Then God said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey.
Genesis 22:2-3a
You’ve heard me tell stories about my dog before; they are usually good stories but, alas, it is time for you to know that Rosie does have some flaws. One flaw—she doesn’t always listen. They say there is no such thing as a bad dog—just bad owners—and when it comes to instilling obedience into our dog, I’m afraid we may fall into the latter category.
Rosie listens pretty well—90% of the time. Usually when we let her out, she runs out, does her business, and when we call her, she comes racing toward us, jumps up onto the deck, slides halfway across, spins in place for a minute, then charges inside where she looks to us for a treat. But every once in a while, we will let her out and when we call her, she just looks at us. We can sound super excited; we can say “treat,” “breakfast,” “tennis ball”—in short, all of the magic words and do you know what she does? She lifts her nose in the air, takes three slow deliberate sniffs, her nose lifting a little higher with each sniff, then she tilts her head slightly sideways looking at us out of the corner of her eyes as if to say, “Make me.” Obviously we cannot do that because she’s a half acre away! It is times like this when I am usually running late that she starts acting up that I get some of my best praying in! “Lord, please just let her come. Please just let her listen.” You’ve probably had similarly panicked prayers,
Sometimes Rosie comes racing in. Other times, she turns her little furry tail towards me and races down to the neighbors—in the exact opposite direction from the house and I have to go running after her, and while dragging her back home, I am telling her how other dogs have to live outside all year round and if she doesn’t want that to happen to her .…
A while ago I was reading my Bible and it was the story of when Abraham took Isaac up on the mountain to be sacrificed. The Bible says that God told Abraham to sacrifice his son and Abraham got up the next morning and went. THE NEXT MORNING! Abraham knew what God was telling him to do. He didn’t procrastinate for three days “just to be sure” about what God was telling him. No. He got up and left. Right away.
There’s an old saying that delayed obedience isn’t obedience at all. Unfortunately, I think this means that my dog might not be obedient at all! What about us? How often do we hear the Holy Spirit’s prompting and we take time “just to be sure” when we know good and well what He is telling us.
I challenge you, the next time you hear the Holy Spirit prompting you to do something good, something that you just don’t want to do, that you not wait and instead act immediately. I think you will be glad that you did.
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I believe I have mentioned this before but January is rarely a month where I hit the ground running. I settle into the new year rather than jump into it. As someone who settles in and focuses on their new year’s goals little-by-little, I find myself still reflecting and thinking a lot about the past year; and, of course, these thoughts include reflections on all the books that I read last year.
Below is a list of several books that I read last year that stood out to me. These are ones that, nearing a year later, I still vividly remember and think, “Oh I loved that book!”. These are not necessarily new titles that you have never heard me discuss before—although a few of them are—but rather they are the ones that I most likely would recommend to friends and family so I am sharing them with you too!
Early American History
The Indigo Girl by Natasha Boyd
This book is set in 1739 and is fleshed out American history. Ms. Boyd took excerpts from the letters of the main character, Eliza Lucas, and true life events to craft this narrative. Eliza was a 16 year old girl growing up in South Carolina on a plantation. Her father was a merchant with aspirations in the West Indies; he left his young daughter in charge of not just one but all three of the family’s plantations. Having heavily mortgaged his properties in order to pursue his political aspirations, Eliza is left trying to make ends meet and to turn a profit on the plantations. To do this, she decided to try to raising indigo—something never before attempted in America. If she is successful, she saves her family. If she isn’t, the family’s future is at stake, including her having to marry, not for love, but to the highest bidder—making her a low dowry bride.
Revolutionary War Books
The Revolutionary War is my favorite time period from American history. In late winter/early spring, my husband and I got hooked watching a Netflix series called, “Turn,” about the spies George Washington employed to help defeat the British. “Turn” was based on real people and real events. The show doesn’t strictly follow the facts, of course, but it got me curious and did wonderful things for my reading life during one of the dreariest times of the year.
Rebel Spy by Veronica Rossi
This book is based on the events of the revolution that Washington’s spy ring help effect. This particular narrative is based on who the mysterious “lady” agent could be that was supposed to have played an active role in the Culper spy ring. The true identity of the lady agent remains a secret—in fact there are discussions as to whether a lady agent existed at all! The events of this book are true while the story itself is a work of fiction; it is gripping fiction indeed! If you are looking for a book with all the classic elements of spying, adventure, close calls and a dash of romance, this is one you won’t regret reading!
George Washington’s Secret Six by Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger
This is a fact based, fast paced account of what we know about the men in the Culper spy ring. To try and decipher what is fact and what is fiction about the Culper spy ring, I recommend reading this title as an introduction, not a conclusive study, of the spy ring.
355: A Novel, The Women of Washington’s Spy Ring by Kit Sergeant
This novel is closely based on the facts of three women who participated as information carriers during the Revolutionary War. I would say it is more of a portrayal of events than a story with a plot. Imagine trying to gather information on the British and safely transfer that information of the Americans—all while having the British living in your home and watching your every move!
My Dear Hamilton by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie
This was a slower paced book than I am apt to typically count as one of my very favorites, but I really enjoyed the book’s slower pace and ability to pull me into the events. I knew very little about the Hamiltons prior to reading this book so I found it very informative. This book also shed light on how turbulent it was starting out as a new nation—the nation almost didn’t make it.
The Rose Code by Kate Quinn
This book will keep you on the edge of your seat with the storylines of three women who helped crack the German enigma. Beth is brilliant, one of the best minds to work on the enigma. Mab has secrets she desperately wants to keep hidden. Osla wants to be seen as more than a silly debutante. A few years after the end of the war, the three friends who worked on the enigma have had a falling out. Beth has somehow ended up in an insane asylum and she needs her friends’ help to escape before a surgery ruins her mind forever. A note from Beth reaches Osla and Osla wants to help Beth, but Mab is bitter from something that happened during the war. Will Osla and Mab devise a plan to rescue Beth before it is too late? What did happen during the war to tear this group of friends apart?
Our Darkest Night by Jennifer Robson
This is a story that takes place in Italy during World War II. Nina is sent with a man, Nico, who she doesn’t know, to live under the guise of being his wife in his family’s home.
It is a rocky situation from the start—she is blamed as the reason her pseudo husband left seminary, something the entire family was immensely proud of Nico for achieving. Things start to smooth out but stress is always high as Nico’s exploits to help rescue Jewish people frequently take him away from his home … a fact that does not escape the notice of the Nazis who are stationed in their little village.
Surviving Savannah by Patti Callahan
This is a fictionalized account of a real event, the sinking of a ship called the Pulaski that later came to be known as The Titanic of the South. Everly is a young historian who has been recruited to work on the Pulaski exhibit at the museum. Everly stumbles onto the stories of a few young women who were aboard the Pulaski and instantly becomes intrigued—what happened to these women after that fateful night? Everly falls into the research. However, digging up the past also means that she will have to dig through her own personal history and come face-to-face with working through the death of her best friend—something for which she feels terribly responsible.
I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land.
Exodus 23:28-30NIV
Last week I talked about how my cat, Jester, doesn’t just like to have enough food in his bowl—he likes to have plenty! And the same can be true with us and God, we don’t want him to give us just enough—we want plenty! But what happens when we ask him for plenty and aren’t ready to handle His bounty?
In Exodus 23:29 God is talking about bringing the Israelites into a new land and He promises that He will drive the people of that land out before the Israelites and the entire land will be theirs, but He will not drive them out all at once. He gave it to them little by little, testing them, seeing what they could handle, and then slowly releasing more to them. How often do we doubt His promises to provide for our needs and to bless us abundantly. I can think of times in my life when I have wanted to take matters into my own hands to try to produce plenty on my own rather than waiting on Him and His timing. I think we have all done this and, most likely, will do it again!
Remember Abraham, the father of many nations? Abraham desperately wanted an heir and God told Abraham his prayer had been heard and that God would turn Abraham’s descendants into a great nation. Then what? Well, nothing. Time went on, years went by, and Abraham and his wife Sarah remained childless. So Sarah did what many of us would do—she took matters into her own hands and told Abraham to go into her maid, Hagar, so that she might conceive a child. Sarah’s plan seemed to work—until it didn’t. Abraham and Hagar’s child, Ishmael, brewed bitterness and hatred in Sarah. The Bible says of Ishmael, “He shall be a wild man; His hand shall be against every man. And every man’s hand against him. “ (Gen. 16:12). Many years later, God came through on his promise to Abraham and Sarah. Sarah conceived, had her baby, Isaac, and the situation got worse. It became so bad that Sarah eventually sent Hagar away to live apart from them. To this day the descendants of the sons of Abraham still war against each other.
God had waited to bless Abraham and Sarah with children. We don’t know why. We don’t know if there was a lesson God was trying to teach them (patience?) or why God tested them in this way. But they stepped out of His will. They wanted to bypass trust and growing pains and decided to try to self-insure that there would be descendants. And they really messed things up.
Have you ever done some version of this? Have you asked for more responsibility than you were equipped to handle? Did you ask for more financial wealth when you were still struggling to manage what you had already been entrusted with? Have you ever tried to step ahead of His plan? What was the outcome?
We have just started a new year, one in which we no doubt have lots of ideas about how things should go. But before we jump headlong into all the things we want to do, and things we want to ask God to bless us with, let’s pause for a moment and reflect: How did we steward the blessings He gave us last year? What did we start and not finish? To what did He call us already that we are not being faithful to?
He is a wise father, He will give us what we are meant to carry and when we are meant to carry it. Not before, and not after. We don’t have to worry about his plan, but we do have to trust and wait on Him.
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Christmas comes and goes so quickly but in Pennsylvania where I live, winter does not go as quickly. I always feel a bit bereft after taking down the Christmas tree and all of my Christmas decorations, so I decided a while ago that I wouldn’t take down all my Christmas decor at once. It is cold and, except for the sporadic snowfall, it is quite bare outside and will be for several more months. I don’t want the inside of my house to feel bare as well. I want it to feel cozy—extra cozy! Winter is a season too, after all, and I want to decorate for winter!
How I Decorate for Winter
Since I just can’t quite cope with taking away all of my Christmas and winter decor at once, I tend to leave up greenery (if you use faux you have the ability to do this); I have little trees that look wintery and instead I only take down things that are expressly Christmas-related. There is some discussion over whether to leave up decor that is glittery and my feeling is this—if you like it, leave it, and if you’re tired of it take it down. I would say by conservative standards you should take down anything glittery, but since I like glitter to brighten up winter’s darkness, I leave it. Typically, I don’t use any red in my decor throughout the year except I do add in a touch or two of red in autumn and at Christmas. So I also take down most touches of red unless I have berries in with my greenery. As I said, we still have another two or three months of snowman-making weather so the snowmen don’t have to leave yet! I also keep up certain glittery accents as well—trees, frosted evergreen accent balls, silver deer figurines, etc. I love the look of white, glitter-dusted branches. I love it when the branches outside glisten with snow and frost and I love it inside as well—faux snow and frost that is!
My rule is:If it’s true in nature, it can be true in my decor!
Keep it Cozy
Think of your home decorated for Christmas in all its cozy goodness and what do you picture? Try stripping away all the elements that are overtly Christmas-y and leave all the candles, lights, and anything else that looks super cozy to you! This is what I call decorating for winter. Maybe you decide to take down the glittery accents and trees but still want something to make your home special through winter—think cozy! Throws, pillows, and candles can really warm up and transform a space. You want your decor to appeal to all the senses and in winter I love to appeal to the eyes and the sense of touch. It has been said that we feel texture with our eyes as well as our hands, so bring in lots of different textures. Replace pristine books with worn, warmer-looking books; faux fur pillows look soft and warm; woven baskets to chase away the sterile feel of a home devoid of Christmas.
Want other touches of winter? Here’s a quick list of some of my favorite winter decorating items:
Branches—bare branches in a big vase (These can be a show stopper!)
Pinecones
Evergreen and frosted evergreen branches
Candles, candles, and more candles!
Faux fur pillows and throws
Deer sheds (antlers)
Twinkle lights
Logs in the fireplace—even if it’s not a working fireplace!
Faux sheepskin throw
Remember What You Like
Scandinavian Decor
Over the last few years Scandinavian decor style has gained popularity. This style is known for lots of white, minimalism, and crisp, clean lines. Scandinavian decor also incorporates a lot of candles and faux fur, and evokes feelings of hygge. (The closest translation to this word is coziness, but think of being snowed-in in a cabin with a warm fire while the pine trees outside are covered in snow and you’ll get the idea.) If you’ve ever been a fan of this style of decor and wanted to try it, this time of year is a great time to add a few of these elements.
I want glitter and branches and basically want my home to transform from a Christmas wonderland to a winter wonderland for the next few months. What do you like? I think winter is also a great time to add more white to your decor than usual. Also, maybe you keep a pretty traditional-style home but would like to incorporate more vintage elements into your home—why not try it now?!
Maybe you are tired of some of the colors and decor you have been using as staples in your home, take this season as a little breather and an excuse to play and have fun with your décor. I think the number one reason we get bored with anything is because we stop having fun with it. So have fun! Check out my post on “Creating a Cohesive Color Pallet” as a springboard for ideas if you have the urge to switch up some of your décor.
Purge
Christmas came and with it a few new additions to my home, so after Christmas I love to purge and reorganize. It is a great time of year to ask yourself what things have you held onto for another year and still have never used. If you haven’t used an item and it is not an heirloom—pitch it!
Likewise, I like to do an audit of my home: where are the pain points? What drawer do I continually keep telling myself that I need to sort? This year I even switched a few things around in my kitchen to help it function better!
But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the Lord your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today.
Deuteronomy 8:11
I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and a wonderful holiday season! As we look forward to and prepare our hearts for the new year, I am reminded of the beginning of 2021 and how I choose the word enough as my focus for this past year. I was specifically reminded of this because, while my focus might have been on having enough, it was not the focus of everyone in my household—namely our boy kitty, Jester.
I hate to air this publicly but our girl kitty, Trixie, has, well, a bit of a weight problem. The doctor said she’s fat. Now getting one cat to lose weight while maintaining the weight of the other is no easy feat. We have been trying to exercise Trixie more, but we have had to cut back on how much food we are feeding them. Let me be clear—they are still getting the recommended serving size of food for cats their size each day, it is just on the smaller side of the scale.
This cut back in food has made Jester panic. (His weight has stayed steady; he has neither lost nor gained weight.) Jester wants us to be sure we know that he needs a steady supply of food, so he has a routine that he goes through. He will meow loudly to get our attention. Then he starts wrapping himself around our legs. When we acknowledge him, he runs a few steps ahead, stops, looks back at us, meows, and waits for us to follow him. When we walk towards him he repeats this routine, a few steps at a time until we arrive at the food dish. Thankfully our house isn’t that large otherwise this would be a very time consuming process!
When Jester has successfully led us to his food, he jumps up onto the space where we keep his food and looks at us expectantly. And guess what—there is almost always still food in the dish! They usually finish their food within an hour before their meal time but still—Jester wants more knowing that while there will be more to meet his needs, there may not be extra food put out day and night like there was in the good ole days of his youth. Therefore, he feels he must always be asking for more, ahead of his actual need. Jester doesn’t want enough—he wants plenty!
Have you ever done this with God?
How many times has God proved Himself in providing for our needs? He tells us in His word that He will provide for our needs. Maybe not all our wants, but all of our needs; and furthermore, He will provide for the desires of our hearts when we have hearts that are focused on Him! But, like Jester, we want to see that all of our future needs will be met ahead of time. We want to take trust out of the picture, so we ask for things way ahead of the need. We worry about things over which we have no control. It is wise to do our due diligence, to save, and to plan for the future, but how often do we do all these things and still worry? How often do we still not trust?
It is easy to say that we trust and lean on Him when we are in the years of plenty. It is in the years of plenty and the easy times that we are most likely to forget our need for Him, and to rely on ourselves.
As we start this new year, my hope and prayer is that we will fully trust in Him no matter the situation in which we find ourselves. May we remember that our God is a God of plenty, not just enough. He is even more so a God of wisdom and will provide as much of what we need, when we need it and not one moment sooner, according to what He knows will be best for us.
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