Lessons Learned in February

My biggest lesson was in the effect of gratitude on one's spirit. Having determined to appreciate the small gifts of winter, I was constantly on the lookout for the little daily treasures surrounding me. What did I find? Winter is no longer to be dreaded!

Despite the treasures brightening my winter days, I did continue struggling in parenting. I'm ashamed to say that mothering has brought out anger in me, and I hate where it takes me. Early in the month I prayed for God to help me not yell. I yelled anyway. Then I completely lost my voice for a few days. Thank you, God, for making me not yell for at least three days in my entire parenting career!

ApPARENTly, the white flag of surrender needs to go up in March. More about that later.

Reading this month was still a grand passion in our home. Much of my reading time went to my Beth Moore Daniel Bible study and keeping up with reading through the Bible in a year. I absolutely love the Daniel study. It was a perfect accompaniment to Yohannan's book which left me feeling like a second class Christian with no hope for knowing how to truly serve God. Moore tells us all about Babylon and draws parallels to our western society. What an example Daniel and his friends are to us! Daniel is the book to show us how we really can serve God in our Western society.


Revolution in World Missions, K.P. Yohannan

Last year when we went to a homeschool conference, Gospel for Asia had a big booth and they were handing out this book. Of course I took one, and I finally got around to reading it. The whole premise is that Indian peoples should be evangelized by natives, not Westerners. Yohannan challenges the American lifestyle and way of thinking about missions. He also encourages his readers as to how much can be done for a small amount of money, and how the gospel is changing lives in India. I was surprised that he criticized the "social gospel" and that he was adamant that a persons stomach real doesn't "have to be full" before we can preach the gospel to him. Yohannan explained why Indians are destitute because of their dark religions, and that the gospel is ultimately what is going to free them spiritually, and meet their physical needs.
He also criticized the new Western fascination with Eastern things. He said "The poses in yoga are designed for one thing only, and that is to bring in the dark spirits." I have avoided yoga for years because of the religious ties, but when we got our Wii fit I started doing a few poses because it's just exercise, right? Maybe not, when an Indian who really understands yoga is describing it this way. I guess it's out with the yoga for me!

I admit, I felt confused a bit while reading this, and curious about where our missions money is really going. I agree with and am thankful for the native missionary movement, but I'm not sure how to put all this in practice. I'm pretty sure that our entire denomination's world missions policy is to train and equip natives. I'm also pretty sure that our local church doesn't support many missionaries to the East. This was a pretty heavy book, and I'm going to be thinking about it for a long time.

The Family Book of Fun, Paxman

My mentor, D---, loaned me this little old book she found at a second-hand store. It is a sweet little idea book for productive ways to spend time together as a family. It is quite antiquated (copyright is 1962) and stirred up bittersweet reflections in me at how much we've lost as our society has "dumbed down."

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day and Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day, Hertzberg and Francois

Now this was an exciting read for me! I've been making all of our bread products now for several months. I enjoy it, but it takes a while to knead a big ol' wad of whole wheat dough. The new method I learned in this book really works, and when they say "Five Minutes a Day," that's five minutes, max. I borrowed Artisan Bread from the library but I couldn't renew it because someone else had already reserved it. I was so excited about this bread-making concept that I bought Healthy Bread.

I wish the books came with a pronunciation guide because I don't even know how to say "Artisan" correctly, and I think "baguette" is the only bread in the entire book I'm sure about. I was also disappointed that there aren't many recipes in Healthy Bread that are 100% whole grain. The authors didn't even address freshly milled grains which was also a bit disappointing. However, they do keep an active website filled with recipes and Q & A's. I've only visited it once but I did read up a little on using freshly milled grains. I also wish the book was spiral bound because I'm going to be using it all the time and I can't get it to stay open!

The Boxcar Children, Warner, Books 1-4

W--- really began obeying and cooperating well during school time this month so I rewarded him with these books I had picked up at a yard sale a couple years ago. I know they aren't the most exquisite children's literature, but they have their place in the children's' education. My favorite thing about this series is how kind and responsible the main characters are. The adventures are exciting even for me! When we are stressed out, tired, and argumentative, we have a habit lately of getting out a Boxcar Children book and cuddling up together. I love these books, although they make my kids want to run away and live in a boxcar. But that's okay, because I want to run away with them!