bekahcubed

Categories Reading My Library

The Twelve Dancing Princesses Princes Knights

1 Comment by

Reading My Library

The Twelve Dancing Princesses was not a fairy tale that figured heavily into my childhood. Mostly I remember either the fairy tales found in our red-covered copy of Andersen’s Fairy Tales or the Disneyfied or otherwise pop-culturified tales found in videos and Golden books.

My first real exposure to the story occurred this last February, when I read Jessica Day George’s Princess of the Midnight Ball. I loved the story. I loved how George told the story. I still haven’t read Grimm’s version–so I have no idea how it compares.

I haven’t been actively seeking out Twelve Dancing Princesses stories–but I managed to stumble across one this last week in my run through the picture book section of my local library.

And, boy, is this one a STORY!

Debbie Allen’s Brothers of the Knight is an imaginative retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses–except that instead of twelve princesses, there are twelve brothers–the sons of the Reverend Knight.

Reverend Knight is a hard-working black preacher in Harlem, taking care of his congregation and his twelve sons–Brooke, Bobby, Joe, Snacky, Gerald and Jackie, Teeny Tiny Tappin’ Theo, Lazy Leo, Big fat Raoul, Billie and Willie, and Michael (head of the clan, a ladies’ man). He tried to keep the twelve under check but without a wife (there’s no indication of what happened to her–I presume she must have died) he’s somewhat at a loss. He’s gone through dozens of nannies and housekeepers, but none of them can solve the problem that plagues the house–every morning, the twelve young Knight’s shoes would be threadbare and worn.

One Sunday after church, Reverend Knight goes into his office and prays for help with his sons–and when he gets home, a woman name Sunday is waiting on the steps. She wants the job of housekeeper. She’s come to help with the boys.

But can Sunday succeed in solving the mystery when all the other housekeepers and nannies have failed?

Turns out there are a lot of secrets in the Knight house–and Sunday’s determined to uncover them all. Who knows but she’ll have the Reverend Knight dancing before the tale is told!

I adored this rendition. It’s quirky, it’s fun, and it’s all about dancing (Sorry, I should have warned you that there’d be spoilers.) The story itself is fun enough–but add in that it’s narrated by the family dog and you’ve got utter hilarity.

Check this one out next time you’re at your library–and if they don’t have it, get them to order it. It’s a BLAST!!

Categories Homemaking

Evidence that Spring Really Has Sprung

Leave a comment by

Tuesday is my laundry day. I generally end up with two loads–sometimes three. A load of whites, a load of blacks, and depending on how cheery I was that week, a load of colors. Usually, though, I end up throwing the couple of colors in with the blacks and calling it good.

Not this week.

Spring is finally here–and with it, a transition in my laundry routine.

laundry baskets

Note the SINGLE pair of black pants. That’s the ONLY black item in this week’s wash.

Really.

Spring has sprung–and oh am I glad to see it!

Categories Book Notes, Faith, Missions

Righteousness in the Balance

2 Comments by

Notes on Ergun Mehmet Caner and Emir Fethi Caner’s
Unveiling Islam
Chapter 9: Salvation (Mathematical Righteousness)

“Then those whose balance [of good deeds] is heavy,–they will be successful. But those whose balance is light, will be those who have lost their souls; in Hell will they abide.”
surah 23:102-103 (as quoted in Caner & Caner p. 149)

In Islam, righteousness is measured as on a balance. The righteous man is the one whose good deeds outweigh his bad deeds when the time of judgment comes.

One might think that this is a kinder, more merciful idea of righteousness than Christianity’s conception of righteousness. Christianity declares that in order to be righteous, one must be completely without sin. There is no leniency towards bad deeds, no way for bad deeds to be “made up.” What’s more, Christianity affirms the doctrine of original sin–saying that even the tiniest baby who has of yet done nothing good or bad is sinful. According to Christianity, we are all born stained–and even the smallest blot excludes one from heaven.

Original sin is a harsh doctrine. The absolute holiness of God is a harsh doctrine. That God cannot tolerate sin is a harsh doctrine. One cannot believe in the absolute depravity of man and the absolute holiness of God without hating his flesh. One cannot believe in the Christian doctrine of righteousness without being forced to depend upon Christ for his righteousness.

Christianity posits that man is helpless, stained, unable to attain to righteousness of himself. Islam, on the other hand, suggests that man can achieve righteousness. All he need do is make sure that his good deeds outweigh the bad.

Which is where the difficulty comes in. If we could all keep a scale in our house where we could collect together our good deeds and our bad and weigh them out, then perhaps this conception of righteousness could give hope. We could clearly see that the balance is tipping in the wrong direction and do some speedy acts of righteousness to even the scale.

But we do not have a scale by which to judge our righteousness. Only Allah holds that scale. How are we to know the weight of our actions? I cannot begin to comprehend the consequences of my actions in the here and now–how am I to understand their consequence in the hereafter? How much heavier is murder than lying? Is giving to charity heavier than doing street cleanup in a disadvantaged neighborhood? I know not the density of my actions.

Under Islam, my only hope is to be eternally striving–striving against bad deeds and towards good deeds. But this striving neither eases the conscience nor gives assurance for eternity. It simply begets more striving.

Compare this to Christianity, where the scale is plainly set forth. Even our smallest sins are infinitely weighty. Even our most spectacular good works are infinitesimally light. There is no way for us to balance the scale.

If this were the only information we were given about righteousness, we would have reason to despair. Better to believe in Islam, where at least there is some chance of attaining to righteousness.

But this is not the end story in Christianity. For Christianity says that man is utterly fallen and utterly incapable of lifting himself up–but Christianity also says that God has provided a way for man to be righteous.

This week, we celebrate the Passover. This week, we celebrate the Lord’s Supper. This week, we celebrate Good Friday. We celebrate the spotless lamb Jesus Christ, absolutely righteous, without blemish. We celebrate the exchange that took place on the cross: our sins placed on Jesus, His righteousness imparted to us. We celebrate God’s righteous wrath poured out on Christ; His favor bestowed on us.

Christianity teaches man to despair of attaining righteousness by good works–but it offers a far better righteousness, a righteousness attained by surrender, by the work of God Himself.

If it were not for Christ, Islam’s conception of righteousness as a giant set of scales would be a far more merciful righteousness. As it is, the reality of the cross of Christ, purchasing righteousness for those with no hope of ever earning, makes the God of the Bible’s implacable holiness infinitely more merciful than Allah’s scales.

To achieve Allah’s righteousness, man must work tirelessly, without any assurance of reward. To achieve Christ’s righteousness, man must recognize the worthlessness of his own works and receive the righteousness that has been bought for him, with eternal assurance.

When I weigh Christ’s righteousness vs. Allah’s in the scale, there can be no doubt in my mind. Christ’s righteousness is far better.

Addendum (May 10, 2010): Ergun Caner’s testimony as a converted Muslim has been challenged by several bloggers who claim that he has grossly exaggerated the extent of his Muslim upbringing. Readers of this book ought to be aware that the Caners may or may not have the experiential knowledge of Islam that they claim to have, and should therefore be careful to test the statements found in this book against other reliable sources.

Categories Book Notes, Missions

Women under Islam

1 Comment by

Notes on Ergun Mehmet Caner and Emir Fethi Caner’s
Unveiling Islam
Chapter 8: Women (Love, Marriage, and Property)

I spoke earlier of how little I’ve discovered that I know of Islam.

This chapter speaks of the little I know first hand.

When Laura Bush and others started talking about freedom from Islamic oppression for women, I cheered. I was glad someone was finally talking about the elephant in Islam’s living room. Unfortunately, I fear that the Western world has failed to take seriously the threat that Islam poses to women.

We excuse the lack of education for many Islamic women, saying that it’s simply a cultural thing. We excuse the forced “modesty” by saying that perhaps the women prefer their burqas. And perhaps that is so–but this is only the tiniest hint of how Islam treats its women.

According to the Qur’an, women are inferior to men. No ifs, ands, or buts. Women are inferior. Women are the property of their husbands, and are a sexual object for their husband’s pleasure. While men can divorce their wives for any reason simply by declaring that he is divorcing her, women cannot divorce their husbands even those husbands are unfaithful or physically abusive. In fact, Islam not only excuses unfaithfulness and abusiveness, but explicitly encourages both polygamy and wife-beating.

Westerners deliberately close their eyes to this reality of Islamic faith, disbelieving that any modern religion could actually countenance such cruelty. This ignorance is naive and dangerous.

Truly, there are Islamic families (particularly in the US) who practice neither polygamy nor wife-beating. Perhaps there are some Muslim men who respect their wives as equals rather than as inferiors. But this is the exception rather than the rule–and is in opposition to what Islam actually teaches about the position of women in society and in the home.

The experience of a woman I know is far closer to the reality for Muslim women, even here in America. An American woman, she married a Muslim man and obtained US citizenship for him. He divorced her legally, and she lived on governmental assistance. Yet he still claimed marital rights–insisting upon conjugal visits, demanding that she not interact with other men, and taking money and work from her.

He beat her when they were married-and he still beat her after their divorce. She has had broken bones, deep wounds, even brain damage at his hand. Once he beat her badly and tied her to a chair and left her there.

I have seen the bruises. I have heard the stories. I have feared for my mother’s safety as she associated with this woman. But I have also seen the indoctrinated woman insist upon not pressing charges, do everything she could to waylay justice–because under Islam, her “husband” had every right to treat her as he did.

The Western world MUST awaken to see the threat Islam poses to women. We cannot allow ourselves to be blinded by pleas for tolerance and cultural sensitivity. Tolerance does not excuse the beating of women. Cultural sensitivity does not allow for the keeping of sex slaves. Islam not only excuses but promotes these. To “tolerate” Islam is to endorse the wholesale victimization of women. As such, no Christian man or woman is allowed the luxury of “tolerance”.

“All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” (attributed to Edmund Burke)

Addendum (May 10, 2010): Ergun Caner’s testimony as a converted Muslim has been challenged by several bloggers who claim that he has grossly exaggerated the extent of his Muslim upbringing. Readers of this book ought to be aware that the Caners may or may not have the experiential knowledge of Islam that they claim to have, and should therefore be careful to test the statements found in this book against other reliable sources.

Categories Books, Reflections

Schwab’s 10 Commandments of Success

Leave a comment by

Charles M. Schwab (1862-1939) was an American industrialist, a steel magnate in charge of Bethlehem Steel. While Schwab was not always a successful individual in his personal life (he was notorious for gambling, partying, and extramarital affairs), he was certainly successful in business. Perhaps if he had carried his 10 commandments of success over into his personal life, he would have avoided much in his later life.

I read Schwab’s 10 Commandments of Success in Charles Panati’s Words to Live By: The Origins of Conventional Wisdom and Commonsense Advice and thought them remarkably sound.

  1. Work Hard. Hard work is the best investment a man can make.
  2. Study Hard. Knowledge enables a man to work more intelligently and effectively.

    I’ve heard the phrase “Don’t work hard, work smart” a bazillion times. But I think I like Schwab’s variation better. Do work hard–but study hard too. Only when we marry brain work and brawn work can we accomplish great things.

  3. Have Initiative. Ruts often deepen into graves.

    This stopped me in my tracks. Have initiative. I’ve heard “Take initiative”, I’ve heard “Demonstrate initiative”, but “Have initiative”? I like it. Take seems to me an external thing that one is grasping for. Demonstrate seems to be an attempt to conjure up something from within. Have, on the other hand, indicates possession. I possess initiative. It is something internal.

  4. Love Your Work. Then you will find pleasure in mastering it.
  5. Be exact. Slipshod methods bring slipshod results.
  6. Have the Spirit of Conquest. Thus you can successfully battle and overcome difficulties.
  7. Cultivate personality. Personality is to the man what perfume is to the flower.

    This was another stop-me-in-my-tracks statement. Cultivate personality. How often do we act as though our personalities are fixed? “I am what I am and there’s nothing you can do about it.” We excuse our bad habits and bad manners, saying that it’s just the way we are. But while our personalities may be innate, that does not mean that they cannot be trained, cultivated. Cultivate your personality by hoeing down the weeds, training the vines to grow along a trellis or support, and watering the most pleasant portions.

  8. Help and share with others. The real test of business greatness lies in giving opportunity to others.
  9. Be Democratic. Unless you feel right towards your fellow men you can never be a successful leader of men.

    Feel right? You mean I have a choice about how I feel towards others? How often do I complain about those under my leadership, putting them down for not following well? But perhaps if I respected them more, expected more of them, I might be more successful as a leader. It’s something to think about.

  10. In All Things Do Your Best. The man who has done his best has done everything. The man who has done less than his best has done nothing.

    I can’t do more than my best–but anything less than my best isn’t worth doing. Someone once said, “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well.” Oh that I would place that kind of priority on doing my best work–always.

Categories Book Notes, Missions

Relearning the 5 Pillars

Leave a comment by

Notes on Ergun Mehmet Caner and Emir Fethi Caner’s
Unveiling Islam
Chapter 7: Fundamentals (The Five Pillars)

This is the Islam I learned in high school: the five pillars, the essentials.

  1. The creed
  2. Prayer
  3. Almsgiving
  4. Ramadan
  5. Pilgrimage

This chapter might have been a review–but it only reinforced how little I actually know about Islam. I know so little, even about the five pillars–the part I thought I knew.

For instance, did you know that Islam requires ritual ablutions prior to prayer? Did you know that petitions in prayer are frowned upon? There is no sense in Islam that Allah will stay his hand or act based on the requests of his servants. Prayer is not communication with Allah, but simply an act of ritual obedience.

Did you know that Ramadan celebrates the “giving” of the Qur’an?

Did you know that the pilgrimage means more than just traveling to Mecca? It includes a great deal of ritual, including encircling the city several times, walking several miles outside the city to a certain spot, throwing a certain amount of stones in a certain way, etc.

I didn’t. This was definitely an enlightening chapter.

Addendum (May 10, 2010): Ergun Caner’s testimony as a converted Muslim has been challenged by several bloggers who claim that he has grossly exaggerated the extent of his Muslim upbringing. Readers of this book ought to be aware that the Caners may or may not have the experiential knowledge of Islam that they claim to have, and should therefore be careful to test the statements found in this book against other reliable sources.

Categories Everyday Life, Family & Friends

Easter dresses

1 Comment by

Today, I sat down beside my pastor’s young daughter and struck up a conversation. We got to talking about my new watch–and how it has interchangeable wristbands (black, white, tan, and pink). Ashley asked that I wear the pink wristband next week.

“I’ll have to figure out something to wear to match it.” I said. And then I realized my mistake: “But chances are I’ll have no problem, next week being Easter.”

Because Easter is the time for fancy pastel dresses and big hats.

[Click on the picture for a slide show of some of our Easter outfits through the years.]
Easter outfits

My grandma always bought the girls Easter dresses and the boys Easter suits. Oftentimes, they were the only truly NEW clothing that we got all year (well, except for the Christmas outfits that she bought us.) Everything else was hand-me-downs or used store garb. Not that we complained about the rest of our clothes–but it sure was fun to have some new clothes.

We would take our semi-annual trips to the mall with Grandma and gasp as she urged us to try on dresses that cost 30, 40, 50, and even 80 dollars. In our minds, that was a simply preposterous sum for one article of clothing. (In my mind, it still is!)

But we ended up with quite a collection of Easter dresses.

Now that I’m a “grown-up”, I miss the fancy dresses of my youth. We don’t dress up like we used to, not even for church. Little girls could still pull off what I wore–if they could find it–but grown women certainly don’t wear pretty springtime dresses at Easter like they used to when I was a girl.

Categories Book Notes, Missions

Allah’s Nature

Leave a comment by

Notes on Ergun Mehmet Caner and Emir Fethi Caner’s
Unveiling Islam
Chapter 6: Allah (Names of Terror, Names of Glory)

Allah (Islam’s “god”) and Jehovah (the God of Judaism and Christianity) are not the same. While they share some similarities, their differences are marked.

The Qur’an makes clear that Allah is the one and the only–but that he is NOT triune. Christianity, on the other hand, affirms one God, who is triune–three persons, one God.

According to Islam, Allah is absolutely sovereign and is the source of both good and evil. The Christian God is absolutely sovereign–but is not the source of evil.

Allah is a distant god, with no desire for a personal relationship with humanity. The God of the Bible is a personal God who pursues intimacy with humans–even to the point that He took on humanity in order to have a relationship with humans.

Allah is certainly a judge of the world–and so is the God of the Bible. But the God of the Bible is not only the judge, but the atoner of the world. Allah makes no atonement.

Allah is a god of hatred, desiring to conquer and destroy all infidels. The God of the Bible is the God of love, desiring that no one should perish but that all should come to knowledge of the truth.

While some might say that Allah is the Judeo-Christian God, they couldn’t be more mistaken. Allah is a distant, hateful, unholy god. The God of the Bible is a personal, loving, holy God. And ultimately, the difference between the Muslim God and the God of the Bible can be summed up in two words: Jesus Christ.

The Bible affirms that Jesus Christ is the God Himself, the Son of God, the Promised Messiah, the Atoner of the World, and the only way to God. Islam denies all these things. Islam does not expect a Messiah. Islam does not allow for atonement. Islam denies Christ as God and as the only way to God.

The Caners make it clear that there is no such thing as a “Messianic Muslim”. Christ is the fulfillment of Judaism–which Messianic Jews affirm–but He is NOT the fulfillment of Islam. Islam is and always has been a religion that rejects and explicitly denies Jesus as Christ. One cannot be a Christian and remain a Muslim. The two worship different gods–and the God of Christianity makes it plain that He will not share His glory.

Addendum (May 10, 2010): Ergun Caner’s testimony as a converted Muslim has been challenged by several bloggers who claim that he has grossly exaggerated the extent of his Muslim upbringing. Readers of this book ought to be aware that the Caners may or may not have the experiential knowledge of Islam that they claim to have, and should therefore be careful to test the statements found in this book against other reliable sources.

Categories Book Notes, Missions

Islamic Holy Books

Leave a comment by

Notes on Ergun Mehmet Caner and Emir Fethi Caner’s
Unveiling Islam
Chapters 4 and 5: The Qur’an (Mother of Books)
and Sunnah and Hadith (The Other Books)

According to Muslims, the Qur’an is the exact, dictated revelation of Allah to Muhammad. As such, Muslims look down upon translations as being inferior–whereas the Arabic original is sacred.

The illiterate Muhammad “wrote” down the dictated “revelation” of Allah using a variety of scribes–one of whom left the Islamic faith saying that this “revelation”, far from being inspired dictation, was open to imaginative editing by the scribes. The rest of the Qur’an was kept as oral tradition until the death of several individuals with knowledge of the holy words. Then scribes set to work transcribing the oral recitations of Muhammad’s intimates.

The Islamic “canon” was determined by relatively arbitrary means. One imam gathered together all copies of the Qur’an–then a highly variable document containing the written oral tradition of different individuals–and chose one that was written in the dialect he preferred. Having chosen the one document, he burned all others and commissioned scribes to copy the chosen document to be carried throughout the Islamic world.

According to the Qur’an, the Bible is a revelation from Allah but is flawed and unfulfilled. The Qur’an regularly contradicts Scripture, for instance, saying that the Trinity includes Mary, that blood is unimportant, and that Jesus was not crucified.

Within the Qur’an, there are many contradictions–and even more odd teachings and doctrines. For example, the Qur’an is of two minds as to whether there is an unforgivable sin and what that sin consists of. On one occasion, the Qur’an states that Christians can be found in heaven, while another Surah (verse) declares that all Christians are destined for hell.

While the Qur’an is known to be the holy book of Islam, few are aware that the Sunnah and the Hadith (Sayings and Examples) are the foundation of most Islamic custom and law. It is here, in the Sunnah and Hadith, that the dietary laws, the marriage laws, the laws of cleanliness and modesty and fasting are found.

These writing contain a great deal that is adhered to today–but also contain strange superstitions (for instance, that genetic traits are passed on to offspring depending on whether the man or the woman reaches orgasm first during intercourse) and unusual prescriptives (such as drinking camel urine as medicine).

Addendum (May 10, 2010): Ergun Caner’s testimony as a converted Muslim has been challenged by several bloggers who claim that he has grossly exaggerated the extent of his Muslim upbringing. Readers of this book ought to be aware that the Caners may or may not have the experiential knowledge of Islam that they claim to have, and should therefore be careful to test the statements found in this book against other reliable sources.

Categories Recap

Recap (Mar 21-27)

Leave a comment by

On bekahcubed

Book Reviews:

Photo Albums:

  • Winter 2010
    This is a shorter show than many because most of my pictures from this winter are of us working on Dan and Debbie’s wedding quilt. And I don’t want them to see those until after the rehearsal dinner (where we’ll be gifting them the quilt). So, look forward to seeing quilting photos after June 18!

On the web

Laugh out loud funnies:

  • Carrie has some great reading-related funnies. My favorite:
    Lemony Snicket Comic
  • Jon Acuff of Stuff Christian’s Like to his daughter:

    “John Piper just quoted the entire book of Philippians in a sermon? How do you know about John Piper? You’re six, are you a Calvinist? You can tell daddy anything. Are you secretly listening to Mark Driscoll and John Piper when I think you’re playing on the My Little Pony website?”

    Read the rest on memorization

Books for the TBR list:

  • Discovering God in Stories from the Bible by Philip Graham Ryken
    Studying God through the stories He’s chosen to record (for that purpose).
  • Think Twice by Lisa Scottoline
    One woman buries her twin sister alive and assumes her twin’s life in order to escape the mess of her own. Not my usual reading, but this book has me REALLY curious.

News to take note of:

  • Lack of food skills = poor nutrition. That’s what I’ve been saying–and why my focus as a dietitian is on practical skills!
  • Outbreak of measles in unvaccinated community. Little upsets me more than those who continue to promote the idea that MMR vaccination is linked to autism. There is NO scientific evidence for this position (the one article that sparked the debate was later retracted because of faulty research technique.) Please, pay attention to the science and do what’s actually best for your child (and consequently for the health of your community)–vaccinate your kids!
  • A text from my sister regarding one of her clients at the Community Health Center (CHC) reproductive clinic she works in:

    “Baby’s heart will begin to beat in the next few days. Please pray with me that it will be allowed to continue beating.”

    I regularly pray for Anna’s clients who are considering abortion–and am thankful that Anna has the opportunity to be a voice for truth and life in that arena. This news about how the new health care bill may affect CHCs worries me. What will this mean for Anna? What will it mean for the dozens of children we war over in prayer? Lord, let life prevail, even as the war intensifies.

Projects to try:
Because we all know Rebekah needs more projects! :-P

Thought-provoking posts:

  • Sam Crabtree on priorities in Christian environmentalism

    “More important than preserving wonderful national park settings for people to see is to preserve souls in order that they may see the new earth, which will be superior to the wonderful old earth. It would be a tragedy to preserve the planet for people who would dwell in hell and never see the new earth, when they could have been born from above and lived forever in the glorious new earth. Saving souls is more important than saving whales—though saving one need not preclude saving the other.”

    HT: Desiring God

  • J.D. Greear answers the question: “On what grounds should I move to another church?”

    “It is infants and toddlers, not adults, whose primary concern in being fed and having their bottoms wiped by others… Ironically, some of the “seasoned” Christians who complain the most about “not getting anything out of their church” act more like toddlers than mature believers! The church is not about you… and being fulfilled as a Christian is not about hearing spine-tingling preaching each week, but about using your spiritual gifts in the church.”

    HT: Vitamin Z