Two Books

I finished reading two books today.

One of the books is Supernatural Childbirth by Jackie Mize which has given me much food for thought, leaving me in a state of not having digested it enough yet to even comment much about it. If I had to say something about it at this point, it would be, "Hmmmmm..." Since that is not too profound or helpful for anyone, I'll skip ahead to the next book.

The other book I finished today is Chicken Soup for the Soul by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen. To be honest, I didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. I have read other books in the series (Chicken Soup for the Jewish Soul, Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul, etc.) and found them fascinating and inspiring, so I had high expectations for this one, too. But I was, frankly, disappointed. Oh, there definitely were touching stories, which I fully expected; however, the thing that surprised me was how humanistic the whole book seemed. The taste that it left in my mouth was that it was all about how great I can become, how I can reach my full potential, how I can achieve anything I set my mind to, etc. What's up with that? What about "I must become less so He can be more"? Or "whoever wants to save his life must lose it"? Or about how all of us are sinners, unworthy of God's grace? And the whole idea of setting my mind to achieve the things of this world--like a fancy home, an expensive car, a million-dollar income, vacations to the Caribbean, etc.--literally disgusts me. Even the references in the book to God seemed very off-base to me--things along the lines of "God will give you the desires of your heart, so dream big and post a picture of your new, expensive furniture on the mirror of your bathroom until it comes true." Why should the desires of my heart be earthly possessions? Was that the heart of Jesus??? Why would God honor such a stinkin' self-centered desire? Don't these silly religious Americans realize there's a whole world out there that God created, intimately knows, and longs to see evangelized? Why should I set my sights on a six-figure income (if I "worked") to buy a new yacht when millions of people are starving, physically and spiritually? Again, I return to Jesus--what kind of example did He set? Isn't the answer obvious???

Can you tell I feel strongly about this? :)

On a more positive note, it was truly challenging and inspiring to read specific stories of people who overcame seemingly insurmountable odds to achieve great things. But, for me, may it never be said that I overcame any challenge so that I could be raised up...only that the glory would go to God.

Now that I've completely criticized this book, I actually want to share two short stories from it that have stuck in my mind--one humorous one, and one tender one--in an effort to "eat the chicken and spit out the bones." The first is "The Animal School" and partially explains our decision to homeschool Josiah this year. :)

Once upon a time, the animals decided they must do something heroic to meet the problems of "a new world." So they organized a school.

They adopted an activity curriculum consisting of running, climbing, swimming, and flying. To make it easier to administer the curriculum, all the animals took all the subjects.

The duck was excellent in swimming, in fact better than his instructor, but he made only passing grades in flying and was very poor in running. Since he was slow in running, he had to stay after school and also drop swimming in order to practice running. This was kept up until his webbed feet were badly worn and he was only average in swimming. But average was acceptable in school, so nobody worried about that except the duck.

The rabbit started at the top of the class in running, but had a nervous breakdown because of so much make-up work in swimming.

The squirrel was excellent in climbing until he developed frustration in the flying class where his teacher made him start from the ground up instead of from the treetop down. He also developed a "charlie horse" from overexertion and then got a C in climbing and a D in running.

The eagle was a problem child and was disciplined severely. In the climbing class, he beat all the others to the top of the tree, but insisted on using his own way to get there.

At the end of the year, an abnormal eel that could swim exceedingly well, and also run, climb, and fly a little, had the highest average and was valedictorian.

The prairie dogs stayed out of school and fought the tax levy because the administration would not add digging and burrowing to the curriculum. They apprenticed their children to a badger and later joined the groundhogs and gophers to start a successful private school.

Does this fable have a moral?

~ by George H. Reavis

And the second story, which God is using to remind me to be gentle and overflowing with affection with my children--"The Gentlest Need."

At least once a day our old black cat comes to one of us in a way that we've all come to see as a special request. It does not mean he wants to be fed or to be let out or anything of that sort. His need is for something very different.

If you have a lap handy, he'll jump into it; if you don't, he's likely to stand there looking wistful until you make him one. Once in it, he begins to vibrate almost before you stroke his back, scratch his chin, and tell him over and over what a good kitty he is. Then his motor really revs up; he squirms to get comfortable; he "makes big hands." Every once in a while, one of his purrs gets out of control and turns into a snort. He looks at you with wide open eyes of adoration, and he gives you the cat's long slow blink of ultimate trust.

After a while, little by little, he quiets down. If he senses that it's all right, he may stay in your lap for a cozy nap. But he is just as likely to hop down and stroll away about his business. Either way, he's all right.

Our daughter puts it simple: "Blackie needs to be purred."

In our household he isn't the only one who has that need: I share it, and so does my wife. We know the need isn't exclusive to any one age group. Still, because I am a schoolman as well as a parent, I associate it especially with youngsters, with their quick, impulsive need for a hug, a warm lap, a hand held out, a coverlet tucked in, not because anything's wrong, not because anything needs doing, just because that's the way they are.

There are a lot of things I'd like to do for all children. If I could do just one, it would be this: to guarantee every child, everywhere, at least one good purring every day.

Kids, like cats, need time to purr.

~ by Fred T. Wilhelms

Today I was reminded of this story when Josiah woke up from his nap. I was standing at the kitchen stove, fixing a cup of hot tea, when I heard his footsteps at the top of the stairs. I turned and gave a little wave to him; but then he said wistfully, "Remember the old way? Remember when you used to come to the bottom of the steps and give me a hug after I woke up?" Well, that was all it took for me to immediately abandon my cup of tea and go to the steps to not only give him a big hug but also scoop him up (not an easy feat for me these days) and carry him to the couch for more cuddling. "Yep," I thought, "Josiah needs time to purr right now."

And David also had his moments of wanting to snuggle today. In fact, during the past few days, he has said, "Carry me," more than I remember him saying it for a long time! So I joyfully comply and delight again in the feeling of him curling up into a little ball in my arms.

I didn't feel much stress today so it made it easy to take the time for extra moments of tender nurturing. But even as I patted myself on the back for my "good mommy" day, I couldn't help but think of this quote from Nan Fairbrother: "There are so many disciplines in being a parent besides the obvious ones like getting up in the night and putting up with the noise during the day. And almost the hardest of all is learning to be a well of affection and not a fountain, to show them we love them, not when we feel like it, but when they do." Yes, it's easy for me to occasionally bubble over with love and splash my affection all over them; but to be a constant source of that kind of reassuring and devoted love--despite my personal busy-ness, discomfort, stress, etc.--is much more difficult. Simply put, it's the call to have God's love in my heart, available at all times to the little ones He's entrusted to my care.