How the Codex was Found - Audiobook

                

Exactly six months ago I first wrote about an adventurous pair of sisters named Agnes and Margaret. You can refresh your memory of the lives and adventures of these rather eccentric twins from Scotland by clicking here. But a brief excerpt will suffice for this post:

Even though Agnes and Margaret eventually became famous in the antiquarian/literary/biblical-scholarship/academic world of their day, being awarded multiple honorary doctorates, and even traveling the USA on a lecture tour - what we love was their relentless focus on doing all this to help demonstrate the reliability and historicity of the Scriptures. Their personal lives are also examples of trust in God's providence and seeing all of life through the lens of His word.

In that post I mentioned both the book that first introduced my own sister and me to these delightful twins, as well as the little book of their own publishing which I was in the process of turning into a public domain audiobook.

With the help of my LibriVox proof-listener (a retired minister), last week I finished recording the few words that were literally "Greek to me."

With a running time of just under 2.5 hours, this quick read is now available in a few formats - all available for free download at the following links:

Complete Audiobook on LibriVox

Complete Audiobook on YouTube

Free e-book in PDF scanned format

- Top image is the CD cover I designed for the LibriVox audiobook
- All other photos are licensed for creative commons non-commercial use

What Christmas is All About

My nephew's favorite book the day I was visiting was a good choice for December! Three times he pulled "A Charlie Brown Christmas" off his shelves to bring to me, climbing onto my lap and pointing to each character in turn.

I remember when we bought this story on animated video. Through all the years since, one part has hit me with goosebumps, chills, tears, or some sensation of joy. It is when Charlie Brown in despair yells, "Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?"

And then Linus steps forward

"Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about. Lights, please? 

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 

"And the angel said unto them, 'Fear not: for behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.' 

"And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.'

"That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown."

Watch a 30 second video of the sketching/painting process accompanied by Linus' quote by clicking HERE.

Rest in Him

Come, Thou long expected Jesus,
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us;
Let us find our rest in Thee.

• Charles Wesley, 1744

Merry Christmas!!!

P.S. - Though not something one usually sits down and reads of an evening, this hymnal is still one of my favorite books.

You know how words are so much more easily memorized when set to music? Every child should grow up filling their memories with timeless hymns full of eternal Truth!

Countless times these hymns have come back to me "out of the blue." Actually, I know I am given just the right one at just the right time to meet the needs of my heart.

Hymns help me find my rest in Him!

A Shepherd Explains

One reason I appreciate audio-books is as a great way to re-read a book I first enjoyed in print. A recent audio-read was A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by Phillip Keller. So good!



Packed with the author's real life experiences in the rugged life of sheep-ranching, his insights breathe life and meaning into every word of this familiar song written by the ancient shepherd, David.

And the life-applications go deep. Such as when Keller illuminates the phrase "You anoint my head with oil" - which for sheep includes treating pests and scab picked up by rubbing heads with other sheep:

"Often it is when we “get our heads together” with someone else who may not necessarily have the mind of Christ, that we come away imbued with concepts that are not Christian.

"Our thoughts, our ideas, our emotions, our choices, our impulses, drives and desires are all shaped and molded through the exposure of our minds to other people’s minds. In our modern era of mass communication, the danger of the “mass mind” grows increasingly grave. Young people in particular, whose minds are so malleable find themselves being molded under the subtle pressures and impacts made on them by television, radio, magazines, newspapers, and fellow classmates, to say nothing of their parents and teachers."

Note: Can you believe this was first published in 1970?! It sounds like today. Especially the next bit... (emphasis mine)

"Often the mass media which are largely responsible for shaping our minds are in the control of men whose characters are not Christlike: who in some cases are actually anti-Christian. One cannot be exposed to such contacts without coming away contaminated. 

"The thought patterns of people are becoming increasingly abhorrent. Today we find more tendency to violence, hatred, prejudice, greed, cynicism, and increasing disrespect for that which is noble, fine, pure or beautiful. This is precisely the opposite of what Scripture teaches us. In Philippians 4:8 we are instructed emphatically in this matter…



"There are those who seem unable to realize His control of their minds and thoughts. It is a simple matter of faith and acceptance. Just as one asks Christ to come into the life initially to assure complete control of one’s conduct, so one invites the Holy Spirit to come into one’s conscious and subconscious mind to monitor one’s thought-life. Just as by faith we believe and know and accept and thank Christ for coming into our lives, so by simple faith and confidence in the same Christ, we believe and know and accept with thanks the coming (or anointing) of His gracious Spirit upon our minds. Then having done this, we simply proceed to live and act and think as He directs us.

"The difficulty is that some of us are not in dead earnest about it. Like a stubborn sheep we will struggle, kick and protest when the Master puts His hand upon us for this purpose. Even if it is for our own good, we still rebel and refuse to have Him help us when we need it so desperately.

"In a sense we are a stiff-necked lot and were it not for Christ’s continuing compassion and concern for us, most of us would be beyond hope or help. Sometimes I am quite sure Christ comes to us and applies the oil of His own Spirit to our minds in spite of our own objections. Were this not so, where would most of us be? Surely every gracious thought that enters my mind had its origins in Him."

A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by Phillip Keller

Now, that's our Good Shepherd who humbled Himself to come to us as a vulnerable baby. Let's celebrate Him this Christmas!

Merry Christmas! 
In His love,
Hannah

Picking up a Brush Again

Watercolor has really gone into a slump around here the past few months - as can be seen by what I turn out when picking up a brush again.

I do realize that the high inflammation and pain levels which hit me each autumn play a big part in disconnecting brain from fingertips. Creativity can't be forced when it is hard to simply draw breath or sit normally due to pain. But more closely observing a bit of beauty while watching the flow and mingle of watercolors is still so therapeutic that I want to push through this slump and see what can come of it.

The first Sunday afternoon of December marked the start of this experiment. When a quick attempt at our first amaryllis of the season failed miserably, I turned to a favorite tutorial by Camilla Damsbo to gain inspiration again. 

It forced me to loosen up, speed up, and use more water... which was much-needed in our bone-dry winter home. And while the results are still far from what I envisioned, it brought some joy back to the process.

Then a Monday afternoon walk to the compost pile through the cold, crunching snow gave me a sunset view to try. As subtle as our winter skies can be, it was fun to try a mix of techniques for this little landscape.

The second Sunday I tried adding ink lines to the Damsbo poppies piece (as shown in the tutorial here)...

...before tackling our favorite succulents for a second time. 

Not happy with the results (rough, hard edges and too dark on the lightest values), I went back to knitting my handspun wool for the rest of the afternoon! 

So, though it still takes a strong will to pull out the paints and brushes, knowing I won't find even the so-so results I was used to some months ago, I hope to keep finding ways to make the process more enjoyable again.

We Expected Some Other Good

Not all books I want to read (or re-read) are in the public domain. So I am thankful for the audiobook/ebook apps available through my local libraries.

This fall I came back to the following C.S. Lewis - years after my first reading. It was just as good the second time, despite a few Lewis quirks!

"I am beginning to feel that we need a preliminary act of submission not only towards possible future afflictions but also towards possible future blessings. I know it sounds fantastic; but think it over. It seems to me that we often, almost sulkily, reject the good that God offers us because, at that moment, we expected some other good. Do you know what I mean?... God shows us a new facet of the glory, and we refuse to look at it because we're still looking for the old one."

Letters to Malcolm - Chiefly on Prayer by C.S. Lewis
[Excerpt from letter about the phrase "Thy will be done" in the Lord's Prayer]

Mold

As promised some time back, it is time to give a little update that may explain why my posts have gotten so rare and impersonal. 

The short answer is: LIFE.

I'm sure you can relate!

But the longer answer may be surprising as much of it can be summed up by the word: BASEMENT.

This summer we began to sort basement storage with the purpose of paring down. Why? Because of mycotoxins.

To back up: Did you know that around 75% of the population does not have noticeable trouble from the mold in their homes? But that leaves 25% of us who get ill from it. Sometimes severely and chronically ill.

"But, I thought you had Chronic Lyme disease," you say?

True! But that frequently goes hand in hand with other chronic conditions, thanks to genetic tendencies and/or the way these organisms work together in our bodies to take down the immune system. 

In many ways, Elsa and I have hit a plateau in our healing since beginning to doctor 8 years ago, and we have long suspected one of the big reasons for that.

MOLD.

For those curious about the science and how it relates to our house and health, I've included a few facts at the end of this post where the rest of you can ignore it.

But four years ago, Elsa and I were tested to have toxic levels of several kinds of mycotoxins in our bodies. Since then Mom has also been diagnosed with CIRS due to mold toxicity.

So, along with our usual summer and autumn activities of flower and vegetable gardening (Mom and Dad), harvesting and preserving the produce, knitting for The Nautical Nordic on Etsy (H&E), camping at the lake a few nights, mowing lawn and practicing trumpet (D), enjoying some Auntie/Grandparent time (while waiting for Baby #2 around Christmas!!!), resuming a few piano lessons (H), cooking nearly everything from scratch and washing endless dishes (M,H&E)...

…We have been dealing with the first stages of mold remediation, including:
- Two phone calls with our mold consultant on the east coast
- Having a mold inspector here twice (he normally only visits once, but our house was more complex due to unusual building methods and some still-mysterious areas of high mold-counts)
- Working on extra mold investigation as directed by the professionals
- Going through reams of daunting reports that sometimes make us wonder if we just need to build a new house
- Getting in touch with a mold remediator who will soon be coming to look over the job

At the bare minimum, we need to professionally remediate a closet on first floor and bathroom on the top floor plus have our entire original basement gutted and micro-cleaned. Then we must hire a foundation expert to stop the constant source of moisture coming through our foundation walls.

Thanks to many hours of help from family and friends, we got the basement emptied before the snow flew! But even though we had as much HEPA vacuuming done as possible before things were brought up (plus air-washing outdoors before most of what we kept was stored in the garage), we have been more ill again from all the disturbed mycotoxins. 

The severe case of shingles in one of our household (for which I earlier asked for prayer) was a tough result. Thankfully after a month of only about 3 hours of sleep per night, improvement is finally being seen by about 6 hours a night and less pain. Thanks for continued prayers!

"Now to Him who is able
to do far more abundantly
than all that we ask or think,
according to the power at work within us,
to Him be glory..."

Ephesians 3:20-21

---------------------------------

For those who want a good overview of how Mold, Lyme, and CIRS work together and a tip-of-the-iceberg look at what we are dealing with physically, check out this October 19, 2021 podcast of "Susie Larson Live" [an author and speaker from St. Paul, MN] with guest Dr. Jill Carnahan, MD:
https://myfaithradio.com/program_podcast/dr-jill-carnahan-mold-toxicity/

And a bit of the science:

85% of the time, the mold illness issue in homes is not from living spores, but old, dead mold, which is actually more dangerous. It dries and breaks into tiny fungal fragments. The amount of toxic fragments is 300-500 times higher than actual mold spores in a home. In addition, there are even smaller and more harmful poisonous chemical compounds produced by mold: mycotoxins.

The mycotoxins found to be at high levels in our bodies include:

- Aflatoxin: which is produced by the Aspergillus flavus in our house and can cause liver issues

- Octratoxin A: which is produced by at least the two following molds in our house and is damaging to the kidneys, suppresses the immune system, and is linked to cognitive issues, brain fog, memory loss, Alzheimers, crippling fatigue, and much more.
    -- Aspergillus niger, which is at least 26 times higher than normal here
    -- Aspergillus ochraceus, which is 100 fold higher than normal in our house; colonizes in the gut and occasionally also in lungs and sinuses

Our house also tests 10-fold higher than normal for Penicillium crustosum, which lowers the immune system and increases the risk of opportunistic infections, such as Lyme, co-infections, and Candida... all of which we are being treated for.

Then there is Chaetomium, which is hairy and hard to get off/out of possesions. It sticks in sheetrock, fabric, paper, furniture, mattresses, pillows, etc., which causes some families to have to move away from basically all of their possessions if they are going to get well. We are not currently looking at this severe of a response since we have been able to make some progress in healing even while living in our current situation.

These test results come from the dust all over our two upper floors. Even if the basement is the primary source, the toxins are all throughout our living areas.

A George MacDonald Caveat

I occasionally get questions requesting to know what I mean when warning George MacDonald readers to watch out for his unbiblical ideas.

As you may have guessed from my many MacDonald posts, I do appreciate and recommend many of his books (and only warn against a few that I would never, or rarely, suggest.) But even the "good ones" need to be read with discernment. Especially his unabridged novels for adults. 

While growing up reading a couple of his children's books and then getting into the abridged Michael Phillips editions of his novels, I did not notice his strange theology. I think the editing process cut out the most obvious statements and conversations. And the children's books mask it in fairytale form where it just fits the fantastical settings. But once I read more about MacDonald's life and then launched into his unabridged works in the public domain, I began to see bits of it all over. 

MacDonald was raised in a harsh form of Calvanism - coming through his grandmother in particular. As a young man he struggled deeply with the view of a distant and seemingly arbitrary God who only allowed "the elect" into heaven. Even those favored few could never know if they were one of the chosen and had to live all their life in fear.

So MacDonald swung to the opposite extreme and believed that everyone would eventually get to heaven through God's "purifying fire" - whether that happened through pain in this life or in some sort of purgatory after death. He also rejected the fact that God could view Christ's suffering and sacrifice as a substitution for our sin. (I can never quite follow the elaborate arguments he uses to explain the cross of Christ in his own way.)

All that said, his works are still so full of Christ, profound spiritual insights, and a deep love for and trust of God, that he draws me closer to God. So while I promote and even narrate audio versions of many of his books, I still want people to read with discernment.

And that goes for every book out there. Let's run them all past the sure Truth of the Bible!

"The Princess and Curdie" - Complete Audiobook

After leaving you hanging longer than planned, here is the answer to the mystery in my last post: The Princess and Curdie by George MacDonald.

While this author and book are nothing new on my blog, and three and a half years have passed since I completed recording the free audio book (The Princess and Curdie, Version 2), I recently completed another big project begun a couple years ago.

Each chapter of this audiobook is now a YouTube video on my Storytime with HannahMary channel. Why bother with all that work? Because the way my sister and I first found LibriVox free audiobooks about 7 years ago was on YouTube. But it wasn't until we had heard several different readers' chapter introductions that we finally understood how to find what had sounded like "LiverBox.org." ;-)

If you like using the YouTube app, here are links:

The Princess and Curdie complete audiobook playlist - Click Here

Storytime with HannahMary YouTube channel: Click Here

And a quick Behind-the-Scenes tour of my recording "studio": Click Here

The Truth is a Strange Thing Here

Can you relate to this quote these days?

"It is hard not to be believed just because one speaks the truth," said the girl, "but that seems reason enough with some people. My mother taught me to speak the truth, and took such pains with me that I should find it hard to tell a lie, though I could invent many a story these servants would believe at once; for the truth is a strange thing here, and they don't know it when they see it. Show it them, and they all stare as if it were a wicked lie, and that with the lie yet warm that has just left their own mouths!"

Want to know who "the girl" is and in what book you can read more about her? Check back for the answer in my next post!

Stepping Stones

"[The Pilgrims] had a great hope and inward zeal of laying a good foundation, for the propagation and advancing of the kingdom of Christ in those remote parts of the world; yea though they should be but even as stepping stones unto others."

- William Bradford

Thanksgiving - A Time to Remember

What was it like at the first Thanksgiving celebration? How did things go for the Pilgrims in the next few years?... 

As a bonus post for today (don't miss the main post from this morning!), here is a link to a live read-aloud I did last night from Barbara Rainey's book Thanksgiving - A Time to Remember. You may be surprised at the answers to the above questions!

Click here to watch on YouTube

Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow!

Of Plymouth Plantation

Do you ever wonder why you celebrate Thanksgiving Day? 

Is it for family time? Good food? Entertainment and a football game? Or to "be thankful"... without any specific object of your gratitude?

Finishing the following book last week was perfect timing to remember why we really have this celebration.

Even if only to put our own hardships into perspective, reading this first-hand account of the Pilgrims through several decades following their arrival in America on the Mayflower is eye-opening. But it also shows clearly how much these men and women of God were willing to sacrifice for the freedom to worship Him.

If you ever had the idea (like I used to) that all went well for the Pilgrims after the first good harvest and Thanksgiving festivities, this history would amaze you with year upon year of perseverance through famine, lack, danger, sickness, and injustice. And yet William Bradford, having lost his wife soon after arrival to this wilderness and under great pressure trying to govern this new colony could write as follows. 

What, then, could now sustain them but the spirit of God, and His grace? Ought not the children of their fathers rightly to say: Our fathers were Englishmen who came over the great ocean, and were ready to perish in this wilderness; but they cried unto the Lord, and He heard their voice, and looked on their adversity. ... Let them therefore praise the Lord, because He is good, and His mercies endure forever. Yea, let them that have been redeemed of the Lord, show how He hath delivered them from the hand of the oppressor. When they wandered forth into the desert-wilderness, out of the way, and found no city to dwell in, both hungry and thirsty, their soul was overwhelmed in them. Let them confess before the Lord His loving kindness, and His wonderful works before the sons of men!

• Bradford's History of the Plymouth Settlement,
Rendered into Modern English by Harold Paget

Happy Thanksgiving!

Let the Lord have the Praise

The following sentences brought mixed feelings, as they were the last words in a book that took me a year to read/listen [click here for the LibriVox.org free audiobook.]

Of these 100 or so of persons who came over first, more than half died in the first general sickness. Of those that remained, some were too old to have children. Nevertheless in those thirty years there have sprung up from that stock over 160 persons now living in this year 1650; and of the old stock itself nearly thirty persons still survive. Let the Lord have the praise, Who is the High Preserver of men.

William Bradford
Bradford's History of Plymouth Settlement, 1608-1650

I was glad to reach an end to the narration of so many hard years of trials and testing in the lives of the Pilgrims of Plymouth, Massachusetts. And yet, these firsthand accounts and documents testify to so much more than hardship. Oh, that every American knew this part of our history!