Birthday thoughts

First, thanks to my husband for his kind birthday thoughts. And then, thanks to those of you who took the time to jump from his blog to mine to wish me a happy birthday.

I had a very nice day celebrating. My children gave me their gifts on Sunday, and Mark and I had a free babysitter (Thanks Ronda!) for all 4 children on Monday night so we could go out to dinner. It was enjoyable to have adult conversation and to not have to cut anyone else’s food or give a bottle to anyone. However, I will say that on this birthday when I am approaching 40, I am most thankful for the wonderful family God has given me. I am truly blessed, and I often forget my blessings and complain about the negatives in my life. My prayer for the next year of my life is that I will pay more attention to the positive things God has given me and push through the negatives. The first scripture that comes to mind is one I make my children say when they are grumpy–Phil. 2:14- “Do everything without grumbling or complaining.” (Verse 15 is actually pretty good to think on, too.) I often find that reading all of Philippians is a good way for me to have an attitude adjustment. Anyway, I digress . . . So if you ever think of praying for me, pray that I will “dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.” (Ps 37:3)

Books

It seems like summer is the time that everyone reads. For me, life’s routine doesn’t change that much, but I do seem to manage to read a bit more anyway. Visiting the library weekly with my children, I have managed to pick up a couple of recent releases. The Midwife’s Tale and The Dogs of Babel are two that I have enjoyed. I finished The Midwife’s Tale a couple of weeks ago. It is well-written in a Cold Sassy Tree sort of way. But there were parts of it that were disturbing. I am in the last chapter of The Dogs of Babel. The style of this book’s writing definitely draws the reader in. It is personable, inviting. Interestingly, the book is in first person with a male character telling the tale, and the author is a woman. I haven’t read a book written this way since I finished My Antonia by Willa Cather 2 years ago. The other interesting note about The Dogs of Babel is actually written by someone who went to college for writing. That is pretty unusual in today’s market with the “everyone’s a writer” mentality that seems to prevail. Both books are short, perfect for summer reading. I hope to write more complete thoughts about them individually later on, but for now, I’ll just recommend adding them to your beach reading list.

Larry Burkett dies

I haven’t looked at many blogs lately, so perhaps this news is on someone else’s blog that I missed. I came across it this morning on an e-mail from Leadership Journal. In the midst of all the celebrities who have died in the last week, it seems none of the popular media has reported on the passing of Larry Burkett, something of a Christian celebrity. So it seemed worth mentioning here.

Larry Burkett gave financial advice that was conservative and helpful to many. I haven’t always followed his advice, but I appreciated his ministry. I was also always aware of him, since as a single woman working for a Christian TV ministry in the late 80s, co-workers and people I was in contact with for work-related things always asked if I was related to him. My maiden name is Burkett, but we were not related.