girltalk Blog
2008 at 9:04 pm | by Nicole Whitacre
Finally, I hold in my hands a copy of Carolyn McCulley’s new book, Radical Womanhood. It will be widely available in only a few days, so pre-order your copy now! Here’s a little more of why you should get this book from a post I wrote back in April:
Radical Womanhood
April 11, 2008
Today I pre-ordered my copy of a new book by our dear friend Carolyn McCulley entitled Radical Womanhood: Feminine Faith in a Feminist World
. So what that it’s not due out until October 1, 2008. I’m just that excited about it. And you should be too.
Here’s how Carolyn describes the book:
The theme of the book is to explore what’s happened in the last 200 years in terms of feminist thinking and to sort through the good, the bad, and the ugly to understand our culture’s current thinking and how that compares/contrasts with what the Bible teaches. We’ll look at issues related to men, marriage, children, domesticity, sexuality, and the church. My goal is not to create an us/them self-righteous dialogue about feminism for two reasons: 1) Scripture teaches us that our real enemy is not flesh and blood; and 2) intellectual honesty demands that we acknowledge feminists initially addressed serious problems for women. We have derived some (limited) benefits from the three waves of feminism (1848 to today), but we need to be wise about how our culture thinks about key issues. Good observation does not make for correct interpretation. The interpretation has actually created many more problems for women. So that’s why in today’s world it’s truly radical for a woman to live in a counter-cultural way, glorifying God.
On second thought, maybe I don’t want to wait the six months plus the couple of days it will take my Amazon.com order to ship. Maybe, come October 1st, I’ll camp outside my local bookstore with other Carolyn McCulley fans to get the very first copy that hits the shelves.
In the meantime, we can all listen to Carolyn’s recent messages on Radical Womanhood shared with the women of CrossWay Community Church in Charlotte, NC a few weeks ago. They won’t last you until October but they’ll be great weekend listening.
This week’s Friday Funny is from Katie. She’s meeting with a group of
friends who just began reading through Feminine Appeal together. Here is the story behind the picture below: “Last week we met for the first time to
discuss our new book choice, and one of the ladies in our group pulled
out her copy of Feminine Appeal. As she pulled the book out of her
purse and noticed what was stuck to it, she held up her book and
jokingly said, ‘Can I just tell you about the kind of week I’ve had?!’”
Hope you have a great weekend!
Nicole for Carolyn, Kristin, and Janelle
I was strolling through my local grocery store the other day (in search of a brownie mix that I really wanted to try) and I practically ran into a huge box of pumpkins. Upon arriving home (having successfully located the brownie mix) I noticed a pumpkin on my neighbor’s porch. Then it dawned on me: it’s Fall! It’s time for apple cider, pumpkin chocolate chip bread, and caramel popcorn. And in order to get things started right in the food department this Autumn, we are gonna launch another girltalk contest appropriately titled “All Things Caramel.” Yes, we want your caramel recipes…popcorn, cookies, apples, brownies…you get the idea. Your deadline is next Friday, September 26. There will be prizes for the winners, of course! So don’t waste any time. E-mail us your entries at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
I’m gonna kick things off with one of my favorite caramel recipes (even though the girls will not allow me to win the prize). These bars are so yummy…
Caramel Layer Chocolate Squares
1 (14 oz.) pkg. caramels
1 pkg. German Chocolate cake mix
¾ cup butter, melted
2/3 cup evaporated milk, divided in equal portions
1 cup chocolate chips
Combine caramels and half of evaporated milk. Cook over low heat, stirring often until melted and smooth. Grease 9x13” pan. Combine dry cake mix, butter and rest of evaporated milk, and chocolate chips. Stir just until mixed. Press half of dough firmly in pan. Bake 6 minutes at 350*. Spread caramel mixture over all. Top with remaining half of dough. Spread gently to cover. Bake at 350* for 15 minutes. Let stand until cool before cutting.
2008 at 6:20 pm | by Nicole Whitacre
We heard from another girltalk reader Alice in response to Mom’s post. She shared with us her family’s hymn-singing tradition:
“Right after my first child (who is now 7 was born) I heard Joni Erickson Tada talk about how much hymns meant to her immediately after her accident. She recommended choosing “Life Hymns” for your children. So my husband and I have done just that. Each child (there are three living children) has their own hymn. We have chosen it before they were born and sing it to them the first time we hold them. We sing it each night before they go to bed – and before each nap. We make a special point to bring them into worship (until they are old enough for the entire service) when “their hymn” is being sung. My brother has sung each one’s hymn at their baptism. When we baptized our third child, her older brother and sister had learned her hymn as well (a wonderful byproduct of this family tradition) so they joined their uncle as he sang in the worship service. “Come Thou Fount” was chosen for our oldest, “Be Thou My Vision” for the middle child, and “Fairest Lord Jesus” for our third. In crisis, sadness, or joy, I find myself singing each child their hymn and taking much comfort in their songs. It is amazing to watch the older two – who also sing to the baby when she is upset. They always choose her hymn. The Lord’s grace and mercy is reminded to our family each day by these beautiful songs.”
What a wonderful legacy for her girls! I’m inspired (despite my not-so-great singing voice) to sing truth to my children and to teach them to sing to each other.
“I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.” Psalm 89:1
2008 at 3:18 pm | by Carolyn Mahaney
In response to yesterday’s post, Jennifer wrote to ask: “Do you or the girls have any recommendations of worship CD’s that you really enjoy for yourselves during the day? Along with that do you have any recommendations for children?”
Here are a few of our current favorites to help us and our kids sing “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” (Col. 3:16):
FOR ADULTS (although we like the kids cds too!)
Looked Upon by the Na Band
Psalms by Sovereign Grace Music
Redemption Songs by Jars of Clay
Upward: the Bob Kauflin Hymns Project
FOR KIDS
Deliberate Kids by Phil Joel
Awesome God by Sovereign Grace Music
Recently when my granddaughter, Caly, heard a snippet from the great hymn “Come, Thou Fount of Blessing,” she firmly announced: “That’s Pop-Pop’s song!”
Why does this little two-year-old think her grandpa is the sole possessor of that beloved song? It’s because when Pop-Pop is around, she is accustomed to hearing him belt out the refrain:
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.
He sings it fervently. He sings it often. It’s obvious that regularly singing the words to this hymn has become a useful way for him to focus his heart on the Savior in the daily fight with indwelling sin.
My husband is not the only who has a favorite hymn to help him fix his eyes on Jesus. I once read that “when Hudson Taylor was told about missionaries in his charge being in trouble, he was heard soon after whistling his favorite hymn, ‘Jesus I Am Resting.’”
Singing hymns or other songs of Scripture is a way to battle our sin, cast our cares, and make our souls happy in God. As it says in Colossians 3:16: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”
I want to sing more, because this command to sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs is a means of grace to help me turn my heart to God in repentance, trust, gratitude and hope.
That’s why I love to hear CJ sing—not because of his extraordinary voice (Sorry, Dear, you are extraordinary in every other way!)—but because his singing reminds me to sing.
That’s what I hope this little post will do for you too: remind you to sing.
2008 at 4:52 pm | by Nicole Whitacre
Compared to Sunday, Monday’s duties can often seem so unspiritual.
Yesterday I worshipped and received teaching at church, practiced hospitality, and had a delightful time of fellowship with new friends.
Today began at 4:45 am with a change of wet sheets. Then there was breakfast to make, a doctor to visit, a grocery store run, lost car keys to find, a splinter to extract, (lots of) correction to bring, and then lunch to prepare and clean up (er, well, it’s not actually cleaned up yet, but soon).
I’m not feeling particularly spiritual right now.
Apparently Sarah Edwards had a different (and more biblical) perspective of daily duties than I often do. When her daily business was done “as part of the service to God” Sarah noted, “it was found to be as good as prayer.”
If I truly “serve with joy and gladness” and for the glory of God, today’s work is as “spiritual” as yesterday’s worship.
“Oh how good…it is” Sarah exclaimed, “to work for God in the daytime, and at night to lie down under his smiles!”
That’s the kind of enthusiasm I should have for Monday’s chores! I must remember that I’m a forgiven sinner who now has the privilege of serving the Almighty God. And because of the perfect life and sacrificial death of His Son, Jesus Christ, I can lie down tonight (in spite of my sin) under His gracious smiles.
How’s that for motivation to do the lunch dishes?
2008 at 12:59 am | by Nicole Whitacre
As we sign off this weekend, we are watching Hurricane Ike make landfall. Several years ago, Dr. Albert Mohler answered the questions “Why would God allow hurricanes?” and “How should we pray?” His comments are instructive for us tonight:
“Perhaps we should pray as Jesus taught us, praying that the Father’s will would be done, that all persons would be spared harm, and that Christians would respond in the aftermath of disaster with a clear Christian witness of care, assistance, and witness. We should pray that any ‘natural’ disaster would be an opportunity for Christian witness to the supernatural Gospel, and for Christian reflection on the beauty of the Savior.”
Amen. May we all pray for God’s will to be done and His mercy to be upon all those in the path of Hurricane Ike.
Nicole for Carolyn, Kristin, and Janelle
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.” Psalms 46:1-5
2008 at 11:02 pm | by Janelle Bradshaw
My baby girl is 9 days old today and as of this morning’s doctor’s visit, weighing in at 8lbs 8oz.
I really cannot write another word without thanking all of you for your prayers and kind e-mails! They were such an encouragement to me.
I have been completely overwhelmed by God’s kindness to me in the birth of my MJ. He graciously answered my prayers for no c-section. My recovery has been completely different from Caly’s as I have regained my strength much more quickly and have not battled those baby blues like I did the first time around. The world of two kids has proved less challenging for me than one. And though I know that there will be difficult days to come, I’m enjoying the Lord’s gift of a smooth start. I have been spoiled by my husband, mom, sisters and mother-in-law. They have taken super great care of me and my girlies. Love y’all lots!
Here are some of the first pics of MJ girl. She was very cooperative during her photo session.
On his blog today CJ recalls where we were on the morning of 9/11:
September 11, 2001 was, for me, memorable. It marked the first morning of a very special trip with my wife to the quaint town of Chatham on Cape Cod. Carolyn and I had just finished breakfast at the Wayside Inn and were eager to begin this relaxing and romantic day together. And the day could not have been more inviting.
But while preparing to pay for breakfast, I noticed a gathering of people in the adjoining bar area, studying a television screen. Curious, I took a place among them and learned what they already knew: Two jet airplanes had crashed into the World Trade Center towers, both the apparent attacks of terrorists.
We made our way back to our hotel room stunned and perplexed by the images we had briefly viewed. Just yesterday we had flown into Logan International Airport in Boston, now the airport of origin for the two flights that slammed into the towers.
What about you? he goes on to ask:
Do you remember what you were thinking and feeling as you watched horrific replay after horrific replay of the commercial jets crashing into the World Trade Center towers? How about when you learned that Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon and Flight 93 crashed into a Pennsylvania field? And if that wasn’t incomprehensible enough, do you remember what you were thinking and feeling as you watched replay after replay of the towers rumbling, collapsing, and disappearing from the New York city skyline?
In this article (intended to help pastors lead through crisis situations) he also reminds all of us what is most important to remember in a crisis: the sovereignty of God.
For the Christian, there is no greater comfort in a crisis than to be reminded and reassured of the sovereignty of God. But the common temptation and tendency in the midst of crisis is to forget or doubt God’s sovereignty. In the immediate unsettling emotional effect of a national crisis, we are tempted by sins of fear, worry, and unbelief. We are confused and perplexed. How can we reconcile God’s sovereignty, goodness, and wisdom with the looping video clips of events like 9/11?
Crisis has a way of rudely reminding us of mystery—the mystery of providence, evil, sin, and suffering. And these mysteries won’t be solved by more reading and study. D.A. Carson writes:
The mystery of providence defies our attempt to tame it by reason. I do not mean it is illogical; I mean that we do not know enough to be able to unpack it and domesticate it. Perhaps we may gauge how content we are to live with our limitations by assessing whether we are comfortable in joining the biblical writers in utterances that mock our frankly idolatrous devotion to our own capacity to understand.
There will always be an element of mystery in relation to our comprehension of God and his purpose. And especially in crisis. There will always be secret things we are incapable of understanding in our sinfulness and finitude (Deuteronomy 29:29). We must…become comfortable with—and appropriately humbled by—mystery.
But it’s not all mystery. God does not simply leave us paralyzed by the mysterious. In Scripture God has revealed his character, his purpose, and—most importantly—the work of his Son on the cross. These provide us with more than sufficient certainty and comfort in the midst of the most mysterious and perplexing crisis and suffering. God doesn’t reveal to me all I want to know; but he has revealed all I need to know. In crisis situations I must resist the temptation of devoting time and energy to trying to figure out what is clearly beyond my comprehension, and instead devote myself to what is clearly revealed in Scripture about the sovereignty and purpose of God. This will have a transforming effect on my soul.
For more on God’s sovereignty in suffering we recommend—
How Long O Lord? By DA Carson
When God Weeps by Joni Eareckson Tada and Steve Estes
and
Suffering and the Sovereignty of God edited by John Piper and Justin Taylor
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