SABBATH SNAPSHOT: li-TEA-rary musings

Works of historical fiction have taken up a good bit of my bookshelf space lately.  From the Civil War to Lindbergh's flight. Recently, I read Stella Bain, which took place during World War I, and I felt the gripping horror of that war from the inside of a field hospital tent. Some have made the blog, others have not----mainly because parts of the book might cause a check in my spirit for an all out positive recommendation. 

Literary musings compiled below are from works, that did not make a full review--

1.  King’s Mountain, (© 2013) a historical fiction account of the the American Revolution by Sharyn McCrumb. 

Maybe I wasn't sure about the book in it's entirety, though the accuracy of her research was well documented and she's a NYT best-selling author.

But.......I had taken notes as if some phrases with spiritual meanings for me just jumped off the pages and seem worthy of sharing---

“Your faith will be your armor.” A sentence repeated often to the reluctant ones (mountain men) who were not Tory sympathizers and were willing to fight the British. Yet, setting out for the task of a war, a war they believed in, was still difficult. (p.123) 
(in spiritual warfare, believers need to be clad with the full armor of faith in the Lord. Ephesians 6:11)

The Whigs and the Tory sympathizers did not battle a faceless enemy but their own neighbors in the backwater counties known as home. 

John Sevier who embodied the American pioneer Spirit wanted his “recruits” to know, “There’s a lot of trust in soldiering. Your life depends on them and theirs on yours.” (p.139) 
(Trust, among members in the community of faith, is essential to battle against the "mighty unseen powers of this dark world." Ephesians 6:12)

"But politics is even more troublesome than war, because most of it is done while you’re your back is turned, and the enemy isn’t always easy to spot." (p. 321) 
(Our enemy "prowls around seeking to devour" (1 Peter 5:8) and can take on many forms in order to destroy those who love the Lord. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.)

2.  A realistic fiction set in England is always a draw for me, especially when there's a map on the frontispiece.

"For years they had been in a place where language had no significance" describes, in a nut shell, the relationship of an Englishman's marriage in The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. (© 2012)  Fry's pilgrimage often became a life changing exercise of "just putting one foot in front of the other." But, while on his journey to see an old friend/acquaintance, Fry learns much ----about others and himself. "Harold could no longer pass a stranger without acknowledging the truth that everyone was the same, and also unique; and that this was the dilemma of being human." 

One goodreads review called it a "story of one man's faith in his feet." An old man, at that, so some readers might not appreciate a book about one of medicare age who becomes a hero....as the book becomes somewhat predictable, until the end.

“Who, What, How, Why, Where” meditation needed….

12/17/12 As have most Americans, I have been consumed this weekend with the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut that resulted in the grisly shooting deaths of 20 elementary school first graders.

Innocent children---the age of my grandson, Caleb, and the precious little kindergartener who lives across the street and hurried out this morning to give me a “princess” picture that she had painted, so that I could hang it on my fridge.

Who could even think of such a devastating act? What forces of darkness are we facing in our own country? How could such a tragedy happen in small town USA? Why do bad things happen to good people---especially young, innocent children and caring teachers? Where is God when the hurt is so incredible?

Years ago, I read that evil is live spelled backwards (E. Stanley Jones) and evil is representative of what occurs when we try to "live" with our backs turned toward God.  So how do we, members of the household of faith, respond to those in the midst of horrific pain and  suffering caused by such evil?

Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. (I John 3:18)

Prayer. Prayer for others. It’s the act of intercession and brings comfort, peace and extra measures of grace, both to the pray-er and the one for whom he prays. God’s love and grace prayed on behalf of others need to be the front line of our response.

Prayer, and its supernatural comfort, is even being discussed on national TV.  Words of comfort don’t seem to be adequate but spirit-filled prayers allow God, by His spirit, to touch the very soul of the sufferers.

But God……reminds us in His word that our battles in this fallen world are dark and the spiritual force of evil is very much present.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 6:12)

Meditating on that and interceding in prayer for those who have lost so much might be part of the answer to those hard questions. Our actions, armed with God’s truth, are so needed in this fight against evil.