Prayer, Praise and Promises by Warren Wiersbe

Warren Wiersbe is a Baptist minister who has written over 100 books. He is probably best known for his "BE" series on every book of the Bible. ("Be Joyful" is the study of Philippians, for example.)

I downloaded his book Prayer, Praise & Promises as my devotional book for 2015 and have really enjoyed it. If you are used to more heavy-hitting devotionals like Oswald Chambers' My Utmost for His Highest, Wiersbe can seem "light" at times. (Frankly, there are some years that I need my devotional reading to be more comforting than convicting.) But light does not mean "fluffy" since the daily readings shed many insights into the book of Psalms.

I appreciated Wiersbe's explanations of certain Hebrew phrases and Jewish customs, but my favorite aspect of the book was his pithy comments such as:

How well we sleep sometimes indicates how much we really trust the Lord. (from Jan 7)

God does not reveal His will to those who are curious. He reveals His will to those who are obedient. (Feb 24)

Faith is living without scheming. (April 25)

People who don't want to do the will of God live their lives in a little bucket of water. But when we accept His will for our lives, we launch out on an ocean of possibility. (Dec 14)

Not only is Prayer, Praise and Promises a daily dose of encouragement, it's also a pleasant and painless way to work through the Psalms in one year.

Words for Wednesday - On the Bravery of Faithfulness

Dustin Messer over at Kuyperian.com has an interesting article on Kent Dobson, the pastor who followed Rob Bell at Mars Hill. Dobson resigned from the church saying that he is taking a brave journey from the center of faith out to its edges. But Messer's suggests that this is not as courageous as staying centered on sound doctrine. In a culture of shifting sands, those who stay in the church are actually doing the less easy thing.

These days, the real adventurers are those who set sail for the risky land of Christian orthodoxy. The real brave men and women are those who consistently go to church, observe the sacraments, hear the word, and submit themselves to the discipline of the church. In an age of autonomy, it's those who subject their thoughts, behaviors, and passions to an exclusive Sovereign who are the brave few. Those may not be the memoirs we're interested in today, but they'll be the ones that last tomorrow.

Something to think about.

Worthwhile Movie #12 - The Hundred-Foot Journey

Where has this movie been hiding? I had not heard of it before it came up on my suggestion list at Amazon. Still, I wasn't interested at first because Hundred-Foot Journey was made in 2014 and I have trouble with all the gratuitous junk in modern movies. Then I saw that Helen Mirren was in the lead and that it was about food and decided to give it a chance.

The Kadam family left India after violence broke out in their hometown of Mumbai. As they travel through Europe, looking for a new place to live, their car breaks down in a small French town. Papa Kadam decides to buy an abandoned restaurant and settle there. Unfortunately the restaurant is directly in front of a chic French eatery and the owner, Madame Mallory, is not a bit pleased with their invasion.

What follows is a sometimes hilarious, sometimes painful story of the war between the two eating establishments. But it's more than that. It's the story of how a young man realizes his dreams. It's the story of the clash of cultures and how people learn to live together in harmony in spite of them. And it's the story of the poetry of good food.

Helen Mirren is amazing.

If you are used to modern-day action films, this two hour flick may seem to plod at times, but I highly recommend it. Because it has no sex and just a smattering of violence and profanity, you can actually relax and enjoy yourself while watching. It's a great story, well-acted and beautifully filmed.

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy by Gary Schmidt

Gary Schmidt is a masterful writer. I've read and enjoyed The Wednesday Wars and Okay for Now, so I was looking forward to reading his award-winning Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy.

Turner Buckminster is the preacher's son who has just moved to Phippsburg, Maine. He has trouble making friends until he meets Lizzie, a young girl who lives on a nearby island. She is a descendant of former slaves; the good folks of Phippsburg do not look kindly on their mixed-race friendship. The painful lessons he learns as a result of choosing to go against public opinion help Turner to grow into a man.

This felt like a Dicken's novel much of the time because there were many odious people in it. I read the first half of the book in small chunks so as not to be overcome by the bleakness.Thankfully, grace is extended by some of the townspeople and others learn to be more loving and forgiving than before. The story is beautifully written with vibrant characters. Lizzie Bright is especially delightful.

Even though, I'm glad I read it, I was disappointed in two things: its positive take on Darwin's writings and it's unmitigated sadness, which made it too heavy for a children's book.

Has anyone else read this? What did you think?

Eat with Joy by Rachel Marie Stone

A few years ago, when I first saw the word "foodie," I was amazed that anyone would admit to loving to eat. It seemed vaguely sinful. But as I've read other books about how communal eating meets deep human needs, I've been forced to rethink that. (After all, the word "companion" means a person with whom you share bread.)

Food writer Michael Pollan states that even though our nation is the most health-obsessed in the world, we are the least healthy. Eat with Joy: Redeeming God's Gift of Food grabbed my attention because it attempts to find the middle ground between gluttony and compulsive calorie counting.

Stone contends that our obsession with health keeps us from appreciating God's grace expressed to us through food:

Why did God make eating so pleasurable? The biological explanation - food is pleasurable so that we'll eat - is legitimate in its place, but it doesn't go far enough. It doesn't explain Le Cordon Bleu and fine wine, or chocolate for that matter... I suspect and prefer to believe that God made eating sustaining, delicious and pleasurable because God is all those things and more. (p. 24)

But how do we get back to eating as a means of grace? Stone suggests three ways. The first is to eat in community. She points out the most eating disorders are practiced in private. The second way to eat more wisely comes when we eat with gratitude. Thirdly, when we slow down, food takes its proper place. She goes as far as to say that if we grow our own food and cook it from scratch, we'll become just as satisfied with the process as with the eating. (I don't garden, but I do know the satisfaction of home-cooked meals. The more I eat them, the less I enjoy all the "fake" foods that are available in stores and restaurants.)

Lastly, she points out that our emphasis on nutrients and calories robs food of its true purpose, which is to remind us of God's goodness. So a cherry is not a shiny orb of tangy sweetness grown from a beautiful tree blossom, but a five-calorie delivery system for antioxidants, vitamin C, potassium, iron, fiber and magnesium. (p. 138)

My favorite quote from the book: Food is the daily sacrament of unnecessary goodness, ordained for a continual remembrance that the world will always be more delicious than useful. (p. 152)

While I appreciated Stone's insights, I was a little put off by some of the side issues in the book such as food justice. If you want a less technical book on the joys of eating in community, I highly recommend Shauna Niequist's Bread and Wine. (reviewed here)

P.S. I just happened to be reading a food-themed novel and enjoyed this quote that coincides with the ideas in Eat with Joy. The protagonist loved old recipes because they were "less concerned with fat or antioxidants. They were unselfconscious and more concerned with being tasty than being hip. They were food without an identity crisis." (from A Table by the Window, p. 238)

London-on-a-Dime (Bookstores)

Before we travelled to London I googled, "cheap bookstores in London" and made out a list. But only one of the bookstores ("Any Amount of Books" on 56 Charing Cross Rd.) had what I would consider inexpensive books. Most of the other stores only had new titles, which don't interest me at any price.

Fortunately, I already knew that thrift stores in England are called "charity shops." I did a search for Oxfam stores (like Goodwill) in London and put about 10 of them on my xeroxed map of the city. That way when we were in that part of town to visit a museum or historical site, we could zip over to a nearby charity shop and look at their used books' section. A few of the Oxfam stores were just bookstores. I was thrilled to find vintage books in these places for 2 to 3 pounds.  Even though that comes out to about 4 to 5 dollars, I was pleased to find some books on my wish list. They are more valuable to me as souvenirs than all the overpriced junk in the tourist shops.

(One of my favorite Oxfam bookstores was three doors down from the Eagle and Child Pub in Oxford, so be sure and look it up if you take a side trip to C.S. Lewis territory.)

Sadly, I did not find any Elizabeth Goudge titles, but consoled myself with a beautifully bound copy of Elizabeth Gaskell's Cranford (pictured above). It's a 1949 tiny blue hardcover printed by Oxford University Press as part of its World Classics. It's lovely to hold!

Previous posts on saving money in London are here (tours) and here (food).

London-on-a-Dime (Restaurants)

This is my second post on how to save money when visiting London. The first post was on free tours and this one is on food.

The quality of English cuisine has been a running joke for decades, but the Brits are rapidly overcoming their reputation for bad food because everything we ate was delicious (although expensive). Even though we are complete tightwads, we insist on one hot meal a day when we travel. So we eat very light breakfasts and suppers to make up for our "extravagant" lunches.

We spent one to two pounds a day ($1.50 to $3) for breakfast since our rented room had a hot pot for tea or instant coffee. Tea bags and sugar were provided so we usually had a hot drink, a large muffin and a banana in the morning (food which we purchased the night before). We ate out for lunch (suggestions below) and then had a snack supper, which we bought at the supermarket. Every grocery store (and some pharmacies) had a "meal deal" for $3 pounds ($4.50). It included a scrumptious sandwich, a drink and a bag of chips. In some cases we could switch the chips for an apple or a candy bar.

Now for the other meals... Since the food was delicious in every restaurant that we tried, we did not regret skimping on the other meals. Our favorite eateries were:

1) "The Crypt" (basement of St. Martin in the Fields Church off Trafalgar Square). The main dish there was nine pounds ($15) and was large. We probably could have split it and saved room for their fabulous fruit crumble with custard topping (which was also large enough to split). Free water.

2) Nando's - a restaurant chain all over the city that specializes in spicy chicken. Their meals were about 10 pounds ($15) and were delicious and filling. You could choose your preferred side dish and also the level of spiciness of your meat. Soft drinks were included.

3) Victoria and Albert Museum restaurant. This cafeteria was a total surprise because it was so elegant and chic. We ate egg plant moussaka and fresh sourdough bread for 9 pounds each. The place was gorgeous and jammed. We loved it! Bottled water only.

4) Byron Hamburgers - Most restaurants served chicken dishes and when we got a hankering for red meat, we tried this diner that boasted a "proper hamburger." We loved our juicy burgers with blue cheese melted on top. Each burger was 8 pounds ($12) and a side of onion rings was about $5. Free water.

5) On our very last day in London we discovered a chain called E.A.T. It was the first place we found with inexpensive hot food. It was a cold, drizzly day so it was nice to get chicken pot pie for 5 pounds each.

6) Lastly, there are a lot of places to have high tea, most of which are costly. I was happy to find a French bakery (Patisserie Valerie, #50 on Charing Cross Road) that served "tea for two" all day. It cost around $20 per person (less than most places), and was perfectly delightful.

We spent around $20 to $25 each day (per person) for meals. This is where most of our money went and that was okay. We enjoyed every bite.