Books-a window to the soul

"You are a woman, are you not? An ezer kenegdo to your core. Your lingering disbelief(may it be fading away) that anything important hangs on your life is only evidence of the long assault on your heart by the one who knows who you could be and fears you.
There is much life saving that needs to be done yet, and someone needs to do it. Not in a pressure-filled, You'd better get to it kind of a way. Rather, an invitation. Your feminine heart is an invitation by your Creator. To what? To play an irreplaceable role in his Story. Isn't that what your Lover wrote there? Some dream, some desire, something so core to who you are it almost hurts to think of it. The very longing is such a part of your being it's scary to even give it a voice. You may not know the dream itself yet. But you know the longing to play an irreplaceable part. That is a good beginning.
Ezer is woven into the fabric of your feminine heart. You must live this out. What lives, what destinies are hanging on your "Yes" to God?"
from "Captivating" by John and Staci Eldredge- pg 205
(ezer, it is explained in the book, is the word in Hebrew used to describe Eve when she is created. Translated helper, companion, etc, it is only used elsewhere in the OT to describe God, when you need Him to come through for you desperately, usually in life or death circumstances, a lifesaver, in other words. Kenegdo means alongside or opposite to, a counterpart. Beautiful, don't you think?)

"Child," said the Voice, "I am telling you your story, not hers. I tell no one any story but his own."
from"The Horse and His Boy" (The Chronicles of Narnia, book 3) by C.S. Lewis
(the quote that will come back to me often, to remind me that it is not for me to think I know,or to write, another's story)

"It has been said that there are two important ways to promote the growth of plants. One is through photosynthesis taking place in the leaves, which, as you know, utilizes energy from the sun. The other is through the absorption of inorganic materials such as nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potassium, by way of their roots. But this does not give us a complete picture. Over the last twenty years, the field of soil microbiology has developed greatly. It has been discovered that amino acids, nucleic acids, vitamins, and hormones play significant roles in the growth of plants, and that these substances are secreted by the microrganisms in the soil. When plants can get these materials they become robust and grow well. In addition, the color and flavor improve, they keep longer, and they contain more vitamins. That is why, among other things, one has to give food and space to microorganisms in order to make good soil, and therefore good plants. With the additions of microorganisms and their various secretions, the soil will become soft and porous, like a cushion. Soil like this holds much moisture, and so is able to supply water to crops even in dry weather. It also retains warmth, even during a cold summer. Furthermore, oxygen can penetrate deeper into bacteria-laden soil, which helps to make crops strong and disease resistant. "
from "A Farm with a Future-Living with the Blessings of Soil and Sun" by Yoshinori Kaneko(and no, no relation:)
I found this book in the Menno Village library, and I, being a lover of how things work together and the whole picture, loved this description, it made me think of the role of healthy microorganisms in our own bodies digestive system, without them we are not strong or healthy either....the book goes on to describe how the addition of chemical fertilizers, although indeed causing growth and what looks like healthy green leaves, are unbalanced and can even cause imbalances in our own bodies when we ingest them, as well as very interesting, join with proteins from meat and fish to become carcinogenic....the addition of chemical fertilizers makes the soil too acidic for the healthy microorganisms to survive and this acidic enviroment is a breeding ground for molds, the major cause of plant diseases, bringing on the need for more chemicals and further imbalances.(by the way, the healthy microorganisms in our bodies are also destroyed when we take antibiotics and other chemicals into our bodies, so take probiotics if you have to take them:) just a free tip!

"Communism, like nudism and anarchism, dimly sees something heavenly, but by insisting on enacting it now, by human force, it turns the heavenly into the hellish, as when adult powers are given to infants."
from "What Will Heaven Be Like?" Christianity Today article, click on the post title to link to the article.

"You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law;you have fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit, by faith, are WAITING for the hope of righteousness."
from Galatians 5:4- emphasis added by me

"For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor."
from Galatians 2:18-speaking of the law again

well, all of Galatians.... how many laws have I tried to write for myself and others?? how many times have I tried to assure myself of my okayness, not even my goodness, by trying to find "The Way" to do just about everything?? Ahhh, the freedom ...and struggle in yielding myself daily, hourly, minutely(yeah, yeah, that's not a word!), to the Spirit, and resting in God's work and wisdom, and being able to say, it wasn't me, Thank God, it wasn't me!

In that moment, that second,
when panic seizes my chest, when
it sucks my breath away, in that moment,
my God, I cry out to You,

It is all Yours, take it from me...
make from this battle a monument to
Your name, in my weakness,
be glorified.

Like beauty from ashes,
like silver refined in the fire,
from the yawning depths of my fears,
from the blinding heaviness of my selfishness,
from my very real tears, mingled with Yours...

(is it possible? my faith is small and hesitant-I
am not worthy to have my tears mingled with Yours, but yes, You say, what liar are you listening to? Was my blood for nothing? You are my child, I made you, I knew you before you were formed in your mother's womb, you are my heir to righteousness)

...come springing forth rivers of
Life, overflowing,
reaching out beyond my
infinite smallness to only You know where

and then in these everlasting moments---failure,
the word that seems the end, and You say,
"only the end to you, and the beginning of Me."

To some you must be harsh, is it true? but to me, You are my Savior, gently scooping me up, scraping me off the floor of my depravity, and lifting me into your freedom, Your life, Your hope.

for with these tears my search for perfection is sanctified, no longer a shameful thing to hate and hide and rage against- No, No, a passionate call from You to Your heart, where the only Beautiful Perfection is found, forever, and ever Amen.


"Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives." Hebrews 2:14-15