March 11th, 2010 by Kristi Stephens

Please pardon the dust as this site finds its way from Blogger to Wordpress…

I think it will be worth the wait!

In the meantime, you can find me today over at Today’s Housewife!

March 11th, 2010 by Kristi Stephens

I’ve always known that God had called me to do something.

The question was… what is that Something?


When I was in high school I had the privilege of going on two week-long missions trips to Haiti and probably 6-8 more short trips to Mexico (we lived in Texas at the time – international missions trips could be a weekend jaunt!).  My heart broke for the desperately poor, the orphans, the forgotten ones.  I thought I was called to missions.  I was willing to go!  I still am – but that is not where God is taking me at this point in my life.

My junior and senior year I was in a public school for the first time in my life.  I loved the friends God brought me into contact with.  My heart was heavy for them.  I thought God was calling me to teach in a public school.  I was willing to go!  …and then I wrestled with the fact that I absolutely hated being an education major in college.  I kept pushing on for two years, convinced that this was what God had for me.  Until my future husband asked me a question that changed my life, “but what do you really want to do?  What are you passionate about?”

p.s. there’s a GIVEAWAY going on over there!

March 10th, 2010 by Kristi Stephens

Today is my friend Sandra’s birthday – my crazy blogging friend who writes for three blogs!  Her ministry blog Heart for Him, her family blog Celebrate Every Day, and the group blog I have been guest posting on Thursdays for – Today’s Housewife.

Oh, and did I mention that Sandra reads amazing books like a machine, is in the process of writing a book, homeschools her boys, is a pastor’s wife, has the seminary degree of my dreams , and manages to be actively involved in ministry?

She is my hero.   Seriously – we love this girl!  If you haven’t gotten to know her yet, take a peek at her blogs.  If you want a place to start, this is one of my recent favorites from her.

Happy birthday, Sandra!

March 9th, 2010 by Kristi Stephens

This is our fourth post in a series looking at how Christian book stores can be both a blessing and a trap.  We started our virtual field trip in the “Jesus junk”, moved into fiction, and now find ourselves in the children’s section.

I am so thankful for the amazing selection of quality materials available to Christian parents as we seek to train our kids.  There are books, CDs, DVDs, a plethora of kids’ devotionals and Bible story books, homeschool materials galore, and even Christian toys.  The question is… how do we discern what is good and what is not?

Because so many children’s materials seek to retell Bible stories, we need to be especially cautious about how Biblical truth is being portrayed.  As I shared in my review of the Children’s Illustrated Bible (which prompted this series!), a real danger in paraphrased Bible stories or abbreviated children’s Bibles is that any biases held by the authors and editors are included in the text as they retell the stories.  Watch for author’s biases which interpret stories in ways that may not be accurate.

Side note: this Christmas I suggested that my mom buy AG her first real NIV Bible.  She has been memorizing out of the NIV, and I knew she would love to have her own where we can highlight the verses she has been learning.  My mom went to their local Christian store, and the salesperson was trying her best to talk my mom out of buying a real Bible for her granddaughter!  She was offered paraphrases, children’s story bibles, and other options – but was assured that an almost 4 year old was not ready for the real deal.

Parents, teach your kids from the real Bible.  Teach them to memorize from it.  Read aloud from it.  Find out what stories they’re learning at church and read them from your Bible together when you get home.  They are not too young – they need to interact with the actual inspired Word of God if we ever expect them to be discerning about other teachings they will come across.

Another common issue with children’s materials is a very one-sided view of God.  There tends to be an abundance of “God is loving,” “you are special” type messages… and the reality of man’s sin and God’s righteous judgment is often missing.  Granted, these issues are difficult to explain in a age-appropriate manner.  But we need to be careful to guard against giving our kids only one side of the issue.  Noah’s ark wasn’t about the cute animals on a pleasure cruise – God was destroying every living thing on the earth because of the depth of man’s sin!  As Donald Miller points out in this post about the dangers of sentimentalizing Scripture, this type of simplified view of God and His ways often leads to later misunderstanding about why a God who is only loving and thinks that we are the most special thing in the world allows suffering into our lives.  We set children up for crises of faith when they do not understand how BIG and holy and sovereign our God truly is.  The universe doesn’t revolve around us.  The Bible isn’t all about us.  The Bible is all about God – we must be careful to teach our kids that way!

Similar to our discussion in the “Jesus junk” post, there are unfortunately many items in this section that make the Scriptures and the cost of following Christ trite and meaningless.  For instance, last weekend as I walked around the children’s section at our Christian bookstore I came across this Samson dress up costume, complete with bulging muscles.  If you’re not sure why I will never purchase this item for LB, you might need to read this post.  Just because the man is in the Bible doesn’t mean that I want my son to pretend to be him. 

Or, if that doesn’t fit what you’re looking for, there is also this talking Jesus doll I came across in a catalog.  I WISH that I was kidding.  I wish I had made this up.  But, no.  This item is being sold in a popular Christian supply catalog, and it just might be in your local Christian store.

Friends, what twisted, reduced, irreverent attitudes are we building into our children?  The holy Son of God, Elohim wrapped in flesh, has no business being portrayed as a talking children’s doll.  The words “graven image” come to mind.

As a general rule, I don’t take my kids into the children’s section.  There is much in that area that is there only because it will sell. Much is irreverent.  Much is inaccurate.  Much is sold with packaging more than Biblical content.  Please, please be careful about toys and novelty items.  Please be careful about books seeking to represent God’s ways and Word to your children.  Please keep in mind that inaccurate “Christian” stuff might do more damage than avoiding them all together.

Clearly, there is a lot of good stuff out there- I have reviewed many Christian kids’ books that I loved and highly recommend.  If you have read some high quality Christian kids’ books, head over to the fan page discussion and let us know which titles you have liked!  After yesterday’s discussion, I have a whole bunch of new authors of Christian fiction to check out, so I’m looking forward to hearing some good titles and resources for children’s materials!

I am an amazon affiliate and would receive a small percentage of any sales resulting from the amazon links in this post.

March 8th, 2010 by Kristi Stephens

Last week we started looking at the fact that Christian bookstores can be both a blessing and a trap.  On Tuesday we looked at what I affectionately call the “Jesus junk” section.  Today, I’d like to put a bug in your mind about “Christian fiction.”

In my opinion, one of the obvious symptoms of postmodern thinking in the church is a perception that if a book is fiction, it doesn’t matter what it says.  This is the argument in support of The Shack which I most commonly hear.  “How can you say this book is heretical? It’s fiction!”  Usually this statement is spoken with a tone that basically implies, “Duh – fiction isn’t true.”

I realize that fictional stories, by definition, are not true. Thank you for filling in that gap in my understanding. [Pardon the sarcasm.]

But hear me here: whether set in a fictional story or a nonfiction book, ideas have consequences. 

Every single work produced by humanity comes attached to a world view – the author, the artist, the song writer, the blogger – no matter who is producing the work, an idea is trying to be conveyed.  The same is true with fictional writing.  Everyone who has received even a moderately well-rounded liberal arts education understands that great works of fiction can powerfully influence society – while the stories themselves are fictional, they are conveying a message which can change real people’s perception of the world.  From Farenheit 451 to Pilgrim’s Progress to Uncle Tom’s Cabin, fiction has the capacity to capture our imaginations, move our hearts, and influence or change our thinking.

As we approach a work of fiction, even”Christian fiction,” we must be aware that there is a worldview being expressed in this work.  The author’s framework for what is true, what is right, the purpose of life, the accountability of man, the nature and ways of God – all of these ideas can be woven, sometimes subtly, throughout a work of fiction.

As I discussed in my past reviews of The Shack, within the setting of a fictional story, Young presents clear statements about the natures of both God and humanity that are completely nonbiblical.  The fact that the storyline is fictional does not clear him of all accountability for the false ideas he is clearly presenting.  In my opinion, this fictional packaging can make ideas even more dangerous precisely because our guard is usually down as we read.  Instead of having to thoughtfully engage a nonfiction book which is upfront about trying to change our ideas and perceptions of God’s nature and ways, we pick up a fictional book expecting to be innocuously entertained – we are pulled into the story and emotion overrules logic.  We swallow false teachings much more easily when they’re sugar coated in a story.

My concerns with fiction do not end with The Shack. Like I said, every work of fiction comes attached to a worldview.  This can be a good thing when the author is grounded in truth and committed to communicating truth through fictional characters.  This is one of the reasons why I love to read books by Francine Rivers.  She is a beautiful example of a Christian author who writes fiction that communicates truth in a powerful way through the medium of story.  She is not the only one of course, and neither is Young the only author who weaves heresy into a gripping plot.

No matter what we read, we must watch for the communication of worldview.  How is the author presenting the nature, ways, and Word of God?  Does this line up with God’s clear revelation?  Does the plot blur the line between right and wrong?  Even within innocuous seeming books of Christian romance, is romance itself being deified in a way that leads us to dissatisfaction and could even tempt us toward sinful relationships?

If you’ve read any of my book reviews, you know that I am also a stickler for excellence in addition to doctrinal truth.  I am amazed how many Christian books I read that are full of typographical errors, poorly developed characters, and predictable or overly-simplistic plot lines.

Story, just like every other medium used to communicate, is a powerful tool in our “toolbox” of ways to communicate and teach truth within both Christian and secular circles.  We need to be sure it is communicating TRUTH, and then we need to use it skillfully.  We need Christian authors who are willing to be true masters of their craft – not for the purpose of selling books, but for the purpose of teaching Truth to a society that responds much more to story than to a reasoned argument.

We have a great model to consider – for no one told stories with a purpose like Jesus did!

Look for truth.  Look for excellence.  And keep your mind engaged!

I am an Amazon affiliate and would receive a small percentage of any sales resulting from the links in this post.

March 7th, 2010 by Kristi Stephens

As you may have read in “Radical Discipleship,” the issue of what discipleship meant to first century believers in Jesus deeply affected our understanding of the nature and weight of our job as parents.  This issue is the primary factor which turned NP and I, who always said we would never homeschool our children, in favor of taking full responsibility for the education of our children. 

For this reason, I was intrigued to read and review Alan Melton and Paul Dean’s new book, Disciple Like Jesus for Parents.

It is rare that I read a Christian book and want to buy copies for everyone I know and pass it out.  That is exactly what I wish I could do with Melton and Dean’s thoughtful work!  This is far from the typical parenting book full of “how-to’s” and discipline techniques.  While there is definitely a need for books like that, Melton and Dean have taken on the challenge of describing a comprehensive philosophy of parenting based on Jesus’ approach of discipleship. 

This book would be interesting to read alongside of Ham and Beemer’s Already Gone, which I reviewed back in July.  Both books are addressing the fact that the majority of “Christian” young people will end up walking away from their faith, or at least disappearing from the church.  Both raise some excellent questions and challenge the status quo among typical American Evangelical churches.  The difference, from my perspective, is that Already Gone addresses the issue primarily from the perspective of church culture and leadership, while Disciple Like Jesus places the burden of change on parents.

Melton and Dean break the book into five sections -
1. Are you discipling your children like Jesus?
2. Jesus told his disciples to follow him while He showed them how to follow God
3. Jesus was with His disciples and He took them into the world
4. Jesus constantly taught Scripture and showed His disciples how to minister
5. Jesus sent His disciples out in twos to protect them from wolves

While I agreed whole heartedly with every section of this book and would consider myself in philosophical agreement, this book was still deeply challenging, convicting, and thought-provoking.  There is no doubt in my mind that some of their pointed statements about parental influence, the practice of constantly segmenting by age in the church, and protecting our children in a multitude of ways will raise some eyebrows or even make some people downright angry.  But wow – does it need to be said!  Now the challenge is to us as parents to listen and be willing to change our mentality and habits to pattern ourselves more closely after Christ in the quest of raising true disciples of Jesus.

I truly appreciated that while sometimes divisive issues such as homeschool versus traditional school and dating versus courting were touched on, I felt that they avoided becoming legalistic or overly narrow in their view.  For instance, they challenge parents to consider how to spend the maximum amount of time possible with their children actively teaching and discipling them – but they are careful to point out that this is not a homeschool/ public school/ private school issue.  You can homeschool your children and fail to truly disciple them, and you could be very intentional about discipleship while your children attend traditional school.

Fellow parents, I strongly encourage you to consider reading this book.  Read it with an open heart – be ready for God to challenge you.  This is not the way most of us are currently parenting – it is not the way most of us were raised.  But perhaps that is what is contributing to two million children leaving the church every year, never to return.

It is time for us to take responsibility to truly disciple our own children the way Jesus discipled the twelve.

I was provided with a copy of this book in exchange for my review.  I always strive to present my honest and unbiased opinion in all reviews as stated in my disclosure policy.  I am an amazon affiliate and would receive a small percentage of any sales resulting from the links in this post.

March 6th, 2010 by Kristi Stephens

I apologize for the random and inconsistent posts this week!  We are still working, talking, praying behind the scenes with this blog relaunch… one that I’m sure my non-blogging friends are growing weary of hearing about.   Please permit me another reminder: the old fanpage for this blog is being changed.  I would be honored to have you join the little “community” of fans here.  Also, if you follow this blog through google friend connect, my understanding is that I won’t be able to move you with us to the new site.  I hope you will consider following through a reader or subscribing through email.

Today I thought I would point you to some favorite posts I’ve read this week that are worth your time.


Ann Voskamp’s “When You are Afraid of Silence” has resonated with me deeply, as her writing usually does.  A taste:

I loved this post from Don Miller – “Every Good Story Must Endure Conflict.”  I want to give a hearty “amen!” to his reflections on the damage done by sentimentalizing Scripture.  Doesn’t this sound like something I would say?

I’m sure I’ll need some more in the next.

March 4th, 2010 by Kristi Stephens

There are times when blogging is discouraging, and the last couple of days I have felt attacked by technology as we have struggled to get the ball rolling on this move to wordpress!  It is not going as smoothly as I would hope… and I was wrestling with discouragement.

But guess what showed up in my email???

 

Oh, what a gift!!  Thank you to those of you who nominated me – you have blessed my heart!!!!!!!  Of all the categories, this is the one that means the most to me, and I deeply appreciate it.

Some of my favorite bloggers were also listed, including Teri Lynne, Julie, Sarah Mae, Jessica, and Courtney!  There were also quite a few blogs that I deeply appreciate and read frequently, although I am not personally acquainted with the bloggers – if you haven’t read them Kisses from Katie, A Holy Experience, and (in)Courage are fabulous!  And Today’s Housewife, where I’ve been guest posting on Thursdays, was listed in the “group blog” category!

March 4th, 2010 by Kristi Stephens

We are blessed to be a one-income family.  I am tremendously grateful that God has provided employment for my husband that allows me to be a full-time homemaker.  However, I grow weary of people telling me that they cannot afford to stay home, or that I am “lucky.”  As anyone who has made this choice will tell you, it is not only a privilege but also a deliberate sacrifice.

NP and I have never really had two incomes.  When we were first married, he was still in graduate school and we lived on my income from teaching at a Christian school. We were in an extremely expensive area, and even with “government assisted” housing, I truly have no idea how we scraped by other than that God miraculously took care of us!  Shortly after he finished graduate school I became pregnant with AG – so even during our time of overlap when we were both working we were committed to living on one income, knowing that I would be a full-time homemaker when she arrived.

Looking back, I am grateful that we started our married life in this way.  I never got into the habit of just buying things I liked or choosing convenience over frugality.  It just wasn’t an option!  While we are not nearly as strapped as we were when we were newlyweds, I still sometimes find myself holding my breath as I wait for the total at the grocery store check-out – being extremely conscientious about what I spend is an ingrained habit.

Today, I thought I’d share some of the ways that we have reduced our spending to make living on one income not only possible, but comfortable.

March 3rd, 2010 by Kristi Stephens

We’re preparing to start transitioning the blog over to wordpress. 

It makes me think of sitting in the hospital bed in early labor with my children.

Nervous.

Excited.

Scared to death but looking forward to the end result.

This blog represents thousands of hours of studying, writing, praying, working, fiddling, relationship building… and it frankly is terrifying to make these major changes!

But I am so excited about the possibilities!

So, be forewarned that it might be messy in coming days… and please pray with me that this online ministry will find its way safely to a more effective new home.