Wisdom for life from another Christian novel
I love to read – almost as much as I love to sew. Christian fiction, Christian historical fiction – both favorites of mine. Last night (1 am) I finished Though None Go With Me by Jerry B. Jenkins. Even on my Kindle – it is possible to highlight spots to ‘save’ them for reference in the future – so that is what I did, and then journaled about them this morning – marking and adding notes in my Bible as well. Two places stood out to me in the novel about a very Christian woman whose life went from bad to worse and then worser yet. I won’t tell the events and ruin it for you…but one thing is that her husband comes down with what is apparently Alzheimers – and this is a long time ago, before it was understood – and barely identified. The beautiful way she stands by him through many years was inspiring – and helped me understand my Dad’s devotion to my mother as they go through the same experience.
The novel is full of scripture for life that the main character, Elisabeth, had committed to memory – and though most of them were familiar, I certainly can’t quote chapter and verse. Computer to the rescue – all you need to do is google for the phrase in the scripture and the location in the Bible comes up!
Ephesians 2:8 – “For by grace are ye saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.” Of this, the father of Elisabeth, as written by Jerry Jenkins writes – explains: “We’re saved by grace of God. Living godly is noble. But don’t do it for any reason other than to thank God for the gift of grace, otherwise you’re still trying to earn his favor.” That’s worth ‘chewing on’ for a spell…
Psalms 37: 3-5 “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass.” True for you? Elisabeth responds, “I don’t want to understand the mysteries of heaven! I just want God to make sense one time!” Ben answers, “It’s clear he does not give us whatever we desire, so either we are not truly delighting ourselves in Him or we misinterpret the phrase ‘give you the desires of your heart.” Consider this possibility Ben goes on, “That the phrase, ‘he will give you the desires of your heart’ means that he will TELL you what the desires of your heart should BE. In other words, delight yourself in him and he will tell you WHAT to desire. ”
All that is enough for me to try to get into the marrow of my bones as I work today…I hope it is helpful for you as well.
Oh – and in googling, I find that “Though None Go With Me” is a Hallmark Channel movie with Cheryl Ladd. I’ve pushed that to #1 in my Netflix list…I’ll let you know how ‘true’ to the book the movie is.
Also – regarding Jerry J. Jenkins (one of the authors of Left Behind series), some things of interest….
a new movie, just released… here is what Jerry states at his Blog:
Jenkins Entertainment’s latest feature film, directed by my son Dallas, is opening around the country in the next several days.
To find out if it will be showing near you, click here: http://thewhatifmovie.com/theaters-3
It’s funny, heartwarming, moving, and we feel our best effort to date. When we want to be heard politically we vote at the polls, but if we want our voices heard in Hollywood, we have to vote at the box office. That’s why I will be buying tickets to my own movie when it opens in Colorado Springs.
What If… stars Kevin Sorbo (Hercules), John Ratzenberger (Cheers, Toy Story), Debby Ryan (Suite Life on Deck), and Kristy Swanson (Buffy the Vampire Slayer).
Trust me, this is a picture you can bring your friends to without reservation or embarrassment. I guarantee it’s not cheesy or typical Christian movie fare.
To see a quick sample, click on the above site and then click on “Downloads” and look for the video trailers.
And here’s the best part: if What If… is not yet scheduled for your area, you can help bring it there. Again, click on the above site, then Click on “Join Our Team” and see the many ways you can help.
What If… is already getting rave reviews, and I’d love to hear from you after you’ve seen it. Most important, let’s let Hollywood know the audience for faith-based films like this is vast and eager for more.
and his new novel – re-written from years ago, called The Last Operative, he states…
“In the original version—and this one—I took what I considered a thoroughly innovative approach by attempting to make each speaker obvious without attributing any dialogue to anyone. Let me know whether you think it works.”
Sounds neat to me. I always hate reading the ‘He said”, etc. when I read – especially as I read out loud to my grandson. If he’s paying attention, he knows who says what – so I just leave it out. That’s what I think Jerry is saying he has done in this book. It’s next on my list to have mysteriously float through the air into my Kindle!
For Londa’s books, patterns, and supplies as described in her sewing escapades, please see Londa’s Creative Threads – http://www.londas-sewing.com