God's Minute 2/7

February 7

Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid.--Isaiah 12:2

Oh, Lord God, help us to pray that this day we may come nearer the Christ ideal than ever before. Grant that by every thought and act we may bespeak His character to ourselves and to those with whom we shall come in contact. Forbid that we should neglect any opportunity that may come, to be living witnesses for Him.

Through the dangers and temptations, seen and unseen, which compass us about, bring us in safety to the close of day and to the close of this earthly pilgrimage. Bless those who are near to us by ties of home or friendship; and especially to those who know Thee not, manifest Thyself in power today.

May the Gospel note of love ring out more clearly this day than ever before, and may the sunshine of truth enter all hearts where ignorance, superstition and sin hold sway. May it bring cheer to the desolate ones, and hope to the despairing ones who may be near us, and yet who seem to be beyond our power to help. We pledge ourselves anew to the work of lifting the burdens of men and the upbuilding of Thy Kingdom.

Amen.

Reverend W. M. Gross,
Cincinnati, Ohio

That last sentence really grabbed me today. We are surrounded each day by desolate and despairing people who "seem beyond our power to help." We live in an age in which tragedy and need and hopelessness are brought into our very living rooms every day when we switch on the TV news. We feel powerless to help. We come in contact each day in our neighborhoods, our workplaces, our churches and perhaps even our homes, with people who are discouraged or in despair. They may be silently suffering. We may feel we do not know what to say or how to help. But if we know the Lord Jesus Christ and have been called into riches of His blessings, we have power through Christ to minister hope through the Gospel and strength to pray effectual prayers through the Spirit. If you're reading this today, take a minute and ask God to open your eyes today to those around you. Ask Him to help you see with spiritual eyes those who are suffering, and ask Him to give you the strength and courage to reach out.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

"May the Gospel note of love ring out more clearly this day than ever before, and may the sunshine of truth enter all hearts where ignorance, superstition and sin hold sway."

An Unexpected Sign of Spring

I have a cute little crystal bird that sits on my kitchen window sill. It signals me that spring is coming by throwing little rainbows all over my kitchen for about 10 minutes in the afternoon while the sun is positioned just right. Today it is sunny and the rainbows are back!

We've also had a whole flock of noisy, chattering black birds return to the neighborhood. Not exactly the gentle twitters of spring birds; but bird song, nonetheless and welcome!

How to Mark a Book

I am a book marker. I rarely read without a pencil in my hand and a highlighter at the ready. Even when I read borrowed books I have a pencil in my hand and a pad of post it notes nearby so that I can slap one on the page and scribble down my thoughts. I have a system that I developed over time and it works for me.

Today I came across an excellent essay, How to Mark a Book by Mortimer J. Adler, Ph.D. Most of his suggestions I had already implemented in my own fashion, but he also had some new ideas.

The front end-papers are to me the most important. Some people reserve them for a fancy bookplate. I reserve them for fancy thinking. After I have finished reading the book and making my personal index on the back end-papers, I turn to the front and try to outline the book, not page by page or point by point (I've already done that at the back), but as an integrated structure, with a basic unity and an order of parts. This outline is, to me, the measure of my understanding of the work.

I have always used my front fly sheets for overflow notes and observations, but not for the kind of post reading reflection Dr. Adler suggests.

He also made this point:

You may have one final objection to marking books. You can't lend them to your friends because nobody else can read them without being distracted by your notes. Furthermore, you won't want to lend them because a marked copy is kind of an intellectual diary, and lending it is almost like giving your mind away.

If your friend wishes to read your Plutarch's Lives, Shakespeare, or The Federalist Papers, tell him gently but firmly, to buy a copy. You will lend him your car or your coat -- but your books are as much a part of you as your head or your heart.

I'll add another reason. If you lend it and you never get it back, not only is it "almost like giving a piece of your mind away" it is also like losing a piece of your mind.

I need all my mind.

There is one thing he didn't mention that I have found very useful, especially if I am preparing a lesson over the material. When the author gives a definition, even if it is a very common word, I always circle the work and draw a line from the word out to the margin and write 'def.' Usually when an author gives a definition it is either because he is using a technical word (such as in theological or scientific works) or he is amplifying how HE is using the word. I have learned not to assume I know the meanings of words simply by the dictionary definitions because "usage matters".

Sometimes I'll run across a word whose definition I don't know. I'll circle it, draw the line out to the margin and write "def?", which tells me I need to check the dictionary.

So here's the question of the day: Are you a book marker? And, if so, do you have any favorite techniques you have developed or learned along the way that you'd like to share?

[update]

Just ordered Dr. Adler's book, How to Read a Book
You can look at the table of contents at the Amazon link. Looks good.

[update 2]

Missmellifluous has posted a link to "The Love Affairs of a Bibliomaniac" by Eugene Fields. Recommended reading by my sister, Kathy. The fabulous Missm has an excerpt on her blog this morning. It will draw you in. . .I promise.

Recipe for Steak Soup

Carol has shared three easy crock pot recipes on her blog today. I promised to post a super easy one here in return.

Steak Soup

Ingrediants:

1 steak (I usually use a top round steak or sirloin because they are lean)

1 large, white onion, sliced into thin rings

8-12 onces of sliced mushrooms

3 cans of low salt, low fat beef broth

Toss that steak in the bottom of the crock pot first thing in the morning (or if you're like me after you've had that first cup of coffee and check your bloglines).

Throw the onion slices and mushrooms on top of the steak.

Pour the broth over all. Turn on low and cook all day.

Before serving:

Remove the steak to a platter and flake, using two forks.

Return the steak to the pot and serve.

All this meal needs is a large loaf of crusty bread and butter. The good thing about this recipe is that it is so easy to adjust the amount. Just add more stuff. Sometimes the onion isn't as big or sometimes the steak is huge. The proportions don't seem to matter too much.

I'll try to fix this sometime soon and republish with a picture.

God's Minute 2/6

February 6

To all which believe, He is precious.--1 Peter 2:7

HEAVENLY FATHER, Thou Who art the author, sustainter and developer of life, from Whom we came, in Whom we live and move and have our being, and to Whom we shall go, we pray that our souls may be conscious of the larger life of which we are a part, that we may find its deepest realities, understand its eternal principles, experience its mighty forces, and move with its persistant current toward its divine goal. We thank Thee for Jesus, for His consciousness of the largeness of Thy life. We thank Thee that faith in Him and the reception of His spirit and the adoption of His life principles make real to us the same divine life that was so vital to Him. Forgive us for ever tainting or circumscribing Thy life within us, for living only within the narrow confines of our own little lives, for failing to realize the largeness of the great spiritual world around us, for keeping aloof from any part of human life, and for devoting our energies and time to the sinful or lesser life objectives. We pray Thee to widen and deepen our life experiences, to keep us in sympathetic touch with all mankind, to help us make our lives genuine contributions to the progressive and divine life movements of the world, and to have a real part in bringing all members of the Father's family to know the length, breadth, depth, and heighth of the fulness of His life.

Amen.

Charles Herbert Rust, D.D.,
Rochester, New York