Review: Savor, Sip, and Drink Deeply

Savor, Sip, and Drink Deeply
by Deb Burma

Ever notice how a lot of people love coffee? There’s so many varieties and ways to drink your coffee! In Savor, Sip, and Drink Deeply, author Deb Burma uses coffee and coffee culture as illustrations to draw us closer to Christ. We see that he has poured us an overflowing cup that we can indulge in!

I expected this book to be cute and light. It’s billed as “A Bible study for women,” and my experience of such things are usually, unfortunately, fairly shallow. I’m happy to say that while this book is indeed cute, it’s not shallow!

Burma talks about cups and how we fill them,using this as illustrations of how we fill ourselves. Do we use “bad beans” of sin or bitterness, or are we filling up on God’s good promises? We want our coffee mugs cleaned out; do we see that Jesus has cleaned us out? There are so many coffee blends; God has given each individual unique blends of personalities, talents, and opportunities.

In each of the seven chapters in the book, Burma presents at least five “mini” devotions with a lot of biblical meat. However, as the illustrations run throughout, nothing gets overly heavy. I think this would be an ideal Bible study to start a women’s group with for that reason! There’s also a recipe for a coffee-related item at the end of each chapter, as well as ideas for service projects.

I could tell the book was definitely not aimed at me, but as I’m hardly a woman, that doesn’t surprise me. However, if someone wanted to start a women’s Bible group, this is one of the books I’d gladly encourage her to check out!

I’m Going Back

This is me, doing high ropes at camp. It was… it was an experience! 

He asked my permission to leave the pool. I told him he could sit on the benches over there against the wall, but everyone had to stay in the room. I went back to the pool basketball game that was currently exhausting me.

A few minutes later I noticed he wasn’t sitting on the bench, nor was he back in the pool. A suspicious number of girls were running into the girls’ locker room, and not a few guys into theirs.

I grabbed a female counselor and suggested we might need to clean out the locker rooms. We headed to our opposite corners. As I did, several guys fled their locker room. Not the kid who’d asked permission to leave, though. He was still missing. I saw the female counselor ushering a number of girls back toward the pool. All the boys and girls gathered together in the pool and were clearly talking about someone. They got real quiet as I approached and shooed them to go play. They scattered.

I slipped into the locker room. No one there. I peeked out into the lobby.

Ah. There he was. He huddled on a bench, eyes darting around. There was no one else out there.

Surviving Camp

Photo by Rudolf Jakkel on Pexels.com

“You need to come back!”

As I write this, it’s Thursday. Tomorrow afternoon camp will be dismissed for the year. Parents will pick up their exhausted children, and I’ll make the six-hour drive home.

I wrote about a week ago that I wasn’t looking forward to camp. And it’s true. Summer camp doesn’t exactly fill me with joy.

As I’ve watched my son at this camp this week, I see everything that I was at that age. He’s awkward. He doesn’t know how to participate. He doesn’t want to introduce himself to anyone, and the most boisterous games don’t interest him terribly much. He’s told me he doesn’t want to come back.

Meanwhile, my daughter is having the time of her life. She’s reunited with old friends she hasn’t seen in a few years, made some new friends, and is constantly giggling. She’s usually afraid of heights; yesterday she volunteered to be the first to swing over a “river of lava.” She’s glowing and growing so much. This camp has been fantastic for her.

And me?

The hand of the LORD is powerful.

Benjamin grew up hearing all the stories. His dad told him what the slavery was like. Showed him the scars on his back from the taskmaster’s whips. Dad would weep with the agony of it. And then his voice would hush. “And then God sent us Moses. And God used Moses to shake Egypt like a sapling, and we were free.” And he savored that word, drinking it like fine wine. “We were free, but we didn’t know where to go. We ended up at the Red Sea when Egypt decided it wanted its slaves back. They sent the army to get us. Benjamin, we panicked. We were so scared. We thought we were going to die. We’d do anything to not go back under the lash, even drown ourselves in the sea. But Moses told us to be still. So we were still… and God opened up the waters. Have I told you before?”

And Benjamin would roll his eyes. Of course dad told him before.

“There was a wall of water here… and one here.. and we walked through on dry land!” And his dad would go on and on, about how Israel was faithless again and again. “Can you believe it? I thought going back into slavery would be better. I was wrong. But God remained faithful. Look at this food, Benjamin! God provides it every day, even though we don’t deserve it. He is a good God, Benjamin. Don’t you ever forget it!”

But that was… that was years ago. Benjamin’s father and mother had died in their desert wanderings. They had all died, that generation that saw the wonders of God. And Moses died.

Review: The Problem of Suffering

The Problem of Suffering: A Father’s Hope
by Gregory P. Schulz

Greg Schulz’s daughter was buried three days before what would have been her first birthday. His son died at fourteen. In The Problem of Suffering Schulz offers his heart. He shows that there are no easy answers, but there is comfort. He shows that in this world, there is real pain. And through it all, he points to Christ.

The foreword (written by Harold Senkbeil) says that this book will change you.

It did.

Going to Camp

Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com

Some people have fond memories of summer camp. Some people look back on those days and wish they could go back.

I am not one of those people.

I had one experience at what might be called a typical summer camp. I slept in a dorm with a bunch of other guys. Ate the food. Survived all the stupid rules and games and songs and traditions and was glad to go back home. It all just seemed like a constant in-joke that I wasn’t invited to participate in. After the first day, I just kept my head down and survived the week that seemed longer than an entire school year.

Summer camp wasn’t really designed with me in mind. I’m not outdoorsy, I don’t really enjoy those games where someone points and says, “Oh! You have your elbows on the table! Go run around the campground!” and it didn’t allow me any alone time.

If you’re into it, I don’t hate you. You’re probably built differently than I am. That’s fine. We’re allowed to like different things.

But for me, camp was something I did once and didn’t miss it ever again.

…except I’m going back tomorrow.

Review: Without This Ring

Without This Ring: Surviving Divorce
by Donna Pyle

Divorce rips apart what God had made one. How do you survive that? What happens next? This is not a book of devotions. It is not a how-to showing you how to justify your divorce. It is not a guidebook to make sure you’re always in the right. Instead, it walks through the emotional and practical journey of what to happen when divorce comes. Throughout, Donna Pyle shows scenes from her own story of heartbreak. She also sprinkles in many other stories that show other aspects of divorce. Most chapters end with a few ages each written by a pastor and a professional counselor reacting to what Pyle wrote. Each chapter is followed with a guide for further prayer and journaling.

This book isn’t aimed at me. I’m not divorced, and Lord willing, I’m not planning on a divorce! Hopefully, though, no one going into marriage plans on divorce. I figured that I should get some more training and knowledge in dealing with people in those circumstances, though, and so I picked up this book.

I’m glad I did.

Anniversary

It’s been eight years.

Eight years ago today I was ordained. I was made a minister of God to serve his people, called by his church. Pastors that I didn’t yet know (but would soon learn to love as brothers) laid their hands on me and gave blessings. It was a hot, hot day.

And now I’ve been a pastor for eight years.

Eight-year-olds generally don’t know a whole lot. They think they do, and it’s true, they’ve learned a lot, but they’ve got a long way to go, don’t they? They can read, but not terribly well. They can sports pretty hard, but not with a lot of skill, generally. They can music with zeal, but not always in tune.

I feel that’s me. I’ve come a long way since I was ordained, since I started this blog, since my first trembling steps as a minister. But man, I still know next to nothing.

And it’s weird… because I’m starting to be the person to go to for other ministers.

Review: Religion on Trial

Religion on Trial: Cross-Examining Religious Truth Claims
by Craig A. Parton

So, there’s a lot of religions out there. How do you know which one is true? Are any of them true? How do you test them? Does it even matter? In Religion on Trial, Craig Parton posits a way to test religious claims. Parton is a trial lawyer, and holds religion to the same standards that he would any witness on the stand. As he states in the introduction,

“So, whether you are utterly convinced that you are one with God or the divine or that you are an insignificant piece of matter in a gigantic but ultimately purposeless cosmic game, or you are positive that God may be there but is deathly silent, or you are sure that your “religion” is true because it makes you feel good about your balanced spirituality and integrated personality, you should not fear a relentless search for the truth.” (8)

Parton’s presentation is pretty solid. He walks through a bunch of valid questions: Aren’t all religions the same anyway? How do you evaluate them? Do any of them make verifiable truth claims? Does it even matter? By examining evidence and laying out what can’t be controverted, and by presenting everything as if it were a trial, Parton shows an adept hand at talking through what truth is. This book could be very handy for anyone looking for some guidance in apologetics.

Review: Internalizing the Faith

Internalizing the Faith: A Pilgrim’s Catechism
by J. Brandon Burks

A catechism summarizes the confession of a church in a simple form that can be memorized and passed down easily. In Internalizing the Faith, J. Brandon Burks presents a Reformed catechism to teach the youth of his church body and reinforce the beliefs of those who already know their faith.

Burks has written a pretty good encapsulation of Reformed theology here. The book is slim, to the point, and generally clear. I appreciated the format. Burks presents one hundred seven questions, most with one-sentence answers. Each answer has one Biblical reference with an endnote. The endnotes present a paragraph for each question in the main body of the book. Each paragraph has a number of biblical references and books for further reading.