Thursday, April 19, 2012

Percolating

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You might have noticed by now that this blog of mine goes in spurts.  For awhile you get splashes of photos of the beauty in the midst of the busy days.  Nothing too earth shattering, really.

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But all the while, the thoughts are turning around in my head, and you know that one of these days, out will come the words.  Oh, it is nothing to fear.  Unless you haven't had your coffee yet, and then you will just click along your merry way.  Lately there has been percolating going on.

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I am doing two book study groups right now.  One is Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright, and the other is King's Cross by Timothy Keller.  Each of them is tons of food for thought, but together, they are amazing!  They both express many of the very same truths that I needed to challenge me, from similar, yet very unique perspectives. Of course, the fact that they both came at the same time had nothing to do with any human planning.  But the plan for me to be doing them together is unmistakably a gift from God.

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I wish I could even begin to share the richness with you of the ways the two of them together have clarified my thinking, but I am not there yet.  One quote from Timothy Keller sums up the three perspectives that both books speak to in depth:

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"The gospel does not say, 'the good are in and the bad are out,' nor, 'the open-minded are in and the judgmental are out.'  The gospel says, 'The humble are in and the proud are out.'"

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This is such very good news for all of us.  I hope I will have more to share as we wrap up in the weeks ahead.  God is so good to give us what he knows we need!

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I highly recommend King's Cross to anyone at all.  It's a breathtaking look at the life of Jesus through the gospel of Mark.  Surprised by Hope is a tougher, more academic read, but it would follow King's Cross perfectly for anyone who wanted to dig even deeper.

8 comments:

Melissa Mae said...

I was just talking to Ben about your discovery of these two books and how they compliment each other. It's funny how after that conversation I wondered when and where you would reveal this piece of info to your bigger audience - for I knew you would! And here it is.... Your pictures always move me but your words do even more.

Givinya De Elba said...

Both my blog-writing and my blog-reading are going in spurts! Love your pictures, as always!

Tracy P. said...

You're so right, Melissa--you know I ultimately have to write to sort it all out! I'm not sure how I'll do. I made a chart as a part of our Wed. class that helped immensely. Maybe that will be my outline eventually.

Givinya De Elba said...

Thankyou for your kind comments over at my blog! I have quite a humiliating bandicoot draft waiting to be made presentable, so I'll have to get cracking on that. In the meantime, I've written up the observations on Parasite Pals. Maybe I'll schedule that for later today. Enter at own risk.

StitchinByTheLake said...

Very thought provoking....and almost scary. Pride is difficult to get past. Or is that just me? :) blessings, marlene

Deanna said...

Whenever you decide to post is always a lovely surprise. Your writings are profound and your pics are lovely.

Skeller said...

ah, dont'cha love God's "serendipitous" ways?!?

Unknown said...

I am writing down the names right this second. Thank you for sharing. I love the little glass bottles so much. Is that your house and your lamp? Lovely!