Her Mother's Hope/Her Daughter's Dream by Francine Rivers

I read Her Mother’s Hope and Her Daughter’s Dream in two days. Part coming of age, part family saga, and part historical fiction, these two books tell the story of Marta—her early years in Interlochen with her parents, later years in England, then Canada, and finally California. Flawed but lovable characters fill these books as Rivers takes us through four generations of mothers, daughters and granddaughters and the complex special bonds they share. The books are loosely based on Rivers’ own personal history.

There are reasons why Christians love Francine Rivers’ books. She acknowledges the dirt in life without rubbing your face in it. The issues she deals with—rape, pedophilia, suicide—are handled with great delicacy, focusing more on character’s responses than the details of the events. The reader loses nothing by this. In fact, the emotional impact is greater because of it.

I always recommend books that I think will make someone a better person for having read them, and these two books fit the bill. They would make great summer reading, but don’t plan to do any housework for a couple of days…

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand—a Review

I did not think I would like this book. Considering the subject material—the war, POW camps, and torture--I thought it would be an ideal book for men. I only read it because a good friend (female) recommended it. I am glad she did—I couldn’t put it down. Louis Zamperini is the unbroken protagonist, who survives a childhood of juvenile delinquency and goes on to become a track star and participant in the Olympic Games—only because his brother Pete fights the system and encourages Louie to run.

But it is Louie’s service in the air force during WWII that comprises the bulk of the book. Hildebrand avoids the trap of historical detailing and instead focuses on the thoughts and relationships of the men resulting in a book that reads better than most fiction. Louie and two buddies crash over the ocean, surviving forty-plus days on a disintegrating raft surrounded by aggressive sharks and suffering devastating hunger and thirst as their flesh wastes away and their skin burns in the sun. They survive a spray of bullets as Japanese planes fly overhead targeting their raft. Rescue finally comes—by the hand of the enemy. The Japanese POW camps prove to be far worse than the forty days spent on the raft.

Best Ever Sloppy Joes

When I was at Calvin Christian elementary school in South Holland, IL, we had one day a month when the women served these sloppy joes. They are the best-tasting sloppy joes I've ever had. We used to eat this along with potato chips and chocolate milk. Yum!

2 lbs. ground beef browned
2 cups catsup
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. vinegar
1 Tbs. mustard
1 tsp. Worchestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. dry onion

Mix together, heat, and serve on buns.

Provisions for the Journey

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. (John 10:14 ESV)

He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He will tend his flock like a shepherd;

                        he will gather the lambs in his arms;

            he will carry them in his bosom,

                        and gently lead those that are with young. (Isaiah 40:11 ESV)

He leads me beside still waters.

Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:

He restores my soul.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30 ESV)

Oogy: The Dog Only a Family Could Love—A Review

If you are the kind of reader who loves to cry, laugh, and see good overcome evil in one story, you will appreciate this book--a true story of a dog rescue. Oogy was just a little puppy when he was used as bait for dogs trained to kill. Ripped apart and left to die, he was found by police who saved his life. In spite of physical disfigurement and a puppyhood characterized by terror, this little dog had a beautiful heart that took in everyone he met, both human and canine. The Levin family took Oogy home, and Larry Levin, author of the book, ties their story with his.

Keep the Kleenex handy, but be prepared for a lot of laughs. The book does not get bogged down in evil, but the truth of Oogy’s journey is not overlooked either. Oogy is a story about second chances, overcoming the odds, and beauty rising out of ashes. It is a story about how love, hope and joy overcome the most inexplicable human cruelty. If you have ever given your heart to a dog or been the recipient of a dog’s love, you will understand the joys these simple creatures bring us. You will understand Oogy.

What a Two-Year-Old Can Teach Us

No one in my family has ever been at a loss for words. My two children and now my six grandchildren have had a gift for articulation—all of them speaking in complete sentences when they were still two. Once when Alice, my oldest granddaughter was 28 months, she spied a flag in a grocery store and proceeded to recite the entire pledge of allegiance without even stumbling over ‘indivisible.’

Francine Rivers' Mark of the Lion Trilogy--A Review

One reviewer said Francine Rivers’ Mark of the Lion trilogy is her crown jewel of writing, and I have to agree. It doesn’t have as much press as Redeeming Love, but I like it better. The trilogy is historical fiction that takes place in Rome and Ephesus during the first century, and its main characters are Hadassah, a Jewish Christian who was in Jerusalem in 70 A.D., Atretes, a German gladiator, and the Valerian family—Decimus, Phoebe, Marcus, and Julia—Hadassah’s masters following her capture and enslavement.

Dreaming of Summer...

I know a bank where the wild thyme blows.
Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows,
Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine.
With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine:
There sleeps Titania some time of the night.
Lull'd in these flowers with dances and delight.

~ A Midsummer Night's Dream

Almond Coffee Cake

Ingredients for cake:

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup sour cream
1 cup grated almond paste to be used as filling

Dutch Banket

This recipe is part of my Dutch heritage. My mom and grandmothers made it every Christmas as a special treat!

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup butter cold

½ cup ice water

1 ½  cups almond paste

2 eggs

¾ cup white sugar

¼ tsp. almond extract

Pinch of salt

1 egg white beaten

Ollie Bollen Recipe –Thank You Barb Hoekstra!

Q: What goes better with a cup of coffee than fresh Ollie Bollen?
A: Nothing

Ollie Bollen*

Ingredients:
3.5 cups flour
3.5 cups lukewarm milk, divided
dash salt
1½ cups raisins or currants
¼ cup candied citron (diced apple is better)  (15 grams)
3 T melted butter
1 egg
1 oz (2 pkg dry) yeast w/ 3 T sugar

Bud's Butterscotch Pie

This recipe is one that my dad used to serve in his restaurant. I believe the recipe originally came from his sister who baked the pies for him. I have never had butterscotch pie like this anywhere else. It's a taste of heaven...

1 cup minus 1 Tbsp. flour
3 cups brown sugar
9 Tbsp. butter
4 1/2 cups milk
6 egg yolks beaten
1 Tbsp. vanilla

Combine flour, sugar and melted butter in large saucepan.
Add milk and cook until thickened stirring constantly.
Pour a small amount of mixture over eggs stirring vigorously.
Return to pan and continue cooking ten more minutes.
Add vanilla
Cool

Divide between 3 regular or 2 deep dish pre-baked pie crusts.
Keep refrigerated and serve with whipped cream on top.

Thank You Lord For Handprints On the Walls

This morning I was washing walls

--a job I love to hate--

and I'll be honest

I was murmuring

about all the child-size handprints

that were

...everywhere!

Around every light switch

in every room

gliding up the stairway

and through the halls.

I remember the last time

I washed those walls.

They stayed clean

for exactly five and a half hours

...then school got out.

In a few more years

they'll be fingerprinting

around the light switches

and through the halls

of a college dorm.

And I'll be sitting here

in my sparkling house

with freshly painted walls

wishing desperately

to see

those grubby little handprints

once more.

~Diane Dekker 1988

Dogs Can Plan

People will tell you that animals are dumb, that they only respond to instinct. These people have never owned a dog. Any dog person knows that dogs are not only smart, but they actually plan things out in advance.

When Babe was a puppy, someone told us that her potty training would be easy if we would hang a little bell by the door so she could go to the door and ring the bell with her nose if she wanted to go out. I was skeptical, but bought the bell anyway. Within an hour, Babe understood the concept completely and sure enough, every time she needed to go out, she went to the door and rang the bell.

But after a while, she would ring the bell when she wanted to go outside and play. It wasn’t long before that blasted bell was ringing all day long. I finally took it down. But Babe still understood that to get outside, all she had to do was go stand by the door and stare at me until I let her out.

One night we had just sat down at the table for dinner and were filling our plates when Babe sat at the door staring at me. I ignored her. She then came over to the table and nudged my elbow with her nose. I knew I would have no peace until I let her out, so I got up to open the door. While I was opening the door, she ran back to the table and snatched the food off my plate! Then she just got all comfy under the table ready to take a snooze. I just hate it when my dog is smarter than I am!

Two Trees of Knowledge--A Review

Two Trees of Knowledge presents the reader with a comprehensive analysis of the public school agenda and compares that agenda with God’s requirements for education in Scripture. The book includes a ten-week Bible study for further evaluation. The book is written for Christian parents who are responsible for raising godly children. The symbolism of the two trees plays an important role in this book because the tree of life represents purity of worldview, while the tree of the knowledge of good and evil represents a compromised worldview. The devil does not need to fill a child’s head with lies to succeed in corrupting his worldview; he only needs to compromise that view. A child who learns the truth at home and learns lies at school will have a compromised worldview—and that diet is poison to the soul. Seventy-five to ninety percent of Christian children who go through the public school system in America will reject the faith by the time they are twenty.

The book also addresses the most common arguments in favor of public education: 1) Our children should be salt and light. 2) The public schools need our support. 3) We can’t afford private school. 4) I could never homeschool my kids. 5) We have no Christian school nearby. 6) The public school is a mission field. 7) My kids have opportunities in the public school that they could never get in a Christian school, etc.

As the author of this book I can say that I was just as shocked when I did the research for this book as many of you will be when you read it. I have documented evidence from the writings of those who control the public school curriculum that one of their goals is the eradication of Christianity through education.  They will stop at nothing to accomplish this.  Behavioral scientists in the United States have joined forces with curriculum writers to employ brainwashing techniques and psychologically manipulative methods to attain this goal. Psychological questions are embedded in standardized tests to give educators a profile that helps them determine a child’s level of resistance to value change. Meanwhile, everything from the nice teacher in the classroom to close proximity to home gives parents a powerful illusion that their children are in a safe place. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Gotta' Love Shakespeare's Witches

1. Witch. Thrice the brinded cat hath mew'd.
2. Witch. Thrice and once the hedge-pig whin'd
3. Witch. Harpier cries; 'tis time, 'tis time.

1. Witch. Round about the cauldron go;
In the poison'd entrails throw.
Toad, that under cold stone
Days and nights has thirty-one
Swelt'red venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first i' the charmed pot

All. Double, double, toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.

Easy Ice Cream Pie

2 ready made oreo pie crusts
1/2 gallon ice cream any flavor
1 stick butter
1 can evaporated milk
2 cups powdered sugar
1 package chocolate chips

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford -- A Review

Jamie Ford’s Hotel is a powerfully emotional coming of age historical novel that takes the reader back to the 1940’s in Seattle just after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The book seamlessly navigates back and forth between 1986 and the 1940’s as Henry Lee, a recently widowed Chinese American recalls the years of his youth and his first love.

Henry Lee is twelve years old and the only Chinese student in an all-white school. He gets bullied in his neighborhood by other Chinese children and bullied at school because he is different. His father is obsessed with the Japanese invasion of China and is a bitter enemy of all Japanese, even the Americans. At the same time, he lives in fear of being confused with the Japanese and forces his son to wear a button that says, “I am Chinese.”

Babe--Faithful Companion (2003)

            I had never been a dog-lover…until a little black lab puppy named Babe took my heart by surprise.

            We were hiking the wooded trail that runs between the river and the railroad tracks.  With me were Sebastian, my daughter’s two-year-old collie mix, and Babe, a five-month-old black lab puppy I inherited when my son went off to college.  As we hiked, I could hear the train coming in the distance.  Without warning, Babe took off like a shot, racing up a hill, around a corner, and right into the path of the train.  I screamed her name over and over to no avail.  The train raced past and I knew I’d lost her.  Sickened with fear, I rounded the corner, expecting to find my mangled pup.  At that instant, she came bounding down the hill and into my arms.  For the first time in my life, I understood the joys of losing my heart to a dog.   

My Favorite Quotes From C.S. Lewis

"To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully around with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket—safe, dark, motionless, airless—it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell.”

"The settled happiness and security which we all desire, God withholds from us by the very nature of the world: but joy, pleasure, and merriment He has scattered broadcast. We are never safe, but we have plenty of fun, and some ecstasy. It is not hard to see why. The security we crave would teach us to rest our hearts in this world and oppose (?) an obstacle to our return to God: a few moments of happy love, a landscape, a symphony, a merry meeting with our friends, a bathe or a football match, have no such tendency. Our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home."

Children Taken Hostage

Since its inception, state education has always been about ownership of the child. Who has the right to take possession of a child's mind and determine his worldview? See what the educators have to say:

“We who are engaged in the sacred cause of education are entitled to look upon all parents as having given hostages to our cause.”  --Horace Mann, (1796-1859) Father of American Public Education.

“The children who know how to think for themselves spoil the harmony of the collective society which is coming, where everyone would be interdependent.”  --John Dewey, (1859-1952) Father of Progressive Education, honorary president of the National Education Association, and co-author of the 1933 Humanist Manifesto.

“Only a system of state-controlled schools can be free to teach whatever the welfare of the state may demand.”  Ellwood Cubberley, (1868-1941) dean of Stanford University’s School of Education

“Every child entering school at the age of five is mentally ill because he comes to school with certain allegiances to our founding fathers, toward our elected officials, toward his parents, toward a belief in a supernatural being, and toward the sovereignty of this nation as a separate entity.  It’s up to you as teachers to make all these sick children well—by creating the international child of the future.”  Dr. Chester M. Pierce, Harvard psychiatrist.  From his keynote address at the 1973 Childhood International Education Seminar in Boulder, CO.

Cherry Almond Cake to Die For

If you are Dutch, you will love this recipe. You can also do the recipe with other kinds of dried fruit like apricots and then change the juice in the glaze to lemon juice. Enjoy!


2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
7 oz. almond paste
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
6 oz. dried cherries (about 1 1/2 cups)
3/4 cup butter
5 large eggs lightly beaten
2 tsp. almond extract
8 oz. sour cream at room temp.
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1-2 Tbsp. cherry juice (You can use juice from maraschino cherries.)

Kids and Coffee House Theology

When Katy was four and Sadie was five, I took them to Panera for a treat. While I worked at getting their chocolate chip cookies and milk, I heard Katy say to Sadie, "Some people think Jesus is God, but I always thought his dad was God." Sadie responded, "Well, actually there are three Gods, but you can only trust one of them." My guess is they understand the Trinity about as well as any of us.