Book Review [Katharina & Martin Luther: The Radical Marriage of a Runaway Nun & a Renegade Monk by Michelle DeRusha]

Katharina and Martin Luther: The Radical Marriage of a Runaway Nun and a Renegade Monk by Michelle DeRusha
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Katharina was quite the inspiration! Although this book was not what I expected, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I wasn't expecting to learn so much on the difficulties women faced during this time period. I wasn't expecting to learn about Katharina's tremendous work ethic! I wasn't expecting to fall in love with the Luther household. And I truly wasn't expecting conviction upon reading of Katharina's work ethic. But these aren't the only unexpected, wonderful results of reading this book, which I encourage you to do as well! You will be thankful for it, I can promise you that.

I cannot even begin to sing my gratitude for living in the 21st century. The view of women in general has changed significantly. We have citizenship rights, for example, and if our spouse passes away (or if we choose not to marry at all) we will not be condemned or feared to be a witch with extreme sexual passions that cannot be tamed. Documents like Malleus Maleficarum (known as the Hammer of Witches) is now considered ludicrous for statements such as, 

"a woman was a liar by nature; vain in gait, posture, and habit; and insatiable in carnal lust, as well as wicked: "a foe to friendship, an unescapable punishment, a necessary evil, a natural temptation, a desirable calamity, a domestic danger, a delectable detriment, an evil of nature, painted with fair colors! A woman either loves or hates there is no third grade. When a woman thinks alone, she thinks evil. All [witchcraft] comes from carnal lust, which is in women insatiable." (p. 171) 

When I read those lines my jaw dropped to the ground. I was more than shocked and appalled for these women! My sympathy for their extreme adversity ran so deeply that my head was overwhelmed by my shaking it. With that, I thanked God for our equality in Christ. That before Him I am no better than a king, the president, a man, or any human in history - no matter the race, nationality, or physical disposition - like everyone I am a sinner in need of a Savior. And because of my faith in Jesus Christ's death, burial and resurrection I am like any other believer - whether king, president, man, or human - no matter the race, nationality, or physical disposition - I am righteous and holy because of the work of Christ in my life. Hallelujah!

I am also incredibly thankful modern appliances that only require me to walk up and down the stairs and not to the river to wash my clothing - even in the dead of winter! Or the ability to vacuum my rug rather than beat the dirt out. Or my dishwasher, crockpot, &etc. that have essentially made me lazier than the women during 1500's. Katharina woke at 4am and hit the floor running. Her 17 hour work day included being a brewmaster, house manager of the many guests who lived in their home, wife, and mother. She raised her own livestock, slaughtered them, and prepared them for meals. She tended her own garden and bees. She was also a nurse whose son, Paul (a doctor), commended her for her knowledge of the medical profession. In fact, when the Black Plague hit their town, she tended to the sick in the cloister where they lived. Still, that isn't the part that struck me - she tended to the sick and gave birth to a child right in the middle of it!

This woman!

Another fact that struck me was that Martin tried to pay her for reading the Bible through in a year. She refused, but he wrote of her that she knew the Psalm's by heart better than anyone he knew (including himself). Amazing.

Katharina is a woman I cannot wait to meet. Although this was a book about her revolutionary marriage (she was a nun and her husband a monk) and despite my joy in reading about their marriage and how they faced adversity together or reared their children (which was one of my favorite parts because of statements like, 

"Luther understood parenting as nothing less than a holy calling. "The greatest good in married life, that which makes all suffering and labor worthwhile, is that God grants offspring and commands that they be brought up to worship and serve Him, he wrote in 1522, before he was married or had children of his own. "In all the world this is the noblest and most precious work, because to God there can be nothing dearer than the salvation of souls." ... [Luther] considered there no greater or nobler authority on earth than that of parents over their children. Yet the comments and stories sprinkled throughout Table Talk, the ender letters Luther penned to his wife, and the portraits depicting Luther and his family also reveal something obvious yet not often mentioned: Luther and Katharina had fun with their kids and enjoyed spending time with them. They delighted in their children's antics and their innocent comments and expressions. Love and joy were obviously abundant in the Luther household." p.233-234) 

My favorite pieces to learn were that of Katharina and how Martin - despite what the world at that time said about women - had a deep and abiding love, trust, and respect for his wife. Even after he passed away, his trust for her was immense when you read his will which was revolutionary for that time. What he gave her and entrusted her with was unheard of which caused a lot of heartache for Katharina. Still, when her husband died she proved her resourcefulness, her intelligence, and her innovation. I am still amazed and inspired by her and how she came alongside her husband - a man who changed history by standing up for truth!

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Because I can't help myself (seriously, it's that good!) I had to share one of my favorite quotes, 

"[Martin Luther's] understanding of grace-based faith versus works-based faith was more than a personal revelation; it informed his entire rebellion against the church. After all, if human beings couldn't possibly earn salvation by their good works, if human beings had no righteousness of their own and were entirely dependent on Christ for their salvation and hope, where, then, did that leave good works like pilgrimages and fasting? Where did that leave the notion of purgatory? Where did that leave the monastic vows of poverty, obedience, and chastity? Where did that leave the pope, with his sales of indulgences, and the priests, doling out penance in the confessionals? Luther came to believe that the church to which he had dedicated his life was built on sand, and each abuse, each indulgence, added an unsustainable weight to the structure. In his eyes, Romans 1:17 obliterated the very foundation of the Roman Catholic Church." p.91-92

Tuesday's Top Ten [Favorite Billy Graham Quotes]

Billy Graham's wife, Ruth, is someone I admire for so many reasons and I've written about her a few times: 

• What is Your Purpose?
• Friends I Haven't Even Met
• Prayer for a Husband

The wives of pastors are so often overlooked and it's so often that these women put themselves aside for the sake of the preaching of the gospel. These women who come alongside and serve their husband, helping him, loving him, and denying self. I admire that so much. Do you know how much strength, self-control, perseverance, dedication, hard work, and love is required to accomplish that? Though her husband is the one widely known, it is she who he credits most often for what he accomplished in his life (see #2 and 3). Though I spent more time reading her work, he is also someone I admire.

The respect for this couple grew immensely after reading Ruth Bell Graham's Footprints of a Pilgrim. And even more so when I listened to Billy pay tribute to his wife, who died 10+ years before her husband. I'm sure that those 10 years were difficult for him and it thrills my heart to know that what he says about death is now his reality, 

"Someday you will read or hear that Billy Graham is dead. Don't you believe a word of it. I shall be more alive than I am now. I will just have changed my address. I will have gone into the presence of God." 

He is in the presence of God! If it were for nothing else he said, I would respect him for that one alone. It is by far my favorite.

There is so much to be said about this man, but like Jennifer Briggs Kaski, I enjoy hearing what he said. Still, I love how Kaski wrote about him in the intro to her book, Quotable Billy Graham, "He has preached to more than a hundred million people, from tents to cathedrals to stadiums. About three million people have answered his urgent admonitions to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. A 1995 crusade in Puerto Rico was translated into 116 languages and watched by 1.5 million people. All this by a man born in 1918, who has never held office, scored a touchdown, cut a CD, made a movie, or pocketed a million in a year. Yet he has made Gallup's list of the world's ten most-admired men forty-one times in fifty-three years. His book Angels sold a million copies in ninety days in 1975. He was presented with America's 114th Congressional Medal of Freedom." And she wrote this book in 2002, so it is quite old! Imagine all that he did and said between the publishing of this book and the day he died! Enough on that, listen to what he had to say, especially on his wife...

2. "She's been a marvelous person to be able to stay here, raise five children, nineteen grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. She's been the one that's done the work and kept up with them and talked with them and loved them, taught them Scriptures and so forth. She let me travel all over the world preaching the gospel. I think if there's any secret in our marriage, it's Ruth. There's very few women I've ever known like her." (Midwest Today, January 1997)

3. On Ruth's illness, "It didn't test my faith because I knew she was going to be all right whether she lived or died, because she lives halfway in heaven anyway." What a marvelous thing to be said of anyone...

4. He said something very similar about himself, "My home is in heaven. I'm just traveling through this world."

5. He told students in 1964 at Harvard Divinity School . . . “I used to think that in evangelism I had to do it all, but now I approach evangelism with a totally different attitude. I approach it with complete relaxation. First of all, I don’t believe that any man can come to Christ unless the Holy Spirit has prepared his heart. Secondly, I don’t believe any man can come to Christ unless God drives him. My job is to proclaim the message. It’s the Holy Spirit’s job to do the work, period.” (Catherwood, 230) John Piper's "God Did the Work, Period" Tribute to Billy Graham

6. "I'm not going to heaven because I'm good. I'm not going to heaven because I preach to a lot of people. I'm going to heaven because of God's grace and mercy in Christ on the Cross. I haven't worked for it. It's a free gift from God for me." 

7. "I've stuck to the same message. I have different texts, different illustrations and different stories and all the rest, but the Gospel is the Gospel. There's only one Gospel, and the human heart is the same." (Midwest Today, January 1997)

8. "I remember when President (Lyndon) Johnson thought that I should run for president and he said his organization would back me, or the other party, the same thing. Those were not even temptations. I just said, "I will never do anything in my entire life except preach the Gospel." (Fox News Sunday, January 1, 2000)

9. "In 1951, when there was segregating of the audience in Chattanooga, Tennessee, they put ropes up to divide the audience, with the black people sitting behind and the whites sitting up front. I went down and personally removed the ropes." (Midwest Today, January 1997)

10. "You cannot control the length of your life. You can control the depth."

Although I enjoy reading and listening to Billy Graham, he is not my hero. Christ alone has the key to my heart and while I feel paying tribute to Billy Graham is a good thing, let's not forget the reason why Billy Graham lived - for the glory of God alone. With that said, here's one to end with...

 "American youth must have a hero. It may be a football player, a general in the army, or some other glamorous person. Jesus Christ is the hero of my soul and the coach of my life." 

Favorite Passage in Genesis

I began writing a top ten, the title being 'favorite passages in Scripture' but when my list began with my favorite in Job, to multiple pieces in Ecclesiastes and Romans and Ephesians and Hosea and Isaiah... Proverbs... Psalms... I quickly realized that I could not narrow it down to a mere ten. Sooooo I scraped that idea because it became an impossibility to pick ten. Therefore, I'm going to pick my favorites from each book, beginning a series of blogs about my favorite passages in Scripture. Who knows how long this will take, but I cannot wait to share with you my favorite part in Genesis!

The story of Joseph is a favorite because it is quite clear that God at work setting up the story of the passover where He reveals Himself as the only true God - establishing His mighty name and the giving of His Word. The Israelites had to be in Egypt in order for any of this to happen and He used Joseph in amazing ways.

The Background Story
First God gives Joseph dreams that illustrate the power he'll have in Egypt, but his lack of humility to his brothers gets him in a bit of trouble. They act on their jealousy by selling him into slavery. He ended up in the home of Potiphar, who was an officer of Pharaoh and there he became the overseer of the home because, "The Lord was with Joseph and he became a successful man." (39:2) But Potiphar's wife tried to seduce him and when she failed at doing so, she accused him of trying to rape her. He was sent to jail, "where the king's prisoners were confined" (39:20). These things were horrible, but they were not an accident! He was a slave to one of the most powerful men in Egypt so that he would end up in a specific prison so he would interpret the dreams of the man who tested PHARAOH'S cup. God orchestrated each of these events to put Joseph in a place of power so that Israel would bring his family to Egypt so that years later God would deliver His people with a mighty and outstretched arm! 

My favorite passage explains this, but just to clarify this fact, look at the rest of the story: The keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners. Why? Read 39:20: "BUT the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison." "Some time later" (it could've been many years) two men were thrown in prison for angering Pharaoh. It 'just so happened' that they were put in the prison with Joseph, where he attended them. They each had disturbing dreams and were distraught because of them. Joseph's response to them both, "Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me." (40:8) Once they did, Joseph told them the interpretation and they came true. It wasn't until two years later that the cup-bearer remembered Joseph and it was all because Pharaoh had disturbing dreams! As a result, Joseph gave God the glory for the interpretation, "It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer." (41:16) Once Joseph told Pharaoh about the seven years of prosperity followed by the seven years of famine, Joseph makes this amazing statement, "God has shown to Pharaoh what he is about to do." 41:28 Pharaoh was so amazed at Joseph's wisdom that he Pharaoh put him second in command. During the seven plentiful years (that God brought about - reread 41:28) Joseph stored up food to prepare for the famine (that God brought about - reread 41:28) and when his brothers heard of Egypt having food, they went to get some for themselves, and once they realized it was Joseph they bowed down to (remember the dreams that began this fiasco in the first place?), the entire family came to Egypt and Joseph took care of them!

*You should know that this portion of my Bible has a lot of purple underlines and highlights. Purple = God's sovereignty (In other words, every piece that illustrates that God was in control is purple.) I encourage you to read this story beginning in Genesis 37.

My Favorite Passage
I do not know how long Joseph was a slave or how long exactly he was a prisoner or how many years he had to wait to see his father, brother Benjamin, or how long it took to see his first dreams fulfilled (where his brothers bow down to him), but this story illustrates God's sovereignty beautifully: God works all things out for good according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28) ALL things. Not just some things. He works out the good and the bad for His purpose and my favorite passage in Genesis proves it:

"As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today." Genesis 50:20

Joseph forgave his brothers and in doing so relayed this message: when you sold me into slavery, you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. Nothing was an accident, or happen-chance. God did it because He had a plan to save lives and He was going to fulfill the promise He made way back to Abraham, which Joseph reminded his brothers on his death bed, "I am about to die, but God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob." Genesis 50:24

Which brings me to my next favorite passage in Scripture... so stay tuned!

"Ina May's Guide to Childbirth" by Ina May Gaskin [Book Review]

Ina May's Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There's so much about this book that I love and I debated a long time between a 4 and 5 star rating. Ina May offers information galore that every expectant mother should read (whether or not it's your first or tenth child). However, there were some interesting birth stories in the beginning that you must prepare yourself to read. They caught me off guard. (Remember this is coming from a conservative Christian perspective.) I gave it 5 stars because she offers wisdom not just from personal experience (where she's attended nearly 3,000 deliveries from beginning to end) but also because of her research, her passion for the midwifery profession and all mothers-to-be, her findings upheld by medical professionals around the world, but also because she possesses a wealth of knowledge that every woman needs to know. Not to mention that her success rate in delivering babies med-free and intervention free are outstanding.

You cannot ignore these facts as you read her book.

Due to Ina May's knowledge of the woman's body, her personal experiences, her education, and her renowned reputation throughout the world I was inclined to listen to what she had to say. She backed up her personal experiences with references galore, which also boosted my confidence in the knowledge Ina May shared. Her chapters on the mind and body connection, what happens in labor, the sphincter law, giving birth: move freely, let gravity work for you (where she details specific techniques for pain relief), and her knowledge of VBAC's helped relieve me of anxiety and fears as a result of my first labor and delivery experience. Due to the fact that she shared her knowledge I feel ready, able, and EXCITED to experience the delivery of our second child.

"Women can hardly make truly informed decisions when some of the most relevant information is not available to them." (p. 288) I feel educated, which is something I desperately wanted the first time around and thought I was receiving. Hindsight, my ignorance played a huge part in my daughter coming into this world in a room that was full of stress and high intensity. Thankfully, I finished this book with an incredible sense of relief because of the knowledge Ina May shared. I am not a "lemon" as I truly believed after my first experience. I now know HOW God equipped my body to give birth and I simply need to trust in how He designed women to bring forth life. That is an amazing comfort brought forth by Ina May's desire to inform women. Thank you Ina May!

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I look forward to sharing a few of my favorite quotes! Stay tuned...

The 4 Pages in "Ina May's Guide to Childbirth" That Left Me Frustrated

A dear friend gave me three books to read that helped her as she prepared for the birth of their second daughter over two years ago. Now that I'm the same boat I was anxious to feel better equipped for this birth than I was with Beans, so I was thankful to receive them. I dived in to "Ina May's Guide to Childbirth" right away. 

Her credentials are pretty impressive (check out her website for more information on this renowned midwife). She has many published books, has attended more than 1200 births from beginning to end, she lectures to other midwives and has even been invited to speak at medical schools, and most impressive yet is that a method devised to deal with a feared childbirth complication was named after her and is now taught to medical professionals around the world. (source) There are so many reasons to trust what she has to say about childbirth.  

And it took only four pages in her book to frustrate me and leave me feeling elated all at once. I am not "broken" despite what the doctors made me believe.

The chapter titled, "The Wrong Environment Can Stall or Reverse Labor" (more precisely pages 138-141) gave reason to my feelings precisely. It's hard to condense Ina May's words and I'd honestly like to give you what she stated in its entirety, but I'll try to sum it up instead... 

Before I do, I'll give you my favorite quote from the section which will help you understand my summation:

“The problem is that doctors today often assume that something mysterious and unidentified has gone wrong with labor or that the woman's body is somehow "inadequate" - what I call the "woman's body as a lemon" assumption. For a variety of reasons, a lot of women have also come to believe that nature made a serious mistake with their bodies. This belief has become so strong in many that they give in to pharmaceutical or surgical treatments when patience and recognition of the normality and harmlessness of the situation would make for better health for them and their babies and less surgery and technological intervention in birth. Most women need encouragement and companionship more than they need drugs. 

Remember this, for it is as true as true gets: Your body is not a lemon. You are not a machine. The Creator is not a careless mechanic. Human female bodies have the same potential to give birth as well as aardvarks, lions, rhinoceri, elephants, moose, and water buffalo.” (p. 141-142)

She began this section with one simple fact: that birth requires a "maximum degree of relaxation". Ina May and her midwife partners witnessed on many different occasions (and gave specific stories of such instances) where as soon as relaxation was lost, labor stopped or reversed. She dived into medical textbooks and interviewed other medical professionals to determine what was said about this phenomena and what she found shocked me. Doctors from the 1800's -1900's wrote about it in their medical textbooks, but recent textbooks deny its existence. Most doctor's today do not believe that the cervix was truly open to the stated centimeters, in other words, they do not trust in the midwife's ability to check openings appropriately and choose to believe that something "mysterious and unidentified has gone wrong with labor" or that the woman's body is now somehow "inadequate" instead. Ina May quoted six different doctors from the 19th century who witnessed this phenomena first hand and wrote about it in medical textbooks with advice on what to do and why. 

Here's the underlying piece to this puzzle and why it fit my feelings precisely: most doctors during this time period knew that an unwelcome or upsetting presence could stall labor. AND THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED TO ME. There's a few things you need to understand about my doctor and anesthesiologist with Brielle's birth: my doctor wanted me to have an epidural in the worst way and was not on par with my wanting a no-med/intervention free birth and she made that quite clear with her mini temper tantrums as she stomped out of the room stating (not facing me), "You're not any less of a mother if you have an epidural." I know that. I believe that. But it was not my choice, for many reasons. Secondly, I had a few playlists that helped me focus on something other than contractions and the moment my anesthesiologist entered the room (after giving in to my doctor's wishes) he growled, "Turn that crap off." It was not at all the environment I had envisioned or the encouragement I had hoped to receive from the medical community. (They were pieces I left out of Brielle's Birth Story because despite the callousness of the doctors that attended her birth, it was an unforgettable experience that changed my life forever. It was in her story and the happenings afterwards that forced me to have an eternal perspective on life and understand God's sovereignty, so I am truly thankful for it.) What leaves me irked is the lack of humility from the doctors I've encountered.  

Reading her findings made me irritated, writing that paragraph has made me angry. Doctors, do you understand the power you have to heal, discourage, encourage, manipulate and truly hinder or help your patients?

It's truly unfortunate that American women share more horrific stories of childbirth than beautiful positive ones. I desperately want a positive med-free, intervention-free experience and I really, really want encouragement and support for that decision. Sadly we spend more time comparing and judging one another than offering what Ina May has found to be most successful: encouragement and companionship.

Which is why I love sharing birth stories occasionally here, there's no better way to encourage one another. If you are interested in sharing yours, leave a comment and I'd love to get in contact with you!

"The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak [Quotable Quotes]

This book wormed its way into my heart, it took a bit, but the author's writing was so beautiful that I knew I would regret putting it down. I am so thankful I pushed through the first few chapters because it made my top ten list. 

Mark Zusak's style of descriptive writing was so uniquely beautiful that I had quotes galore, just because of the picture he painted with his words. Starting with a Jewish section of town that broke my heart...

“It was a place nobody wanted to stay and look at, but almost everyone did. Shaped like a long, broken arm, the road contained several houses with lacerated windows and bruised walls. The Star of David was painted on their doors. Those houses were almost like lepers. At the very least, they were infected sores on the injured German terrain." (p. 51)

His comparisons to a broken arm, lepers, infected sores gave such tremendous insight into how the Jews were seen and treated in Germany during WWII. My little blurb on this particular quote gives it zero justice, but I can't seem to put the significance of this statement -considering the Jewish laws dealing with lepers and infected sores- so I doubt I'll be able to give due credit for any of the other quotes either...

“For now, Rudy and Liesel made their way onto Himmel Street in the rain. He was the crazy one who had painted himself black and defeated the world. She was the book thief without the words. Trust me, though, the words were on their way, and when they arrived, Liesel would hold them in her hands like the clouds, and she would wring them out like the rain.” (p. 80)



And when you read her words you'll need to wring out a box of tissues. The next quotes were simply wonderful, with no description needed of me...

“...one opportunity leads directly to another, just as risk leads to more risk, life to more life, and death to more death.” (p. 83)

"[Mama's] voice was surprisingly calm and caring. As you can imagine, this worried the girl a great deal. She'd have preferred to hear them arguing. Whispering adults hardly inspired confidence." (p. 95)


Okay. Did anyone else literally laugh out loud after reading the first few sentences of the next quote? Please tell me I'm not alone...

“Many jocular comments followed, as did another onslaught of "heil Hitlering." You know, it actually makes me wonder if anyone ever lost an eye or injured a hand or wrist with all of that. You'd only need to be facing the wrong way at the wrong time or stand marginally too close to another person. Perhaps people did get injured. Personally, I can only tell you that no one died from it, or at least, not physically. There was, of course, the matter of forty million people I picked up by the time the whole thing was finished, but that's getting all metaphoric.” (p. 111-112)

I can imagine someone losing an eye from an enthusiastic "heel Hitler" but his last two sentences of that quote stopped my laughing instantly. 

The next quote was taken from a book burning that I thought were beautiful...

“The orange flames waved at the crowd as paper and print dissolved inside them. Burning words were torn from their sentences. ” (p. 112)

How true (but I don't think it applies to eleven-year-olds alone): “Eleven-year-old paranoia was powerful. Eleven-year-old relief was euphoric.” (p. 132)

This description of Max, a Jew, hiding in the basement, fearing every noise, every movement was moving... “Everything was so desperately noisy in the dark when he was alone. Each time he moved, there was the sound of a crease. He felt like a man in a paper suit.” (p. 140)

Liesel and her best friend Rudy did their fair share of name calling. "Saumensch" means girl pig and "Saukerl" is male pig. This particular quote made me giggle (lots): “He was waving. "Saukerl," she laughed, and as she held up her hand, she knew completely that he was simultaneously calling her a Saumensch. I think that's as close to love as eleven-year-olds can get.” (p.144)

Remember that as you read this quote, the narrator of this book is death: “They say that war is death's best friend, but I must offer you a different point of view on that one. To me, war is like the new boss who expects the impossible. He stands over your shoulder repeating one thin, incessantly: 'Get it done, get it done.' So you work harder. You get the job done. The boss, however, does not thank you. He asks for more.” (p. 309)

I took the next quote out of Max's book describing Hitler:
“The young man wandered around for quite some time, thinking, planning, and figuring out exactly how to make the world his. Then one day, out of nowhere, it struck him - the perfect plan. He'd seen a mother walking with her child. At one point, she admonished the small boy, until finally, he began to cry. Within a few minutes, she spoke softly to him, after which he was soothed and even smiled. 

The young man rushed to the woman and embraced her. "Words!" He grinned.

"What?"

But there was no reply. He was already gone.

Yes, the Fuhrer decided that he would rule the world with words.” (The Word Shaker, p. 445)

Mark Zusah hit the nail on the head with that one. Hitler used words to turn a nation against a group of people. He used words to intimidate, to hurt, to kill, to ruin... Imagine if we all viewed words with such intensity? But with the opposite intention. To love, to respect, to honor, to cherish, to nourish...

Aaaaaaand let's do a 180 with a quote from death that'll make ya laugh...

“For some reason, dying men always ask questions they know the answer to. Perhaps it's so they can die being right.” (p.469)

... and another that'll make you cry...

“For a long time, she sat and saw.

She had seen her brother die with one eye open, on still in a dream. She had said goodbye to her mother and imagined her lonely wait for a train back home to oblivion. A woman of wire had laid herself down, her scream traveling the street, till it fell sideways like a rolling coin starved of momentum. A young man was hung by a rope made of Stalingrad snow. She had watched a bomber pilot die in a metal case. She had seen a Jewish man who had twice given her the most beautiful pages of her life marched to a concentration camp. And at the center of all of it, she saw the Fuhrer shouting his words and passing them around.

Those images were the world, and it stewed in her as she sat with the lovely books and their manicured titles. It brewed in her as she eyed the pages full to the brims of their bellies with paragraphs and words.” (p. 520-521)

I loved that quote because it was the perfect summation of Liesel's life. The next quote was taken from a section of the story where her reaction to pain and heartache left me in a state of reflection...

"She tore a page from the book and ripped it in half. 

Then a chapter.

Soon, there was nothing but scraps of words littered between her legs and all around her. The words. Why did they have to exist? Without them, there wouldn't be any of this. Without words, the Fuhrer was nothing. There would be no limping prisoners, no need for consolation or worldly tricks to make us feel better. 

What good were the words?" (p. 521)

In my own experience, words have been the most effective tool to change my life. I have hated words and I have loved words. Perhaps it was that reoccurring theme that helped me form a love towards the words in this book and events such as this, when Ilsa gave Liesel an empty journal to fill with her very own words...

“As it turned out, Ilsa Hermann not only gave Liesel Meminger a book that day. She also gave her a reason to spend time in the basement, her favorite place, first with Papa, then Max. She gave her a reason to write her own words, to see that words had also brought her to life.
"Don't punish yourself", she heard her say again, but there would be punishment and pain, and there would be happiness, too. That was writing.” (p.524-525)

What a beautiful comparison and an extremely sad part of the book described here... “Papa sat with me tonight. He brought the accordion down and sat close to where Max used to sit. I often look at his fingers and face when he plays. the accordion breathes. There are lines on his cheeks. They look drawn on, and for some reason, when I see them, I want to cry. It is not for any sadness or pride. I just like the way they move and change. Sometimes I think my papa is an accordion. When he looks at me and smiles and breathes, I hear the notes.” (p.527)

I loved the narrator, even though the narrator was death. Markus brought death to life with words such as this: “I wanted to tell the book thief many things, about beauty and brutality. But what could I tell her about those things that she didn't already know? I wanted to explain that I am constantly overestimating and underestimating the human race - that rarely do I ever simply estimate it. I wanted to ask her how the same thing could be so ugly and so glorious, and its words and stories so damning and brilliant.

None of those things, however, came out of my mouth.

All I was able to do was turn to Liesel Meminger and tell her the only truth I truly know. I said it to the book thief and I say it now to you.

I am haunted by humans.” (p. 550)

Be sure to check out my review.

"The Atonement Child" by Francine Rivers [Quotable Quotes]

In addition to book reviews, I decided that if a book contains one or more amazing quotes, I want to spend time talking about them. The Atonement Child by Francine Rivers had so many that I couldn't pass them up. It was this book that encouraged me to add the quotes gadget to my blog layout (you'll see it on your left). There were 11 quotes from this book alone that I thought were beautiful enough to share. Francine Rivers gives insight into the heartache of women who have chosen abortion or feel they have no other choice and the healing that comes with it. I trust her knowledge. The entire reason she wrote the book was to shed light on her own testimony and the heartache of her own decision to abort. What an incredible way to share life's most taxing trials and the gift of forgiveness through Jesus Christ! I encourage you to read the book and my review on it. You will not walk away unscathed.

Quote #1: “How many others suffered in silence, too ashamed and too afraid to speak about their pain? The world wouldn't let them grieve for children they had aborted. How could they when the rhetoric said there was no child? How does one grieve what doesn't exist? No one wanted to admit the truth.” (p.248)

This quote reminded me of an incredibly difficult blog post written by a mother who lost her child due to a miscarriage. She titled it, How Abortion Has Changed the Discussion of Miscarriage and I'll let her post speak for itself. She hit the nail on the head:

"I was sent home to continue to live like my baby had never died – like there never was a baby. But recently, I have realized that this response is an indicator of the state of our society. After all, it is hard for a society to mourn the loss of WANTED unborn life when it is busy calling it “tissue” and discrediting its personhood. It is hard for a society to embrace a mourning mother for her loss of tissue when it is busy defending another mother’s right to dispose of it. But for a woman who prays ceaselessly for life to fill her womb, For a woman who has tried for years to finally have children of her own. For an expectant mother who suddenly finds herself frantically calling her OB after finding bright red blood... The “material” in her tummy is anything but tissue. It is life. It is hopes and dreams and answered prayers. It is destiny and a future and a promise of another generation. It is bike riding and little league and ballet lessons and college and grandkids… It is a baby. But it can never be both. Society can never acknowledge that we lost a baby and with the same breath declare the rest to be tissue. That is how abortion has changed the discussion of miscarriage – it has silenced it. Even though miscarriage affects millions of men and women each year, it won’t be featured on the news. There will be no memorials for all of the WANTED unborn babies. There will be no moments of silence or Today Show features for women who are organizing support groups. Despite the huge number of families miscarriage impacts each year – it will not be discussed widely. Because if they call ours babies… Then all of the aborted ones… were babies too…" (source, bold mine)

Quote #2: “I have to be separate in my way of thinking and not let my emotions rule. Oh, and they have ruled, Joe. They've ruled for months. I've let myself be kept in turmoil, stumbling every which way I turn."
"And no wonder."
"Don't make excuses for me. The world's too good at that.” (p. 250)
"We're Christians. We have to care what people think. The appearance of wrongdoing, remember? I'm not going to move in with you had have people think we're living in sin. What sort of witness would that be?” (p. 257)

There's two incredible pieces of this quote I want to talk about: 1. emotions. Rivers is dead on in this conversation between the main character and Joe in regards to them. They are unreliable. We spend too much time trying to reign in our emotions when we should instead focus our minds on Scripture. Once we focus on mind on Scripture, our mind automatically gravitates to the things of GOD. That is exactly what the Bible teaches us to do (see Romans 12:1-2 as one example). Gain wisdom through Scripture. Renew your mind according to Scripture. Do not be conformed to this world, but transform your mind. That is the entire reason why I created the 40 Day Challenge, to renew my mind according to Scripture. I am so glad I did (now it's about time to do it again). 

Secondly, as Christians we should care what people think. The more time we learn and grown in Him the more He sets us apart. Our lives should be different because the One who lives within us is different. The Holy Spirit will constantly teach and admonish according to Scripture so that we become more like Him, which is our ultimate goal. The more we grow and learn in Him the bigger witness we become and He will use us for His glory. What good are we to Him if we continue to live in sin? We are not using our lives for His glory!

Quote #3: “How could a woman who had an abortion not feel guilt or some sense of remorse? How could she justify what she'd done? Whom else could she blame when everyone was telling her it's her choice? Without facing the truth and confessing it, how could she be forgiven how could she be restored? How could she be free?" (p. 282)

Especially since the world refuses to recognize their pain and loss...

Quote: #4: “He had the tool to break down the walls that imprisoned his people. He had the tool to rip away the veil to the Holy of Holy's so that his flock could come before the Lord and be cleansed, made whole, transformed, and have a personal, loving relationship with their creator. That very tool sat on Hannah's bookshelf right now, gathering dust until Sunday morning. Her Savior was there, waiting to speak to her and show her the way home again, the way back to love. YOUR WORD IS LIFE! Why didn't more people understand that?” (p. 283)

I love this portion of the book where a pastor realized the most helpful tool on the face of the planet - God's Word. The sad part is that in broken homes the Bible sits on a shelf gathering dust.

Quote #5: “Lord, you are God! You made us. Who better to know how to fix us when we've gone wrong? who better to set us to rights again? Who better to love us through the fire and refine us into something beautiful and useful despite our wrongs?” (p. 283)

Truth.

Quote #6: “A woman could be the wind beneath a man's sails or a gale to send him into uncharted waters. She could be an anchor in stormy seas, or she could let him drift into the rocks.” (p. 296)

I read this to my husband and his only response was, "Yup."

Quote #7: "Hormonal changes permanently alter the breast structure. And when a pregnancy is terminated through abortion, the process is interrupted, which leaves cells in a sate of transition. And they say cells in this state have a very high risk of becoming cancerous. So the woman's chances of developing breast cancer later in life may be greatly increased.” (p. 310)

I decided to do a bit of research to determine the truth behind this statement. You'll be floored with what I found:

• "Endocrine disrupting compoundsmay contribute to breast cancer risk by skewing normal endocrine function." (source)
• "Breast development is a process guided by naturally occurring hormones, minuscule amounts of which exert striking effects in breast tissue at the critical stages of prenatal development, pubertyand pregnancy. These two features of naturally occurring hormones—that they exert extreme effects in small amounts and that they have the strongest effects at specific developmental stages—also characterize endocrine-disrupting compounds." (source)
• http://www.abortionbreastcancer.com/index/
• http://www.abortionbreastcancer.com/ABC_Research/index.htm
• "It is known that having a full-term pregnancy early in a woman's childbearing years is protective against breast cancer....Interruption during the first trimester of a first pregnancy causes a cessation of cell differentiation, which may result in a subsequent increase in the risk of cancerous growth in these tissues." (Planned Parenthood, source)
• "After a woman's first full-term pregnancy, hormonal influences transform a high proportion of her breast cells into mature, differentiated cells which make milk. Milk producing cells are fully mature and less sensitive to DNA damage than immature undifferentiated cells. Therefore, susceptibility to mutations declines in the breast cells of women who have had an early full-term pregnancy." (source)

Quote #8: “... those selling abortion don't want them to have [the facts]," Virginia said heatedly. "Besides the Supreme Court doesn't agree with you. They judges seem to think we poor women would fall apart if we knew the facts, so they decided women don't have the right to know the full truth." She shook her head. "They've made it legal to withhold vital information, even when a woman requests it, for heaven's sake!” (p. 310-311)

You can read all about the history of court rulings in regards to this statement here. 

Quote #9: “It doesn't take two minutes on an examining table for a girl to know that abortion is painful and destructive and it'll have far-reaching effects on her life. Besides the emotional trauma of going through something so violent, there are the physical aspects, the aftereffects. Unfortunately, by the time she's gone that far, it's too late to change her mind.” (p. 311)

Francine River's testimony of her own abortion can validate the truth behind this statement.

Quote #10: “This generation seems to see children as a financial burden and responsibility to be avoided.” (p. 313)

I wish this wasn't true, and I'm going to steal a quote from a book that I think sums this sad truth up pretty well,

"Years ago, before this generation of mothers was even born, our society decided where children rank in the list of important things. When abortion was legalized, we wrote it into law.  

Children rank way below college. Below world travel. Below nightlife. Below physical fitness. Below a career. In fact, children rate below your desire to sit around and pick your toes, if that is what you want to do. Below everything. Children are the last thing you should ever spend your time doing." (R. Jankovik, Mom Enough, p.14-15, it also appears on the blog Desiring God titled, Motherhood Is a Calling (And Where Your Children Rank))

Isn't that true of our mentality these days? It's convicting! After reading that I had to sit down, determine where my children rank, and make some changes...

Quote #11: “Emotions are powerful, but they also change as quick as the wind. That's why the Lord says to renew your mind. Don't base decisions on what you feel.” (p. 335)

This one relates so much to Quote #2 that I don't want to expound on it. See Quote #2. 

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I want to end with sharing a bit of my testimony. During my freshman year of college I was promiscuous. Had I become pregnant I have no doubt in my mind that I would've chosen an abortion. There's many reasons why I believe this about myself then: 1. I was selfish. 2. I would've been scared to tell my family. 3. I would not have known the father. 4. I did not want to quit school to support a child or deal with whatever lay ahead had I chosen a full-term pregnancy and adoption (selfish). Thankfully, God spared me from many consequences of my lifestyle as an 18 year old. My goal in sharing these quotes and spending so much time talking about them is not to cast judgement, but to offer encouragement. Even if you did make the decision to abort your baby there is forgiveness through the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. If He can forgive you for sins past, present and future, who are you to remember them and who am I to hold it against you? Give them to Jesus, find someone who will encourage you according to Scripture daily, and let the healing begin. Any healing process is laborious but with Jesus anything is possible!

What I believe about life:
 I believe that God creates life from conception. Period. 
I believe God knows each individual before conception.
I believe God's sovereignty stretches to all aspects of human life, including, but not limited to pregnancy.

David wrote about that truth in a beautiful Psalm...
"For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
 I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works; 
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you, 
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 
Your eyes saw my unformed substance; 
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them." 
Psalm 139:13-16