Happiness is...: Van Dyke family

Showing posts with label Van Dyke family. Show all posts

centered

, I recently got home from a road trip of reunions with the long lost, the distant, the loved, the missed, the in-law, and the long-distant. It was a whirlwind of emotion and brief happinesses followed by contemplation and memories. But I came home hungry again for my regular relationships. I dove right in.

In one day I went from busy church congregation to my mentor to those I wish to serve, to long-time family friends. Every relationship different in scope, in expectation, and in dynamics. Without realizing it, I had thrown myself back into the whirlwind. Home late, exhausted and anxious, I tried to sort everything out. Who had I offended? What had I learned? How can I improve? What do I need? What do they need? A good sleep and quietness healed what I thought to be impossible questions. Amazing what a little introspection will do!

In the morning light, over a bowl of cereal, my mouth closed and my arms at my sides, I re-centered. I remembered God. I realized my primary relationship -- with or without all the others. He told me of my acceptance with Him, no matter what happens with others. He called me to love him so I can then love others again.

Centered on God, embarrassments and unknowns are inconsequential. Only love God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.

she did it again. "Confidence: Reliance on the Spirit" by Aunt Peggy

There were a lot of contrasting opinions surrounding this book. But I was determined to keep an open mind, while maintaining a balanced view as I read it, in order to give a quality review.

My opinion changed many times while this story unfolded, perhaps because I was thinking too much. I didn't want to overlook anything. I wanted to give the story my full attention. It was worth it. I was very impressed. Though I know this contradicts the opinions of some, I must be honest.

This book is a fiction story about a young woman, for young women, the second book in a 5-part series. It picks up right where the first book left off, making it easy for the reader to jump right into the story, and removing the need for too much additional stage-setting information. Instead, we get to know the main character, Lilia, much better. The first book covered all her accomplishments, habits and relationships; this one dove right in to show her deepest desires, confusions, challenges, and life changes. Like the first book, Lilia's circumstances never get boring, as her talents and beauty bring her all sorts of triumphs and trouble.

Unlike the first book, this book addresses the issue of sexuality squarely in the face. This, of course, was why some disapproved of the book. I had a different reaction. I remember being around that age, and going through so much of the emotional road Lilia traveled, but going through it blind. I had a horribly wrong view of intimacy, and I struggled because of it. Lilia's story matched so well to my experience, I believe if I had read this book while I was that age, my decisions would have been a whole lot better. This book satisfies some curiosity of the teenager not with shallow teen aged intimacy, but good examples of love and commitment by parents. It shows that it's possible to do what's right, why we should do so, and plays out the rewards of those who do. It also shows how Lilia's feelings and desires change through time and experience. And it shows all of this under the loving, guiding Christian hands of Lilia's parents and grandparents.

Lilia's life is truly transformed in this book, from the role of the fun-loving farm girl, to the station of competent and passionate celebrity and artist -- though she can't seem to get rid of that kiddish streak, one moment showing all the maturity of an adult, and the next disappearing to pull yet another outrageous (and sometimes dangerous) prank. She leads people to Christ in one scene, and throws deafening fits the next. The story makes it seem like that's just part of who she is...or perhaps it's the job of her beau to tame her. He gets furious at times with her antics, but deep down seems to not ever want her to change...or at least not to lose that fire that makes her so amazing.

Over all this is a well written story, but somewhat incomplete on it's own. You'll definitely want to read Innocence: Simplicity of Spirit first, or you just won't understand the enormity of Lilia's gifts. I love how her parents stay solid in her and their lives, but also show their humanity by changing their judgments when needed. Lilia's character becomes much deeper and more real than ever. Whereas the first book bounced back and forth among the lives of Lilia's loved ones, the loved ones stay somewhat stagnant in this piece, causing the reader to follow Lilia's story closer and with more interest. It also thoroughly showed the hardships of the talented and successful. Theirs is not a perfect life. It's very easy to empathize with Lilia, and every mishap teaches an important lesson about life, from a Christian-in-the-real-world perspective.

I can't wait to read the third book that just came out!

A book by Aunt Peggy

I recently read one of my Aunt Peggy's books. She is a confident and very creative author, and I am an English nerd and literary critic. This made for an interesting relationship. The story is about a girl named Lilia who lives on a farm in Hawaii with her family. For the most part it is a wonderfully flowing story of the transition from kid to teenager, as well as learning to live life for God. But my critic tendencies came swirling through my head as I started getting into the story. I thought the character development was thorough, and the perspective from which the story was told switching between characters was fun. It was funny to notice how some of the characters and events were inspired by my aunt's life and relationships.

However I got a little caught up on how "Utopian" the setting was. It didn't seem possible that a family could be that Christian, and get a long that often, that the girl should be good at so much, get so much attention, live in such a beautiful place and have so few financial problems. But then I got to thinking again. Aunt Peggy was good at all those things as a child, and lived on a farm; she's had experience being a Christian who also doesn't have too many financial worries, has created a loving Christian home, and has been to and knows people in Hawaii. This thought led to other friendships I've had with Christian families of all walks of life who also do work everything out as a family and adore each other. So, I'm not certain, but perhaps I should retract that critique and simply conclude that the story is about someone other than me. Just because those were not my experiences, doesn't mean they're not possible, and doesn't mean the average reader will not be able to identify with the characters. In truth, toward the end of the book, the characters and situations do become more and more complex, and conquer great hardships. Read as a whole, this book can stir the heart and you can empathize with everything in it.

The other thing the critic inside of me jumped on was the dialog. This is a very difficult area to master. There's a balance between clarity of who's speaking and natural flow. As I was reading, I saw many hiccups in the flow as well as a few ambiguous speakers. However, when I spoke to others I knew had read it, none of them mentioned that as a problem. So once again, I got to thinking it over, and I remembered that this book is targeted to 11-13 year-olds. The books I read at that age had dialog much like this book's. A girl that age doesn't worry about those technicalities, and this book does not cater to the 24-year-old English nerd and critic, which is good. That would be something with which a young teenage girl would not be able to identify.

All in all, a fun story, with unexpected twists and turns, and a very very solid Christian focus. It shows the reader an example of how your family could live life focused on God -- in an exciting and colorful way.

A Women's Retreat

I mentioned before that I went to a small women's retreat last weekend. Now that I've recovered somewhat from the busy week, I'd like to reflect on it a little more.

Before last week I had never been to a women's retreat, and wasn't really sure what to expect. It was great. I didn't know many of the women there, but everyone bonded quickly, because the two days were filled with so much heartfelt Bible study, prayer for each other, impromptu singing, working and playing together, sleeping together, opening up, and heart and life changes. Every person there gave testimony of how deeply she was affected by our time. I'm tempted to lay out the entire retreat happenings here, but the simple truth is this: God was there, he gave the weekend power, and led it. So it wasn't anything in particular we did that made our weekend a success, we just basked in His love for us. God loves us! Demonstrated by his personal sacrifice for us, his plan for us, his word to us, and his comfort and leading within us. This was one common thread in each of our experiences.

Of course the weekend had a wonderful backdrop to make it especially lovely. It was located at a large, beautifully renovated and landscaped Victorian-style house on a large farm, complete with fields, trees, and horses. Linda, the host, is a professional cook, and lavished us with all sorts of gourmet delicacies. We also experienced the nearby small town of Sand Creek, which is very historic and friendly.

It was all around revolutionary. I encourage any of you women who are interested in energy, peace, and deep camaraderie, have a women's retreat! And center it on God. It's amazing how he shows his goodness to us, if we plan some time with him...