Power Suit

This book gets better with each chapter.  When we moved to Houston a ladies group that prays for missionaries by name on their birthdays invited me to join them on Tuesdays and they were studying the armor of God from Ephesians 6 via the book Power Suit.  I'm so happy I joined them!  The author of Power Suit is also a speaker and I picture she speaks just like she writes, with lots of zip and illustrations.  The book covers all 6 parts of the armor (belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shoes of the gospel of peace, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit) and as essential these are to wear each day, we also learn what needs to come off before this armor will fit properly as it should.  Each section also has "extras" and these are challenges that will lead to thinking differently and helpful steps are offered to make change possible. It is a book designed not only to be read but to be studied so in the very back the author includes a useful study guide to be used in a group or on your own to aid the formation of healthy and Biblical disciplines. I'm also thankful for the scripture that come to life in the context of why any of this is relevant to living a meaningful and effective life. Thank you Houston's First Women on Missions group for including me in this time of growth.


Power Suit
the Armor of God Fit for the Feminine Frame
by Sharon Norris Elliott
187 pages, paperback
2011

His First Bible

His First Bible
by Karla Minick
132 pages paperback
2006


The goal of this book is four-fold; firstly, I wrote it to bring about awareness to our prayer partners, and other readers, of the need for the Shan Dai to have a Bible in their language. Secondly, the concept was to take a theme or principle from the Bible and then (thirdly) couple it with an aspect of Dai life so that with this insight an opportunity to pray for the various situations Dai people face is provided (the forth objective of the book).  So I began with the blessings of God from Genesis, and then searched out the treasurers of the following 65 books of the Bible, concluding in Revelation with the promise that one day all will be worshiping God around his throne for he is worthy.
Although this book went to print the end of 2006 it continues to be written as prayer after prayer can be recorded on the journal's pages.
God, I pray still for the completion of your word to be translated for the Shan Dai (presently Luke has been completed and is in the hands of Dai believers and Acts is nearing completion and Titus has just gone through more correction).  I ask for your wisdom to be continually provided to the translators.  I also pray for the Shan Dai to value your word and in reading and studying have a better idea of you, your love and how life can be lived with joy and purpose.
An added bonus to me has been to reread the prayers I have written on these journal pages over the years rejoicing in God's faithfulness.

The Gospel According to Mark

Russell and I are now empty-nesters... actually, when Isaiah graduated high school, not only were all three kiddos off to new nests of their own, but Russ and I flew from our recent home as well. So since mid-July 2011 we have been on the move quite a bit. I started thinking about how Jesus spent his last three years on the move and so this most recent time to read through Mark's account of the life of Jesus, I paid attention to just where did Jesus go? Jesus lived a life of full obedience and filled with compassion he healed, fed, taught, prayed, removed demons and many other things. So where did he go to do these things?

Chapter one:
Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptised by John in the Jordan
then the Spirit sent Jesus out to the dessert for 40 days
next onto Galilee
and He walked beside the Sea of Galilee
after he chose some followers they went to Capernaum
the morning after much healing in the house of Peter's mother-in-law, Jesus went to pray in a solitary place then they traveled throughout Galilee to many near-by villages
Chapter 2
Jesus again entered Capernaum
Once again Jesus went out beside the lake
walked through the grain fields on a Sabbath
Chapter 3
Jesus spent time in the synagogue
Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake
Jesus went up on a mountainside
Chapter 4
Jesus again began to teach by the lake
Jesus told his disciples, "let us go over to the other side"
Chapter 5
they crossed the lake to the region of the Gerasenes
then they recrossed the lake to the other side
they went to a home of a synagogue leader
Chapter 6
Jesus went to his hometown
Jesus went around teaching from village to village
Jesus went with the apostles (after their first solo mission trip) to get some rest by boat to a solitary place. more ministry took place and Jesus sent the apostles to Bethsaida and he went up on a mountain-side to pray.
Jesus walked out on the lake to the apostles in the boat
they anchored at Gennesaret
and wherever they went--into villages, towns or countryside--Jesus healed the sick
Chapter 7
Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre
after Tyre they went through Sidon, down the sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis
Chapter 8
Jesus got in a boat with his disciples and went to the region of Dalmanutha
then again by boat went to the other side.
next stop: Bethsaida
then on to villages around Caesarea Philippi
Chapter 9
up a high mountain with Peter, James and John (the tranfiguration)
they left that place and passed through Galilee
then on to Capernaum
Chapter 10
Jesus then left that place and went into the region of Judea and across the Jordan.
with Jesus leading the way they went up to Jerusalem
on the way they stopped in the city of Jericho
Chapter 11
they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives
Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple
but as it was late they stayed the night in Bethany and in the morning went again to Jerusalem
Jesus cleansed the temple and taught and when evening came they went out of the city
the next day back in Jerusalem
Chapter 12
all in Jerusalem
Chapter 13
Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple
chapter 14
Back in Bethany
to the city again for the Feast of Unleaven Bread
after the Last Supper they went out to the Mount of Olives
then on to Gethsemane where Jesus separated himself for a time of prayer
Jesus was taken to the high priest
Chapter 15
they bound Jesus and led him away to Pilate
the soldiers then led Jesus away into the palace (that is the Praetorium)
Then they led him out to crucify him.
They brought Jesus to the place called Golgtha (which means The Place of the Skull)
Joseph took down the body of Jesus and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock.
Chapter 16
if Jesus was just a man, the story would sadly end right here. But He is God. Mary, Mary and Salome entered that tomb and saw a young man dressed in a white robe who said, " He has risen! He is not here." He will go ahead of you into Galilee.
Jesus appeared to two walking in the country
then he appeared to the 11 as they were eating
Jesus is alive and shared with his Eleven that they were to go. "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation."
Jesus was taken up into heaven.
Jesus sat at the right hand of God.


The Gospel According to Mark
by Mark
16 Chapters
written about A.D. 65

Philippians

Philippians was a letter, a short one at that, penned by Paul to a church that he loved and cared about. When I read it this time my focus was on the "Joy" bits and in just 4 chapters, "joy" and "rejoice" is used 14 times, the word "glad" is used 3 times and "cheered" is used once.

chapter 1:3-6 is a great opening, "I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

The first point my study Bible offered for me to consider was: Think of Christian friends separated from you by miles. Praise God for them and for what he is dong in their lives.

Presently nearly all of my friends are separated from me by miles and lately I have been pretty sad about it, but today I was encouraged to thank God for them, and so i did and enjoyed taking the time to let them know so too. I believe that rejoicing can lead to more rejoicing and when I am thankful a heart of gladness can pump joy in healthy ways.


Philippians
by: Paul
4.5 pages in large leather Bible
written about A.D. 62 from prison

Deadline

When we lived in China we took a train to Beijing from Kunming and back again.  At the time, Randy Alcorn's novel Safely Home (about Chinese Christians) added great food for thought as we covered many miles of Chinese terrain and I would highly recommend it. So, when I was ready for a novel to read Alcorn's name stood out on the library shelf and I choose Deadline.  Instead of having a write-up of the story line on the back cover, the space was used to say how good the book is (and how good his next book is too.)  That should have tipped me off, but I chose it anyway. For a first novel, it was not bad, I just did not connect well with the characters or their life choices and when the last page was read, I felt more like, "glad that is done" rather than "oh, I'm going to miss them all".  But, if you would like to read about a selfish 50-year old Vietnam Vet who is now a columnist, whose two best friends (one a radical Christian, the other a radical pagan) die in a car accident that was not an accident, than this book might be just for you. It is a detective story and does well to give all the pieces to solve the puzzles, bit by bit. As life is complex, so are the issues covered in this story and it did try to cover quite a few.  In my opinion, the main character, Jake, begins to have some healthy self-awareness on pages 282-283 and I will write what was written to give you an idea about the "hero".  Jake had never thought about Rory's family.  Rory was a one-dimensional fixture in his world like the holodeck images on Star Trek:The Next Generation, as when Jake left Lou's Diner, Rory didn't have a life.  He existed just to round out one little corner of Jake's world.  Open-minded as he liked to think of himself, Jake was beginning to realize he seldom saw any place or anything from someone else's point of view.  He was always the main character. The rest of the world had a supporting role or no role at all.  It struck him as a strange and selfish way to live.   But he goes on living that way for nearly 100 more pages.
The other dynamic to the story is the spiritual dimension that the dead (now fully alive) Christian friend brings interspersed throughout the chapters.  I found it ironic though that readers need to wait until the end of chapter 28 to get a glimpse of the life-after for the pagan friend.
Published in 1994, the story was written in present-day style. It consistently depicts awareness of life as it was lived and offers hope for a society in need.  According to pages of reader's responds to Deadline, many really loved this book, for me it fell a bit flat.

Deadline
by Randy Alcorn
426 pages, paperback
1994