Book Review: Words Unspoken

I don’t remember where I saw a recommendation for Words Unspoken by Elizabeth Musser. I keep an ever-growing list of books I want to look into, and I usually note what led me to interest in the book, but I failed to this time.

But I am glad I saw it recommended somewhere.

In Tennessee in the mid-eighties, the mother of teen-ager Lisa Randall dies right in front of her in a traffic accident, and Lissa blames herself. Eighteen months later, every time she tries to drive very far, she experiences severe panic attacks. Life is at a standstill. A brilliant, competitive student, she can’t face the possibility of college now. Her father does not seem open to discuss anything and does not seem to acknowledge any underlying problems.

A casual mention of Ev MacAllister’s driving school leads Lissa to a kindly older man nearing retirement who seems to know so much more than driving, who seems to understand what is going on beneath the surface.

But then chapter 2 brings a whole slew of new characters who don’t seem at all related to each other or the main story:

A young, cocky, ambitious Italian editor.

A depressed missionary wife in France who has lost a child.

An overconfident stockbroker.

A Southern socialite trying to keep up appearances while her marriage is crumbling.

A wildly successful but reclusive author.

At first the introduction of all these other people and plot lines was a little jarring, partly because it was so unexpected. This is not an uncommon plot device, but there was nothing on the back of the book or in descriptions I read about it to indicate there was any story other than the main one. Yet as a reader I trusted that it would all come together somehow…and oh, how it did. One by one connections are revealed, paths intersect, mysteries unfold and then resolved. Everything is masterfully woven together.

I don’t want to take away from any of that discovery, so I’ll not reveal more than that of the plot.

In one sense, it is hard to sum up what the book is about. Depression in some. Ambition in others. Character, good and bad. But ultimately…hope.

The Week in Words

Melissa at Breath of Life hosts a weekly carnival called The Week In Words,which involves sharing some words from your reading. Melissa explains,

“Playing along is simple, just write a post of the quote(s) that spoke to you during the week (attributed, of course) and link back here [at Melissa's]. They can be from any written source, i.e. magazine, newspaper, blog, book. The only requirement is that they be words you read.”

Here are a few things that stood out to me this week:

From Elisabeth Elliot’s book On Asking God Why as quoted in the daily e-mail devotional:

There are those who insist that it is a very bad thing to question God. To them, “Why?” is a rude question. That depends, I believe, on whether it is an honest search, in faith, for his meaning, or whether it is a challenge of unbelief and rebellion. The psalmist often questioned God and so did Job. God did not answer the questions, but he answered the man–with the mystery of himself.

He has not left us entirely in the dark. We know a great deal more about his purposes than poor old Job did, yet Job trusted him. He is not only the Almighty–Job’s favorite name for him. He is also our Father, and what a father does is not by any means always understood by the child. If he loves the child, however, the child trusts him. It is the child’s ultimate good that the father has in mind. Terribly elementary. Yet I have to be reminded of this when, for example, my friend suffers, when a book I think I can’t possibly do without is lost, when a manuscript is worthless.

From the same source, a quote she included which I’ve found all too true in myself:

Sir Joshua Reynolds wrote, “There is no expedient to which a man will not resort to avoid the real labor of thinking.”

From the chapter “A Wife’s Responsibility to Help Her Husband” by Barbara Hughes in Becoming God’s True Woman:

No one wants to play second fiddle. But the fact is, without a second violin there is no harmony.

From Mrs. Dunwoody’s Excellent Instructions for Homekeeping (I quoted extensively from this book in a review here):

She taught that women were not just doing chores, they were creating — creating a home, a place of security, warmth, contentment, and affection (p. xii).

From a friend’s Facebook wall:

I have cast my anchor in the port of peace, knowing that present and future are in nail-pierced hands -Valley of Vision

From the Facebook wall of a friend battling cancer:

As we remember the lovingkindness of the Lord, we see how good it was to find our own strength fail us, since it drove us to the strong for strength. ~ Spurgeon

What interesting finds have you come across in your reading this week?

Microfiction Monday

Welcome to Microfiction Monday,
where a picture only paints 140 characters.

Susan at Stony River has begun a Microfiction Monday wherein participants write a story in 140 characters or less based on a particular image that Susan has chosen for the day.  Design 215’s Character Counter helps keep track of the number of characters. It’s a fun exercise in creative conciseness…or concise creativity… You can visit Susan’s to see some very creative stories for today.

The picture for today and my take on it:

“Jane, darling, it’s John. I was wrong. I’ve been so miserable. Could I see you again?”

“Jane,” called Rob from the kitchen, “Who called?”

Book Review: Mrs. Dunwoody’s Excellent Instructions for Homekeeping

Some time back I found this quote somewhere online (I forgot to note where) from a book titled Mrs. Dunwoody’s Excellent Instructions for Homekeeping:

In these notes, I have endeavored to impart knowledge necessary for keeping a neat, well-ordered home. But beyond that, I wish for you to understand the larger issues of homekeeping — creating an environment in which all family members grow and thrive, a place where each member may evolve to the full extent our Creator intended.

I liked that, and I further liked the information posted with it, that  “Mrs. Dunwoody, the wife of a judge in Georgia, was the ‘Martha Stewart’ of her time during the Civil War. She started her journal (notes) on homemaking in 1866, and would spend the next 50 years to complete her notes.”

I liked this so much that I asked for this book for the next Christmas or birthday. When I received it and started looking through it, though, I found that it was not written by a real 1860s Mrs. Dunwoody: It was written by a modern Miriam Kukken in 2003 in the style of the “receipt books” “that nineteenth century Southern women penned as a record of all they knew and thought meaningful,” and Mrs. Dunwoody was a character based the author’s great-grandmother and other Southern women.

At first I was sorely disappointed. But then as I began reading, I realized that I still did like the philosophy of housekeeping represented.

She believed that the ordinary acts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest. Taking care of our home enables us all to feel nurtured and safe; it brings comfort and solace both in the fruits of our labor and in the freedom it affords to experience life to its fullest.

She taught that women were not just doing chores, they were creating — creating a home, a place of security, warmth, contentment, and affection (p. xii).

Home reflects the creativity, serenity, and beauty we hold dear (p. 7).

Homekeeping is a fine art. It grasps with one hand beauty, with the other utility; it has its harmonies like music, and its order like the stars in their courses. I fear really good homekeeping — which exhibits itself not in occasional entertainment or a handsome parlor, but in good housekeeping which extends from the attic to the cellar, and through every hour in the year — is far from common (p. 8).

I’ll admit that my home is not in complete order from attic to the first floor every hour…but I do see her point.

Organization has more benefits than mere efficiency…Knowing your life and home are in order reduces strife and anxiety, and increases confidences. In short, establishing your own routine for tackling domestic chaos makes the task less burdensome. And everyone feels the effects of that (p. 8).

Homekeeping is an ongoing art, a process, not an end product. It will never be “all done.” Bathrooms, clothes, and dishes, once clean, have a way of getting dirty again. But home is meant to be lived in, in the fullest, most potentially filling way for everyone in it. That means that every room does not need to be picture perfect and waiting for a perfect display, but rather, each room has a sense of order and calmness to it. The home looks like someone lives there, without appearing messy or cluttered (p. 8-9).

The rest of the book is filled with household tips and snippets of wisdom on everything from laundry, etiquette, health, garden, what to do for spring cleaning, etc.

In some parts of the book she sounds a little too rigid with her routines for my taste: I think an overly rigid housekeeper who only tolerates things done in specified ways and at specified times can make her household and guests as miserable as the lax housekeeper. Balance is needed.

And she mentions that home is “a place where even the everyday things in our lives were held sacred and should therefore be cared for and treated in a special and orderly way” (p. xii). We women do have our little treasures around the house, but I would not call them sacred. We have to remember not to “lay up treasures where moth and rust doth corrupt and where thieves break through and steal” but rather in heaven. I prefer to think in terms of stewardship: the things we “own” are given to us by God, and we should therefore take care of them.

But overall her reminders help me refocus on the fact that housework isn’t just “drudgery” — it is a ministry to family and guests, it fosters order and tranquility, and it is a testimony of a God of order, creativity, and beauty.

Friday’s Fave Five

Susanne at Living to Tell the Story hosts a “Friday Fave Five” in which we share our five favorite things from the past week. Click on the button to read more of the details, and you can visit Susanne to see the list of others’ favorites or to join in.

1. One of my favorite things this week, this month, this year, in a long time, was getting together with some of our dearest friends Saturday night. We’ve known each other since early married days. We only live about 45 minutes apart from each other now, but it is hard to coordinate schedules and make time, especially hard to get whole families together now that some of the kids are grown and away from home. Jason and Mittu coordinated a get-together at their house — these had not yet met Mittu — and it was such a good time.

2. We didn’t have a snow day exactly, because we didn’t get snow last weekend — some areas not far from us got 4″, but we only got sleet and ice pellets. But the overnight temperature of about 16F froze all the slush and made for hazardous driving, so our church canceled both services. Though I did miss them, and Sunday seems so strange without church, it was nice to just have a day of rest. We try to keep Sunday as restful as we can anyway — though we’re not legalistic about it, we try not to do work that day unless it just has to be done. So to just nap or read or visit without feeling like I needed to be getting to something else was refreshing.

3. Pudding chip cookies. I’d been craving them for weeks and finally made them.

4. Jeremy and I got a take-out lunch at McAlister’s Deli yesterday. We hadn’t ordered from there in a long time. I love their potato soup. We don’t usually get dessert from there, but this time I got a brownie and Jeremy got a ginormous chocolate chip cookie, and we each split ours to share with each other.

5. Puffs Plus tissues with lotion. Jim doesn’t like them as they tend to shred if he has any whiskers at all, so I don’t keep them around all the time, but they really do help an aching nose. I’ve unfortunately needed them this week. Jim and Jason were sick earlier in the week and now Jeremy and I are. This is not a good time to be sick as I have a lot that needs to get done over the next few days.

I’m also glad for a better weekend forecast than what they were saying earlier in the week: they were predicting snow, sleet, and ice, but now it looks like it will be just rain. Yet the excess rain from last time still hasn’t evaporated or soaked in yet — there’s still standing water throughout town. I’m hoping we don’t have a repeat of our flooding incident.

And I’m glad I finished The Tartan Pimpernel.

And, oh yeah — Lost is back on!!!

Happy Friday!

Book Review: The Tartan Pimpernel

The title of The Tartan Pimpernel hearkens back to the The Scarlet Pimpernel, the imaginary but legendary rescuer of those unfairly appointed to death during the French Revolution. In this case, however, the rescuer was a very real Scottish pastor in France during World War II.

On the brink of the German invasion of Paris, Donald Caskie, pastor of the Scots Kirk there, led his people in considering Psalm 46:1, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble,” and Matthew 24: 6-8: “And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.” He commended them to God and told them good-bye: though he thought perhaps a minister might have met with some respect of enemy soldiers, he had publicly denounced Hitler more than once and knew his record might put him in danger. He decided to go back to Scotland to render service there and “take stock of [his] future.”

He joined the multitude of other refugees fleeing the city on foot, rejoicing whenever he could find a pile of straw to sleep on, a cow to sleep next to for warmth, or a grapevine from which to eat along the way. Days later, nearing exhaustion, receiving timely aid from a couple of good Samaritans, he finally reached the British Consulate only to decide he must stay in France. There was a ship available, but he felt the wounded men needed the space more than he, while his help was needed in his besieged adopted country.

Praying for guidance, he was led in a marvelous way to the abandoned British Seamen’s Mission in Marseilles and told he could aid seamen and civilians, but not soldiers, and to expect surveillance and raids to make sure he was keeping within those parameters. Caskie had a clear conscience about “going underground.” Though being closely watched, somehow he was able to hide and aid soldiers, becoming a major link in their escape route back to England. Food, clothing, false identification, guides, everything needed was marvelously provided time and again. The elaborate details needed to secretly get these men out of the country are amazing, especially in that time without the ease of communication we have these days with cell phones, GPS devices, etc. It is estimated some 2,000 sailors, soldiers, and airmen were aided by him in their escape back to England.

Donald was arrested and eventually sentenced to death, but a German pastor intervened for him. Though nearly starving and in solitary confinement for much of his imprisonment, he felt the interruption in his work, the worry his situation caused his mother, and the inability to minister help to those in prison were his crosses to bear. He remained a prisoner until liberation, when he again began to minister, reopening Scots Kirk, becoming a visiting minister to those in camps, prisons, and elsewhere, and aiding the British with his experience and knowledge of the area and the happenings during the war.

He was urged to write of his war-time experiences and finally did in the mid 1950s, using the book as a fund-raiser to rebuild the church, which had been damaged and decayed. (An interesting side note is that Eric Liddell preached in this church instead of running on Sunday during the Olympics, though a different church than this is actually shown in the film Chariots of Fire.)

Though words like “brave” and “inspiring” describe Caskie in the blurbs on the outside of this republished edition, he wrote the book in an unassuming, matter-of-fact way laced with quiet humor. Some sections are quiet suspenseful, as when a traitor is suspected in the ranks.

This book spoke to me on many levels, a couple of which I elaborated on in an earlier post, especially the quiet heroism and bravery of men and women who weren’t trying to be heroes, but had to stand up and do the right thing, as well as those behind the scenes who aided them.

Though the Lord’s hand is evident throughout, I would recommend the book more from a historical vantage point than a spiritual one, as I would disagree with Caskie on a few points, especially calling a works-based denomination “Christian.” A little odd is his claiming of a Celtic gift of “second sight,” an “uncanny ability to anticipate events.” I don’t know what to make of that, but as the introduction concludes, “The Tartan Pimpernel illustrates the tremendous height to which the human spirit can soar in the horrors of war and is a fitting legacy of a man of outstanding courage and integrity.”

Give-away of Scrapbooking supplies

…not here, but at Karla Dornacher’s place.

Random Dozen Meme

Linda at 2nd cup of coffee created and hosts the Random Dozen meme every Wednesday. The first 6 questions today come from Kelley at I Didn’t Know That!

1. Do you use the labels various charities send you as “free gifts?”

If I like them I do; otherwise I throw them away. I used to feel guilty about doing either, but some of them, I’m sure, send them for that very purpose: that people would feel obligated to send a donation for these unasked for gifts. I refuse to feel manipulated like that.

2. What is your favorite time of day (or night) for skywatching?

Sunrise or sunset if I am at the window or outside for either.

3. What is the most adventurous you’ve ever been with trying a new food?

My daughter-in-law is Indian, so I have tried various Indian foods. Generally they are more spicy than I like and a different type of spicy than I am used to, but she made some chicken curry last weekend that was my favorite Indian food so far. Also a few years ago at a seafood restaurant in Charleston I tried alligator. I don’t remember being impressed one way or the other. Normally I am not an adventurous eater at all.

4. Have you ever heard a rock sing? (Trust me, there’s a reason for this one!)

It will be interesting to hear your reason! No, I never have, but I can imagine if it had a crack in it for wind to pass through or a build-up of air pressure inside, it might make some melodious-sounding noises. Luke 19:39-40 does say, “And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.” So He could have them say something if He wanted to.

5. If you could learn a language you don’t presently speak, what would it be?

I honestly can’t think of any, unless I were to someday live in an area with a lot of non-English speakers. There is no language I want to learn just for the “fun” of it.

6. Al Capone’s tombstone read, “My Jesus, Mercy.” If you could write your own epitaph, what would it say?

“I told you I was sick.” No, not really. I don’t really know yet, but I like William Carey’s: “A wretched, poor, and helpless worm, On Thy kind arms I fall.” Probably a verse of Scripture like John 3:16 or John 11:25: “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.”

7. If you were a famous musician who was known by one name, like “Cher,” “Sting,” or “Jewel,” what would it be? It doesn’t have to be your first name, but it can be, if you’d like.

I have no idea, but there is little probability of that ever happening.

8. Have you ever been inordinately “into” a television show?

Yep.

9. When you sneeze, do you go big, or do you do that weird “heenh!” sound that makes people think you’re going to blow your brains out? Any other variation we should know about?

Much bigger than I like. I can’t seem to sneeze in a delicate lady-like manner.

10. Do you still read an actual newspaper that you hold in your hands, or do you get your news elsewhere?

If one is around when I am eating breakfast or lunch, I’ll flip through it. But we don’t take it any more. I get most headlines online or through radio news, and if there is anything I am interested in, I’ll look it up online. I like to get the Sunday paper for the sales fliers and coupons.

11. Are you a good speller?

I used to be. I think I have gotten too dependent on spell check. But I have more of a problem with typos or lack of attention than actual misspellings.

12. At what time each day do you start thinking about lunch?

It depends on what I had for breakfast and when I had it. Some breakfasts don’t last as long as others. If I have plans with someone for lunch, I think about it as soon as plans are made.

And that’s it for today! Have a good one.

Light thoughts for a dreary day

It’s cold, wet, and gray here in SC this morning — perfect for a bowl of cream of wheat with brown sugar and margarine — and something fun. To those of you who read the ladies’ newsletter/booklet from church, I’ll forewarn you this is a preview from the one I am currently working on.

~~~~~~~~~~

Friend: “I suppose you carry a memento of some sort in that locket of yours?”

Woman: “Yes, it’s a lock of my husband’s hair.”

Friend: “But your husband is still alive.”

Woman: “I know, but his hair is gone.”

~~~~~~~~~~

What your baby would tell you if he could talk:

1. I have my blankie, you have your caffeine. Enough said.

2. Don’t be jealous, but I think I’m in love with the ceiling fan.

3. I know where the remote control is, but it’ll cost you.

4. To you, it’s just an empty box; to me it’s PlayStation 2.

5. Bang a screwdriver slowly and steadily into your gums. That’s what teething feels like.

6. Two words I’d rather not hear from you: rectal thermometer.

7. I’ve told you five times what the cow says. If you can’t remember, I’m not telling you again.

8. There is no question that I can cry longer than you can listen.

9. I’m not just wildly throwing my food. I’m exploring the laws of gravity, estimating mass, and testing wind velocity.

11. If you wanted a good sleeper, you should have gotten a cat.

12. Who is that baby in the mirror you keep asking me about?

13. If my bottom is so cute, why is someone always trying to cover it up?

14. Who are you two to tell me how important it is to sleep alone?

15. What you secretly believe is true: I am much smarter than other babies.

The Week In Words

I saw at Carrie’s and Susanne’s last week that a new weekly carnival has begun called The Week In Words, created and hosted by Melissa at Breath of Life which involves sharing some words from your reading. Melissa explains,

“Playing along is simple, just write a post of the quote(s) that spoke to you during the week (attributed, of course) and link back here [at Melissa's]. They can be from any written source, i.e. magazine, newspaper, blog, book. The only requirement is that they be words you read.”

I’m excited about this because I often mark quotes that speak to me in books, but I don’t often think to write them down, and this will be an excellent reminder to do so. Plus it will be fun to see quotes that stood out to other people: sometimes they point out quotes that I have read but did not see in the same light they did, and it it eye-opening.

So here are a few things that stood out to me this week:

I’ve been reading The Tartan Pimpernel about Scottish Pastor Donald Caskie who ministered in France at the onset of WWII and who decided to stay and help rather than flee for his own safety. Among other things he became an important link the escape route for British soldiers behind enemy lines. In one section he tells of friends who both helped and inspired him. One was a Pastor Heuzy:

The gentle good-humoured voice, which I knew and loved, speaking its odd Franco-Scottish English, when it preached in beautiful French from the pulpit in his church, excoriated the evil-doers who had ravished France. He was warned to be more discreet but, serenely believing in God and the impossibility of a pastor telling anything but the truth as he saw it under God, he continued (p. 104).

Another friend was a college professor named Jacques Monod who was a pacifist, but “the evil of the Nazi war-machine, and his love for human beings…compelled him into an active share in the fight against Hitlerism” (p. 103). Not long before he died, Jacques wrote a letter to his family which contained the following:

I leave the world without hate in my heart, Nevertheless, we Christians should never allow pagans alone to offer their lives in the name of a purely political ideal, in a fight in which we are involved with the fate of the State, the fate of the Church, and the spiritual destiny of our children” (p. 105).

These quotes speak to me on two levels. On one, we’re told today that Christians should not get involved in politics,  especially pastors in the pulpits. I think people who say that must not have read much history from the era of America’s quest for independence, but be that as it may, while it may be wise to avoid “spouting off” about politics in general in many cases, there comes a time when honest people must stand up for what is right and speak out against falsehood.

On another level, these quotes and indeed this whole book show that many heroes don’t set out to be heroes. In some cases they’d rather be doing anything than what they’re doing, but an issue or need has arisen that they cannot pass by and they must help no matter what it costs them.

I’m about 30 pages away from finishing this book and hope to review it later this week.

This quote is from Elisabeth Elliot’s book Keep a Quiet Heart from a chapter titled “The World Must Be Shown,” which was also included in her e-mail devotionals, and which I was recently reminded of at Diane’s.

It had to be proved to Satan, in Job’s case, that there is such a thing as obedient faith which does not depend on receiving only benefits.

Another Elliot quote Diane reminded me of that I have read often before but can’t locate what book it came from is:

Many women have told me that my husband’s advice, which I once quoted in a book, has been an eye-opener to them. He said that a wife, if she is very generous, may allow that her husband lives up to perhaps eighty percent of her expectations.  There is always the other twenty percent that she would like to change, and she may chip away at it for the whole of their married life without reducing it by very much. She may, on the other hand, simply decide to enjoy the eighty percent, and both of them will be happy. It’s a down-to-earth illustration of a principle: Accept, positively and actively, what is given. Let thanksgiving be the habit of your life. ~Elisabeth Elliot

This quote is from Warren Wiersbe’s With the Word from the commentary on Revelation 12:

I’m not afraid of the devil. The devil can handle me — he’s got judo I never heard of, But he can’t handle the One to whom I am joined; he can’t handle the One to whom I’m united; he can’t handle the One whose nature dwells in my nature. — A. W. Tozer

I am afraid of the devil. so this is a good reminder for me.

That’s probably more than enough for today. I promise sometimes to have some “lighter” quotes as well.