PATHS OF LIFE!

Few paths in life are straight. The direction or length of the path can be an age-related choice based on one's physical attributes.

Though beautiful, many paths are even rocky.....both physical and mental.

So............how does one recognize the path or paths that are just right for him/her? 

Warning---My paths became so curvy, you will be confused.

Recent bedtime reading, Bathed in Prayer by Jan Karon, I came across an excerpt from her 2005 book Light from Heaven, prayer of the vicar's as he, Father Tim, sat and dog, Barnabas leaned against his shoulder. 'I am Thine, O Lord. Show me Thy ways, teach me Thy paths, lead me in Thy truths and teach me.'

(Psalm 25:4-5a)

My ESV Bible had Psalm 25 listed as Teach Me Your Paths 

OF DAVID

The first 2 verses "had" me for a few days. A great starting point for my path. I sat and went nowhere.

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

O my God, in you I trust.

The next curve in my path took me to an on-line devotional book. Songs of Jesus by Timothy Keller. I sat in my prayer chair. February 13 was location for Psalm 25:1-7. He emphasized David's convictions were "a man must live by the help of God, not by his wits." Keller's concluding prayer began, "Lord, I want to live according to your Word--"your ways, your truth"....

Obviously, somedays one can follow the path God has for them without ever standing up or leaving the house. 

LANGUAGE IN OUR LINEAGE!

Growing up in a small town in Kentucky, I had a definitive "hick" accent--not rural, but small town, informal. 

I think of it as a language with lots of apostrophes. 

I wadn't plannin' on goin' down to Miss'ippi! (Siri tried to re-spell all those words) Last year when we moved to western North Carolina, I heard some similar, yet familiar "talk"----the grammarian in me couldn't help but smile.

I still emphasize the use of lay as to put or place, and lie as to rest or recline! Just ask my kids or grands!

This past week I read Jan Karon's most recent book, Beloved. 

The book took me back to a similar language that was in her lineage growing up in western North Carolina. She added a few new characters who lacked certain enunciation skills but the story line, with a Christmas theme, still focused often on the kindness of Father Tim.

At 88, she now lives in Black Mountain, NC. 

Beloved began with a dedication For Candace, Beloved Child of Light 

The book's brief prologue read, 

Beloved, 

let us love one another, 

for love is from God.

1st John 4:7    

I was glad I read the book's AFTERWORD because i realized the challenging time in her own life which deeply affected her and kept her from writing. Her only child and beloved daughter, Candace Freeland died of Stage 4 Pancreatic cancer. Without her, life was "without savor", Karon said. (Beloved. p. 413) Five months later her brother, Barry died. 

Jan Karon returned to the language she knew best and started writing---

it became her balm....a metaphor/language for healing and comfort.

CHOOSE: TO DIG FOR GEMS

Avid readers sometimes forget to deeply enjoy a book a long the way and tend to scan over long descriptive narratives. Often, they seem to be just fillers but sometimes one needs to remember to search for the treasures. I found such a treasure as I finished reading To Be Where You Are this week. 

For one thing, I found the title reference mid-stream and then as I was finishing up, I found a gem. 

Author, Jan Karon, uses Father Tim, her protagonist (a retired Episcopal priest) to pass along wisdom to his adopted son, who has wisely decided to take a little time off work to be with family just as Father Tim has done with "his" Cynthia.

So glad I chose to read deeply and not skip over this gem.

Karon says it well---sometimes we need to let go of all the cares and concerns which tie us down to time consuming routines which bind us to work rather than others. A light heart, that comes from trusting God and giving thanks, allows one to "regroup"  and gather in for herself and in turn pour out to others.

CHOOSE: A COZY READ

Temps have dropped. Tomorrow's lesson done. Supper in crockpot.

FINALLY----time to read. Not just any book. I've read so many gut wrenching WWII books lately that I think a "gentle" read is in order. 

A cuppa, Jan Karon's latest book about Father Tim and the residents of Mitford coupled with a full-size quilt and a quiet house beckon me to read. It's sort of like going back home---sometimes you just need to do it to be replenished.

Warmth Provided

Nothing like a cuppa PG Tipps, in a Sedona mug, no less, and Jan Karon's latest book to knock the chill off a cool October morn. A glorious morn. 
With book in hand, it was like going home to "heartwarming" Mitford with Father Tim & Cynthia and Dooley& Lacey all there----that was just on the first 65 pages. And a new name has me wondering, "who is Jack Tyler?"

Just opening Come Rain or Come Shine had a Ray Charles tune playing in my head.

"I'm gonna love you like nobody's loved you, come rain or come shine" used to blare forth from the HiFi at 2211 So. Virginia St.

It also had me remembering Mama Davenport throwing her little head back and having her short frame stand tall as she said, "We will get these flowers picked TODAY for Mrs. ? (a sick neighbor) come rain or come shine.

In other areas of life, that "come rain or come shine" idiom seems to speak to folks needing a little "secure" encouragement. 

No matter the weather, rain or shine---in any of life's situations, I'm there for you. 

".....for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you" (Deuteronomy 31:6)

Those words provide warmth for the hearer. 

SABBATH SNAPSHOT : gra-TEA-fyingly wholesome

Jan Karon's latest in her "Mitford series," Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good is indeed gratifyingly wholesome. Since it's been a while since a Father Tim book was set in Mitfor, Karon provides some flashback moments to jog our memories and give us insight, as we recall characters and situations of old.

Possibly, Father Tim's "station of life" as a retiree speaks to me. He desires to serve others but sometimes takes on too much, trying to do it all. Many retirees can relate to that. His friend Hoppy reminds him, "To do it all and deprive others of doing---is a misguided notion." (p. 163)

Few writers can weave a prayer into a well crafted book without it looking like an afterthought, as well as Karon. So many tenets of  faith are the fabric of the "less than perfect town" of Mitford---but Father Tim offers hope to many.

Yet, even he has to learn that, "Love is an act of endless forgiveness." (p. 511)

Dooley was their hope---a door opening to all that could be healing and genuine.

'Take it from here, buddy,' he said. 'Take it from here.' (p. 511)

Sounds like a sequel or a new series in the making----for which I am gra-TEA-fyingly excited!

Sabbath Snapshot : paterni-TEA

Until memories of Daddy flooded me as I was driving home this Father's Day, I had planned to do a non-fiction book review. But, somehow it didn't pan out. I didn't have the wherewith all to share a deep book based on the spiritual and political turmoil of Poland during WWII. My feelings needed refreshing instead.

I'm not the only one who has buried his/her dad. Some have never know their father or have never married and lived alongside the father of their children. K-Love suggested that everyone has some male in their life whom they could thank for mentoring them (at church, in scouts or a friend's dad) and coming alongside with encouragement and words of wisdom.

So, when I got home I picked up a "Father Tim" book and did a thumb-thru re-read. In the fictional "Mitford series" this small town rector became a mentor for many and a surrogate father as well. This simple book is one to peruse at leisure---no plot, just meaningful quotes that he might have collected in his years of ministry.

Patches of Godlight by Jan Karon is subtitled, Father Tim's Favorite Quotes. Although the book is without page numbers, the listings are somewhat random and there is no topical index, it worked for my mood today. Even the handwriting and old-timey typewritten varieties of entries were appealing to me. Sometimes that's all one needs when her heart is feeling heavy---some pithy reminders of goodness. Plus, there's a teacup on the cover----always a draw for this reader/reviewer.

A few gems from Father Tim's notes:

•  Faith goes up the stairs that love has built and looks out the window which hope has opened. (Charles Haddon Spurgeon)
• If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don't like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself. (St. Augustine)
• It is only the words, "Our Father," which make the prayer bearable. If God is indeed something like a father, then, as something like children, maybe we can risk approaching Him....(Frederick Buechner)
• You can't get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me. (C.S. Lewis)
• You can not do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
• He is your friend who pushes you nearer to God. (Abraham Kuyper, 1837-1920)
• Where is human nature so weak as in a bookstore? (Henry Ward Beecher, 1813-1887) Where indeed?!!!

SABBATH SNAPSHOTS : an-TEA-cipation

For readers, there's nothing like discovering a good book. It's even better when you realize that it's one of a "series." That's the way many readers felt when they discovered their first "Mitford" book featuring Father Tim, an Episcopalian rector, with a dog named Barnabas.

The Mitford series kept many waiting for the next one. 
An-TEA-cipation of a good read. A safe read. 

Jan Karon doesn't surprise her readers with filth or vulgar language. She just takes the reader into the small town of Mitford and its quirky characters and makes them want to return again and again. Karon's books are both warm-hearted and funny. 

Opening Light in the Window, my favorite of the Mitford books, to check out the town map on the frontispiece, I found signatures of  friends, with whom I had shared the book....a great jog down memory lane, because many have since moved away.

Home to Holly Springs, though not one of the "Mitford" books, does deal with Father Tim's early years in a location just down the road for all of us Memphis readers.

Finally, 9 years after the last Mitford book, listed as the "final" of the series.....  #10 is coming out in September. 

Somewhere Safe With Somebody Good. (9/2/14)

A title that seems to describe Mitford---a cuppa an-TEA-cipation for me.