Owlhaven » The World

book reviews: world changing

Owlhaven — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 07:31:52 +0000

I got two books in the mail on the same day a few weeks ago, which was an interesting coincidence, because I think the authors would find a lot of common ground.

Palmer Chinchen wrote True Religion: Taking Pieces of Heaven to Places of Hell on Earth. He challenges Christians to be part of the solution to the problems in terrible places in the world. Seeing the need in poor countries is life-changing, purpose-giving, and he maintains we need to act boldly instead of assuming we as individuals can’t make a difference. He focuses a lot on the needs in third world countries. And in a way I see his point. Going to the neediest of the needy makes sense in a practical triage-nurse sort of way. I won’t soon forget the needy ones I met in Ethiopia, and I am proud of my sister Sophie and her decision to do medical mission work in Africa. The tone of True Religion is perhaps too prescriptive. Not everyone’s life work is in a 3rd world country, after all. Nonetheless, the message is thought-provoking.

Julie Ferwerda wrote One Million Arrows: Raising Your Children to Change the World. This book focuses on truly purposeful parenting: building strong relationships and modeling right priorities so kids can grow up as ‘arrows’, strong and well-equipped to reach others for Jesus. Just what are we teaching our kids by our choices, both small and large? I want my kids to do more than play video games all day. I want them to grow up loved and loving others, using their time wisely, noticing needs, and finding joy in serving God. I want them to grow up embracing the knowledge that their lives have great value, that they were put here for a purpose, and that God will reveal that purpose in His time and in His way. This book renewed my own vision for my family, and I am blessed to have gotten the chance to read it.

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(I was given both of these books by the authors. The opinions expressed about them are my own.)

Wanna meet up?

Owlhaven — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 07:57:46 +0000

Just got done booking a plane ticket and I’m all excited. I’ve been invited to attend the TOGETHER FOR ADOPTION conference September 30th thru October 2nd in Austin, TX. Read here if you want to know more about the vision for this conference, but one big goal is to equip and inspire the church to better meet the needs of orphans. Some of the sessions will be led by Karyn Purvis, the author of The Connected Child, a dynamite book on attachment in adoption. I’m looking forward to hearing her speak.

My job at the conference will be to live-blog the sessions that I attend, to let y’all in on the message as it unfolds, whether you can actually make it to the conference or not. There will be blogger meet-up sessions, to give people a chance to meet the entire Featured Blogger Team. So if you live in or near the great state of Texas and plan to attend the conference, come on over and say hi. You can bet I’ll be thrilled to see you in person!

Help a mom?

Owlhaven — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 14:00:11 +0000

Once again I come to you on behalf of my friend Kelli. Would you go read her update? Then I hope you will spread the word on her behalf, asking people to consider being tested as a kidney donor. The more people willing to be tested, the more likely she is to find a match.
Thank you.

worth a visit

Owlhaven — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 18:12:13 +0000

I have SUCH good links to share with you this week!

Let them come home –encouragement for anyone loving wayward kids
Effects of Obamacare - sober words for anyone with (or without) health insurance
In light of a tragic loss at my house this week –a craft for frugal shutter bugs
Virtue begins with a spoon — if you’re wondering if the battle over table manners is worth it
Celebrating dependence — Tim Challies speaks about men and the gift of dependence
The best thing you can do for your spouse today –my dear friend Ann speaks to anyone with a spouse

Help Haiti Live

Owlhaven — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 17:58:39 +0000

Help Haiti Live is an awesome concert sponsored by Compassion International.
It’s happening Feb 27th in Nashville and will be streamed live online. Don’t miss it!

Help Haiti February 27th – HelpHaitiLive.com from Compassion International on Vimeo.

Tim Tebow and the Super Bowl ad

Owlhaven — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:55:48 +0000

I just discovered a great blog called Man of Depravity. The most recent post shares some interesting links about the controversial Super Bowl ad featuring Tim Tebow. The ad, sponsored by Focus on the Family, is getting much negative press because of its clear pro-life stance. I say hooray to Tim Tebow for fearlessly telling his story and standing up for what he believes. One fact that I didn’t know til today: Tim Tebow was home-schooled. I just had to include the picture. Double-click, and you’ll see John 3:16 written under his eyes. Thank God for strong and courageous men.

Don’t forget

Owlhaven — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 19:04:17 +0000

these precious people.

(The pastor of the church doing this work in Haiti is Kari Jobe‘s dad)

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Related: Help in Haiti

Because we can’t forget

Owlhaven — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 07:20:22 +0000

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PS– Pray for Natalie?

Live from New York: Wednesday

Owlhaven — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 19:48:48 +0000

(Click on the pictures to enlarge. Am hoping later today to add pictures to my Monday post, so check back.)

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This morning we were up by 8, eager to see a little more of New York before checking out at noon and heading to the airport for our 2:40 flight. First came breakfast and some suitcase-cramming, and then we were off, well-bundled, to walk the 12 blocks down 6th Avenue to Central Park. Our 5 year old was flagging by the time we made it there, but with the promise of a visit to Build-A-Bear after the park, she made it.

We showed our daughter Eloise’s house (The Plaza Hotel) which apparently has been turned into condos now and is right across from the park. She also wanted to see the place where Alex the Lion lived (the Central Park Zoo). But by then we only had an hour and a half before we had to check out of our hotel, and when asked if she wanted to do the zoo or Build-a-Bear, Build-a-Bear won easily.

So we contented ourselves with a walk through one corner of the park. A lot of the grass has fencing around it, to keep people on the paths. But the paths are curving and elegant, with ponds and interesting bridges and benches always nearby. Past tall trees, we could always see even taller buildings. But it was easy to see how the park was a true oasis in the bustling city. And even on this frigid day, there were others walking. So as not to wear out our daughter, we splurged on a cab for the ride back to Build-a-Bear. It was $6 well spent.

Confession time: for years I have actively resisted Build-a-Bear. Too expensive, bankruptingly so with the numbers of kids we have. We’ve literally never set foot inside the place. I saw it just as a place to part parents with their bucks. But our girly had been such a trooper on this whole trip, and this was literally THE main thing she’d been wanting to do for days. So we caved.

Inside the store we were ebulliently greeted by a well-groomed trendily-dressed young man. We were steered toward bins of un-stuffed animals, each one cuter than the next. I coaxed her to choose a panda, and John lobbied hard for an owl, but she settled on a black lab. A lady helped her stuff it, then set her up to groom it. And after that, it was off to look at clothes.

For some reason I’d assumed that her dog was a boy, but she emphatically declared it was a girl, and settled on a red skirt and a ruffly shirt with sequins. When our daughter began lobbying for shoes and a kennel, my frugal side kicked back in, and I declared 2 accessories to be plenty. Then it was on to the computer to name her dog– she chose Kelsey, after a dog we had years ago— and print out a birth certificate. Forty bucks in all– steep for a stuffed animal. But our daughter emerged glowing, and has barely let the dog out of her sight all week. And I had to admit even I had thoroughly enjoyed the process. Not saying we’ll make a habit of it. But if our 7 year old asks to go there for her birthday, I doubt if we’ll say no.

We had enough time to visit a couple gift shops on the way back to our hotel for a few souvenirs for the home folks. Then we grabbed our gear to check out of the hotel. I stopped in the print center to print out our boarding passes, and that is when I discovered that our plane was leaving 3 hours later than I’d first thought. We still had time!

We stuck our bags in hotel storage, and went walking around Times Square. The M&M’s store was a must. Three stories of brightly colored chocolate and matching paraphernalia. We got a picture with Elmo, and the Tin Man from Wizard of Oz.

Then we decided to try Dave’s Famous Ribs for lunch. The BBQ chicken entree was described as being half a chicken, and also included 4 side dishes. We decided to share that entree among the three of us, which surprised (irritated?) our board-thin waiter. “Will that be enough?” he said.

I suppose it was not a surprising response considering the sign on the restaurant wall encouraging us to “Eat Like a Pig”. We assured him that was all we needed, and when an enormous platter came, we were glad. We divided the food off onto 3 separate plates and had more than enough for all three of us. The food was delicious, and we tipped more than average to make up for our stingy (perfect-for-us) order.

Back at our hotel, we waited in the lobby for a bit for our ride to the airport. Then it was off to the airport. Time to go home! But what a wonderful trip it had been!

Live from New York: Tuesday

Owlhaven — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 07:38:30 +0000

Tuesday morning we slept in til 9. After a quick breakfast in the hotel, we headed out for the nearest tour bus stop. The plan was to take the bus to the south end of Manhattan (which locals pronounce mun-HAT-in, not MAN-HAT-in as I’ve always done). On the way to the stop, we passed through Bryant Park. There were no takers for ping pong in the arctic chill that was inflicting New York this week. But sparrows and pigeons fluttered cheerily around the deserted iron chairs that sat beneath bare sycamores. And the skating rink in the center of the park was full of skaters undeterred by the cold.

We sat at the edge of the rink watching for a bit, then headed off to our bus stop. Climbing up to the top level of the bus, I was really wishing the bus was heated. But at least today we’d been smart, and loaded on multiple layers of clothing. The three of us also crammed together into a 2-person bench seat, to maximize body warmth.

It was interesting to see how the personalities of the different tour guides changed the flavor of the tour. Monday’s tour guide spent the tour kicked back in the back of the bus with his feet up on the seat in front of him. His tone was drawling and slightly cynical, though thoroughly informative and entertaining. Today’s guide was equally knowledgeable, but he bounded from front to back of the bus like a Golden retriever, poking fun, cracking jokes, and drawing riders into conversation.

It was noon by the time we got to the ferry. Yesterday’s tour guide had claimed that the best Italian sausage in New York could be had at a little concession stand on Broadway 2 blocks from Battery Park. Our bus let us off right there, and so lunch was an easy choice: Italian sausage for John, a Philly cheese steak for me, and a hot dog for our girlie. It took some serious bundling to stay warm as we waited for our lunch to cook. It was about then that I discovered that a scarf around the head, though not high fashion, is extremely warm. I was cold enough not to care about the fashion thing.

We headed around the corner to Starbucks where we added coffee and cocoa to our lunch menu, then sat indoors to eat. Once lunch was taken care of, we headed for the Battery Park ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. We went through a security checkpoint, then were herded into a big slightly-warmer-than-outdoors white tent to wait for our ferry.

Fortunately we were close to the front of the pack, and we were able to find a seat indoors. By then I was seriously sick of being cold, and although the ride was only 20 minutes or so, riding in the windy outdoors didn’t appeal. Liberty Island was fun– John had a great time getting pictures of Lady Liberty, and the bright blue sky was the perfect backdrop.

Back on the ferry headed for Ellis Island it was already mid-afternoon. Our little one had been cheery all day, but as soon as we got onto the ferry she fell asleep. At 40 pounds, she is getting pretty big to carry for any length of time, and I knew she needed a nap.

I was wondering if we should just skip Ellis Island and head back to our hotel. John was good-natured about the idea. But as those historic buildings on Ellis Island got closer, and I saw my husband looking with such interest, I just couldn’t skip it. This is exactly the kind of thing he loves to do on a trip, and I wasn’t sure he’d get a chance again, at least not for awhile.

John carried her off the boat, still sleeping, and around the main building for awhile as we looked at some of the displays. When his arms started complaining, we looked for a place for me to sit with her. That’s when we found there was a small movie theater in the building, with a documentary about Ellis Island just about to begin. I sat happily watching the presentation with my sleeping girl draped across me and the seat next to me. John explored the rest of the exhibits, and then joined us for the last few minutes of the movie– a perfect solution.

The movie got done just in time for us to hop back on the ferry for Manhattan. Then it was back on the bus to our hotel. For dinner, after a bit of wandering around to see our options, we settled on a Brazilian-Portugese restaurant 5 doors down from our hotel.

To begin we had cream of black bean soup that was amazingly wonderful– I am going to make it at home one of these days. Then John chose a chicken dish with mangos and bananas in a fruity cream sauce. I opted for fried chicken with yellow rice and peas– delicious. Our 5 year old had nibbles of all of it, but ended up liking my chicken and dessert– chocolate mousse– the best. It was a lovely meal, one that had me googling Brazilian recipes soon after.

Heading back to our hotel, we were sad to realize we only had half a day left of our trip. But we were glad we’d fit so much into our time.