We went to storytime again today. Every week they sing the same songs (Wheels on the Bus is Lydia’s fave!) and read Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr and John Archambault complete with hand claps and leg pats. Lydia loves it so much you’d think we were at Disney World!

It’s all in rhyme with great pictures and lines like, “Skit Skat Skeedle Doo. Flip Flop Flee”. (Maybe it’s “skoodle doo”, I don’t remember. We’ve been home for 30 minutes and have only read it 2 times. I’m sure I’ll be able to quote it in my sleep by Sunday.)

Regardless, it’s worth it to watch Lydia pat her legs and try to clap her hands in rhythm while singing, “T-icka T-icka BOOM BOOM!”

What’s your book o’ the day?

Book O’ The Day is a post from: ohamanda.com
Happy New Year! Here are some of my favorite resources to help you make the most of 2012! One Bite At A Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler, an ebook by Simple Mom!
Create Your Perfect Cleaning Schedule, finally get your house under control!
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I don’t remember the first time I heard the Chronicles of Narnia. Mama used to read them to us on vacation. I loved riding in the car and listening to her read about Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy. As soon as I was old enough, I began to read them. I remember being in an after-school program (probably in the summer, actually) at a local daycare. I brought The Lion The Witch & The Wardrobe to read during our rest hour. I thought it was magical to read it at that mundane place.

As an adult, I’ve read them upwards of 10 times. One of those times being when Lydia was a newborn. I’ve listened to the Radio Theatre version (which is a MUST for everyone). And now seen both of the movies.

There’s just something about Narnia. To me they are heaven. Literally. I so want to be in Narnia. To dance with the trees. To have tea with a faun. Or go on an adventure to save a prince. To talk with a star. And fight in a battle alongside leopards and giants. To talk with Aslan. And I think that part of CS Lewis’ purpose was to give us a picture of what he thought heaven was/is like. (see The Last Battle for more on that…)

To say I’m a Narnian purist is an understatement. I have to remind myself that Aslan is actually fictional and not really Jesus. I try to remember that every word CS Lewis wrote isn’t supposed to be exegesis-ed and turned into a sermon.

*sigh*

So, my interaction with Prince Caspian the movie is a little biased. I’ve already seen it twice. It’s been out for 4 days. On one hand I LOVED it. I love the costumes (please, oh, please, let me be Lucy or Susan for Halloween!)

I love the creatures: fauns, minotaurs, centaurs, mice and great cats. The scenery was amazing. The actors were great. The CGI was even good.

But the story. Oh, the story. They added so much MADE UP stuff and took away some of the BEST parts! The parts that I think are the most…well, about God.

My favorite part of the whole book is when the four children (or Kings & Queens) plus Trumpkin the dwarf are walking through the woods to find Prince Caspian. They are going around in circles and can’t find their way. Finally, they lay down for the night. Lucy wakes up and sees Aslan in the forest. He wants them to follow Him. He asks Lucy to wake the others…

Chapter 11: The Lion Roars

When the whole party was finally awake Lucy had to tell her story for the fourth time. The blank silence which followed it was as discouraging as anything could be. “I can’t see anything,” said Peter after he had stared his eyes sore. “Can you, Susan?” “No, of course I can’t,” snapped Susan. “Because there isn’t anything to see. She’s been dreaming. Do lie down and go to sleep, Lucy.” “And I do hope,” said Lucy in a tremulous voice, “that you will all come with me. Because-because I’ll have to go with him whether anyone else does or not.” “Don’t talk nonsense, Lucy,” said Susan. “Of course you can’t go off on your own. Don’t let her, Peter. She’s being downright naughty.” “I’ll go with her if she must go,” said Edmund. “She’s been right before.”

skip a few pages…

And so at last they got on the move. Lucy went first, biting her lip and trying not to say all the things she thought of saying to Susan. But she forgot them when she fixed her eyes on Aslan. He turned and walked at a slow pace about 30 yards ahead of them. The others had only Lucy’s directions to guide them, for Aslan was not only invisible to them but silent as well. He big cat like paws made no noise on the grass…For a long way Aslan went along the top of the precipices. Then they came to a place where some little trees grew right on the edge. He turned and disappeared among them. Lucy held her breath, for it looked as if he had plunged over the cliff; but she was too busy keeping him in sight to stop and think about this. She quickened her pace and was soon among the trees herself. Looking down, she could see a steep and narrow path going slantwise down into the gorge between rocks, and Aslan descending it. He turned and looked at her with his happy eyes. Lucy clapped her hands and began to scramble down after him. From behind her she heard the voices of the others shouting, “Hi! Lucy! Look out, for goodness’ sake. You’re right on the edge of the gorge. Come back-” and then, a moment later, Edmund’s voice saying, “No, she’s right. There is a way down.”Halfway down the path Edmund caught up with her. “Look!’ he said in great excitement. “Look! What’s that shadow crawling down in front of us?” “It’s his shadow,” said Lucy. “I do believe you’re right, Lu,” said Edmund. “I can’t think how I didn’t see it before. But where is he?” “With his shadow, of course. Can’t you see him?”…Treading delicately, like a cat, Aslan stepped from stone to stone across the stream. In the middle he stopped, bent down to drink, and as he raised his shaggy head, dripping from the water he turned to face them again. This time Edmund saw him. “Oh, Aslan!” he cried, darting forward…

Aslan without hesitation led them to their left, father up the gorge. The whole journey was odd and dream-like–the roaring stream, the wet gray grass, the glimmering cliffs which they were approaching, and always the glorious, silently pacing Beast ahead. Everyone except Susan and the Dwarf could see him now.

skip a few pages…they’ve arrived and everyone is standing before Aslan…

Then, after an awful pause, the deep voice said, “Susan.” Susan made no answer but the others thought she was crying. “You have listened to your fears, child,” said Aslan. “Come let me breathe on you. Forget them. Are you brave again?” “A little, Aslan,” said Susan.

***

The movie gave a shout-out to this scene. But it certainly didn’t show the depth of this.

When Daddy was going through cancer-surgery-chemo-radiation, I was reminded of this story. Our family believed God was healing/had healed Daddy. I know other people didn’t believe with us. But I felt like we were Lucy. We could see God moving in Daddy’s life. We had to follow him even when others couldn’t see what we did.

It’s easy to listen to our fears and not listen to what God and His Word has for us. And hey–it’s scary to do so. It’s scary to follow Jesus sometimes. Other people might not believe, they might ridicule and it’s easy to question yourself. What if you are seeing things? What if you aren’t really seeing what God wants?

(this might be the start of my healing post, too…)

This is what I love about CS Lewis’ books. They make me evaluate and contemplate my relationship with God. I don’t look at them as children’s novels, or fantasy books. They are amazing stories of faith.

And I just wish I could have seen that in Prince Caspian.

In conclusion: Go see the movie. You’ll love it. But first BUY the book. Read it. You’ll ADORE it.

***

speaking of books, the winners of Healing Promises are…

Kate @Just Another Day in Paradise

and my new GA bloggy friend,

BooSheep @Wooly Peaches!

Send me your snail mail and I’ll get it to you asap!

Don’t Judge a Book By Its Movie is a post from: ohamanda.com
Happy New Year! Here are some of my favorite resources to help you make the most of 2012! One Bite At A Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler, an ebook by Simple Mom!
Create Your Perfect Cleaning Schedule, finally get your house under control!
E-Mealz, online meal-planning with shopping lists! {20% off with code SKINNY when you choose one of their healthy menus}
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Luke 2
At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire… All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home…He took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was now obviously pregnant. And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger.After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.

Did you just read that story or skip over it because you’ve heard it so many times? I know it’s tempting for me to just glance at it. It doesn’t seem that exciting. It’s the word-picture that matches the manger scene on your end table. It’s the obligatory story read before opening presents. But do you ever stop to read it and wonder? Wonder why things happened the way they did? Why Mary? Why Joseph? Why the shepherds? Why Bethlehem? Why a manger?

Growing up, reading the Christmas story so many times and hearing sermons preached and lessons taught, I knew Jesus had to be born in Bethlehem because God prophesied it long ago. It was like a sign. You know a little check to mark off so you can make sure this Jesus guy is really the Messiah. And I’d always heard the angels told the shepherds about Jesus first because they were humble fellows–that’s who Jesus came for–regular folk. Personally, I’ve always thought the angels went to the shepherds first because they were the closest to the stable. You know, because after a journey through time and space, they were too tired to travel any further. Ahem.

Then I began to read some books by Brock & Bodie Thoene. If you aren’t familiar with Brock & Bodie Thoene, you are missing out on a significant experience in your life. They are prolific fiction authors–not just fun chick-lit or amusing stories. They are real historical researchers who have written several series based on God’s chosen people. Their series range from the Great Depression in the United States, the Holocaust of World War II, the rebirth of Israel and their current series, the history of Jesus on earth. I can honestly say, no other books have influenced me the way these books have. (I have so much to say about them and their books, but that will have to wait. I’m reading one right now, so when I’m done, I’ll be back to gush.)

Now they’ve got a new series of mini-books (try 83 pages) that answer the big…well, little questions about Jesus. Little questions that have big answers! There are three so far: Why A Manger?, Why A Shepherd? and Why A Crown? I picked up Why A Manger? a few weeks ago and read it last night. To say it was good is an understatement.

Each chapter answers one of the questions I had above. One of my favorite questions was “Why Bethlehem?”

They explain that Bethlehem is the place where the Temple sheep were born and raised. These were the sheep that would be chosen and bought by people to sacrifice and atone for their sins. The sheep of Bethlehem were thought to be holy–because they were set apart for a holy purpose. These sheep were raised by shepherds to be sacrificed for the sins of the Israelites.

So, where else would Jesus, the Lamb of God be born? He had to be born in Bethlehem! Not just to mark off a qualification for Messiah, but to be a picture to everyone who met him. To be a symbol and a fulfillment of God’s real plan!

And who got to meet Jesus first? Not just any old shepherds! Not just some regular old guys! THE shepherds! The shepherds that raised the sacrificial lambs! The shepherds who knew more than anyone what this sacrifice meant! Raising a little lamb from birth and then sending it to the slaughter—for a bunch of dumb, wicked people! Oh, what those shepherds understood about sacrifice! What it must have meant to them! They were the first ones to meet the Lamb of God, because they were the ones who would really understand.

WOW. Isn’t that amazing? Isn’t God cool?! Each chapter of this little book has insight like this. I won’t give away the answer to “why a manger”, I’ll let you read it for yourself. (Just know that it made me cry.) Because for this last installment of my bloggy Christmas, I’m giving away Brock & Bodie’s book Why a Manger? to two winners. Just leave me a comment and you’ll be entered to win!

Now, my prayer for you…

I remember how it felt the hours and days after Lydia’s birth. I was emotional, tired and overwhelmed. I remember how my husband acted when holding our newborn baby. I remember the nurses wrapping my daughter in a swaddling blanket. I remember the friends and family that came to ooh and aah over my child.

What would it have been like to know that a miracle baby was in your arms? That the one who had planned His own coming, His own sacrifice, His own resurrection, was cooing in your arms? I don’t think they could understand. They hadn’t read the story a hundred times like we have. They were experiencing it, living it!

I pray the same for you. I pray during this Christmas season you experience the miraculous birth of the Lamb of God in your life. The Lamb that was born in the only place he could be born, among the sacrificial lambs of Bethlehem. Born in the little town of Bethlehem as reminder that The Lamb would grow up to die in your place, just as the lambs in the fields had been born to do.

Merry Christmas!

(ps–If you haven’t read anything by Brock & Bodie, GO OUT AND BUY SOME NOW! They are my absolute favorite! And if you start reading their blog, be prepared–it’s amazing!)

CONGRATS TO OUR WINNERS! 

oh! ho! ho! the last. is a post from: ohamanda.com
Happy New Year! Here are some of my favorite resources to help you make the most of 2012! One Bite At A Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler, an ebook by Simple Mom!
Create Your Perfect Cleaning Schedule, finally get your house under control!
E-Mealz, online meal-planning with shopping lists! {20% off with code SKINNY when you choose one of their healthy menus}
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…God spoke to me. He did. I know I’ve mentioned if a few times, but my husband and I are very uncertain of our future. We’ve been out of full-time vocational ministry for over a year. We’ve always always always known that’s what we were supposed to do with our life. But after two very hard ministry positions, we’re just at home in Atlanta being “normal” people.

And I struggle with it sometimes. I don’t feel like I’m doing “what God wants”. In fact, I don’t even know what God wants. So, today, after too many days of not spending time in my Bible, I picked up my nouveau devo, Take Flight and began to read. This book is written by one of my favorite authors, Robin Jones Gunn. I know I’ve blogged about her several times, her books gave my friends and I the great title of “sisterchicks”. But I really started reading Robin Jones Gunn’s teen series about Christy Miller when I was in 6th or 7th grade. I identified so much with Christy that I wrote Robin Jones Gunn a letter that said, “I think your books should be called the Amanda series!” Even today, there are things I think about that come from those books.

Anyway, here’s what I read today from one of my far away mentors, Robin Jones Gunn…

“I was convinced that the best–and probably only–way I could honor God with my life was by devoting myself to full-time ministry.” And so Robin applied to be a laundry supervisor at a mission in Nairobi, Kenya. But was rejected because she lacked “sufficient experience and abilities for this position”. She says, “I never expected such a response. Apparently I was too ungifted and untalented to wash clothes for Jesus in Kenya. What then, could I possibly do for Him?”

That Sunday she went to the junior high girls’ Sunday school class she taught to tell them she wouldn’t be going to Nairobi. The girls suggested, “You should tell stories…Your stories make us think about God in a new way.” Robin was devastated. She “needed to do something tangible for the Lord. Something solid. Not something airy and capricious, like spinning fanciful tales.” So, she stayed at home, got married, had kids and continued to teach junior high Sunday school but “in a concealed part of my spirit, I felt as if I had turned out to be a big disappointment. Yes, I was serving God with my husband in full-time ministry, but I wasn’t like…a missionary in Peru doing great work for God.”

Robin continues, “Then, on a camping trip with our youth group, a tent full of thirteen-year-old girls challenged me to write the kind of stories they wanted to read. They even volunteered to help me by telling me everything I did wrong. It took two years and weekly critique sessions with those teens before my first novel was published in what became the Christy Miller series. That book, Summer Promise, has been translated into five languages, and mail has come in from girls around the world saying that they gave their hearts to Christ after reading that story.”

(I was in tears at this point…)

One of the girls that read Summer Promise was a girl named Wambura. Robin met her at a writer’s conference. Wambura was a young author who wanted to write similar stories for the girls of her home in…wait for it…Nairobi, Kenya. Robin told Wambura that she had wanted to go to Kenya but never got to go. Wambura replied, “Ah, but your story did come to Africa. Perhaps you were never supposed to come. Only your stories. You sent your stories, and they have washed the hearts of many young girls just like me. In Nairobi and around the world. Do you see? God’s will has been accomplished. You have been a supervisor of laundry.”

Did you see that? Did you hear it? God’s will was accomplished! Robin thought it was in this big, hard ministry to Kenya. She even felt rejected and disappointed that she wasn’t doing what God wanted. When in fact, he had been leading her step by step into his perfect and amazing will.

It’s hard to imagine that God is at work in us when we are waiting. It doesn’t seem possible that the places and things I think I should have accomplished by now are not the things I should have accomplished. You remember the story of Joseph, right? The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat guy? Well, his brothers hated him and his big dreams. They said, “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams!” And I picture God just shaking His head saying, “As if that would throw off my plan! Joseph’s dreams will come true because I gave them to him.” God had to lead Joseph through several terrible situations. I’m sure there were times when Joseph wrestled with disappointments and rejection. But through it all God was leading him step by step. God’s will was being accomplished.

And one day when hindsight is 20/20, I’ll see those steps. And I’ll see that God’s will was accomplished. I’ll see my “laundry supervision” morph and develop into the big plan that God planted in my heart long ago.

Thank you God, for not seeing us as rejected. Thank you for not being disappointed in us. I pray we’d say with Mary, “I am the Lord’s servant…” Amen.

{ps–read the comments to see a special comment from Wambura!}

Something Beautiful Happened Today… is a post from: ohamanda.com
Happy New Year! Here are some of my favorite resources to help you make the most of 2012! One Bite At A Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler, an ebook by Simple Mom!
Create Your Perfect Cleaning Schedule, finally get your house under control!
E-Mealz, online meal-planning with shopping lists! {20% off with code SKINNY when you choose one of their healthy menus}
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Fave #1. Sleeping in. I got to sleep till 9am for the past 2 days. Lydia was on a trip with her grandparents. (more on that later…)

Fave #2. Antiquing. Yancy & I walked through a historic downtown and looked through antique shops. I love the smell of old stuff. I saw some amazing old opera glasses, beautiful furniture and even some vintage buttons. I just love thinking about the stories behind all the items. I didn’t even buy anything I just like to look. And I should do it more often!

Fave #3. Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies. These are to die for. Today I bought 4 from my one of my favorite restaurants. I only ate one (so far).

Fave #4. New Books. I went to the bookstore today to look for a specific book. As the clerk was looking it up, I noticed a sign for a book signing by Elizabeth Musser. I said, “Oh, is she going to be here?” And she said, “Oh, she was here today.” I said, “Oh, really?” She said, “Oh yeah, you just missed her. She left 30 minutes ago.” I said, “Oh, man!” (And you wonder why this blog is called oh amanda!) Anyway, Elizabeth Musser is one of my favorite authors because her stories are always set in Atlanta. And one of the characters in The Swan House had my same full (maiden) name. I’ve always wanted to talk to her about why she chose that name. I did get a signed copy of her new book at least. I can’t wait to read it!

Fave #5. Good Friends. Yancy and I had fun today..sleeping late, eating cookies, shopping and just hanging out. I haven’t done that in forever.

Fave #6. Lydia. She was gone for 2 whole nights. When my parents dropped her off, she started crying, which made me a little sad. But she didn’t leave my arms the rest of the night! I missed my little girl and loved snuggling her tonight!

Feel free to add your own Fave o’ the Day in the comments!

Faves o’ the Day is a post from: ohamanda.com
Happy New Year! Here are some of my favorite resources to help you make the most of 2012! One Bite At A Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler, an ebook by Simple Mom!
Create Your Perfect Cleaning Schedule, finally get your house under control!
E-Mealz, online meal-planning with shopping lists! {20% off with code SKINNY when you choose one of their healthy menus}
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Well, on Shannon‘s last giveaway, I was so creative in picking a winner! (Seriously, go look. It was creative.) Today I was just going to randomize a winner. But after I did it, it was so boring, even I wasn’t interested. (I’m not going to tell you the numbers, they aren’t the real winners!) So, I decided to print off the comments, cut them up and have hubby pick one and Lydia pick one. It was 12 pages. So, I waited a few minutes, walked back to our printer. We have wireless, you know. AND IT DID NOT PRINT. Where is it? Why won’t it print? Why is this being difficult on a Saturday morning at 8:46 when all I really wanted was Lydia to sleep in? for it to print?

*sigh*

So. Here’s how it’s going to be. There are 107 comments. If I was giving these books away based on my favorite comments, it would have been a draw between Jo, Tiffanie, Sweet Mummy, Leigh, Erin and of course, Val. But, I didn’t say I’d do that. And I’m going to be a woman of my word and pick two random winners between 1-107. Now, here’s the exciting part…ok, maybe not super exciting, but as exciting as it gets at 8:46 am…

I gave Lydia (my copy of) Boo Humbug and let her open it to any page.

It took a little doing, but after we took the cover off and sat down, she got the hang of it!

The cooresponding comment is the winner! So, without further ado (adu? adieu?), our winners:

#70: Dee, who doesn’t have a blog…

and

#54 (I know it’s blurry, but I promise, that’s what it says!): Kim who also doesn’t have a blog!

Congrats, Dee and Kim! Now, get a blog for goodness sakes! We know we have the same taste in books. We’d come read, I promise.

Thanks to everyone for entering. I hope you’ll come back and visit me!

OH! And don’t forget about my awesome (if I do say so myself) bloggy Christmas beginning THIS MONDAY! It’s going to be so fun! I’d love for you to come back and play along, I’ve got a few of my favorite things ready to give away! (Did you catch that? That was a Christmas song reference! Are you impressed?)

****

oh, oh, oh! I forgot to tell you that I finished reading Boo Humbug and I loved it! Yes, I even cried at the end! Now, you really need to get it for Christmas.

Is there a winner?! is a post from: ohamanda.com
Happy New Year! Here are some of my favorite resources to help you make the most of 2012! One Bite At A Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler, an ebook by Simple Mom!
Create Your Perfect Cleaning Schedule, finally get your house under control!
E-Mealz, online meal-planning with shopping lists! {20% off with code SKINNY when you choose one of their healthy menus}
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