Peter and Jesus

In John 21 Christ appears to seven of his disciples.  These men have gone to Galilee, probably in obedience to Christ who told them that He would meet with them there.  (Matt 28:10).

They go fishing, possibly to earn some money while they wait, but they catch nothing all night.  When the morning comes, a man on the shore asks them if they have any food.  They answer, “No.”  He suggests they should cast their net on the right side of the boat where they will find some.  They give it a try and their net becomes so full, they can’t haul it into the boat. Obviously, this is a miracle.

John recognizes that only the Lord could have done this and cries, “It is the Lord!”  When Peter figures it out, he grabs his garment and jumps out of the boat. He can’t wait to see Christ!  The other guys bring the boat up and begin dragging in the net. Peter runs back to help drag in the net and when they arrive on the beach, they see Christ has a fire on which breakfast is cooking.  He invites them to bring over some of the fish they’ve caught.

This is the 3^rd time Jesus reveals himself to the disciples after His death.

Christ then begins a dialogue with Peter. He asks, “Simon, of Jonah, do you agape love me (a love of total commitment)?” Peter responds, “You know I phileo (friend love) you, Lord.” Christ instructs, “Feed my lambs.” Christ asks again in the same way and Peter answers again with the same answer. Christ asks a third time, “Simon, of Jonah, do you phileo me? (My interpretation, “Ok, Peter, do you only love me like a friend?”)

“The third time Jesus asks Peter, He uses Peter’s word for love that signified something less than total devotion, questioning even that level of love Peter thought he was safe in claiming. “ (MacArthur Study Bible)

This grieves Peter.

Peter “was reluctant to express the greater love because he had been disobedient and denied the Lord in the past. He was, perhaps, now reluctant to make a claim of supreme devotion when, in the past, his life did not support such a claim.” (MacArthur Study Bible)

How many times do we allow our past sin to get in the way of today’s obedience? We think to ourselves, “Well, I didn’t really live up to my own expectations. Christ must be as disappointed in my performance as I am.” We come back tentatively and “hope” we can muster up some kind of devotion to Him, but we sting from not following Him fully.

Christ KNEW Peter’s heart. He knew Peter was a devoted follower, but that sin had previously overcome him. He KNEW that great things would be accomplished in Peter’s life, but that Peter needed to be reminded that Christ wanted his FULL devotion. With Christ, Peter would end up doing the impossible!

Do you see the gentleness in Christ in this questioning? He’s encouraging Peter to believe that He can be restored and please the Lord with his life.  There were no lectures about past sin. They’ve been forgiven. This is about his restoration and future.

In Matt 26:35 Peter expresses his emotional love when he says, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!”  It was his natural self talking; he truly felt this way. However, agape love, true love, is a deep spiritual love that declares itself not merely by words, but by everything we do, as well.  Peter truly and deeply loved the Lord, but He would have to prove that love by “feeding the Lord’s sheep.”

Peter’s actions in building the early church prove what resided in Peter’s heart – a deep abiding love for Christ.

What kind of love do we have for Christ? Do we enthusiastically SAY we love Him and then deny Him to others? Do we say we want to follow Him and then deny His power to live a well-pleasing life? Are we willing to only go so far (friend love) or are we willing to give up everything to prove our love to Him and those around us?

It takes faith to believe that stepping out in full devotion to Christ will be worth it, but Matt 16:25b reminds us that “whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” He promises it will be an abundant life.

Side note – did you notice that the 3^rd time Christ reveals Himself, He calls Peter “son of Jonah”, a picture of the resurrected Christ. Peter had denied him 3 times, but it took Peter 3 times to realize that He was forgiven and that he was being called to share the love of Christ with the Lord’s sheep - all pointing back to our Risen Savior!

A Drunkard's Path

A Drunkard's Path, the second book in the A Someday Quilts Mystery series, was fantastic! I couldn't put it down! It got read in hours, not days.

In book # 1, The Lover's Knot, the author, Clare O'Donohue, sets up the characters. That took about half of the book, but in book # 2, the story is action-packed from the beginning to end.

This book introduces some new characters who are quite entertaining.  As you read you're not sure whether to like or dislike the new additions and you hope that in the end it will be ok. :)  The circle of quilters were too cute and I'm beginning to really enjoy their contributions to the story. The author is not adept at writing angst between characters or she just can't add romance. The romantic elements in both books are quite irritating.  She puts the main character, Nell Fitzgerald, in on-again-off-again relationships and they do not add to the story, except to get her some information to aid in solving the mystery. It would be great if Nell didn't have a love life in book # 3. Ha!

The author paints vivid scenes and I would love to visit the new coffee shop in town and see the mural on the wall. It sounds really cool. She has folks traipsing around in the cold and snow and I got a real sense of the weather. You visit an art class and you can just smell the paint in the room. Ms. O'Donohue is a talented descriptive author.

The quilt named in the title was more prevalent in the story, but you do not have to be a fan of quilting to enjoy these mysteries.

I did my best to try to weed out the red herrings and solve the mystery, but when I finished the book I had only figured out about 1/3 of the scenario. However, it was easy to look back and clearly see the trail of clues, they were so unexpected, however, that I missed them.  That's a good mystery to me!

I'm looking forward to reading books # 3 & # 4 sometime soon!

The Lover's Knot

I've read through the Elm Creek novel series and was looking for something new. A friend suggested a quilting mystery series so I thought I'd give A Someday Quilts Mystery series a try.

The first novel, The Lover's Knot, was ok. The author does not compare to Jennifer Chiaverini; she did not create endearing characters. In fact, her main character is so conflicted and all over the place, I wanted to "smack her" at times. Guess that made good angst. :)  The dog was the best character.

Clare O'Donohue, the author, took too long leading up to the murder and spent an inordinate amount of time not telling you things, I guess to build suspense, but it got irritating.  For example, someone would give someone else a dirty look and another character would say, "Wonder what that was about." We live that way, but she did it too often and I just felt like saying, "Ok, already, you're not going to tell us. Quit telling us you're not going to tell us!"

Once the murder occurred the story got moving. She gave good clues to help us see the truth and threw in some red herrings, as well. I enjoyed trying to figure it out.

Her writing style is easy to read and her chapter size is perfect. You can finish off a few chapter with ease right before bed.

I had checked out the first two books in the series from the library and I opened up the second book to see if she used the same characters from the first book.  She does. She has a great opening and I was drawn to read the first few pages immediately.  I look forward to finding out more about the main characters so I guess she told a good story in the first book. I've more than willing to give book # 2 a try.

Quilting doesn't play a dominant role in this book, as much as in Jennifer Chiaverini's, but it does add a nice touch and helps you understand this circle of friends.

I recommend A Someday Quilts Mystery series and will let you know how book # 2 turns out when I'm done.

I Know Who Goes Before Me

1:45pm and I'm still in my jammies. It's one of those days.

Truth be told, I rarely need an excuse to stay in my pj's, but today I received news that left me stunned and teary. Change is a comin' and I'm trying to adjust to the thought.

No sicknesses, no babies-on-the-way, just change. It could be good for I see the good that might result, but I feel safe where I am and really don't want to face the possibilities.

The Lord has prepped me. I look back over the past couple of months and see the whispers He's left in my ear.

Two weeks ago a friend faced similar changes.  I sympathized and then said I'd pray, never imagining that I would be in the same place two weeks later.

I know the Lord has a plan; I trust Him. The path has gotten a little foggy today and I don't see the next step very clearly, but I know who is still in the lead.

On the new Chris Tomlin CD, Burning Lights, there is a song entitled Whom Shall I Fear. The chorus says,

"I know who goes before me, I know who stands behind.
The God of angel armies is always by my side."

With gusto I've sang that song driving the freeways with my girls in tow. I've sang it confidently. Today I sing it 'cause I need it.  Just a little afraid. Could be good. Could be bad. Could be a mixture, but it doesn't matter, does it? If we remember who goes before us, we should not be afraid.

So I did the best thing I could think of doing...I crawled back under the covers and read a mystery novel.

Let someone else have the drama for a few hours.  Prayer would be good too. ;)

If you would pray for me, I would appreciate it. I will fill you in on the details over the next few months, but I just can't share today.

Thanks so much!

P365 - Week 7

I've enjoyed getting to see the fun things that Amy posts every week on the P365 link at her blog: The Frans Clan. Blog linkies are always a fun way to make new friends (and to keep the old. ) Check out what everyone is doing this week here.

Sunday, Feb 10 -

I got fooling around with my plastic lunch ware and Rhett took it one step further - a spoon pirate!

Monday, Feb 11 -

Meet Bella, our new horse. She is sweet, gentle, social and has won our hearts!

Tuesday, Feb 12 - 

Hey! I'm Bella, the new (and only) blond at the Martens' house. 

Today I had a photo shoot with mom in my new digs.

Mom kept trying to get me to pose, but I just wanted to follow her around for the treats she was hiding in her pocket. Smart thinkin!

I finally got tired of the horse play and let mom catch me in the sun. She wanted to show off my whiskery chin, I think.  We'll see you around!

Wednesday, Feb 13 - 

Organizing prop closets at church

Thursday, Feb 14 - 

My goobs dressing up for Valentine's Day at CoOp.

Friday, Feb 15 - 

Katie's first cupcakes made all by herself!

Saturday, Feb 16 -

My nephew from Florida had a flat cardboard cut-out of himself sent to us and we had to take him on a tour of Washington DC. This is my favorite shot at the "top" of the Washington Monument. I'll try to give you the grand tour later this week.

P365 - Week 5 & 6

During week 5 of P365 (a picture a day) I got discouraged because I had missed two days. Funny thing is I thought about taking pictures on those days, but they were so boring I couldn't think of anything worth sharing.

Missing those two days got me down. I had the internal whining of "I can't believe I've already missed two days in the first month.  Why keep going?" Wah, wah, wah!  I did keep going, but failed to get the pictures on the computer and posted. I kept telling myself to "just keep going" (Can you hear my Dorie voice? "just keep swimming, just keep swimming!") and not to care about falling behind.

I've gotten so discouraged with falling behind the past two years that I've given up, but this year I set a goal to finish strong...so I'm plugging away. For me it doesn't matter if it's late, as long as it gets done.

With that, enjoy weeks 5 & 6...

Sunday, Jan 27 -

On Sunday nights we attend Awana (a Bible memorization club).

Monday, Jan 28 - 

We went shopping on a drizzly afternoon and all I came home with was an empty Jelly Belly wrapper. Imagine that!

Tuesday, Jan 29 - No picture

Wednesday, Jan 30 - No picture

Thursday, Jan 31 - 

The girls spent the afternoon at the local skating rink.

Friday, Feb 1 - 

I needed to make some progress on desk organization. It wasn't really working for me so I cleared everything off and started over. (all except the lamp, water bottle and the friendship bracelet my 9-year-old was teaching me to make.)

Saturday, Feb 2 - 

We checked out a local homeschool Science fair

and...

We cried when Mike and Ruby went home to their owner. 

Then we took ourselves out to dinner.

Sunday, Feb 3 - 

A co-worker brought in a quilt that her grandmother had made since she knew I was into quilting. 

What a masterpiece! It had so many fun details and I enjoyed looking at it for quite awhile.

Monday, Feb 4 - 

Exactly where she's not supposed to be. Sigh.

Tuesday, Feb 5 - 

Enjoying Rhett play on the keyboard.

Wednesday, Feb 6 - 

We live on a one lane dirt road so when they trim the trees around the power lines you get to wait.

We were trying to get to a homeschool open gym class (our first time) and were told they would finish in 10 minutes. 45 minutes later we were on our way.

We finally made it to the gym. Downstairs had a rope climbing wall, a rock climbing wall, inflatables, soccer and basketball. Upstairs had a room full of plugged-in exercise. The girls tried it all.

Thursday, Feb 6 - no picture

Friday, Feb 7 - 

Stinkers.

Saturday, Feb 8 - 

Mark and I took the girls to Benihana's for dinner; their first time!

You can catch up with the others over at Amy's blog.

One for Two!

About a year ago I read my first Jennifer Chiaverini novel, The Quilter's Homecoming.  This book is actually the 10th in a series and because I enjoyed it so much I went back and started reading from the beginning. I blame Mrs. Chiaverini for a narrow scope of reading last year instead of my usual variety, but it was a wonderful year spent with new quilting friends. In fact, I would say that because I read this series I went out into my new town and found a quilt guild, in hopes of, in some small way, sharing in the camaraderie that I found within these novels. (Now I feel better for reading one series in one year.)

I just finished book 19 (out of 20) and found it to be one of the most interesting reads. It was a good story, one that I would recommend, but she used a writing technique that I found captivating.  The Quilter's Homecoming was published in 2007 and Sonoma Rose in 2012, however, both share the same story line from two different characters' points-of-view.

The Quilter's Homecoming follows Elizabeth, cousin to the matriarch of the series, as she embarks on life in California with her new husband. It was a fantastic book and I enjoyed it immensely.  Elizabeth befriends a Spanish woman named Rosa who is being abused by her husband. He runs the local post office out of their home so there are several interactions between Elizabeth and Rosa. In the end Elizabeth is instrumental in helping Rosa change her circumstances.

Five years later...we embark on the same story inside the post office via Sonoma Rose. Elizabeth is coming to visit Rosa, our main character. It was a little strange at first and I wondered where the author was going to take the story. Mrs. Chiaverini flawlessly filled in the back story and we then followed Rosa into her new life, full of suspense and surprises.

I shared this story writing technique with my son who hopes to be a writer someday and he was fascinated that she pulled it off so convincingly. After thinking about the difficulty of writing a "fresh" story from two perspectives I was thoroughly impressed. Mrs. Chiaverini pulled it off and I enjoyed the second even more than the first, probably because I knew what was going on just down the road, so to speak.

Mrs. Chiaverini is a wonderful writer, but when she pulls in historical elements, whether it be the Civil War or the Roaring 20's, she is a masterful story-teller.  I have one more book to read, The Giving Quilt and I'm a little sad that I will not have a Chaiverini novel waiting for me on the shelves when I'm done with it.  I do have a variety of books that I'd like to get back to, but I will miss my quilting friends and their ongoing story.

If you are looking for light reading, whether you are into quilting or not, I highly recommend The Elm Creek Quilters series. I think you'll make some new friends along the way, as well.

My favorites: The Runaway Quilt, The Quilter's Holiday, The Aloha Quilt, The Union Quilters and Sonoma Rose.

My least favorites: Circle of Quilters, The New Year's Quilt, The Quilter's Kitchen.

You can find all you want to know about Elm Creek here.

BTW, Jennifer Chiaverini has written a new book outside of the series, Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker.
Looks interesting!