'We Cannot Be Silent' by R. Albert Mohler, Jr.

As a Christian, I feel I'm expected to know certain things and be able to support my views.  But with a considerable series of events unfolding in regards to same-sex marriage and acceptance of what was, at one time, labeled wrong by most folks, I shake my head.  Can't keep up.  And with the pressure of the media and outspoken individuals both online and on the television, it's hard to stand strong.

The world seems bent on twisting what God created as holy.  To muddy the water to such an extent that many Christians are left confused.  We know what we believe, yet are bullied into keeping our mouths shut.

In We Cannot Be Silent, the author, R. Albert Mohler, Jr. gives detailed information, stating God's plan for marriage and how our government and society have gone way left of that ideal.  He shares about different individuals who scoff at the Bible, saying it must be abandoned, that it was written by those who had no idea of what we'd be experiencing.  He shows that those who oppose God's ways are heading so dramatically in the other direction, all to discredit our Creator.  To defend base behavior.  

This book is an encouragement.  He stands strong and I now have the information I need to defend what I believe.

(i received this book free to review from booklookbloggers)

'The Art of Work' by Jeff Goins

The Art of Work is a title that I didn't quite understand at first.  I had to read the book.  Shortly into it, Jeff (the author) quotes a friend, Jody, who said this:  "One way of knowing our gifting is when something that seems easy to us doesn't seem easy to others.  I kept thinking, How hard could it be? Maybe I could help people do this...What seemed so hard for so many people seemed easy to me."

That in few words sums up Jeff's goal in writing this guide.

He encourages the reader to seek more.  To really give some thought to what inspires them, brings them joy and feels right.  Seems we clutter our minds too much with the thoughts of others and their expectations of us.  It really is more simple than we'd expect, to know what drives us.

Write down the major events of your life.  Jeff suggests this.  See how one event leads to another.  Find a pattern.  Just thinking about that forces you to looking at your life in a unique way.  Deeper.

Success isn't instantaneous, but with diligence and a consistent enthusiasm (the hard part), a life's work can be discovered.  He stresses that we expect things to come to us quickly, and in this present-day focus on 'get it now', that's not a surprise.  But in The Art of Work, work is necessary to reach your goal.  Keep at it and focus.

I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone who's clueless about their future, perhaps like a new high school or college graduate.  But even so, a more mature adult can also grow with his suggestions.  

More information can be found at http://artofworkbook.com/

(i received this book free to review from speakeasy)

Wednesday afternoon

Lights flickering again yesterday, and in a bad way.  It stopped a week or so ago, and we just let our concerns go with it.  My husband had bought a new fuse box, but not installed it yet.  Anyway, I went out back to look at the main electrical line from the pole and it was swinging a bit.  Came back in, tried to focus on other things (since, quite frankly, this has terrified me), and the lights began to flicker once more.  Went back outside, swinging line again and squirrel glaring at me from the next door neighbor's garage.  An aha moment.

Husband called the utility company, they came out last night and found the line connecting to the house had a corroded part and some loose wires.  

Such deep relief.  Never occurred to us that it was an outside problem.

With this anxiety I've grown accustomed to, the least thing (this wasn't least in my book) makes me so nervous.  Even out with the kids today, daughter's car seemed to make a funny noise, I'm thinking flat tire, but it was only the back window, which was open, taking in some air.  Windy too, so that was easily explained.  Still, it freaked me out.  And I'm usually so calm, at least seemingly so on the outside.  

When life keeps throwing you curveballs, it's easy to become overly sensitive to the smallest situation.

Reading A Year to Clear by Stephanie Bennett Vogt and she asks in the lesson today a question something like this:  What situation gets under your skin, and what can you do to unplug from it?  My main driving-me-nuts situation is our oldest son's relationship and living arrangement with his p*rn star girlfriend.  It obsesses me and travels in my head all the time.  I can't live like this anymore.  

So, Advent New Year's resolution is to focus on not focusing on my children.  For a mom, this is a major undertaking.  Otherwise I'll go flamin' crazy.  Not an option.