2022 Challies Reading Challenge

I’m coming a liiiiiittle closer to the wire on this year’s reading challenge than I prefer. LOL! I wanted desperately to include Wayne Grudem’s Politics According to the Bible on this year’s challenge since I’ve been reading it off and on for about 18 months. I only had about 50 pages left last week, so I’ve been trying to find the time to squeeze it in and take all the notes I wanted to. And I did it!

So let me start by recommending it! It is an EXCELLENT book helping one think biblically about politics and the role of government according to the Bible. At the very least, put it on your shelf to use as a reference the next time a new political topic comes up.

Anyway, back to the topic at hand…

This was my fifth year completing the Challies Reading Challenge! The 2022 Challenge was similar to the previous year with many book categories in the same place. Since I prefer to go somewhat in order for the first 26 books so that I can stretch the genres I read, I decided to just move around some of the categories. If you see an * next to category, it’s because it’s in the same slot as last year and I didn’t move it.

I finished 44 books this year! I’m honestly surprised I read that many considering my seminary class, a cross-country move, and homeschooling (where I partially read a handful books, but didn’t count them.)

My favorite books this year:

Fiction:

• Lost Among the Angels — A super fun detective novel set in the 1920’s

Christian Living:

• A Little Book on the Christian Life — Both an encouraging and convicting book that should be read and reread.
• (A)typical Woman

Misc. Non-fiction:

• Make it Stick — A book about how to help students learn and remember.
• Politics According to the Bible — See above
• The Mystery of Christ, His Covenant, and His Kingdom — This book helped me understand how covenant and baptist theology go hand in hand.

As always my full list of books and categories is below if you’re interested!

Remembering God’s Mysterious Ways

We found out recently that there has been a hitch in our Utah house rental situation. It came as a blow on top of other stressful life events. It doesn’t just affect us, but also people we dearly love. As we asked for prayer for the situation, women in my small group lovingly reminded me that God is good. That he has a reason for this. That even though we can’t understand His ways now, it is for our good.Their sweet encouragement reminded me…

It reminded me of another time when a stressful house event revealed God’s goodness!

In 2004 my parents helped us purchase a nice house in Ohio. An investment as well as a place to settle down and begin to raise a family, before our eventual move to Utah. In 2005 Aaron lost his job. With our first baby on the way, we felt like it would be easier to move to Utah then, rather than getting more established in Ohio with kids, and moving later.

Miamisburg, OH

So, he found a job in Provo, we put our house on the market and moved… into a bedroom in a basement… in Utah… in December.

We had expected our house to sell pretty quickly. But it didn’t. Four months later, in April, our house still hadn’t sold and our landlady’s situation had changed. We needed to find a place to live. God provided a great 3-bedroom apartment to rent for a great deal. Aaron wasn’t getting paid much and we were having to make a mortgage and a rent payment. Money was tight. He also wasn’t receiving health benefits and our baby’s due date grew nearer.

In May he was offered another job that did give health benefits, but for them to cover the birth in July, he would have had to forgo the “two-weeks notice” period at his current job. However, they did not let him leave early. Since we had already pre-paid the birthing center Aaron wanted to quit with integrity and stayed for those two weeks.

I prayed so much for God to sell our house – that he would sell it by July 1st. But God did not sell our house.

John Caleb

So, July 12, 2006 rolled around and we still had no insurance. Our son was born and I had major complications. Complications that made it necessary for an ambulance ride to the hospital, emergency surgery, etc. We were still paying both rent and mortgage and now had over $30,000 in medical bills as well. It seemed hopeless and overwhelming.

But God…

Because Aaron’s previous job didn’t pay well (or consistently) we qualified for Medicaid. Medicaid covered all but $2000 of our medical bills! Incidentally, the birth center reimbursed us the $2000 we had prepaid for the birth. Even though they had fulfilled their service to us. Wow!

If we had sold the house in May or June, like I had prayed for, the equity would have been in a bank account and we would have had to pay the bills in full. Wow!

But my heart was so hard at the time, I still didn’t see the blessing. See, we only had a $2000 copay because we had an “investment” property in Ohio. If God had sold our house before April, we would have bought a house in Utah county, instead of renting an apartment. And because that house would have been our primary residence we wouldn’t have had any copay.

But God…

God wasn’t done with this whole house-stress turned blessing.Our house sold in August 2006. Less than a month after John’s birth.Some time that following year, Aaron decided he could be of better use to the Kingdom in the Salt Lake area instead of the Provo area. So we bought a house in the Salt Lake Valley. And July 2007, when our lease was up, we moved north.

If we would have bought a house the year before — which I thought would have been ideal because of that pesky copay situation — moving north wouldn’t have been an option. We may have eventually moved to SLC, but not in July 2007. But why is that a big deal?

John welcoming his new sister, Lydia, to the family.

Because in January 2008 the pastor at our new church introduced us to our daughter, Lydia’s, birthmother. God knew the best time for our Ohio house to sell. If it sold before April, we wouldn’t have adopted Lydia. If it had sold after April and before July, it would have devastated us financially.I couldn’t see it at the time. In fact it took me a couple years to put all the pieces together.

But I can see it so clearly now. God is good. So, with this new house drama unfolding. Something that isn’t ideal. Something we didn’t plan for. I can look back. I can *remember* God’s goodness to our family. I can pray. And I can trust that God is moving and working. Maybe it’s not even for our benefit. Maybe it’s for our renter’s benefit. But I hope, one day, it provides another cool story about God’s sovereign goodness.

In light of this, let me charge you to hold fast to moments where you clearly see God’s sovereign goodness abound. Just as the Israelites were to remember what God had done in the Exodus, make sure to remember what God has done for you.

*Between the time of this writing and posting, we were able make some headway with the housing issue. It is not as bad as we had feared, but we may need to change plans in the future. God is good.*

Thoughts on Irreversible Damage by Abigail Shrier

Abigail Shrier’s book, Irreversible Damage, is a far cry from the “transphobic” book that some claim it to be. Target pulled it from their shelves and Amazon refused to run a sponsored ad for it. Transgenderism has become the newest fad in the liberal progressive worldview, celebrated at every chance. It is also destroying young teens across Western culture. 

Shrier pulls back the curtain on this new social contagion. We’ve seen it in the past. A news story about a suicide makes the suicide rate spike. A school assembly on the dangers of anorexia and bulimia and all of a sudden there’s a group of girls who become anorexic or bulimic. Self-harm (cutting) and even school shootings are types of social contagion as well. The difference is that all these other social contagions are opposed by society at large while transgenderism is praised. 

Shrier mentions time after time how the trans activists seek to undermine parents. From YouTube influencers, teachers and the NEA to companies that sell (breast) binders they all try to hide trans behavior from parents. 

Parents. The very people that love these teen girls the most, are turned into the enemy. 

Doctors manipulate parents, “If you don’t support her, she could commit suicide. An alive son is better than a dead daughter.” Then doctors proceed to put teen girls on puberty blockers, which inevitably leads to cross gender hormones. This combination of medication can lead to uterine atrophy. 

Put another way, these doctors are putting young girls on a path that could lead them to being sterile. Some will never be able to get pregnant or bear children. 

This is evil. 

All in the name of progressivism. 

There is a little-g god in this world that hates humans – God’s image bearers. And the world is bending their knee to this god. This god has convinced the world to kill their children before they’re born. To leave their children as quickly as possible to pursue their career. And now it has convinced the world that female and male are silly, trivial, divisions that have no distinct purpose. 

There is so much I could say about this book. It is well-researched and well-written. It has a good balance of facts/data and stories. She is respectful of the trans community. It is also a sad, heart-breaking commentary on our society and needs to be read.

Young teens, your parents love you. I know you think they’re stupid and don’t know anything, but the fact is, they love you and want you to see you flourish!

Parents, you need to be the parent. Your teens need (and want) boundaries. It’s good to say, “no.” Be different, be radical. Do what you know is best for your child even when it’s hard, even if everyone around you is slinging insults. 

Trans activist, repent. There is a God of the universe who will forgive you and love you. Find a small church that teaches the Bible and you will find people who will truly love you – not for what you think you should be, but for what you are: a sinner in need of God’s grace.

2020 Challies Reading Challenge

This year I’ve finished up my 3rd Challies Reading Challenge. If you’re unfamiliar with it, read my explanation from last year or check out his 2021 Reading Challenge.

This year I set my goal to 26 books. A little more than half of what I finished last year, but I knew 2020 might bring some family changes: homeschooling, possible adoption, possible online seminary. What I wasn’t counting on: pandemic, shut downs, virtual schooling, moving across the country, in-person seminary, etc. However, I ended up exceeding my goal and finished 32 books.

I still kept my categories of kindle books, audible books, and paper books. Homeschooling Lydia in the spring actually helped me add a forth category as we would do read aloud books together. I really enjoyed those with her!

After starting seminary I realized that if I were going to get to certain books, I’d have to suck it up and listen to them instead of read their paper versions. While it wasn’t ideal, it was better than nothing. My paper books have basically become only my text books, which I’ll finish in the spring.

My favorite fiction books this year:

*This Tender Land

*The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell

The most intriguing read aloud book:

*In the Reign of Terror: A Story of the French Revolution — It’s historical fiction. I read it aloud with Lydia to go along with her history unit. But I kept thinking about this book throughout the year because of all the political upheaval.

These audible books gave me a lot to think about – I wish I had had time to actually read them:

*Envy of Eve

*Bloodlines

*Competing Spectacles

*Future Men

The most helpful physical books:

*The Well-Trained Mind — Yes, I read all 800+ pages. I have a kid in each stage of the trivium. Such a great resource and reference!

*Twelve Ways Your Phone is Changing You — This should be required reading and rereading!

If you’re interested, you can see my full list of books below. 

I hope you’ll join me in the 2021 challenge!

FULL LIST OF BOOKS

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Hospitality and The Gospel Comes with a House Key

Recently I read The Gospel Comes with a House Key by Rosaria Butterfield. Below you can find a link to some of my favorite quotes and questions I developed for a women’s Book Chat at my church.

In light of reading the book, hospitality has been on my mind a lot lately. How do I live it out with use of my house, but also in life in general. Butterfield defines radical ordinary hospitality as seeing strangers become neighbors and neighbors becoming a part of the family of God. I really loved this simple idea.

And then, as I was coming up with the questions, it hit me. While she was definitely advocating for household hospitality, she was also giving a treatise on relational evangelism. Sometimes stranger evangelism and relational evangelism are pitted against each other. But in reality we need to see and understand there is a place for both. My husband is a street evangelist. Three seasons a year (he sits out winter) he goes downtown, hands out tracts, preaches the gospel, and gets into deep gospel conversations. He is also a husband, father, software engineer, an elder, and a neighbor. He forms relationships with those in his family, church, work, and neighborhood and has gospel conversations with those people when possible. Both forms of evangelism are good and right.

But getting back to the book…. I really enjoyed her writing. She is a beautiful writer! I loved hearing her stories and being encouraged by them and their ministry. And hearing about how open-door hospitality and being included in singing and devotions lead to her own conversion. It gave me a heart and a desire to open my life up more to the people around me. It made me think about hospitality in two ways: my home and my relationships.

Before this book, and even after reading it, I do consider our family fairly hospitable. We in no way, shape, or form practice nightly table fellowship, but I don’t think that has be the goal, for a family to be considered hospitable. Nightly table fellowship is what works for the Butterfield family – for their jobs, lifestyle, and personalities. I think Kent being a pastor helps them to accomplish this, so does homeschooling, and the kids being involved with swimming (usually a morning activity). In contrast, my husband has to commute in rush hour. He usually is home by 6pm, but occasionally it’s helpful for him to stay late at the office. My daughters love taking ballet. This will take up more and more evenings as they grow. We have one of our church’s small groups meet at our house on Mondays and our oldest is off to youth group on Wednesdays, and Thursdays have been set aside as Aaron’s street evangelism time. Nightly table fellowship, just isn’t going to work for our family, and that’s ok.

It’s important to not walk away from the book feeling defeated, having set the standard so high that you fail to take any of her wisdom to heart. Instead, ask “What can I do? Where can I start?” I, personally, can continue to be willing to allow friends to crash on my couch on short notice because it works better logistically than for him to drive the almost 2 hours home. I can have a handful of items on hand so that last minute, after church, lunch invites are easier to  offer. (And be ok with picking up rotisserie chickens on the way home if I don’t have anything on hand.) Ultimately, I had an idea about turning our Friday pizza and movie nights into an open invite pizza and game night for all. My husband, the wise man that he is, suggested we start doing that monthly (instead of weekly) — he knows I can burn out easily.

The second aspect of the book that made be think was terms of personal relationships. It convicted me to make those phone call/text messages reaching out to people that I’ve been meaning to reach out to. To continue building friendships with people God has placed in my life. And, it has also made me realize that I am not superwoman. I do have a limited capacity. I am an introvert but God has not seen fit to make me a morning person, so 4 or 5 am mornings of quiet before the day gets started, just isn’t going to happen. And that’s ok. Recognizing that I need a day or two during the week to be at home, to get things done, to think, to just not talk, is ok. I realized after scheduling out a busy week and weekend that I was falling into bed at night with nothing left to offer my kids and husband. I needed to save part of me to be hospitable to them. This means we can’t have something going on every night of the week. We need time together just as a family to bake cookies and talk about the day. The point is, to not make my naturally shy, introverted personality an excuse for not being hospitable. But to also not feel guilty about saying “Is it ok if we plan that for next week or the week after?”

I highly encourage people to read the book, humbly taking in the wisdom they can and asking what is a small step I can take to be more hospitable? Don’t be overwhelmed or compare your family to hers. Do what you can in your life, in your community, within your relationships!

Click on the link below for the questions I wrote up for our book chat. Feel free to use them, edit them, and print as many as needed. It also includes quotes that I thought would be helpful for those at our book chat that weren’t able to read the book. (Hopefully to wet their appetite!)

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1elpXSPW7nBy80rEXj8-ZQGkE_e7Cl56caATN0Ky0txE/edit?usp=sharing

Fear

I grew up in Southwest Florida. I remember hurricane season with fondness. I remember being “trapped” in my dad’s office building during Hurricane Andrew, which did minimal damage in our area. I remember having “hurricane days” in high school. Our school building was a shelter and so they’d cancel school, but both times this happened the hurricane changed course. So, you could find all the high school students on the beach enjoying the most beautiful of days. Some fear hurricanes, but not me. Although, to be fair, I was grateful to hear that my family evacuated for Hurricane Irma in 2017!

A natural disaster that I have always feared is earthquakes. That was never a possibility in Florida. And when we decided to move to Utah for ministry purposes, I’m pretty sure I’d never considered Utah earthquake territory. But there is a big doozy of a fault line right at the bottom of the Wasatch Front. And the state has been warned that “the big one” will come within the next 50 years. However, given that we’ve lived here for 13 years without the slightest tremor, the fear of that looming big earthquake is easily pushed aside.

That is, until a couple of weeks ago. You see, I woke up at 5:03am with a gasp, to my bed shaking like crazy! I thought, “What is Aaron doing?!?” And… proceeded to fall back asleep. I then woke up at 5:10 to more shaking and thought, “That feels like an earthquake. Man, that wind is crazy!” And fell back asleep. (Obviously I have my smartest thoughts while sleeping.) Aaron, who slept through both, told me the following morning that they had been, in fact, earthquakes. The first was a magnitude of 3.1 and the second 3.7. The talk of earthquakes and “the big one” has since been at the tip of everyone’s tongue.

Eight days later, after spending my kids’ mid-winter break safely in Florida, I woke up at 2:31am to more shaking, but this time I knew what it was. I lay there feeling the ground shake and hearing my husband snore and could feel the anxieties creep in.

What if the big earthquake hits while Aaron’s at work, the kids are at school, and Hannah’s at preschool? Would I be able to get to them? Could we survive? Would our house still stand? Would we have water to drink and food to eat?

I think the older I get the more anxieties that I have. Upon flying home from said trip to visit family, the flight had quite a big of turbulence. It never used to bother me. Now, it makes me scared that the plane is simply going to drop from the sky. Even more than that I worry about my kids. What if they grow up and reject Jesus? What if, when they leave, they reject me and never want to come home or have a relationship?

Almost two years ago a friend lost her husband suddenly. And more recently a college friend’s mother died, also suddenly. Those are also things I fear. What if Aaron died tomorrow, how would I take care of my family? How would I survive without him? What if one of our parents died? It would bring such heartache that I’m not ready for.

In the end, however, I have to remind myself that in life there is so very much to fear. And I can become consumed by fear and anxiety or I can trust God. Prepare for things, yes, but ultimately, I need to rest in God. If the worst happens, God will see me through, minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day. For Jeremiah 17:7-8 says:

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,

   whose trust is the Lord.

He is like a tree planted by water,

   that sends out its roots by the stream,

and does not fear when heat comes,

   for its leaves remain green,

and is not anxious in the year of drought,

   for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

So as the numerous anxieties of life begin to creep in I need to put my trust in Him and turn, always turn, to the word of God and to prayer. He is the giver and sustainer of life. After all, the only reason any of us are here today is because he is sustaining us and giving us breath in our lungs. And if one of my fears becomes a reality tomorrow, I will need to turn to him and rest in him and trust that he will see me through. And if that’s the case, than why should I subject myself to a life of fear before a tragedy happens? Instead, I need to be practicing that rest and that trust in my God, who loves me, perfectly.

So, if you need me, I’ll be over here avoiding thoughts of earthquakes and impending doom and actively placing my thoughts and trust in the Sustainer of Life.

John Turns 11

I’m not even sure where to start. John is 11. How did that happen?! He is the one that paves the way for the girls and where Aaron and I learn new things in parenting!

As John prepares to start 6th grade next month, I am reminded of dropping him off for Kindergarten. I remember visiting APA when he was still 4 for a tour, seeing the sixth graders in a line and the tears welled up in my eyes thinking I wasn’t ready for that yet. I also was not happy at the thought of dropping off my little 5-year-old kindergartener off at the school where there were super big 6th graders! But now, my mama-heart is so happy that he’s not yet headed into junior high and that I have another year to prepare for that milestone.

John is a great kid. He has an infectious laugh and reads… all. the. time. And he reads quickly too! If I had to buy every book he read, we’d be poor! We lived at the Sandy house for most of this past year and if he wasn’t in the house, he was more than likely on the hammock, reading.

He also loves Minecraft and Civilization, Star Wars, Adventures in Odyssey and LEGOs. He loves to make other people laugh and will try to find the best jokes to repeat! Oh! And he loves science. One time he had a friend over and they burned a CD (with parent permission) just to see what would happen. He has a curious mind and a great imagination. And while his sister annoys him quite a bit, he also plays really well with her. He is a great big brother!

While it’s hard to let go as your kids get older, you know it’s necessary. We can’t make them stay small forever. So I keep stretching my limit of what I’m comfortable with when it comes to letting go and giving him new responsibilities. One day, Lord willing, he’ll be a man providing and protecting his wife and kids. I can at least let him ride his scooter around the block! 🙂

Hannah Turns 3

Hannah is incurably happy. That’s what Aaron always says. She really does have a smile on her face more often than not!

Dancing on the table!

Highlights from this past year have been:

• Dance with Me – A mommy and me dance class that was the highlight of our week.
• “My best friend Wade.” Hannah and Wade have a love-hate relationship! They are always so excited to see each other, but then get upset because one doesn’t want to share a toy — especially when that toy is, specifically, Wade’s doctor kit.
• Speaking of doctor kits… Hannah’s favorite toy was her (or even more so Wade’s) “wishenscope.” Better known to everyone else as a stethoscope. 🙂
• She loves being Super Hero Hannah! “I’m here to save the day!” She loves wearing capes and masks and pretending to have super hero powers.
• She left behind Daniel Tiger as her favorite show and instead prefers Doc McStuffins and PJ Mask.
• Hannah LOVES music! She always asks for music in the van. And at night when I sing a song (the majority of the year it was Twinkle) she’ll sing at the top of her lungs right along with me!
• Hannah is also officially potty trained! While it took longer than I thought, we made it and there are no more diapers in our house.

My sweet little Hannah! How I have loved every minute of her growing up. She is so talkative and smart! She is adorable when she gives me a thumbs up – which is quite often. She loves twirly dresses, dress ups and pretty shoes. She loves puppies and always asks to pet them when we see them in public. She is a sweet girl with a happy attitude and is quick to change her bad attitude when it appears. I can’t imagine life without her!

Lydia Turns Nine

Lydia is my bright, bold, beautiful little girl. She is silly and active and social. Every time we’ve moved these past few years she finds a friend as quickly as possible! Then she begs to go play with that friend as soon as homework is finished. She likes having other people around and playing games together or doing some activity.

Lydia being silly with frosting on her nose!

Lydia is finishing up the 3rd grade with Mrs. Provstgaard. She has worked so hard this year. We’ve studied for history and science tests together and worked hard on math homework. She loves reading A-Z Mystery books, but she’d rather be playing games with a friend.

She has been taking ballet classes from En Pointe School of Ballet and this year gets to be horse and pull the carriage in the ballet Cinderella. She has been so excited about her roll since the beginning of the year. Soon she’ll start track and she’s super excited about getting to run!!!

Lydia loves animals and takes our neighbor’s dog on a walk when she can or brings the dog to our yard while she plays outside with his son. She loves Splashlings, Shopkins, Littlest Pet Shop, and American Girl doll stuff. She had a great birthday party at All Stars with laser tag, bumper cars, and arcade games! She has some good friends Olivia D, Olivia F (who she doesn’t get to see often enough), and Evangeline.

I’m excited to watch this little girl grow up over the next few years.  To see the vivacious young woman that she will become. I pray that the Lord helps me to raise her to be a woman who loves Jesus and lives to serve him.

Envy of Eve – Quotes

The Envy of Eve: Finding Contentment in a Covetous World by Melissa Kruger should be required reading for all young college/career women! While coveting and lack of contentment are not sins only women struggle with I do think women struggle with the comparison game more than men. I’m pretty sure that’s why there are “Mommy Wars” and not “Daddy Wars.”

 

I know I have struggled with lack of contentment in my life phases: when I was single I wanted a boyfriend, once I had a boyfriend I wanted to be engaged, once married I wanted children, etc. The cycle continued. I recognized my lack of contentment but struggled with what the secret to contentment was that Paul talks about in Philippians.

 

Years ago as I awaited the adoption of my 3rd child my covetous heart was out of control. Thankfully God eventually got a hold of my heart, but when I think back on those dark years I think about the wasted time and energy. I’m not sure if I could have been saved from the pain of my coveting had I read a book like this, but if young women could read this book in preparation for a life that, without a doubt, will bring trials in one form or another maybe it could prepare their heart and they could walk with God in a much better manner than I did.

 

There is so much Biblical wisdom in this book! It ministered to my heart in so many ways. It stretched me, convicted me, and encouraged me. I highly recommend it!

 

Let me share some quotes:

“Coveting is the antithesis of Christ’s command to ‘love your neighbor as yourself,’ because our neighbor becomes our enemy simply by possessing what we desire. We cannot love well those whose lives or belongings we covet.” pg 29

 

“Our lack of contentment primarily flows from unbelief regarding God’s sovereignty and goodness in our lives.” pg 48

 

“A heart softened by the Spirit can respond to the Word preached. However, a heart hardened by sin’s deceitfulness will only grow harder still upon hearing the tidings of God. Only God’s Spirit can awaken a heart to believe the message of sin and redemption.” pg 49

 

“The serpent tempts Eve to doubt God’s Word and His goodness to her. He stirs up discontentment in her heart, as well as a longing to rule, rather than be ruled. Do not miss the fact that Eve, even in the middle of all the goodness of Eden, finds herself longing for the one thing forbidden. In the midst of perfect circumstances, unbelief can still arise.” pg 73

 

“Satan wants us to believe that we cannot control what we long after or that if we have a longing, it must be good, in spite of God’s instruction. It is one of his most damaging lies, keeping us enslaved to years of worthless pursuits. Although we cannot always choose what we see, we can choose what we set our heart upon.” pg 75

 

“Our incessant cravings suggest to others that we worship a God who is not able to satisfy.” pg 88

 

“If we desire to fight Satan’s attacks, we must immerse ourselves into God’s Word and seek to understand the full counsel of the Bible.” pg 100

 

“Our joy, peace, and hope do not flow from perfect circumstances or gaining all that this world has to offer. Instead, these items are fruits of spiritual growth. They are often born in the furnace of trials and afflictions, but they lead to a hope that is imperishable.” pg 104

 

“Our outward grumbling is a sure sign of inner coveting.” pg 134

 

“We need to bring our good and right desire for relationship together with an understanding that no earthly relationship can mend the brokenness in our lives. Pg 147

 

“A content woman can share with friends and the Lord her honest struggle. However, she does so in a way that demonstrates her belief and trust in the Lord. In contrast, the covetous woman believes her outward circumstances are proof of the Lord’s failure to be good to her. She complains and grumbles, seeking others to join her in her lament. She cultivates discontent and soon, she becomes a woman who takes from those around her.” pg 209

 

“Such a person hides her own sin as she thinks to herself, ‘My situation is so uniquely difficult that I am allowed to be miserable. Anyone facing what I am facing would be just as discontent as I am.’ Paul speaks to the fallacy of this type of thinking when he writes, ‘No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful’ he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.’ (1 Cor. 10:13)” pg 211

 

“As we spend time with the Lord each day, slowly our desires will transform and grow into new hopes. Even as we long for circumstances to change, our greater longing will be for contentment in any and every circumstance.” pg 215

 

“As we sacrifice our own lives to give to others, we should expect to feel worn out, tired and spent. The call of the gospel is not one of self-protection, but of self-denial.” pg 243
There were so many more quotes I could have added or ended up deleting from my list to make this shorter. I’m telling you, this is an amazing book… Go read it!