Review #1: Percy Jackson and the Olympians

If you love Greek mythology, you're gonna love this series by Rick Riordian. These books are an easy read, and so much fun. They are just incredible. I love Greek myths, and so when I saw one of my friends reading the first book, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, I became interested and started reading them too. It's hard to explain what Riordian does in these books. He takes Greek myths and puts them into our current world. And it works. Really well. I learned more about Greek mythology just by reading these books. And they're funny! Written in first person from the point of Percy Jackson, a lot of laughs erupt while reading. Percy is just like a few of my friends and myself - very sarcastic. I love it. With chapter titles like "I Go Cruising With Explosives," "I Took The Worst Bath Ever," "I Battle the Cheerleading Squad," "Nico Buys Happy Meals for the Dead," "I Learn How to Grow Zombies," "Thalia Torches New England," "I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-Algebra Teacher," "Three Old Ladies Knit Socks of Death," "I Become Supreme Lord of the Bathroom," and many others, these books are absolutely hilarious. Trust me, and read these great books.

I Love Reading!

Reading is one of the greatest things in the world. My mom taught me to read when I was about 3 or 4 years old. (Thank you so much Mom! You're the best!) And I haven't stopped since. At least until I got into high school. Then things got a bit crazy, and I lost time to read. But I still love it. And as I watched my little sister, who is 5 years old and recently learned how to read, sitting on the couch just contentedly reading to herself for what seemed like hours, it brought me back to my childhood days. *sniff* I was a pretty crazy reader. I'm a speed reader (at least that's what I call it) meaning that I can just basically look at a paragraph and get just about everything out of it. I attempted The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien when I was 5 or 6, but got scared off by Gollum. I read the first Harry Potter book in 20 minutes, the second one in 35, the third in 45, and the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh, took me about a day each. Of course, when I went back and read them again, I caught little things that my eyes and brain had skipped over. Nowadays, it often takes me longer to read books like that because I force myself to concentrate on every sentence or every word instead of speeding through and not getting everything out of it. Unfortunately, I can be a very stubborn person. When I was young, (and now) instead of asking what a word meant, I'd try to figure it out from context. I still do that. I hardly ever look up words, which is a bad thing, cause in many of the books I have to read for school, I really can't figure it out, but I just keep going. Don't be like me. Don't do that. I regret that habit and am trying to fix it.
Coming tomorrow will the first in a series of reviews of books or book series that I highly recommend. They aren't in any particular order. Just what comes to mind when I sit down to write. See ya later!

War of Words

My dad is teaching a Sunday School class on the video series "War of Words" by Dr. Paul Tripp based on the book War of Words by Dr. Paul Tripp. So, on Sunday afternoons, our family is watching the series and having small discussion. I was really struck by some things that he said in the first session and wanted to share them with you.

1) Words belong to the Lord

I had never heard it put that way before. Our words belong to God. They are His words. Ouch. Thinking back on some things I've said and the way I still talk...that's a sharp sword in the side.

2) Words are rooted in His glory

Out of all of creation, we are the only beings that God gave the gift of words. They are for His glory. How often do we think about that? How much of what we say really glorifies God?

3) Words are from the beginning - have never belonged to us to use as we will or for our own purpose

Have never belonged to us. Are from the beginning. I really need to read the book because since it's been a week since I saw the video, I've rather forgotten what this meant.

4) We must always ask "What does God want for my words in this situation?"

How many times do we stop and think about what we are going to say? I know I rarely do. But even rarer is the occasion when I stop and think what God wants for my words in the situation. How convicting is that!

He closed out the session with four quick points that also caught my attention.

a) God has a plan for our words

b) sin has altered our world talk

c) in Jesus we find everything we need to restore it

d) the Bible teaches us how to get from where we are to where we need to be

How true is that? God has a plan for our words. Sin certainly has come in an changed our words into weapons. Surely in Jesus we find what we need to help us fight sin. And the Bible teaches us how to get from where we are to where we need to be. In the coming weeks I will continue to post my thoughts and things that jumped out at me from each session. I hope you enjoy!

Ukraine

This summer has been the most challenging of my life, but it has also been the most amazing. I've grown in my abilities has a violist, I've grown closer with my siblings despite being apart so much, and I've experienced something that has given me a better picture of this world and what God might be calling me to do in it.

The most momentous part of the summer was obviously my time in Kiev, Ukraine. That was an incredible experience. Getting to see a different part of the world, a different country, encounter a different culture, and serve my God and His Kingdom. I was in Kiev with a team from my church for two weeks, working with Jim and Marianna Peipon, who are medical missionaries. We worked in two separate three day camps. The first camp was with children in the community, some of whom may have HIV or have lost a parent or parents to the virus. Even though at times it was stressful, it was great to get to work with these children and tell them things that they might not get to hear otherwise. The second camp was at Kiev's main children's hospital. Several of them were HIV+ and others had other diseases. It was heartbreaking to see them and how skinny and sick-looking they were, but the response to the Bible lessons was great. One very sick child answered the question "What did Jesus do for us?" by saying "He died on the cross for us." It warmed my heart to hear him say that and to see his mother sitting beside him smiling and nodding along with the lesson. As I look back on that time, I wish I could have asked the children what they thought about the idea of heaven, a place with no sickness or pain. Do we, in America, healthy, very few major health problems, have a grasp on the concept of a place with no sickness, pain, or suffering? Healthy and happy forever? Surely we do not understand it or react to it as these children might.

Pray for Ukraine. Pray for these children. Pray that the Word of God might work in their hearts, that they might believe. Pray that all the Earth might sing to the glory of our Maker.