May Mid-Month Update

I may be establishing a life rhythm, but I feel a bit like a zombie right now.

When life is this uneventful, its simple rhythm might rock anyone into an easy slumber. Warm blankets of routine, soft pillow of few worries, and dreams safe enough to forget you’re dreaming.

WAKE UP!

You’re still a warrior in the middle of a war!

That’s a warning I hear when a certain type of restfulness falls over me. After all the joy of learning to intercede last month, I got exhausted.

The reading was emotionally heavy, so I lay my books down.

The weather got cold. I wrapped myself in a blanket.

Looking at screens left me overwhelmed, so I took a break from electronics, let silence take over.

Without so many problems, my eyes saw stillness, called it security, and I mentally fell asleep.

“Then the mariners were afraid; and every man cried out to his god, and threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea, to lighten the load. But Jonah had gone down into the lowest parts of the ship, had lain down, and was fast asleep.”

Jonah 1:5, NKJV

I don’t think the world is calling for Christians to fall asleep right now is the issue.

It’s Mid- May, and that’s just where my thoughts are at. How can I look at needs all around me and still forget what I’m supposed to be doing? I’m not calling for panic. I’m calling for us to be alert, show some care, zeal, obedience, and love.

I started this blog to glorify God. I have plans that I need to get back on track regarding that. Which is a note to myself, but I just thought I’d share it with you all anyway. Just in case anyone else feels they’re asleep or just sleepwalking through life somedays.

You know God called you do something.

Maybe that’s study your bible, read it regularly, share an experience, or write something that calls you out of your comfort zone… I don’t know. May the Holy Spirit give you recollection if this is for you. Maybe it’s to give something up or slow down or rest so God can talk to you. Or maybe it’s time to get serious about seeking Him through prayer, fasting, or fellowship.

Nothing physical has happened in May, but plenty is happening in my thoughts and other places only prayer can reach. Those things are under the guise of still waters and getting stuff done.

I feel such a desperation to start making choices that will change things and bring heaven down on earth. After seeing God answer my prayers last month… I am amazed at how much time I’ve wasted NOT praying. Faith does move mountains! God answers! I can’t sink back into flat-line Chiristianity after realising what God has revealed about our position as His sons and daughters.

It doesn’t make sense to sleep in a storm.

So the captain came to him, and said to him, “What do you mean, sleeper? Arise, call on your God; perhaps your God will consider us, so that we may not perish.”

Jonah 1:6, NKJV

Reading Update

Reading Calendar by Bookmory

I finished The Holy War earlier than expected. The remaining pages turned out to be John Bunyan’s life story and a very helpful glossary, which – had I known existed – would’ve given me even deeper understanding of each character name  I opted to skip John Bunyan’s life story because I have an Ebook about his spiritual struggles, and have managed to convince myself it would all be spoilers to read all about him in the back of The Holy War.

I also began two new books, so you’ll now have the unfortunate privilege of hearing me geek out about other books for a while.

I started and finished The Horse and His Boy. I also started The Water Keeper by Charles Martin.

The Holy War

The end was just as spectacular as the beginning.

I have a day’s-worth of things to say. It just showcased so many passages in the bible with such great clarity and creativity that I wish everyone would read it just to have the pleasure of hearing them say:

“I understand so much more now about how the enemy works…”

You’ll hear scripts from your own thoughts, recognise things you might have dwelling in your own town of “Mansoul“, and – most importantly – you’ll see how glorious and merciful our God is.

I think anyone who reads The Holy War will get a sweet of taste true victory in Christ.

The Horse and His Boy

I decided to bring a friend along on this adventure  We both enjoyed it! Thanks so much for the fun, Kacie!

I went in expecting C.S. Lewis to do what he’d done in the other books. That is, retell a bible story. I’m taking a quote from my friend here when I say I pleasantly surprised to “sit comfortably in the dark” with the direction of The Horse and His Boy.

Any direction C.S. Lewis takes, I can only imagine him writing well. He’s a writer who delivers and plans so well that he could take the story to ballerina land with flying fish and custard lakes and still make it glorify God and come out excellent.

Shasta, Bree, and the other amazing characters, Archenland, Anvard, and the amazing sites and cultures, C.S. Lewis’s writing style, the Christian elements, and the plot! I loved every single page.

It’s everything I wanted and more. Plus, I just adore the names  They are so fun and whimsical.

The Water Keeper

Murphy Shepherd, “a man of many secrets,” who lives alone on an island. He rescues people. On his trip to lay his mentor to rest, he pulls a beautiful lady out of Florida’s Intracoastal Waterway, and he decides to help her find her missing daughter.

It’s a race against the clock to find her.

Chapter One was so promising, but as I read on, I got put off by the writing and direction of the story.

Then I read some more and got sucked in. Charles Martin is such an amazing author!

His storytelling is like working on a puzzle with innumerable pieces. And some pieces will only be discovered after the story is over.

Which I find very Dickens-like, except, instead of having to remind myself to trust the process like I do with all the Dickens that I’ve read, I do that naturally with every turn of the page. There’s a growing depth, interesting dialogue, characters who keep surprising me, and I have no idea how we’re getting to where we’re heading. Spoon after spoon of intrigue and mystery built out of genuine concern for the well-being of others. I love when stories of this nature build tension from caring because of something wholesome.

You’d expect to run on pure adrenaline for a story like this, but Charles Martin humanises thriller elements by turning victims into people by founding us in compassion with the horrible truth about what will happen to them. I’m reading because I want a hurting mother to find her daughter, who I now want nothing but the best for. He also uses a slower pace with moments of flashback, heartwarming side quests, and meaningful dialogue.

This is a “just one more chapter“ book. I’m already bothered that it’s not 1000 pages long because the night where I finish it in hours is fast approaching.

I feel silly for ever doubting the author’s ability.

Who is an author who makes you lose track of time?

I’d love to hear how May is going so far! Let me know in the comments.