NERDS

by Michael Buckley

2009

As a parent, I want to know what my kids are being fed.

And I’m not referring to food.

Rather, what are their sources of influence?

As a result, my hubby and I keep a close watch on content.

What’s in the TV shows and movies they watch?

What’s in the computer games they play?

What’s in the books and magazines they read?

As attentive parents, we want to be sure that all their choices are age appropriate. What might work for Son #1, who’s 10, might not work for Son #2, who’s 6.

And we hold the right to veto.

(Veto decisions are not always popular, but age is always a worthy scapegoat.)

As Christian parents, however, we take this screening process, and our right to veto, a step further:

We also watch for “Light Content”.

Light Content?

Basically,

Does the movie, computer game, book, etc. honour God’s Word, and thus influence my children for light?

Or, does it shun His Word, and thus influence my children for darkness?

Jesus says in John 8:12,

“I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

And in Matthew 12:30,

“He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.”

As you can imagine, our desire for Light Content doesn’t always make us very popular on the homefront.

However, God has given us the gift of raising our kids and we want to do it in a way that glorifies Him. 

Even if our popularity goes down in the polls.

All of that to say this:

When Son #1 discovered a new series of books that he couldn’t put down, couldn’t stop talking about, and used successfully to reduce Son #2 to tears, I figured I’d better read at least one.

NERDS.

National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society.

A series of books about unlikely pre-teen super spies sent out to save the world from an even more unlikely bunch of evil genius super villains.

And my son loves them. 

Sigh.

So, I read book #1.

There’s truly not much about this book that a ten year old boy wouldn’t like.

School lockers leading to spy headquarters.

Braces spewing out of mouths as the ultimate weaponry.

Nerds saving the world from complete and utter destruction.

A feast for boyhood imagination.

I am quite certain I will only be reading the first of the series, but my son has devoured all the others:

Book #2: M is for Mama’s Boy

Book #3: The Cheerleaders of Doom

Book #4: The Villain Virus

Imagine his delight when I told him Hollywood is making a NERDS movie. Let’s just hope it’s high in Light Content.

Reading on...

The Shakespeare Stealer

by Gary Blackwood
1998

Drawn by the name "Shakespeare" in the title, I grabbed this book off the shelf at our local library.

I knew I'd read it.
I hoped he'd read it.

I have.
He hasn't.

What can I do to get Boy 1 to read a book with Shakespeare filling its pages?


The Shakespeare Stealer is basically about an orphan charged with the job of stealing a copy of William Shakespeare's play, Hamlet. He joins a troupe of actors at the Globe Theatre and tries to carry out his task...

Sound familiar?

The Shakespeare Stealer was a great book. I thought the characters were interesting and well-developed. I thought the writing smooth and the research (to my non-expert eye) seamless.

The only downside, in my opinion, is that it has all been done before.

The Shakespeare Stealer has different characters with different names and different circumstances, but I feel like every time I pick up a middle grade novel involving Shakespeare, there is always a script to be stolen or a plot to be foiled or a boy who is really a girl...

Is there any other story to be told?


Even so, it was a good book and I did enjoy my time in its pages.
I just wish my boy had read it. Sigh.

On that note, what he is reading will be the topic of my next post.



Reading on...

Adventures with Knives: Surviving 1,000 Hours of Culinary School

by Bob Foulkes

2011

The only TV show my hubby and I regularly watch is MasterChef.

Haven't heard of it? 

In short, it’s a bunch of amateur cooks facing off for the grand prize of money, a cookbook contract and, of course, a trophy.

The fact that I watch that kind of TV should give reason enough as to why I would pick up and read a book called, Adventures with Knives, 

And loved it!

Basically, Adventures with Knives is the account of author, Bob Foulkes, experience in culinary school. 

And his reason for going to culinary school?

In his early sixties at the time, Mr. Foulkes decided to rebel against the cultural norm of retirement, ie sitting on the couch and doing nothing all day, and go to culinary school in a “restless, self-absorbed search for meaning in [his] life.”

Adventures with Knives was a terrific read. I thoroughly enjoyed it and totally recommend it.

Bob Foulkes has a relaxed and easy writing style full of understated humour and quirky stories, all with a bunch of really useful cooking tips thrown in.

For instance,
I learned how to keep green beans green, how to intentionally under cook scallops and that all vegetable stocks start with sweating onions.

What does it mean to “sweat onions”?

For all aspiring chefs, and all watchers of MasterChef, this book is a keeper.

Reading on...

Caleb's Crossing

by Geraldine Brooks

2011

This book has been on my “must-read” list for months.

I came across an advertisement for Caleb’s Crossing when it first came on the market and from the outset I found the storyline fascinating. Finally, I happened upon the book at the library and grabbed it before anyone else had the same idea!

 

Caleb’s Crossing tells the story of Caleb Cheeshahteaumauk, the first Native American graduate of Harvard College in 1665. Based on threadbare historical fact, Geraldine Brooks weaves an amazing tale told through the eyes of Bethia, a young English Puritan settler.

Bethia first meets Caleb on the shores of untamed Martha’s Vineyard and, after years of clandestine friendship, follows him to the structured constraints of academic life at Harvard College.

English Harvard College, I might add.

Through Caleb and Bethia, Caleb’s Crossing brings to life the contrasts and struggles of the day.

English vs Indian.

Freedom vs Responsibility.

Life vs death.

It makes me wonder what good the English really brought to the Native American people.

And, as a Christian, it makes me wonder what good the rule-laden English Missionaries brought to the Native American people....

That age old question....

And, now that I've said it, I will also say that Geraldine Brooks is an outstanding storyteller. I can’t wait to read more of her books!

Reading on...

When There's Not Much Else To Do...

When your friend is sick,

Very sick,

What do you do?

You pray,

You serve,

You encourage.

And, you offer some books.

At least that is what I did.

Not saying it is the right thing, but my friend accepted.

I remember the thought process even today...

Nothing too heavy.

Nothing too light.

Nothing that fixes.

Nothing that speaks of,

Death.

Instead,

A story that smiles.

A story that celebrates.

A story that feels good.

What?

 

Rekindled

by Tamera Alexander

2006

A story of forgiveness, new beginnings and sweet love. 

See a few more comments here.

Suite Francaise

by Irène Némirovsky

2006

Beautifully written.

So much more than just a book.

Between Sundays

by Karen Kingsbury

2007

Safe.

That's all I know, it's been so long since I've read it myself.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

2008

Timeless.

See my previous comments here.

How did my friend like these choices?

I’ll never know.

Reading on...  

Redeemed and Restored: The Stories of Twelve Ordinary Women Transformed by God’s Extraordinary Power

2006

This book is actually a compilation of testimonies...  

Twelve women.

Twelve stories.

Twelve ordinary, mixed up lives saved solely by God’s grace.

Twelve pastors’ wives reaching thousands for Him.

God is good.

Reading on...

Faith Is Not a Feeling

by Ney Bailey

1978

A product of my book buying habit, I can’t even guess how long Faith Is Not a Feeling has been on my bookshelf. 

And what a book.

I wish I had read it years ago.

Author, Ney Bailey, has been on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ (now called Power to Change) for more than 46 years and I’m sure she has many stories to share about what God has done in the lives of others.

However, the real story is hers.  

A Christian since she was fifteen, a testing point in Ney’s faith came on the evening of July 31, 1976.

On that day, Ney was attending a retreat with thirty-four other Campus Crusade women at a ranch in the Big Thompson Canyon, Colorado. 

Suddenly, there was a call for immediate evacuation of the ranch.

The Big Thompson River was flooding.

The women scrambled and confusion ensued.

Any clear instructions lost in the chaos.

Four cars went one way, two in another.

The outcome?

Seven out of nine women in the two died.

All women, including Ney, in the four survived.

Ney writes that, in the midst of the flood and the days that followed, she had to make a decision.

Would she believe what her circumstances dictated or would she believe what God said in His Word.

The choice wasn’t easy.

Circumstances spelled fear, panic, weakness. The unknown.

The desire to understand. 

All completely natural responses.

God’s Word says trust Him. He is in control.

He works all things together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.

Nothing in our lives happens except for what God allows.

All completely unnatural responses.

Ney chose the unnatural.

To believe God.
To trust Him.

To live by faith...

Do I live by faith?

Living by faith, or taking God at His Word, means that no matter what circumstances surround me I trust what God has said in His Word to be true.

1Peter 1:25

            But the word of the Lord endures forever.

Everything in this world will change.

Everything in my life will change.

But God’s Word will stay the same.  

To quote Ney,

God’s Word is

·        Truer than anything I feel

·        Truer than anything I experience

·        Truer than any circumstance I will ever face

·        Truer than anything in the world

The way I see it, 
I can choose to believe my feelings, thoughts or circumstances, letting them control my life, and consequently live in a state of unrest; or I can choose to take God at His word, letting Him have complete control over my life, and sleep in the shadow of His wings.

Trust that God will take care of the details.

As God is the only constant in life, personally, the choice is easy.
I’d much rather believe Him than be swayed by the ups and downs of my circumstances and emotions.

How about you?

Of course, this decision depends on will.

Choosing with my will to take God at His Word.
Could a four letter word ever be so hard?

The will to trust God.
Exactly what Satan doesn’t want.

Satan uses our circumstances and emotions to make things seem like truth when they're really not.  

1 Peter 5:8 talks of Satan prowling around like a roaring lion looking for the areas where I am especially vulnerable.

So, what should be my response?

Take up the shield of faith against Satan’s fiery darts.

And remember, Satan is a defeated foe.

Jesus already beat him on the cross.

“If we act upon God’s Word, if we take Him at His Word, we will be wise, and our lives will be solidly set on the rock of His words. If we don’t take Him at His Word – if we rely on our circumstances and feelings rather than what the Bible tells us, we will be foolish, building our lives upon the sand.”

Reading on...