Dee Martin > Recent Status Updates

This will be ongoing. I use it when I am going to speak, to get a perspective on the texts. It's very helpful.

this is going very slow for me. I don't know why - I absolutely loved the first three in the series. The first maybe 20 percent was steady battle. Maybe that is my problem. I'm just not invested in the characters.

miniature zombie goats...I love you Patricia Briggs....

I am about 85% finished and I am dragging myself through. I don't know if it is the book or me but I just can't stay awake. I'm kind of irritated with most of the characters and while the premise is kind of fun (comic book kind of characters - people who have all kinds of powers - are either heroes or renegades and some attraction between the main two but... I don't know why but it is falling flat for me.

I have been "starting to read" a lot of stinkers lately. I'm not really that particular but I have to like the protagonist. So far I have started two books where the protagonist just gets on my last nerve. If a protagonist is nothing but irritating it is difficult to care what happens to them. Now I'm trying to decide if it is the books or me.

I am not sure that I will ever consider myself finished with this book. The author explains theology in a way that answers questions and brings up more questions. His love of the Lord and also for people shines and I find myself reading and then having to spend a few days thinking about what I read and going back to the biblical text and figuring out how it lines up and what resonates. I highly recommend this book.

I love these Interpretation Bible Studies. Each book by a different author so there is appeal for a range of personalities with lots of room for discussion.

rereading before the movie comes out. Such a fun read.

hoping this gets better...

"The mysterious healing encounter between God's fidelity and our infidelity"

"Those whose God is dead can't be stewards" Whew. "Authority for Jesus is theological, relational, and humble." and.."every action has to do with God, even the most mundane"

"With a sense of humor, Jesus reminds the disciples that the One waiting to grow what they sow is so capable that all they need to do after they throw the gospel on the ground is to go to bed!" ... "You see to the sowing and God sees to the growing"

I love the writing in this book. Favorite quote so far "We cannot get near this one from Nazareth, for even a moment, and remain unchallenged in our identity."

There is magic and miracles and desert and owls and love. What's not to like? Seriously, the writing keeps drawing me along. There is a lyrical quality to it that I am enjoying very much. I love the quirky characters.

Some thought-provoking interpretation of the parable of the wedding banquet. "Thematic to Matthew's entire gospel is the insistence that God's gracious invitation needs to be met by our committed response."

Matthew 16:13-28 "Jesus' announcement is not just a prediction of his personal future. The invitation to His followers, including us, is to find their identity by participating in that future."

Chapter 5 - The Storm At Sea - Talks about a dry-land, fair-weather faith. The disciples in the boat viewed the storm as the center of the situation. In reality Jesus was the center.

4 “This beatitude assures that God is on our side, and that our persistence, even in the face of two steps forward and one step backward, is undergirded by grace.”
“A major wall exists in today’s churches between middle-class congregations and the poor. There are plenty of ministries to hard living people, but fewer ministries with them.”

3 Jesus tempted with 3 temptations of the world. The first is temptation to rely on self instead of God’s promise to provide. The second is enticement to rely on God, but to negotiate terms with God. The third is enticement to be God.

quotes/notes
1 “Righteousness is an inward faithfulness and obedience to the spirit of the law of God: love of God and love of neighbor”
2 “The Spirit seems to act in two capacities: to test and challenge those who are in their comfort zone, and to confirm instances of active faithfulness”

This is not a rush through book. I'm not sure what I expected but it has been a constant surprise with the lives of several generations of sisters woven through with ribbons of magic that remain quiet in the background most of the time but then slip out in whispers at moments where they are needed. I am looking forward to how this all comes together.

chapter about worry, something I struggle with. Looking forward to discussion.

This is a short book and we are reading a chapter a week and then discussing. It has sparked some great conversation. Each chapter deals with a small section of The Lords Prayer, some scripture that focuses on that aspect of the prayer and then poses questions. Good stuff.