Blind Date

Well it has been a very exciting time around the Library.  We have been working hard to pick books for the blind dates.  We are hoping this will introduce new authors to people.  This way they may try someone they would not have thought of.

Those of you that are doing the Spiritual Challenge we hope you are still writing.  Perhaps one of the Blind Date books will give you a nudge to get back to journaling or give you something to journal about.

Well I hope everyone enjoys the Blind Dates as much as we enjoyed putting them together.

Charlie Bookworm

Spiritual Journaling

I  have just finished Acts and am now trudging through Romans.  I find it ironical that our religion is based on four books of the Bible.  Jesus' life and teachings are only recorded in the Gospels and those were written long after his death.  So if we are Christians why is so much of the New Testament about Paul and his teachings?

Charlie Bookworm

Spiritual Journal

OK so we are getting better at seeing God working in our lives.  Maybe not all the big stuff but definitely some of the smaller things.  So let's try turning things over to God.  Stop trying to control everything in our lives.  Now that is going to be a tough one.  We all like to be in control so just like we did with seeing God working in our lives let's start with something small and work our way up to the bigger stuff.  It could be something as simple as God helping you remember to say grace at every meal, even silently to yourself, or being more positive around others, smiling more, or helping  with a problem that just does not seem to be getting any better and you just can't think of what to do.  Let's turn it over to God every day in prayer, record that in our journal and patiently wait for  a response. Just like seeing God working in our lives the response may not be what we are expecting but it will be there as long as we let go and let God.

Charlie Bookworm

Advent Challenge Week 4

Have you noticed how the rush of the season is interfering a little with journaling? Getting home late from shopping or visiting and all you want to do is crash into bed.  Exhaustion seems to be the normal state for this time of year, and on top of that there is still so much to do!

Now wait a minute, take a deep breath and lets look at this.  Do you really need, and the key word here is need, 27 different kinds of cookies?  Wouldn't everyone be just as happy with 1 or 2 of their favorites? So your house isn't a Martha Stewart perfect Christmas picture, look what Mary did with just a stable. If you let go of the "Perfect Christmas" idea you just might have the time you need to record in your journal those perfect moments that happen when you are not looking.  Maybe for once the TV is correct in the commercials that say "make memories not garbage".  Maybe someone you know just needs a little help, maybe all they need is a book from the library and you were going there anyway.

So instead of exhausted, let's get excited.  Instead of wishing it were over let keep Christmas going all year long.

Merry Christmas

Charlie Bookworm

Avent Challenge Week 3

Were you there for the Children's pageant?  That certainly got the message across in a most delightful and entertaining way.  If you had any doubts about God before, the pageant certainly put those doubts to rest.  You could see God's hand working though those shining faces so clearly.

Have you ever noticed how when you need it the most God sends a message to you in a simple and direct way?  A stranger's smile, a neighbour saying there is space left in his truck and do you need anything taken to the dump, a friend showing up with cookies when you are out because the new recipe made so many.  Sometimes we keep looking for the MIRACLE and miss the miracles all around us.

Charlie Bookworm

Advent Challenge Week 2

Have you ever noticed how sometimes things just seem to happen.  Like the appointment you are dreading is cancelled, you run into someone you haven't seen in ages and they just happen to mention that they are now doing something you have been desperate to find someone to do, or you get to the store late knowing full well that what you want will be sold out and there is one left.  Coincidence? or God working in your life?  This gives us a way of finding God working in our lives even in small ways.  Try it for the week and see if you can find God in your life, then be thankful and record it in your journal.

Charlie Bookworm

Advent Challenge

Well here we are at Day 1 of the Advent Challenge.  I have my brand new journal and there is a blank page staring at me.  This might be more of a challenge than expected.  OK let's try "Gratitude is the Best Attitude"  I am grateful for the sunny day that God gave us.  It might be cold but you can bundle up.  The frost He painted in the fields is gorgeous in the sun.

I am grateful for the handout in Church today.  Maybe I will make an Advent Calendar, or at least buy one of the ones with chocolate in them.  That is something to be Grateful for.  Keeping Hope Alive is a good challenge for this week.   It will give me something to focus on and maybe by looking for signs of hope around me I will be a sign of hope for someone else.

Charlie  Bookworm
29 Nov. 2015

Saturday Morning by Lauraine Snelling

Lauraine Snelling brings us a novel that will strengthen the reader's faith  in God and in each other.  Using four diverse women each facing a life crisis they are brought together to support each other with friendship and prayer.

Hope Benson is determined to do all she can for the broken souls who come to Casa de Jesus, a women's shelter in the heart of San Francisco.  When a difficult pregnancy forces her to relinquish control, she draws support and strength from an unlikely group of women, each struggling with her own heartbreak.

Andy Taylor , a reluctant transplant to California, was compelled to leave behind her lavender-growing business and her home of twenty-some years to support her workaholic husband's pursuit of career success.  Attorney Julia Collins is searching for her teenage granddaughter, believed to be living on the streets.  And Clarice Van Dam's life has been shattered by the disappearance of her husband, who relieved her of all her earthly possessions except a fur coat and an overnight bag.

Drawn together at the weekend market held in the shelter's parking lot, the women pool their resources to fend off an unscrupulous conglomerate that threatens to replace the facility with a commercial development.  As they fight to retain this haven for women in need, they find their own longings for home answered by the solace of faith and friendship.

This is a highly recommended inspirational novel who's overall stories emphasize the power of prayer and friendship to change lives.

Some questions to ponder

What spoke to you as you read this novel?

Is there a character you identify with more than the others?  Why?  How did the character affect you?

Is there a lesson here you can apply to your own life?  Would you like to share this with the others in the group?

What characteristics of God are demonstrated in the novel?  Did any speak to you specifically?

What did you learn about prayer as you read the story?  How has the novel affected your prayer life?

Please post a comment or two.  Let's get some dialogue going.

First on line Book Club Books

For the inauguration of our online book club, we have chosen two books that deal with a very topical subject... Polygamy.
The Supreme Court of BC is currently hearing a rare constitutional reference case as to whether the law prohibiting polygamy in Canada is valid or should be struck down as an infringement against Freedom of Religion and therefore unconstitutional. The case is a result of polygamy charges laid by the B.C. Attorney General against two members of the Fundamentalist Chuch of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) who live in the community of Bountiful in the interior of B.C.  Those charges have since been stayed by the courts while the reference case is being heard...a case that is no doubt destined to make its way through the Supreme Court of Canada.

THE SECRET LIVES OF SAINTS by Daphne Bramham details the history of the Fundamentalist sect of the Church of the Latter Days Saints from its beginning under founder Joseph Smith to the criminal charges laid against the current prophet of the FLDS, Warren Jeffs.  As a reporter for the Vancouver Sun, Daphne Bramham has written extensively on the FLDS community that resides in the Creston Valley area of B.C. She offers an unparalleled insight into this very closed community, their beliefs and practices and the relationship they have with the community at large.

STOLEN INNOCENCE by Elissa Wall is the first hand account of a young girl growing up in the FLDS in America.  She talks about her life being raised in a home with multiple mothers, of the happy times with her brothers and sisters only to have her life come crashing down upon her when, at the age of 14 she is forced to marry her 19 year old first cousin.  She details the struggles she goes through to get out of her marriage, her struggles of faith and her decision to finally flee the FLDS and to testify against the prophet of the church, Warren Jeffs.

These are two books which give insight into a part of society that few of us know anything about.  We hope you will read one or both of these books and join our online discussion group where you can post your thoughts and read what others are saying.  There is one copy of each book in our library, available as a one-week loan, and a quick check online shows both books are carried in our local libraries.