Why You Are Where You Are

Do you ever feel like you were born in the wrong time or place or just wish your circumstances were different?

Why would God have put you here and let you face all this? As Joni Tada says in her new devotional book, "The Practice of the Presence of Jesus":

"The answer is in Acts 17:26-27:

'From one man he made every nation of men... and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.' (NIV84)

"There's no mistaking: God placed you in this century, in this country, in your family, and with your friends for a specific purpose. He arranged the optimal circumstances and put you with the ideal individuals to cause you to seek Jesus, reach out for him, and find him.

"And be encouraged, for Jesus says, 'You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart' (Jeremiah 29:13).

"How do your circumstances and people around you make you reach out to Jesus?"

~ Joni Eareckson Tada

Free Audiobook by Alistair Begg

Through the end of August 2023 you can download this FREE audiobook written and read by one of my favorite Bible-teachers! 

Focusing on the life of the captive-turned-prophet Daniel in Babylon is amazingly fitting for this time.

Request your free download here: 

https://info.truthforlife.org/brave

What to Read: Part I

I need to explain today's post a bit. A few new readers ["Welcome" to you!] may have already read it published as a guest-post on another blog, and long-time readers of this blog will recognize some of the content. But besides being pulled together in a new way, there will be something new coming up in this short series that you will not want to miss: free downloadable book-lists!

But first, let me back up and introduce myself...

Hello. My name is Hannah, and I love to read! Maybe the same is true of you. Or you may have children whose voracious appetite for books is hard to keep supplied with wholesome fare. Possibly you have the opposite challenge of finding any books that could interest your child in reading!

I have been gleaning the benefit of other people's book-lists through the years – including suggestions from some of you blog-friends! Plus when my nephew finishes a first time through his new chapter-books, he passes them on to us. Yes, this 2-year-old has "read" each and every book he gets as gifts. Children are never too young to enjoy read-alouds… and parents [or aunts, uncles and grandparents] are never too old to enjoy children’s books!

Some of my earliest memories include our parents reading aloud to my two sisters and me. Beatrix Potter and Laura Ingalls Wilder were favorites with Mom, while Dad brought Poor Ralph, The Droodles and The Chronicles of Narnia to life. We also loved poring over the Kurt Mitchell illustrated editions of the Biblical books of Jonah and Esther, both during read-alouds and on our own.

Even though my childhood and youth were filled with books, I have probably read more in the past eight years than the previous three decades combined. For that I have chronic illness to thank. But due to a combination of physical and adrenal weakness and the resulting PTSD, I haven’t been able to handle many of the books I used to enjoy. So, while I used to read a higher percentage of heavier and non-fiction books both for school and leisure, these years have leaned toward more fiction and biographies - especially those written for children and youth. It is a joy to see how God turns that limitation into a blessing as I now have more books to suggest to parents.

Another blessing that has come out of years of weakness is learning to appreciate audiobooks. Since our local library didn't have enough good options, I began searching online. That led me to LibriVox.org: a growing library of free, downloadable audiobooks recorded from works old enough to be past copyright and in the public domain. Though most of the volunteer readers are not professional, my family has enjoyed book after book as if friends are reading aloud to us.

At some point during those first months of listening, an old dream began to revive. Years ago when my Grandpa, an avid reader, lost his eyesight to macular degeneration, I wanted to record books for him to enjoy. But that was not possible due to copyrights. Since joining the team of LibriVox volunteers in 2015, I now help to record public domain books that can be enjoyed by anyone around the world. I am still amazed that God gave back this dream when so much of life as I knew it had crumbled.

Besides learning to be an audiobook narrator, I now have the joy of sharing book reviews and recommendations on several platforms. This eclectic blog often features the books I am enjoying, and my LibriVox reader-name of HannahMary has inspired the following accounts.

Instagram: @storytime.with.hannahmary
YouTube: Storytime with HannahMary
Telegram channel: Storytime with HannahMary

At the request of another blogger I have now put together some book lists that I hope will be a blessing to you and your families. I’d also love to hear of your favorite books! Simply leave a comment below.

I'm nearly through with this lengthy introduction, but hopefully it helps explain where I'm coming from as you watch for the book lists in upcoming posts.

For now, please note that my inclusion of an author does not condone all of their books. I have read many more by some of these authors as well as by authors not listed. If I know a reader or parent personally, I can maybe suggest more. But in these lists I tried to include only the cleanest and best for the imaginations and characters of any reader.

Also, while my lists are ordered roughly from younger to older readers, please do not feel stuck to reading in any order. As C.S. Lewis wrote, “No reader worth his salt trots along in obedience to a time-table.” Every reader is unique!

I also once heard C. S. Lewis attributed with saying, “Good fiction is a ship carrying a cargo of truth.”

And since I personally learn best from stories – both real-life (biographies) and fictional, my lists include many of them. You will see that fiction and non-fiction are all mixed together. I believe that can be a healthy way to read. Just as a balanced diet includes a wide variety of foods, our hungry minds need a mixture of healthy facts and nourishing stories to help us learn and grow strong in character and faith.

As a favorite children’s book (which I first read as an adult) puts it:

A man must have a care to what he puts in his mind, for when he’s alone on a hillside and draws it out, he’ll want treasures to be his company, not regrets.

• Mountain Born by Elizabeth Yates

My hope is that you will find many new treasures for your reading in the days ahead!

~ Hannah

Shut In – Day 100: When Waiting Turns to Years

Another month has passed since we checked in with Noah.

See previous posts in this series here:
Part I: The Lord Shut Him In
Part II: Day 10: The Animals
Part III: Day 20: The Man Noah
Part IV: Day 30: The Walls
Part V: Day 40: What God Says... He Does
Part VI: Day 70: After the Crisis

The rain stopped pouring 2 months ago, and Noah and his family are still shut in the Ark.

One hundred days sounds (and feels) like a rather long time. But what about when the days and months turn to years? You may not feel able to relate to Noah’s trials because yours have gone on so much longer. (Ignoring the fact that once he was let out of the ark, his challenges were far from over.)

Well, the Bible has other examples of waiting and suffering… for years.

I have once again been studying a favorite life-history in the Bible – that of Joseph, one of the twelve sons of Jacob (aka: Israel). You remember… the 17 year old whose jealous brothers heartlessly sold him into slavery and told their father he was dead. (Find his story in Genesis 37-50.)

On the surface, this life of slavery could look like God had abandoned Joseph. But the fact was quite the opposite!

What sticks out to me this time through the account is the phrase:

The LORD was with Joseph.

In chapter 39, as Joseph was enslaved for years and then falsely accused and thrown into a prison in Egypt, we find four clear statements of God’s presence with him through it all. Even the pagans could see this and ended up trusting Joseph with all they owned.

Joseph gives us an amazing example of how to live in years of slavery and prison-life. (For our application think: years of pain, disabilities, grief, betrayal, injustice, lies, or whatever you are facing).

Joseph always:
- served his best to help others succeed
- earned trust and honor from those over him
- refused to sin against God through repeated temptations
- gave God the glory and credit

As a result, look for how many times God blessed Joseph and those he served!

And yet, he was “shut in”… away from his family – and then even away from the responsibilities and respect he had so richly earned as a slave. When a chance finally came to appeal his case, the man who was supposed to help Joseph forgot him…

… for 2 whole years longer.

By this time, 13 years had passed since Joseph was sold into slavery. It could have felt as if the prime of his life was gone. But God’s timing was perfect.

If he had been released 2 years earlier, it would only have been to get out of prison. But at this point, it was to be promoted from the prison to second in command of the entire nation!

“And Pharaoh said to his servants, ‘Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?’” – Genesis 41:38

This put Joseph into position to not only save the nation of Egypt through the upcoming famine, but also the lives of his family. (And yes, he was united with them again more than 20 years after being sold into slavery! But you’ll have to read that fascinating history for yourself.)

Our stories will be far different than Joseph’s or Noah’s. But we can still learn from them!

Is God with us? Then He will bless us – even in the darkest times of our lives.

Next Post in Series:
Part VIII: Day 150: Touch Down!

Shut In – Day 30: The Walls

Has anyone else been thinking of Noah this week? A friend of mine just gave her new baby that name a couple days ago!

But it has been a long month for the most famous Noah on the ark by now… 30 days since we first took note that God “shut him in.”

And the waters prevailed so mightily on the earth that all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered. – Genesis 7:19

After our last visit to Noah got so long, this one will be very short.

It is still raining.

Imagine how moist and smelly the ark must be by now – just from all the humidity in the air. Have you ever smelled wet wool with its heavy, greasy pungency? And that would be the pleasantest smell to me among all the animals.

Now imagine the complete lack of sunshine for 30 days. The constant noise. The intense labor. And the ongoing grief for the past and unknowns for the future.

Does it feel like the walls are closing in?

And yet, the walls that shut him in are also the visible sign of God’s provision and protection… a reminder of the covenant God made with Noah in Genesis 6:18.

What feels like it is shutting you in today?

How may God be using that very thing to show you more of His goodness today?

Photo: sunrise through frosty window yesterday

Previous posts in this series:
Part I: The Lord Shut Him In
Part II: Day 10
Part III: Day 20

Next Post:
Part V: Day 40: What God Says... He Does

Lessons from a Sheep Dog

Reginald was our second, lively Border Collie since moving onto this hobby farm in 1985. Neither he nor Kep (named after a dog in Beatrix Potter) ever learned how to handle our flock of sheep, but they found ways to pretend to "herd" anyway.

Even if you haven't tried to raise one of these bundles of intelligent energy, the descriptions in Lessons from a Sheep Dog by Phillip Keller bring them to life in a special way.

And, as in all his books, Keller finds deep spiritual significance in his everyday interactions with the world around him - here focused on a dog named Lass, who was about to be destroyed until she came under the care of a loving and patient shepherd.

"Lass, of course, could not fully comprehend the complexity of the work we were doing. And at times she gave me the distinct impression that for a dog as energetic as she was, to 'stay' was almost asking too much of her.

"God used this element in Lass to teach me a most important principle. I began to grasp the absolute necessity to be quietly steadfast and faithful wherever He placed me. In a sense these interludes in life were a test not only of my faithfulness to God, but also of His to me."

"Lass helped me to understand that it is often in the darkest hour, during pressing danger, that the Master is closest to us. He cares, and He cares profoundly. It is His presence which gives us peace. It is His nearness which gives us hope. It is His protection which gives us life."

Courage, dear heart!

 

"Courage, dear heart!"

Did you know that more than sixty years before Lucy heard these comforting words in C.S. Lewis' "Chronicles of Narnia," they had been penned to you and me (to any follower of Christ) by a British man named Charles?

He went on to tell us to:

"Bear up, for the Lord will bear you up, and bear you through. He who made you knows how frail you are, and how little you can bear. He will handle tenderly that which he has fashioned so delicately. Therefore, be not afraid because of the painful present, for it hastens to a happy future."

• C.H. Spurgeon, 1888
Chequebook of the Bank of Faith

I haven’t counted how many times this little book has made it on to my blog over the past year, but the fact that I keep sharing from it shows how highly I can recommend it to anyone looking for a short daily reading in addition to their study of God’s word.

Having started it a few weeks into 2021 and then gotten behind over time, I just finished the 365th entry this week.

Here is one more quote from the last few pages:

“This volume is a cheque-book for believers, and this page is meant as a warning as to what bank they draw upon, and whose signature they accept. Rely upon Jesus without limit. Trust not thyself nor any born of woman, beyond due bounds; but trust thou only and wholly in the Lord.”

[entry for December 26]

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!

Making His Glories Known

 I love crafting bouquets from Mom's garden! 

This bouquet is reminding me of the last verse of an Isaac Watts hymn:

There's not a plant or flow'r below
But makes Thy glories known

And clouds arise and tempests blow
By order from Thy throne;

While all that borrows like from Thee
Is ever in Thy care,

And everywhere that man can be,
Thou, God art present there.

Isaac Watts, 1715

Waiting Room Hymns

 

On my first visit to Dr. V. (see previous post) seven years ago, I was blessed to hear a hymn playing in the waiting room: "Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus." Not that they were playing Christian music. Somehow, this one just ended up on the mixed album they were playing that day. Actually, I know how... a loving God was taking care of His hurting, scared child in the way He knew would touch her best.

For years I had forgotten that special moment until I was just now recalling another special gift from just this week. At my final appointment with this amazing doctor (the day before she retired) I was brought to tears by once again hearing a hymn among the variety of modern and classical "background music." It was the perfect hymn for this day of saying goodbye to the doctor who was able to diagnose Elsa and me and help our bodies begin to dig out of a decade of damage, as well as who found my thyroid cancer when it was only stage one. As we moved into a future of more unknowns, I heard notes and harmonies that told me:

"Be still, my soul! the Lord is on thy side;
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;"

And then the lines that really got me...

"Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change He faithful will remain.

"Be still, my soul! thy best, thy heav'nly Friend
Thro' thorny ways leads to a joyful end."

My doctor called me for a blood draw just then, so I had to explain the tears. As she entered her own season of changes and unknowns, she had to try to keep back the tears too.

P.S. - As a bonus, this last appointment also contained a second hymn: "Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross"

[Pictures from camping near our clinic this week.]

Seven Years our Doctor

 

Seven years ago, God used a cookbook from the library to lead Elsa and me to a doctor who could finally diagnose and help our bodies begin to heal and fight back after a decade of decline.

We are so thankful for Dr. V (whom I decided not to show in the photo without permission.) As Elsa says, she has been like "six doctors in one." So it took a bit to adjust to the news that she needed to retire.

Yesterday was our last appointment. God has brought us so far from the years when we could hardly sit up through the hour or two of in-depth consultation and would then be completely wiped out for days.

But as we are still far from healed, God has given peace that He will once again lead us to the next, right doctor for us.

~ ▪︎ ~

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He will make your paths straight."
Proverbs 3:5-6

 

Meanwhile, we enjoyed many gifts on this short medical trip, including:

• Camping in a new-to-us state park with beautiful river, amazing plants, friendly butterflies, and swarms of glittering fireflies
• Offline days with zero cell-phone reception among the bluffs
• A rare treat while stocking up on special-diet groceries at our nearest Whole Foods and Trader Joe's [4 hrs from home]
• Coming safely home again to Mom, roses, and cats

The Key to the Riddle

Thanks to the suggestion of a friend, this winter I was introduced to a new [old] author. While I cannot find much online about the author other than that she was born in 1851, Margaret S. Comrie managed to pull me into a story set in an era of history I do not usually enjoy. 

The Key to the Riddle, A Story of Huguenot Days is a sweet and stirring story with a wide range of characters, mystery, plots, and surprises. More importantly, it is full of true, biblical encouragement for any who feel their life has not gone as hoped or planned.

Not wanting to give any spoilers, I still must share this excerpt from the end of the book:

"'Soon, however, there sounded in my ears the words, 'He led them forth by the right way,' and certes, I told myself there could be for me, Leon Montoux, no other way but His.'

'Next, I minded me of these bygone years, and the pains our Father God has taken to teach us that there is no cause for us to fret over the riddle, when we know it is His hand that holds the key.'

"Azerole lifted up her head, smiling through her tears. 'And methinks that even this perverse Azerole has learnt that, when we know it is Divine Love that has turned the key, it would ill become the hand of faith to try and force the lock.'"

 

Don't let the historical language turn you off. If you struggle with the old-fashioned words or, as in my case, stumble over French names and exclamations, I can recommend the free audiobook on LibriVox.org. I cannot know how accurate volunteer-Angela's pronunciations are, but her reading was clear and engaging.

"When we know it is Divine Love

that has turned the key,

it would ill become the hand of faith

to try and force the lock."

The Key to the Riddle

Margaret S. Comrie

[I took the door photos while wandering around an overseas convent back in 2012.]