life of Amy Byler by Kelly Harms
Amy Byler’s life was thrown into chaos
three years ago when her husband walked out of her and her children’s lives.
Suddenly she needed to become not just Mom, but breadwinner for her family.
Dusting off her college degree, she was able to get a job as a librarian. It
wasn’t as lucrative as her husband’s income had been, but with refinancing she
and the kids were able to stay in the house. Amy was stretched from both ends,
but she made life work.
After three years her husband decides
to walk back into their lives just as he had walked out. Not so fast, said Amy
and the kids in unison. But slowly he wins them over enough to take the kids
for the summer, leaving Amy free to return to NYC for the first time since
before becoming a mom.
Letting her hair down and playing the
single woman is fun for a while, (“What do you mean you never got divorced?”)
but eventually Amy is forced to make difficult choices.
I have a different value system than
our fictional protagonist, but I give high marks to Overdue Life for the
friendships that support Amy, enduring through years and demonstrating a
loyalty that draws their physical presence from states away when there is a
crisis.
The book is enjoyable, light reading.
Maybe best of all it is free with Audible narration if you have Kindle
Unlimited.
#momspringa #overduelife
August 12, 2019
Review of This Is Where You Belong: The Art and Science of Loving the Place You Live, by Melody Warnick
Melody Warnick and her husband were on their sixth move as a married couple when they pulled the moving van up to the rental house they would occupy in Blacksburg, VA. As upwardly mobile professionals, they had followed jobs from city to city. Along the way daughters were born and their family grew. Melody, a writer, began to think about the permanence and stability of her own childhood and that maybe it would be a good thing to give her daughters, too.
But what makes a place home? Where should they stop moving and say, “This is home”? They came to Blacksburg because Melody’s husband landed a job teaching at Virginia Tech. Melody was put off by the town at first, surrounded by dreary clouds and rain and mountains. She decides to make the best of it, and embarks on a series of experiments designed to help her feel more connected with the town where she lives, Blacksburg.
In an odd personal twist, I grew up just outside of Blacksburg, and moved to a flat part of the state as a young teen. How I pined for the Blue Ridge Mountains, the lower humidity, and a population who didn’t think I had a hick accent! For this reason Melody’s book was of special interest to me; would her experiments fail and her opinion besmirch my hometown?
Melody Warnick is a talented writer and she has approached this subject in a thorough journalistic style, while keeping the text engaging.
@melodywarnick @VikingBooks #LiveLocal #lovewhereyoulive #livelocal #placeattachment #BlacksburgVA #homesweethome #BlueRidgeMountains #NewRiverValley
