Auntie's Full Shelf Challenge 21

Book: Morning By Morning.

Author: Charles Spurgeon

Info: Copyright 2000: Nashville:  Thomas Nelson Inc.

Where acquired: Thrift store find.

Rating (on a scale of 1-4 hashtags): # # # #

What it's about:  Written in the 1860's, Spurgeon, a Baptist minister, shares daily devotions and meditations on scripture. 

Favorite Quotes: 

"A part of the host will this year tarry on earth, to do service for their Lord. If this should fall to our lot, there is no reason why the New Year’s text should not still be true. "We who have believed do enter into rest." The Holy Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance; he gives us "glory begun below." In heaven they are secure, and so are we preserved in Christ Jesus;  there they triumph over their enemies, and we have victories too. Celestial spirits enjoy communion with their Lord, and this is not denied to us; they rest in his love, and we have perfect peace in him: they hymn his praise, and it is our privilege to bless him too. We will this year gather celestial fruits on earthly ground, where faith and hope have made the desert like the garden of the Lord. Man did eat angels’ food of old, and why not now? O for grace to feed on Jesus, and so to eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan this year!" pp. 1-2

"Tell me where you lost the company of Christ, and I will tell you the most likely place to find him. Have you lost Christ in the closet by restraining prayer? Then it is there you must seek and find him. Did you lose Christ by sin? You will find Christ in no other way but by the giving up of the sin, and seeking by the Holy Spirit to mortify the member in which the lust doth dwell. Did you lose Christ by neglecting the Scriptures? You must find Christ in the Scriptures. It is a true proverb, "Look for a thing where you dropped it, it is there." So look for Christ where you lost him, for he has not gone away." p. 17

"Bad nursing in their spiritual infancy often causes converts to fall into a despondency from which they never recover and sin in other cases brings broken bones." - pp. 138-139

"Earth should be a temple filled with the songs of grateful saints and every day should be a censor smoking with the sweet incense of thanksgiving."  p. 300.

What I Liked:

• Spurgeon's wording is poetic at times, rebuking at other times, and the section on Song of Solomon where he describes the relationship between Christ and His church were downright sexy.  Sexy?  Yes.  Not sexy as in dirty, but sexy as in the purest form of intimacy between a beautiful unsullied bride, and the groom who is crazy and tenderly in love with her.
• These reflections were full of faith.  They made me hungry for the Word.
• It was hard to read just one entry per day, yet they were so full that I couldn't absorb their entire message in a 24 hour period.

What I didn’t like: 

• There are quoted passages with no references. 
• The scripture passages quoted at the beginning of each entry is in a scripted font that makes the chapter and verse numbers hard to read.

To sum up:  I'd heard quotes from Spurgeon, but I'd never read any of his books.  Morning by Morning was an absolute delight to read.  I've already ordered the companion book Evening by Evening for next year's devotional time.

See You Next Year: The Weekly Hodgepodge

Want to join the party?  Go on over to From This Side of the Pond  for the Hodgepodge link-up!

Share a favorite memory/moment from the week of Christmas.

Christmas week started out very sadly.  My oldest brother, Melvin, passed away and we had his funeral on the 21st.  It wasn't all grieving and sadness though. 

One of the items on my 101 in 1001 list was to be a secret sister/pal for someone for a year.  This was something we did ages ago at my home church and I felt God wanted me to do this for someone at my new church.  Christmas day I revealed my identity to her.  We both enjoyed this year of secrets.  It was fun for her trying to find out who it was and fun for me trying not to give myself away.  That, our beautiful Christmas Eve service, and spending time with a couple of my nieces' and their kids were the highlight of my week.

If someone wrote a book about your life based on the past year, what genre would it fall under? What would the title be?

A horror novel called Aw, Hell Naw! by Steve Harvey.

It would be funny if it weren't so true.  This year was better than last year, but it still been a rough one. 

What made you feel patriotic this year?

Playing patriotic tunes with the Community Band at the Memorial Day weekend concert at the Community Center. 

What experience from this past year would you like to do all over again?

Riding the entire Ladiga Trail on my birthday.  I may do it again for my next birthday.

What song lyric sums up or is a reflection of your 2015?

I'm through with you.  I don't want to be your just for fun.  Don't want to be under your thumb.  All I want to be is DONE.

On a scale of 1-10 how would you rate 2015?  (10=stellar) Why?

I'd give it a 5.  Like I said, it was rough. 

What part of the upcoming year are you most excited about?

Trying again to get it right.  Hopefully new possibilities and opportunities.

Insert your own random thought here.

Happy new year, y'all.

The $30,000 Question: The Simple Woman's Daybook

If you would like to join in and post your own Daybook, please head on over to visit Peggy at The Simple Woman's Daybook

For Today:  Sunday, December 27, 2015
 

Outside my window …  After days and days of nothing but rain, we had a brief reprieve this weekend before it cranks up again tonight.  A day off from work and no worship team practice gave me a chance to get out on the Jacksonville end of the Ladiga Trail for a nice long walk.  The stream near the train depot was higher and running more briskly than ever.

I am thinking...   about goals for the new year.  Life goals, blogging goals, fitness goals, reading goals, you name it.  I'll get things down on paper this week and most likely start on some of it before the year starts.

I am thankful...  for safety during all the flash flooding we've had here in Alabama.  I'm thankful for the start of a new year.  I'm thankful for improving health and vitality.

From the Workshop...  After my long project, I took a short crafting break. I'll be back to it this week.

 

I am reading...  I finished Good News of Great Joy by John Piper.  The review is here.  Got just a few more days to finish up a couple of books, then a whole new challenge will start.  I haven't decided what to call it yet, but when I do, I hope you'll join me.

 

I am looking forward to...  The new year.  It's like a fresh page to write or a blank canvas to paint.  I'm looking forward to the new 5k race season.  None of the dates have been set for the races I'm thinking of doing, but I think my first race will be the Parker Memorial Pancake Run in March.  The next couple of months will be for training and getting my mind right.
 

And now for something totally different...

I'm often told that I don't sell my art for enough (generally by people who never purchase it).  I suppose now I should add my friendship to the list of things I sell too short.  I've been reading articles and blogs by respected leaders.  I've got great respect for people like Dave Ramsey, John C. Maxwell, and Joyce Meyer.  I'm still having trouble relating to Jon Acuff and because of this, I'm seriously wondering about Michael Hyatt...or maybe I should wonder about myself.  This guy can actually get away with basically selling his friendship for $30,000?  Dang, if I just charged $500 a head for everyone who claims my friendship, I'd be out of debt in no time.  Of course, they wouldn't be my friend for long if it cost them $500, much less $30,000.  Am I missing something?


From Distractify.com: 25 Hilarious Tweets from 'Explain a Film Plot Badly' Hashtag.

From Twitter:  @JonAcuff tweeted:  "How do you know you're a student pastor? You're preaching on the Sunday after Christmas."

From Twitter:  @ChrchCurmudgeon tweeted: "If your preschooler sings 'Death Star in the sky looks down where He lay,' you've been talking about Star Wars too much."

From Facebook:  D.Havens shared:

From YouTube:  A New One from the Southern Women Channel:  Warning, this one is a little more risqué than they normally are.