Faith and Fangs - Touched by a Vampire

There will always be rivalry between brothers and sisters. It does not stop, even when they are in their late teens. The latest debate between my sister's 20 year-old son and 18 year-old daughter has to do with which book series is more popular: Harry Potter (my nephew Tom's choice) or the Twilight saga (my niece Anna's latest passion. I am not particularly a fan of either one. Not because of the witchcraft oging on at Hogwarts in the Potter series, or the forbidden love between a young girl and a vampire in Twilight. I am not a fan because the stories don't hold my interest. They were not necessarily written with Tom and Anna's gray-haired aunt Mary as their target audience. 

Or were they? I noticed that many of the women at my office have been reading the Twilight series. Maybe there is more to this mortal/vampire love story than what meets the eye. So when I was given the opportunity to review Touched by a Vampire: Discovering the hidden messages in the Twilight Saga by Beth Felker Jones, I saw an opportunity to be able to do more than roll my eyes when I see one of the novels on the table in the employee lunch room.

I'll admit that my first impression before opening Touched by a Vampire was that I had my hands on a "what's right and what's wrong about Twilight," similar to some books that came out in response to The DaVinci Code. But that was not the case. I knew absolutely nothing about Twilight's two main characters Bella and Edward, and here I was, about to read a book exploring the "hidden messages of the Twilight Saga." To the benefit of out-of-touch mortals such as myself, Beth Felker Jones did a very good job of condensing the four volumes of the saga into a six page overview in the introduction of her book. (She also gives a very plain warning before the overview that if you have not read the books and do not want her to ruin any surprises to read no further. If that describes you, heed that warning! Secrets will be revealed throughout this book!)

Most people love to sink their teeth into a good story; Jones goes beyond the story. She takes a candid look at some of Twilight's themes such as romance, gender roles, abstinence and sex, the perfect family, children, the search for purpose in life, and other topics. She compares the way that Edward and Bella love each other to the ways that God expresses His love for us, without condemning the reader or the Twilight characters.

The insights brought out in Touched by a Vampire are not intended to be kept within the confines of the front and back covers of the book. Each chapter has discussion questions to help the reader to process how these themes can be applied to her life (or his life - I know some men who have read the Twilight books). Additionally, at the end of the book there is a discussion guide for those who have read the saga to help them view particular events of the series in the light of their Christian walk.

Did I gain anything of value from this book? Yes, I did. I saw myself and some mistakes that I have made in my own relationships through Jones' exploration of some of the themes, and was reminded of how those mistakes were not necessarily consistent with the way God yearns for us to respond to His love, or how we should love one another.

Would I recommend this book? That depends on who's asking. If you don't want any plot secrets of the Twilight series revealed, then do not read this book until after you have finished reading Breaking Dawn. If you have read the entire saga, or don't care to read it but want to be able to open up discussions with those who have, then this book would be beneficial for you. Either way, when you do read this book, it is likely that you may even learn something about your own relationships in the process.

(This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.)

Waiting is not easy

Life is full of times of waiting. Sometimes it can be fun - waiting in line for a midnight showing of a movie; waiting for Christmas; waiting to give a special gift to a special someone. Sometimes it can be full of anxious excitement - waiting to walk down the aisle to say "I Do"; waiting for the birth of a child. And sometimes waiting can be torturous, such as waiting for your husband's reaction when you tell him you wrecked his new Lexus (just an example, honey - the car is fine!).

But I think the most difficult wait is when we are waiting for God to answer our prayers when we are at the end of our rope and feel as though we can hold on no longer; when our prayers are nothing more than sighs and sobs. How can we continue to pray if we can't even put words to our despair? Does God even hear us any more?

Yes, He does!

We serve a God who is faithful to those who love him. If God hears even one of our prayers, he hears all of them. Like any good father, though, He will not grant all of our requests immediately. There are reasons we must wait, and not because God likes to watch us squirm. Even though at times no one can explain why, or for reasons we do not understand, the wait may be uncomfortable, but God has our own good in mind by not answering us right away.

So what are we to do during these long periods of waiting for our prayers to be answered?

• Be real.  Be real before God. He knows your heart and what  your thoughts are anyway (Psalm 139:2). It is when we come to God openly and honestly, admitting the depths of our weakness and helplessness, that we can experience the greatness of His compassion, the power of His strength, and the unending faithfulness of His promises.
• Persist in prayer. In the gospel of Luke there is a parable about a widow who persisted in appearing before a local judge, pleading for justice against her adversary. Jesus explains the parable in this way: "Don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly!"

• Remain in God. God wants us to bear fruit for Him. During our worst of times we may not see any evidence of fruitfulness. Do not mistake these times as being cut-off from God! In the wintertime even the healthiest of vines have appear dead. Remain in God through His word, fellowship with other Christians, by prayer, worship, and obedience. Believe in His promises. When the season of waiting is over you will see evidence that God has remained with you. You will see evidence of the fruit He intends for you to bear. And we can rejoice in His abundant grace!

Where are you waiting for God's answer to your prayer? Is it in waiting for healing? For a turning point in a relationship? In answers to financial stress? Have you been so beaten down that you feel you can't get up just one more time? Do you feel discouraged, with no courage left to face another day of waiting? Even if all you can muster is a groan or a sigh or a cry, pray these words from Psalm 5:1-3

O LORD, hear me as I pray;

pay attention to my groaning.

Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God,

for I pray to no one but you.

Listen to my voice in the morning, LORD.

Each morning I bring my requests to you

and wait expectantly.

Be persistent. Wait expectantly. God will answer.

Joy and Disappointment

I have to admit, I've been lax about moderating the Topical Blog group over the past couple of weeks. We take turns choosing topics, and all write based on that. So, to get back on track, at least for myself, I'm using this week's topic from Logan's Blog:

How am I doing today?

That question is so ... I don't know ... begging for honesty. So, I'll answer with honesty.

Today, I am filled with joy BECAUSE I am filled with disappointment.

Over the past ten days or so, life has been happening. I wrote in my journal about a specific desire that I have in my heart of hearts, having to do with a situation at home having to do with a conflict between his values and mine. Psalm 37:4 tells us, "Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart." Well, this desire, which is something very, very important to me, is something that Jim really wants no part of. Not in the past, not now, and not in the future. (No, it has nothing to do with children!)  I got so caught up in the disappointment of not having a "complete" relationship with my husband because there may never ever be a resolution to this particular rift. The disappointment was so great that I'm sure the "d" word entered our imaginations, even though neither of us wanted to admit it.

Today things changed. Today I was reading a book that takes a look at the themes of the Twilight series of books, from a Biblical perspective. (More on this book in a later post.) The section I read today had to do with chasing after your desires. You see, we are imperfect people, living in an imperfect world. Whether your desire is a car, a new job, money, love, or a closet full of shoes, eventually you will be disappointed. The only thing that will truly give you fulfillment and not disappoint you is a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

I felt as though I got whapped upside the head. People will eventually let me down, no matter who they are. It's not necessarily intentional, but it's gonna happen. It's supposed to happen! When it does, it will hurt - for a while. Sometimes it will hurt a lot, for a long while. It's part of this imperfect life, with imperfect people, who act imperfectly.

God in His divine providence gives us the gift of disappointment. I refer to it as a "gift" not because it is anything we particularly enjoy, but because God gives it to us to draw us closer to Him, where we can receive His abundant grace and unfailing love.

Yep, today I am filled with joy because I am filled with disappointment.

Blog Action Day 2009

Image by sniggy via Flickr

Today is Blog Action Day 2009, also referred to as "BAD09". You're probably asking, "What the heck is Blog Action Day?" Since I just found out about  BAD09 only two days ago, I was asking that very same question. In a nutshell, BAD is a day when bloggers all over the world post a blog on the same topic.  (You can read more about it here.) The topic for BAD09 is "Climate Change." 

Just think - I get to participate in a worldwide Topical Blog!
The downside of this topic is that it is not one that I have followed with much interest. I don't know the facts concerning global warming, except that there are some scientists who say that it is a myth. I don't know if we are in a current long-term era of climate change, or what the direct causes would be, if we are. I suppose that the only "climate change" issue I can speak of would be the short-term ones, specifically the short-term one that California has seen in recent years:  drought.

I am not in any way suggesting that the current California drought is the "worst" drought that the world has ever seen. We are so spoiled here. But it has opened my eyes to some effects that long-term climate changes can have. 

One impact that our water shortage has had is in the area of farming. The Great Central Valley of California produces incredibly vast numbers of crops, both in volume and in diversity. Yet there are farmers who have had to deal with water rationing, and in some instances have not had sufficient water to grow crops. On the short-term, local level, this has hurt the local economy with higher food prices. If that same scenario were escalated to a global level over a period of many years - worldwide water shortage, with farmers unable to produce enough for their local economies - the end result could manifest itself in a worldwide famine, with dwindling hope of relief.

Another impact of a severe water shortage and dry conditions have had on our local level has been the increased risk of wildfires. Six weeks ago a wildfire started in Southern California that burned over 160,000 acres (that's 250 square miles, more than half the size of the city of Los Angeles!). While the official cause of the fire was determined to be arson, the lack of rainfall certainly contributed to the amount of dry brush on the hillsides to fuel the fires. The cost of this one fire? 89 homes, three commercial properties, 104 outbuildings and two communications sites either damaged or destroyed.

Unfortunately, fire damage is not limited to just property loss. Along with the homes being destroyed, families lost belongings, some which can never be replaced. Wildlife lost their natural habitat, forcing them to "invade" developed residential neighborhoods. In fact, in my suburban Los Angeles neighborhood about 50 miles south of the burned area, we are being warned of coyote sightings because of the wildlife migration. And this particular fire has not been the only devestating fire in Southern California in recent years. In 2007 the Southern California wildfires burned over 770 square miles, destroyed entire towns in some mountain areas, injured 85 people, killed nine, and forced over 1,000,000 people to evacuate their homes, many of whom had no home to return to when it was over.

I could go on and on about why regular rainfall is so important. Again, I have not studied the long-term global effects of the climate changes. However, being part of this Blog Action Day has brought the issue to my attention, and perhaps the attention of a reader or two.

Cleaning the Garage

I usually do not go into my garage, and for a couple of reasons. First, Jim and I have agreed that since on-street parking may be limited when he gets home he should have the option of parking his car in the garage. And secondly, my garage looks like this:

OK, maybe not exactly like this, but you get the idea.

There will be a day in the future when, with the help of a fairy godmother - aka FGM - (Bibbity, Bobbity Boo), my garage will be transformed to something that more resembles this:

But until my FGM answers my desperate pleas, I have some work to do on my own. Out of all the piles of boxes, books, knicknacks, games, spiders and webs, yard tools, furniture, mementos, documents, and just stuff, I must make some decisions:

• What is worthless and, therefore, must be discarded?
• What is of value to me?
• What could be of more value to someone else?
• What of this overwhelming collection of stuff is nothing more than sentimental rot?

I am aware of some of the across-the-board methods that the "experts" swear by for eliminating clutter, such as the two-year rule (If you haven't used it in two years, out it goes). But there are some things that you simply cannot apply that rule to. For example, I have a drawing of a half-beagle/half-salamander creature that a friend drew for me way back in high school. I'm sure it's tucked away between the pages of a yearbook (it's in one of these boxes ... someplace ...)  Is this drawing sentimental rot? To most people, perhaps. But to me, it is a treasure worth gold, because of the memories it represents. My eternal optimism says that since this is the only known picture of the world's only known "beaglemander" its value would be exponentially multiplied if I share it with friends who are part of that memory.

Jesus said in his Sermon on the Mount that we are the light of the world. We are given gifts to share with others. Often we allow the endless clutter in our lives, such as relationships gone bad, overwhelming commitments, unexpected circumstances, worry, sinful tendencies, fear, procrastination, etc., to bury our gifts so deep that we have difficulty finding them, let alone putting them to use. Leaving our God-given treasures buried not only insults the One who gave them to us in the first place, it also withholds the blessing from those who would benefit from our sharing them.

I have been incredibly, infinitely blessed over the past years by someone who continues to take the time to walk me through the process of cleaning out my "spiritual garage" and uncovering my gifts, and continually encourages me to make the most of them. This has not been an overnight process, to say the least, but the journey is well worth the effort.

I would like to pay this blessing forward to someone who would like help in cleaning his or her spiritual garage and uncovering gifts for the benefit of others. If that person is you, please let me know.