Books, DVDs and Fear

I am not feeling very good. I think I have picked up the virus that has been going around. Lucky me. Normally when I don't feel well I have some ritual behaviors I indulge myself in. I make Lipton Chicken Noodle soup, drink Seven-Up and watch my favorite dvds. Band of Brothers is on the top of that list. I know, women aren't supposed to like war movies. I am not like most women. Band of Brothers is one of the finest productions I have ever seen. I get thoroughly involved with the characters and my favorite parts are the interviews with the actual men the story is based on as they recall what it was like.

Today I decided it was too much work to change the dvds. I have been dvr'ing the series John Adams that HBO has running now. I have watched the first three episodes and am looking forward to the last four. I am going to be sad when it is over. I think I would like to read the book. Ah... so many books, so little time. Speaking of time, it's time for a confession. It bothers me that I don't approach the things of God with as much enthusiasm as an opportunity to sit and watch John Adams or Band of Brothers. And... it should probably bother me more than it does.

I am currently reading Respectable Sins: Confronting the Sins We Tolerate, by Jerry Bridges. My friend, Keith, over that The Christian Mind was the first person to try and get me to read a Jerry Bridges book. He recommended The Joy of Fearing God. I was wrestling with God then and didn't want to be convicted, so I postponed reading it... indefinitely. Next, David King suggested that I read Pursuit of Holiness. I declined for a while and then saw it in a sale bin and picked it up. It was wonderful. Before I knew it I had several of his books and even had to read The Joy of Fearing God while studying for my master's in biblical counseling.

Carla over at Reflections of the Times recommended Respectable Sins. At first I was excited by the idea. Then everything God was bringing into my life had to do about repentance. Everything. When God repeats something He is usually trying to get your attention. I began skillfully avoiding what I knew would be a convicting read. I didn't get away with it for long. I also began to wonder why something so in line with my view on counseling would be something I avoided so strenuously. The answer? Fear. Not the reverential fear of God that I learned about from reading Bridges' previous works, but the not entirely baseless fear of having my identity lost completely or having things I like taken away. This is one of the reasons I want to do some posts on fear.

Meanwhile, encouraged by Carla (who said it would 'get me-in all the right places'), my resolve strengthened and fueled by prayer, I have started reading. You'll never guess what one of the topics Bridges addresses in the first chapters of the book. If you said fear, you're right.

Spiritual Aphasia aka Senseless Theology

I was recently asked why I read theology and follow theological debates. "It's all just words and opinions." Words. Words on a paper, words on a blog. Words that travel invisibly through our airwaves and our minds. What would our inner monologue consist of without words? Harsh words, gentle words, untrue words, and solid you-can-die-behind them words. They have secret lives in the depths of our souls. They overflow in torrents of grief and joy. They seep out of our character flaws, wearing down the weak convictions that hold them back until they contaminate all those around us. All of us are stained within and without by the raw sewage of unkind words. Our souls are in jeopardy for want of The Word. Jesus Christ. The Gospel. The Good News. Words matter. Doctrine matters. Theology Matters. What you win them with is what you win them to. I study theology because I was lost too long in a world that scrambles truth with its own ideas and preferences. I was fed a diet of tosse

Super Church a song for the Emergent-sy

In the early 70s I was in a youth choir at my church. Our youth pastor was a musician and his way of connecting with us as a group was through the choir and music. Somehow there was an affiliation between him and The Continental Singers, New Hope and Jeremiah People. He was worked with Moishe Rosen of Jews for Jesus too, I think. Are any of these names familiar to you? Though I remember the church fondly I was a profoundly lost and troubled young woman during my years there. That and time have muddled the memories quite a bit. Today I was digging through some old paperwork and one of the books to the musical we did. It's Getting Late For the Great Planet Earth, a folk rock oratorio by Cam Floria. Yes, that's right. Cam Floria put Hal Lindsey to music. There's a lot to laugh about and some to groan about but as I was looking through the songs and remembering, I found this little ditty and I only wish I could sing it for you. Just remember that this is circa 1972 and even th

What if.....

...what if I just need a place to let some words spill out? What if they spill out in bouquets of bright colors and pleasing scents but their frames are made of snakes and lies? Will you the reader be able to tell? Will it matter? When words smell like lilacs and honeysuckle do you care what lies beneath them? Perfumed syllables cover the stench of hope's decay. A violet or two will fool most surface dwellers, allowing them to pass by quickly and unaware. Is that what words are supposed to do? What if my aesthetics with words are similar to Morticia Addams' with flowers? What happens when luscious blooms are discarded? When the ragged silhouette of thorns is all that remains will you still see the beauty? Perhaps we'll find out.

rambling rosemarie

Search This Blog