BookSneeze review

I recently had the opportunity to read and review Has God Spoken Proof of the Bible's Divine Inspiration by Hank Hanegraaff and I am so glad I did!  This book was great, and a very intense read.  It took me quite a while to get through this one, not because I didn't like it or didn't want to read it, but because it was so intense that I could only read a few pages at a time.  I wanted to let every word sink in, and have time to stew around before continuing.  This was the first time I found myself underlining and taking notes in a book I picked up for pleasure reading.  This book was divided into 4 sections and each section had a unique approach to proving Biblical truths, and each section chose a different manner in which to prove the truth.  The four sections were Manuscript C-O-P-I-E-S, which focused on the copyists and the available manuscripts to prove the author's stance.  The second section is Archaeologist's S-P-A-D-E, which focuses on artifacts and archaeological evidence.  Thirdly is Prophetic S-T-A-R-S which focuses on the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy.  Lastly but certainly not least is Scriptural L-I-G-H-T-S which focuses on the rules, art, and science of scriptural interpretation.

As a Christian it is often easy to simply state our beliefs as fact, however if we are to be taken seriously by the opposing side then we must be able to offer proof to back up our stance.  This book gives quite a bit of that.  Reading Has God Spoken was quite a spiritual experience for me, I mean I've always known the Bible was true, but it was quite moving to see proof in front of me.  One part that I found particularly interested is when Mr. Hanegraaff suggested that the absence of the original Biblical manuscripts was indeed proof of it's divine inspiration, his reasoning I'll leave you to find out for yourself because I would hate to spoil your enjoyment of this great book! This book is certainly going to be a keeper on my shelf, and with shelf space at a premium in my home this is the highest form of a compliment. 

In exchange for my review I was provided a free copy of the book from BookSneeze.  I was not required to give a positive review, and all opinions in this review are strictly my own. 

Saying goodbye to 2011

2011 has been kind to us in many ways, and in some ways not so kind.  I just want to focus on the good things that happened this year, and so I'm going to post them in no particular order:

1. Twiggles has decided that having a babysitter isn't such a bad thing and that it's ok for Mama to leave him occasionally to have time alone with daddy.
2. Hubby and I went on our first date in over 3 years without any children.  We attended his company Christmas Party.
3. We have taken charge of our health with Young Living Essential Oils, and doing so eliminated my son's need for his harmful asthma medications.
4. We have been trying to eat much better than we used to, and it's working slowly.
5. I have finally begun making friends in the same city as I through my local MOPS group.
6. I enrolled in college, to get a degree that I'll actually use this time.
7. I finished my first college course in 10 years with a 99.28% - the only points I lost were for grammar usage, mostly the forgetting of commas.
8. I found a great ladies Bible Study to participate in, which makes me very happy :)
9. My oldest regained his confidence in reading, and loves it again.
10. I celebrated my 9th wedding anniversary.
11. My baby found a friend :)
12. Hubby and I found friends that are actually in our stage of life (married with children)
13. Our children are becoming young gentlemen.
14. I have learned to listen more to God and less to me.
15. Our winter has thus far been extremely mild and I've not had to turn on the heater yet.


Oh I'm sure there are more but those are the ones I can think of just now. :)  So how was your 2011?

Christmas

I love Christmas, I love the lights, the beautiful decorations, the Christmas music,the cookies, the family gathering, the giving, the snow and cold (well, before moving to the desert that is), but most of all I love that Christmas is a celebration! A celebration of the birth of a tiny baby oh, so many years ago!  Now I know that Christmas is not the Christ child's actual birth date, but it is the day on which his birth is celebrated and that is just fine with me!  I had planned for so many things this year for Christmas, and as plans often do most of them just did not happen.  I am sad that so many of the great activities didn't happen, I am sad that our outside decorations never made it up, I am sad that we do not have a large selection of cookies to munch, but most of all I am sad that these things are making me sad. 

See, I know, and my children know that Christmas is not about any of these things, they know that the most important thing at Christmas is to remember that God sent his son, as a tiny baby boy, to save the world from their sins!  Yet it bothers me that the worldly activities of Christmas have not been completed.  Why?  Why am I bothered that we neglected certain things?  Why am I bothered that instead of these worldly activities I spent time with my children making crafts that we were able to hang in the house, that instead of baking and decorating we chose to snuggle up on the sofa and read Christmas stories each day?  I guess I am bothered because I remember my Christmases as a child and I want my children to experience those.  Yet I know that I have grown since then, and that what we did do this year was enjoyable for them and that tomorrow morning they will be spoiled just as they always are, that tomorrow morning they will have presents under the tree (which is decorated), that tomorrow morning they will spend hours tearing off paper, oohing and ahhing, and playing with the toys, books, and games that are wrapped and hidden in my closet.  Tomorrow morning they will be having so much fun they'll forget to eat breakfast and will be munching cookies on the way to Grandpa and Grandma's house where they will open yet more presents, and play with yet more toys, and eventually sit down to enjoy a wonderful meal with those that love them most! 

I feel better already!  Just writing this out, and listening to God as I do has made me realize that we really did keep the spirit of Christmas in our hearts, we just chose to do it differently this year, and that's ok. 

How did your family spend the days leading up to Christmas?  Do tell!