a spiritual endorsement for the iphone

By: Abigail Dodds
body of Christ, culture, everyday, recommendations, , 4 Comments on a spiritual endorsement for the iphone

I mentioned a while back that I got an iphone.

I also mentioned that I was enjoying it immensely.  That is still true.  One benefit that I didn’t anticipate has been a spiritual one.

Every year our church encourages us to follow a schedule of reading through the Bible in a year.  I’ve never been able to do it.  I’ve started three times and a few months in have felt hopelessly behind.

The last two years, I’ve only read half or a quarter of the assigned reading per day and been mostly content with that.  It has been a fruitful time.  I don’t believe that you have to read through the Bible in a year in order to have meaningful times in the Word.

However, I still have had a desire to read it in a year, or at least close to a year.  I can see that there are benefits to getting a broad look at all of Scripture and being able to make connections between Old Testament and New.

I didn’t think that the way I’d be able to do it would be because of an iphone, but it has been.  I got the phone in February and Mr. TommyD downloaded an app that you tap on and it takes you to the four passages of Scripture for that day as put together by our church.  You can go forward or backward in the days, in case you need to catch up.  Since February, I have been able to keep up with the program!

This is a minor miracle for me.  It hasn’t felt overly rushed or burdensome either.  Even through Leviticus and Numbers I have found much to chew on as it has contrasted and connected with the Psalms and New Testament reading.

Here’s how the iphone has made it doable:

1) I just tap on the app and all the reading is there.  I never lose my spot or forget where I am.

2) I can read it without turning a light on.  I was often sleepless during the last trimester of pregnancy and I could read it without switching on the light and waking up Tom.

3) It’s small and easy to hold in one hand while reading.  In other words, I can read it while nursing.  I’ve always kept my Bible close by when nursing the last three, but turning pages, trying to get to another passage, and balancing the Bible has made it difficult.  Not anymore.

4) It’s always with me.  I always have my phone on me, so even if I only have a few minutes free, I can pull it out and immediately be in the Word.

And here’s a bonus.  When I finish my Bible reading, I switch over to kindle for iphone and have been able to get through a few long books in the last couple months (all free downloads via kindle).  Right now I’m reading a biography of John Newton and it is quite wonderful.

So, there’s my spiritual endorsement for the iphone.  Who’d have thunk it? 🙂

Perhaps my next post should be all the possible spiritual pitfalls of the iphone.. that might be a bit longer though.

more and Moore on cremation

By: Abigail Dodds
blogging, body of Christ, culture, 6 Comments on more and Moore on cremation

Russell Moore recently blogged about cremation.  As one who has been largely indifferent about cremation vs. burial I found it very informative and helpful.

He is biblical through and through.  His thoughts in Touchstone were particularly good.

After some comments on my post about funeral planning, I became interested in why Christians might reject cremation.  Dr. Moore answers my questions and then some.

I think I may be amending my funeral plans to include a desire to be buried.  There is something to the beauty of following suit with Christ (namely that we are buried like Christ and resurrected like him on the last day) that is hard to resist.  It’s not that God can’t raise cremated remains.  Of course He can.  But when the opportunity to imitate the biblical model is presented, I think I’ll take it.

Dr. Moore fleshes out his arguments in the Touchstone article very well and in Christianity Today.  Worth reading.

curriculum review: Explode the Code

By: Abigail Dodds
curriculum reviews, everyday, homeschool, recommendations, , 7 Comments on curriculum review: Explode the Code

We’ve been using the Explode the Code series of workbooks this year.

Explode the Code, Book 1 - By: Nancy Hall

Eliza has completed book 1 and 2 and is halfway through book 3.  I ordered them as a supplement to the language/phonics program we would be doing when we started last fall and they quickly became a primary tool for us.

I would not say ETC is a comprehensive program for phonics or spelling, but it does cover those disciplines in wonderful bite-sized ways.  It also gives your child handwriting practice.

ETC assumes when you start book 1 that your child knows their consonant sounds, but does a brief review of them in the beginning of the book.  It then moves to the vowel sound ‘a’ and, by the end of book 1, covers all the vowels, with the child spelling short one-syllable words from the get go and progressively incorporating the new vowel sounds.

Book 2 covers initial consonant blends and final consonant blends.  Book 3 reiterates all the skills taught so far and moves on to one-syllable words ending with a long vowel (such as -y and silent -e words).  It also teaches digraphs (-sh, -th, -wh, -ch, -ng, -ck) and trigraphs (-tch, -ee-ea, -ai-ay, and -oa-ow).

Also, there are Explode the Code primers which teach the consonant sounds in order to prepare for the basic Explode the Code.  Furthermore they have ETC books 1 1/2 and 2 1/2, etc.  These in between books provide extra practice for the student who needs it.

The ETC series has 8 books total that range from dipthongs, word families, three letter blends, soft c and g and suffixes/endings.  I’m not sure if we’ll continue on with it or not, but for this Kindergarten year, ETC has been invaluable for phonics reinforcement and basic spelling.

The workbooks are not overwhelming.  The pages are easy to complete and really boost the child’s confidence.  Eliza has felt very competent to work in them independently and we have found 2 pages per day to be manageable and suit our needs.

If you have a preschool, kindergarten or 1st grade student (depending on their abilities) these first Explode the Code books may be useful for you to check out.

taking some morbid advice: funeral planning

By: Abigail Dodds
body of Christ, everyday, family8 Comments on taking some morbid advice: funeral planning

I was thinking about death and funerals the other day.

Don’t freak out, this is not in any way an indication of something dire.  I don’t expect to die for many decades.  The Lord knows.  I just would like to make sure that somewhere out there I’ve given a few instructions about what I would and wouldn’t like for my funeral.

1) I’d prefer that the visitation be the time when memories or reminiscing happens and that at the actual funeral a sermon is given, not a free for all of sharing.  If one or two people who were close to me want to share a eulogy at the funeral, no problem, but I think the main place for that should be at the visitation.

2) I’d like the sermon to be a no holds bar presentation of the Gospel, complete with a picture of heaven and hell.

3) I’d like plenty of singing.  As much as people can stand.  Must-have songs (as of now) are: It is Well, In Christ Alone, Fly to Jesus (not sure that’s the actual name of it).  Special music would be great.

4) If there’s a reception afterwards with food, (I don’t care whether there is or isn’t, but if there is) I want there to be laughter.  Some of my fondest memories with cousins were at funeral receptions for my grandmothers.  I hope any kids who were at the funeral feel freed up to enjoy the reception.

5) If part of people’s reminiscing is negative, I don’t mind.  I’m a sinner.  I’m certain that my sins have effected people in unhappy ways.  If people need to work through this, I hope they feel they can talk about my sinfulness, with an understanding of God’s grace.

6) I hope the funeral is sad, with a strong undercurrent of hope.  Funerals are supposed to be for mourning and sadness.  Stuffing the sad part in favor of a “she’s in a better place” smile, if it’s not what’s actually felt, is fake.  Feel the sadness, feel the hope.  Sorrowful, yet rejoicing.

7) I don’t care what happens to my body.  If it’s buried, fine.  If it’s cremated, fine.  God formed me the first time around and He can form back together whatever remnants of my body remain on the last day.

That’s all I’ve got for now.  Do you have any particular funeral instructions?  Have you thought about it?

what are you reading?

By: Abigail Dodds
blogging, body of Christ, culture, everyday, mustread, questions, 3 Comments on what are you reading?

Here’s what I’ve been reading lately:

1) Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God’s Will OR How to Make a Decision without Dreams, Visions, Fleeces, Impressions, Open Doors, Random Bible Verses, Casting Lots, Liver Shivers, Writing in the Sky, Etc. by Kevin DeYoung

I finished this about a 2 months ago and thought it was great.  What a breath of fresh air to the frivolous, often ridiculous ways we try to figure out our future before it happens.

2) Middlemarch by George Eliot

I’ve always loved Eliot’s Adam Bede and never took the time to read Middlemarch.  I’m glad I did.  She has an insight into the workings of the mind and heart of her characters that is enlightening and convicting to the reader who identifies with them.  Plus, it was the first book I read on my iPhone via Kindle and just finished.  Very handy.

3) Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

I just started this and am only a few chapters in, also being read on my iphone.  So far, it has all the charming markings of an Austen novel.  It was her first book, published after many of her other works.

4) Intellectuals and Society by Thomas Sowell

Sowell is one of my favorite minds on politics and culture.  I’ve just started this book and it examines the influence of intellectuals on society and the often disastrous effects thereof.  Thanks, Tom, for surprising me with it!

5) Home Comforts : The Art and Science of Keeping House by Cheryl Mendelson

I pulled this one off my bookshelf a month ago and got sucked into re-reading quite a bit.  I use it as reference book and disagree largely with her take on why it’s important to keep house, but nonetheless, you will not find a more thorough book covering every aspect of home management.

6) A Sweet & Bitter Providence: Sex, Race and the Sovereignty of God by John Piper

I loved this look at Ruth, Naomi and Boaz.  The book of Ruth has long been a favorite for me and Pastor John offers his usual poignant understanding of the big picture in relation to this story.  Reading it made me love God’s designs more.

7) The Liars’ Club: A Memoir by Mary Karr

I was assigned to read this in college and did a half-read, half-skim.  I was prompted to remember it when Tim Challies reviewed it a while back.  I’m about a quarter in so far and find it riveting and very gritty.  I probably wouldn’t recommend it.

8) The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

This book was a gift and I completed it a few months ago and thoroughly enjoyed.  It is a book of fictional letters written just after WWII.  The style is enchanting and the content is sober without being sober.

What are you reading?

*Note: The Bible is the most important reading we can do each day.  I hope that’s understood.  I use our church’s Bible reading plan, in case you were curious.  The reading listed here is my “escape” or nighttime reading.

what were you supposed to do?

By: Abigail Dodds
body of Christ, culture, everyday, questions, , 5 Comments on what were you supposed to do?

So often we have what we want to do, then we have what we train to do, and finally we have what we actually do.

It’s great if the first and last match up, regardless of what comes in the middle.

I wanted to do a great many things, but mostly I wanted to be a wife and a mom.  And that’s what I am.  But what was I supposed to do according to my training?  I have degrees in writing and political science.  I worked briefly at a pro-life lobby and education group after I graduated, which fit my training perfectly, as I did writing and research for them (along with any other menial jobs that were around to do).

Then I started having babies and that part of life was done.  At least in the work-for-pay realm of existence.

Lots of people train for one thing and end up doing something entirely unrelated.  Some people long to be something, but feel the need to have a practical degree.  Women who desire to be homemakers often get degrees that they feel will be practical if Mr. Wonderful doesn’t show up.

And for those who do end up with the coveted Mrs. degree, they are sometimes made to feel that their education was a waste, since now all they do is stay home.  I’ve never felt that way.  I think my education has been useful in every way, even if I don’t earn money under the pretense of it.

Mr. TommyD has degrees in computer science and physics, but he really doesn’t use either.  He runs a business, and although it is in the technology industry, he doesn’t work on computers himself.

So, what were you supposed to do?  Does it line up with what you really do?  How do you account for it?  Does it feel like a waste or a kind Providence?

the teacher I never knew I was

By: Abigail Dodds
confessions, everyday, family, homeschool, 6 Comments on the teacher I never knew I was

I never wanted to be a teacher.

Not ever.

When I was a kid and people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I never said “teacher.”  I looked at my many friends pursuing teaching degrees in college with a mixture of pity and wonderment.  Pity because of all the busy work in those horrid education classes*.  And wonderment because, to me, it was the height of self-sacrifice.

When I was 10 or so and my best friend would set up “school” for us to play, it took all the enthusiasm I could muster to go along.  She’d happily stand at the front with ruler in hand pointing at the board, going over lesson after lesson, while I’d sit on the floor, the dutiful student waiting for school to get out.

Now that I’m a homeschooling mom, teaching is my life.  Let’s face it, if you’re a mom, period, teaching is a big part of your life, even if you’re not homeschooling.  Everything about having kids involves teaching.

But, shockingly, I love to teach.  There, I said it.  I love to teach my kids.  And no one could be more surprised about it than I am.  Yes, it’s hard work and yadda yadda yadda, but what I didn’t know was that it is also incredibly rewarding and exciting.

I’ve always loved to learn.  I could have stayed in school for a very long time and been quite happy, I think.  Teaching my kids gives me an opportunity to continue learning and it also has pushed my relationship with my kids to levels that I wouldn’t have anticipated.

Looking at curriculum, getting to decide what fits my kids and our family best, reading and reading and reading some more, it’s awakened the teacher in me that I never knew I was.

Having my daughter read a book to me and knowing that I had a hand, the hand, in teaching her to do that, is a reward better than any degree I could earn.  And, at least I got to avoid the busy work!

*Not all teaching degrees require horrid busy work.  That’s just my perception. 🙂

hospitality principles and tips, by an amateur

By: Abigail Dodds
body of Christ, culture, everyday, family17 Comments on hospitality principles and tips, by an amateur

Admittedly, I’m no expert on hospitality.  But, even being the novice that I am, I’ve gleaned some insights over the years that may be helpful for some.

Plus, if hospitality is something you’ve neglected, the holiday season is a great time to dive in and make practicing hospitality a regular occurrence in every season.

And, if nothing else, they’re helpful for me to remind myself.  Sometimes I don’t do what I know I ought.  Motives become convoluted and priorities get misplaced.

So, here are some tips [note: I claim no originality.  I’m certain everything I’m about to write has been said before by people who follow through on them better than I do.]

1) Have people over to your house.  Novel, I know.  But, it’s where it all starts.  If you don’t have people in your home regularly, you may be the most organized, hospitable person in the world and it will all be for naught.

2) Have people over frequently and on short notice.  (I’m not too good at the short notice part).  But, I do force myself to say yes as often as I can to a “short notice” opportunity.  This is incredibly liberating.  It will teach you that you can enjoy someone’s company even when there are dishes in the sink and dust on the mantle.

3) Don’t turn hospitality into “entertaining.”  Entertaining is a code-word for showing-off.  Perfectly clean house, perfectly prepared food, perfectly arranged decor becomes primary.

And at the center of it all is you, the entertainer.  “Look at all that I did and how wonderfully I did it.  Admire my home, my food, my effort,” is the heart of the entertainer, as opposed to the one offering hospitality, who humbly shares all they have out of love for others and God.

4) Don’t let your home be so messy or dirty that it’s a distraction.  This can be just as detrimental as the “entertainer” problem.  As much as people may say it doesn’t matter, having a reasonably-ordered home does matter.  It is uncomfortable to be in a pig sty.

5) Include your guests as part of your family.  Invite them to participate in everything.  If it’s your custom to sing and pray before dinner, fold them into that activity.

6) Let your guests give you a hand.  If your guests ask if they can help with something, let your usual answer be, “Yes!”  There are two reasons to do this: firstly, you probably could use the help, and, secondly, most people feel more comfortable when they’re useful.

7) Have saints and strangers over.  The Bible is explicit that it’s very important to show hospitality to saints (Romans 12:13, 1 Peter 4:9), meaning fellow Christians, and to strangers (Hebrews 13:2).  (Again, I’m bad at the stranger part.  We’ve lived at our home for 4 years and only had strangers over a handful of times).  This takes intentionality and effort.

8) Have large and intimate gatherings.  Have 30 people over, then have 1.

9) Treat all your guests the same when it comes to the work you put into it.  Don’t make everything extra nice for people with status that you admire or rich people and let things go for others.  Do not show favoritism.  Sometimes we do this without realizing it.

10) Be conversational!  Talk!  Share!  Share more than just your food and home, share your very self.  Offer your opinions and ask for other people’s.  Give people a peek at your history and ask about theirs.

11) Invite unlikely and likely people over: the person who is alone or lonely; the person who has a special diet (I need to work on this..); the big family who feels like they put people at an imposition; loud people and quiet people; the person who seems to abound with friends and busy-ness (sometimes these people get overlooked because of these facts); the person who is always having people over to their house (they would probably be blessed by the offer).

12) Don’t be “hospitable” for worldly gain.  If you’re having people over to sell them things or earn free gifts or garner status and connections with someone, it’s not hospitality.  It’s not necessarily wrong to do, it’s just not hospitality.

There are many benefits to being hospitable: meeting neat people, making friends, deepening existing friendships.  The list could go on.  But even these benefits should not be our primary reason for being hospitable.  We are hospitable because of duty (God commands it) and delight (his commands produce godliness and joy in us).  We are hospitable because we genuinely care about others.

Finally, I’ll give this piece of advice, which isn’t about being hospitable, but rather about learning to be a good receiver: accept invitations to other people’s homes when offered and allow them to practice hospitality with you.

I know I missed a million things that should be added to the list.  Anyone want to fill it out for me with a tip or two?

pregnancy after miscarriage

By: Abigail Dodds
body of Christ, family, sorrow, 9 Comments on pregnancy after miscarriage

It’s not an easy topic for me.

But it is what I’m living with day after day.  And in my naivete I thought it would be easier.

Not that being pregnant now isn’t a blessing.  Not that it isn’t exciting and wonderful and anticipatory.  It is.  And I thank God for it.

But it’s also scarier.  Like the shine has come off of the penny.  And it’s more real– less myopic, if that makes any sense.

Strangely enough the easiest person to talk to about the new baby is my 5-year-old daughter Eliza.  Probably because every single time we talk about the new baby in mommy’s tummy, when we end, she always finishes up by saying, “if this one doesn’t die.”

All our plans and hopes and speculation may happen, “if this baby doesn’t die.”  She couldn’t be more right.  She acknowledges and actually speaks out loud what I am thinking most of the time and don’t have the guts to say.

Plus, by saying, “if this baby lives,” she is remembering the baby who didn’t live.  Not many people do that.  I’m sure it would be a hard thing to do, if you’re a friend.  But, I’ll speak for myself when I say, remembering matters.  It’s validating, albeit sad, to fill out a form at the doctor that lists this pregnancy as my 5th, even though, if/when this baby is born it will be my 4th child to bring home.  It’s validating, because, at least in some small clinical way, it’s remembering.

Remembering with words matters.  Speaking things out loud matters.

What a gift to me that Eliza gets it.  And what a gift that she isn’t taking this new one for granted.  She doesn’t pray for it to be a girl or a boy.  She just prays that he or she will live (although, without realizing it she’s started to refer to the baby as “her”).

I pray the same thing as Eliza.  And I spend a lot of time praying that God would make me treasure Him so much, that somehow, if I lost another, I would grab hold of Him in the darkness, and be willing to trust that He is good.  Again.

Tomorrow is my 16 week checkup.  This baby is more than twice as old as the last one lived to be.  What an impact those short weeks of life and subsequent death had on me.  They have made me more thankful and less entitled about the past 16 weeks of new life.

Romans 8:18

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed in us.”

sin produces death through what is good

By: Abigail Dodds
body of Christ, everyday, , Leave a Comment on sin produces death through what is good

Paul says a lot of wonderful and nuanced things in Romans 7.

For instance, he says, “if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin.”  So the law is not sin-producing, but rather, sin-alerting.  And sin, being very sneaky and conniving, seizes “an opportunity through the commandment” to produce all kinds of sin in me.

Then the clarification, “Did that which is good, then, bring death to me?  By no means!  It was sin, producing death in me through what is good..” (7:13a)

I am in complete awe of that verse and how jam-packed it is with meaning that effects me everyday.

The law was good.  It is good.  It is holy and just and loving.  Yet, sin can take a good thing and turn it into an opportunity for sin to abound.  Not just for us to be sin-aware, but for sin to increase!  To be “sinful beyond measure.” (7:14b)

I can think of multiple ways this happens even with the good gifts God gives me on this side of the cross.  The law was given before the cross, and yes, sin seized the chance for sin to abound through the giving of the law.  But after Christ’s death and ressurection, it would seem to me that the gifts from God relating to His body and Christian life would be immune to such sin entanglement.  But I find it isn’t so.

Some of the best gifts given after Christ’s atoning sacrifice, like the fellowship of the body, spiritual gifts of discernment or teaching or service, and many more are all still vunerable to sin’s perversion.  Sin can take the good gift and produce death through what is good.

Now, for those of us in Christ, His righteousness covers us and ultimately death is not produced in us.  He also gives His Spirit to guide and help us in our weaknesses.  We have tools with which to fight the enticements of sin.  And I am so thankful for that.

Left to my sinful flesh, I begin to idolize the gift of fellowship over the Person without whom no fellowship could ever exist.  I start to value spiritual gifts over the subject of which the gifts should be about.  And what’s worse, an attitude of entitlement about the gifts creeps in.

So, I say with Paul, “Wretched [wo]man that I am!  Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (7:24)

And then Paul answers, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”  It’s Jesus who delivers us from this body of death.  And there is no condemnation for me.  I wage war on the sinful members of my body and in my inner being I rejoice in God’s loving commandments and His good gifts.  So God is God, good gifts are not.  But good gifts are free to be embraced as good when God is my Treasure and Sweet Reward.

Has sin ever taken a good thing in order to try and produce death through it in your life?