Book to Which I Contributed

Hot off the press, Life Savors for Women is a collection of heart-warming stories designed to help readers savor life to the fullest. And it includes a selection from yours truly. Recently I mentioned (here on this blog) my little run-in with gravity (it won) about 18 months ago, when I took a nosedive down my stairs. Well, bad as that was, I also found many little "graces" in the experience. And I wrote about them in my contribution to this book. Check it out.

Wordless Wednesday

Religious Americans

Check out the latest research on religion in America. The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life interviewed more than 35,000 Americans age 18 and older, and the results were released yesterday. Check out the extensive survey detailing the religious affiliation of the American public by viewing a full report or a video overview on the resource page.

The Best Kind of Girl Power

Lately we've been ordering via our Netflix account biographies of people whose lives we want to emulate. Because Americans are so celebrity-obsessed, this is our way of counteracting that mentality--especially with our teenaged daughter. This week we've seen three stories which I highly recommend, particularly because they send such strong messages about valuing the world's women and the ability of women to change the world:

The Story of Amy Carmichael. This documentary profiles the life of Amy Carmichael (1867-1951), who left her home in Northern Ireland to travel to India, where she founded the Dohnavur Fellowship, an organization still devoted to the rescue, care and education of hundreds of impoverished children. (Most have been orphaned girls destined for temple prostitution.) Carmichael was single, yet hundreds called her "Amma" (mother).

Mama Heidi. In 1994 just after Mozambique's civil war, Heidi Baker and her husband, Rolland, arrived to help mend the country and care for its beleaguered. This documentary details the Bakers' saga as they turn a broken-down orphanage into a safe, clean place where children receive medical attention and education. The Bakers went on to establish three more havens for Mozambique's children.*

While the first two flicks were documentaries, the last is a dramatization of the life of William Carey called Candle in the Dark. During Carey's forty years in India, he took part in abolishing the practice of sati (burning widows alive). In 1818, he co-founded Serampore College to, among other things, provide an education in Arts and Sciences to students of every "caste, colour or country." Cary was an advocate of providing education for all children--including females--in India.

*Our girl's favorite pick.

Cells for Life and Limb

Researchers at Northwestern Memorial Hospital (Chicago) say success with adult stem cells may translate into 100,000 fewer U.S. amputations annually. After a decade of clinical trials in rodents, scientists moved to human patients. And those patients' own stem cells have turned out to help their leg muscles grow new blood vessels (i.e., reestablishing circulation). Scientists hope this will lead to readily available treatments for people suffering from critical limb ischemia (CLI) as early as four years from now.

Home Safety

I read recently, today actually, that home accidents post a huge risk to children: more than four million children under age 14 are injured at home annually. But I'm here to tell you they pose a huge risk to adults, too. Two years ago I fell down my stairs head-first and snapped my clavicle (fancy word for collar bone). Finally on Valentine's Day this year I received the "all clear" from my ortho trauma doc (Dr. Freudigman, for readers looking for my docs' names in my med novels).

And a whole week passed.

Then last night, my girl accidentally broke my crystal fruit bowl. I am happy to report that I handled it well. Verbally, that is. Physically, in the process of wiping glass off the counters, I cut my finger. And about ten minutes later, when trying to clean up a mess I made in the oven when I spilled blackberry cobbler juice, I caught a paper towel on fire (duh, a paper towel in the oven?). I didn't have my hair pulled back, and fearing that I might catch my locks on fire, I threw the flaming paper towel on the kitchen floor. The white kitchen floor. But I didn't have shoes on, so I couldn't stomp it out. And, um, the fire went out and nobody got hurt. But now I have two big black spots on my kitchen floor. Permanent campfire-stain spots.

I know..."Step away from the house."

This weekend I am speaking on praying the psalms of lament. And a lot of stuff has happened this week that is making me have to practice what I preach. So, if anybody out there needs a speaker on how to live with fabulous health and insane wealth, please book me. I'm all about living consistently in my private and public lives.

Wordless Wednesday

Colossal

When my husband and I were in Rhodes for our 25th anniversary, we sailed in the waters where the giant Colossus used to stand with his enormous feet on either side of the harbor. I don't think I realized when I first read it that the poem Emma Lazarus wrote in 1883 about the Statue of Liberty was intended to call to mind that image. Consider her words:

The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Thomas Jefferson, remembering John Adams' speeches at the Continental Congress, wrote, "John Adams was our Colossus on the floor. He was not graceful nor elegant, nor remarkably fluent but he came out occasionally with a power of thought and expression, that moved us from our seats."

And the apostle John, on Patmos, a neighboring island to Rhodes, had one greater than Colossus in mind when he wrote these words: “I turned to see whose voice was speaking to me, and when I did so, I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands was one like a son of man. He was dressed in a robe extending down to his feet and he wore a wide golden belt around his chest. His head and hair were as white as wool, even as white as snow, and his eyes were like a fiery flame. His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp double-edged sword extended out of his mouth. His face shone like the sun shining at full strength. When I saw him I fell down at his feet as though I were dead, but he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid! I am the first and the last, and the one who lives! I was dead, but look, now I am alive – forever and ever – and I hold the keys of death and of Hades!” (Rev. 1:12-18).

Christian Women in Leadership

If you're a Christian woman in vocational ministry (or preparing for vocational ministry), whether in the church, the academic world, or a parachurch organization, plan to attend the Whitby Forum's SYNERGY2008 CONFERENCE, April 11-13, 2008.

Located at the Crowne Plaza Hotel—Orlando Airport, the conference will focus on "FINDING YOUR PLACE IN THE STORY: The Return of the Ezer." ("Ezer" is Hebrew for "helper," and is used most often to refer to God as the one who comes to the aid of humans. It is also the word God used to describe Eve at creation.) I'll be co-teaching a track on writing for publication. Keynote speakers include Carolyn Custis James and Leigh McLeroy. Scholarships are available, and seminary students are welcome.

For Those Who Hurt

If you live near Dallas and you or someone you love has been touched by a loss associated with conception, such as infertility, miscarriage, stillbirth, or pain following abortion, please join me for "A Service of Hope and Healing" on Sunday, February 24, from 10:00-11:30 a.m. in the chapel at The Heights Church in Richardson. I'll be speaking on how to talk to God in times of anguish, and participants will have an opportunity to reflect, remember, and hope.

The New Atheism

In the past few months we've seen some books by atheists top best-seller lists. And the authors are growing bolder in their attacks. For example, here's how one described Yahweh: “The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.”

Looking for a thoughtful, sensible response? Check out this four-part series (available in audio or video) from my alma mater. Last week we had an annual scholarly lectureship and this was the topic of choice.

Fashion Police?

Tonight in response to today's tragic campus shooting, someone posted this comment on AOL: "Shame on the government for taking away our right to bare arms!"

Happy Valentine's Day

Something significant happened in my life thirty-four years ago today. In fact for me Valentine's Day is like Christmas. That's because it's the day Jesus Christ came into my world.

So today I have a "Christmas" present for you. Today's about love, right? And I want you to see love in action. My friend Heather shot this video in Kenya, and through it she introduces viewers to Scovia and her sister, Ashelee. It's a short video, but depending on your internet speed, you may need to let it load for a few minutes on "pause" until fully loaded. Otherwise, it may just play a portion and then stop. So just let it load.

May your love be real, not just the feel-good kind today...because Jesus came!

Wordless Wednesday

Newsflash!

I just found out that I passed my Greek exam!

I was here by myself when I received the message. Well, okay, the cats were here. And I'm sure they wondered about all the whooping and hollering... Again, thanks for your support!

That Test I Took

Yes, I took the Greek exam Friday. Four hours of translation. They said they'll let me know within three weeks how I did, so now we wait.

What was it like? For the first two hours, they gave me a 500-word passage from the Book of Acts and told me to get through as much as I could. After a 15-minute break, I launched in again. This time they gave me about 500 words from the Gospel of John. No, it's not a religious school nor a religious program, but my language of choice was Koine Greek, and the best test of that is 'most anything out of the New Testament.

How do I think I did? Not sure. The good news: I got all the way through both passages (which not everyone who passes does). The bad news: I made some mistakes. So I have no idea about the outcome, as I can't guess how my work will "hit" the graders. (Three independent experts assess my work and determine if they think I passed. I guess "majority rules.")

My heart pounded the entire time, so I was totally wiped out when I got home. The pressure. The stress. The relief!

(Then yesterday I spoke on fiction writing to a writing group in Colleyville.)

Thanks for your comments and support, including this comic-relief link from my bro-in-law, Mark, that made me LOL.

Wordless Wednesday

Greeko, Greekeis, Greekei

It's happened again...I'm almost to the 200 mark in my email "in" box. And that's just on my personal (not my work) account.

Anybody expecting to hear from me may have a bit of a wait. See, I'm gearing up to take the Greek entrance exam in my PhD program this Friday. I say "entrance" loosely, as it's closer to an exit exam than any entrance since I'm actually pretty much finished with my in-class work at UT Dallas. But I still have hanging over me the language exam that I should have taken a few years ago.

Those who've been reading my blog for more than 14 months know I've had a couple of hip/shoulder surgeries after a failure to fly. (I fell down the steps at home, head-first, which meant months of meds that made it impossible to recall vocab words.)

The first exam is this Friday. I say "first" because I probably won't pass it. (Low expectations here.) I have no idea what it'll be like, so it's tough to study very effectively. The good counsel I received from the "powers that be" was to schedule it and flunk it and take it again every 90 days until I pass it.

So...Anabaino ton karpon ton kakon en ek ton oikon. What does this mean? Up + I throw + the fruit + the bad + in + out + the house. That's my way of saying I throw up bad fruit in the outhouse. Okay, so "out" + "house" does not equal "outhouse" in the mind of the common first-century Hellenist, but whatever it takes to remember the vocab, right? Let's just hope that when it comes time to translate, I remember that mnemonic devices have their limitations and write, "The disciples went out to the house," instead of "the disciples went to the outhouse."

Did You Read This?

Nicholas Kristof nailed it. Again. This time he wrote a column for the NY Times titled, "Evangelicals a Liberal Can Love." How's this for an intriguing lede?

"At a New York or Los Angeles cocktail party, few would dare make a pejorative comment about Barack Obama’s race or Hillary Clinton’s sex. Yet it would be easy to get away with deriding Mike Huckabee’s religious faith. Liberals believe deeply in tolerance and over the last century have led the battles against prejudices of all kinds, but we have a blind spot about Christian evangelicals."

Yet he doesn't let evangelicals off the hook, either:

"Moralizing blowhards showed more compassion for embryonic stem cells than for the poor or the sick, and as recently as the 1990s, evangelicals were mostly a constituency against foreign aid."

The article is not too long, and definitely worth reading.