Favourite faith-based reads

For today's post, I'm only going with non-fiction. I've gone on and on (multiple times) about my love for Christian fiction, particularly that of the historical persuasion, and I figure it's time for a change.

Apologies in advance for the quickly-made collage - here are my four favourites.

Going clockwise, top left:
1. God's Little Devotional Book For Teens: David C Cook
2. Experiencing God: Youth Edition: Henry T Blackaby & Claude V King
3. The Case for Christ/The Case for Faith [bindup]: Lee Strobel (now out of print in this format)
4. Every Young Woman's Battle: Shannon Ethridge & Stephen Arterburn

As I made the aforementioned quick collage, I realised something.

All of these books (with the exception of Lee Strobel) are aimed at the youth/teen market, a market which I can no longer say I inhabit.

Sigh. Time to upgrade.

Commentary time!

(I'm so sorry about how vague this commentary is; normally, I can flick through my books and it'll remind me of things I really enjoyed about them. However, books are in another state.)

God's Little Devotional Book for Teens: I have no other reason except for the devotional involving Ananias of Damascus, which has been bookmarked so often that if I fling that book onto my bed, it automatically opens to that devotional. That one story, of a man who did something because God told him to - something that, at the time, didn't seem like much in the greater scheme of things. It reminds me that whatever I'm doing, I should be doing it for Christ, and I should be listening to what He's telling me to do. It might seem insignificant to me, but may be very significant to someone else - or to God.

Experiencing God, Youth Edition: We did this as a study at Sunday School with Robyn and the lovely Sunday School girls. At the time, I recall it being quite confronting, and getting pretty annoyed with it. However, over the course of the study, my perspective changed - and my attitude towards my Christian life, too. Definitely worth the read. I also have the adult edition in my room, ready to begin. I intended to start this last year, but Christmas/shenanigans ensued and I have basically just failed miserably at it. Will update on that one as I do it, possibly.

The Case for Christ/The Case for Faith: When I was a teenager, I was not the most fond of Christianity. I was raised in a Catholic home, and my parents were rather relaxed about it. So relaxed, in fact, that when it came time for my brother and I to receive our communion and the like, they decided we could wait, and that the Catholic Sunday School the priest was urging us to attend was not as good as the one we were attending.

I then went to a Catholic school. Disgruntled at how we were being told by priests that the Bible was not completely true, and that things should be taken with a grain of salt, I got mad at Christianity in general and sat in a bit of agnosticism for a while. While this eventually gave way to me giving my life to Christ, I still had niggling doubts. Yay for niggling doubts (she says with her sarcasm hand aloft)!

I think it was at a youth group auction (end of year shenanigans) that I first came across the youth edition of The Case for Christ, and it helped clear up a lot of my niggling doubts - or, if it didn't give me complete assurance, I was able to pinpoint more doubts and ask Robyn about them so she could help me clear them up. She recommended reading the adult version, and as Koorong had it with The Case for Faith, I read both. I'm not hugely familiar with many apologetics studies, but I did enjoy these and found them helpful.

Every Young Woman's Battle: Oh. My. Gosh. 

If there is a book that I intend to foist on every young Christian woman out there, this is it. Seriously, if a crazy person comes up to you and gives you this book, don't worry. It's just me. BUT YOU SHOULD READ IT. 

(I've written about this book before - link here - but what I can also say now is that it sure beats sneaking into your brother's room and stealing the guy's copy because you're really not sure what else to do.)

There we are for that! If anyone has recommendations for me in this area, let me know. I'm always up for new things to read. 

A ramble about God and his teaching

Two days out from Christmas, and I usually wake up feeling pretty happy. Not wistful, like I did this morning. I had rolled over, picked up my phone, and noticed I'd slept later than I planned. Then, rather than getting out of bed and making the most of the hour I'd almost slept through - or a the very least, pick up my Bible and finish off a couple of readings - I turned back over and hid under blankets.

In my warm cavern, I knew exactly why I was feeling like this. Hopes get raised, you let yourself get unnaturally excited - and then the things fall through. It's a pattern that everyone would be used to (or at the very least have experienced). I curled deeper under the blankets, wanting to sit and wallow. My mother used to howl at my teenaged self for wallowing when I was in the throes of depression, so I knew it probably wasn't the best option. But for once this year, especially seeing as it's nearly over, I felt like dwelling on just losing something - again - that I thought would come to pass by now. I deserved an epic time of wallowing, and my gosh, I was going to wallow and it was going to be glorious.

God, however, had other plans for my extreme wallowing session. As I lay there, possibly scowling at the body pillow I had shamelessly pilfered from my father's room, I remembered verses I was reading last night. It wasn't a case of "open Bible and pick verse that makes you feel better about the situation without any Godly guidance" (something I was guilty of doing as a 15 year old). Last night's reading was a set of Psalms, with a Proverb as well.

The Psalms, I can't remember where I started and where I finished. But as I read - these were Psalms I'd clearly gone over before, considering how little space there was to underline - one verse just sung out to me.

He settles the barren woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise the Lord! 
Psalm 113:9.

Searching for it right now, the NLT seems like it fits me more.
He gives a childless woman a family, making her a happy woman. Praise the Lord!

***

When I was younger (and only a few years ago, when I count back), I didn't want anything with family and children. I would be suave, would marry when I'd had a chance to travel and work on an illustrious career as a writer, and definitely wouldn't be having children - I mean, really? Why do it? The guy I had in my head as marrying was definitely not interested in children either. We would, much to my father's distress, live a life without children, and it would be pretty fun. Even as a child, I don't recall wanting to start a family the way I remember my cousins did. I remember looking at my height in comparison to a baby's and going, "Well, that's just too small. What is it going to do if it's that small?"
Yet almost overnight, this changed. I suddenly wanted this, and the only way I can see it is that God wanted it for me. Robyn - my lovely Sunday School teacher - used to tell us that God would work in us as we grew in Him, and that our desires would change to reflect His desires for our lives.
Last night, God was reminding me of that. This morning, He did the same. It's going to happen, daughter. Be patient.
Upon occasion, I regret asking God to teach me patience. I regret not being specific and asking him to teach me it in a textbook manner, rather than by experience. This was one of those times.
I don't want to wait, I protested. I want it now. SIAGAUONGONAIJOWR,QPWOMOIM. (Yes, I now frustratedly-babble as though I'm slamming my head against a keyboard. It's a fun way of doing things.)
No reply at this point. I closed my eyes, really not wanting to get out of bed. But I did. I dragged my feet out, reminded myself that in lieu of church this morning, I would be listening to music and praising, and I would be getting my heart in it.
I opened my phone, and the last app open had been YouVersion, still sitting there glowing at me. And the verse there?

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6

One that most every Christian would have engraved on their hearts. But God reminded me of it again. Trust me. Rely on me. Things will happen when they're meant to.

The awesome thing about God is that His timing is always perfect. The frustrating thing is waiting for it sometimes. But patience, they say, is a virtue - one that I am lacking. (I mean, it's a complete shock to me that I still haven't opened Trina's Christmas present to me, considering how it's meant to make me fangirl. Which makes me think God's slowly cultivating patience in me. Huh. Nice to see things growing, when I consider it.) Time to start praying that I stop being a goose, and just let God have it. In my far-future (which is probably where family and all that come); in my near, where I wonder if I'm meant to stay in Brisbane or go to Melbourne, or if I'm even meant to continue studying. All of it is His.

Why? Because He is truly amazing, and learning from experience has shown me that if I keep a hold of my problems, I just freak out all over the place. Best to give it to the Father who knows all.

Quintessentially Tash

I have been stalking Maija a fair bit recently.
Okay, a bit of an exaggeration, but if you looked at my Twitter feed, Facebook page, and now this blog... Right. I think it's time for that restraining order, don't you?

Maija's post - written in September; I never said I was a good stalker - has inspired me to get off my butt and write you a post. It's mainly so I can flee the box-filled trauma that is my room, but nevertheless a post exists for you!

What makes me, me?
I think they're the things no one else has noticed. I have two freckles on the front of my neck. When I pointed them out to my family members as a way to identify me when I'm dead and all that's left of my charred remains is my neck, they just looked at me. "What freckles?" my aunty asked, confused. I pointed.
"These ones!"
"... Tash, if you get burned to death, it's hardly likely that your neck will be the only thing to survive," Dad said. "We'll have to identify you by your tooth."
Which isn't as appealing an option, as I don't know what my teeth look like and I have none that I particularly want associated with me (if I died today, I'd look ridiculous and my dentist would cry).

I have always thought I can talk to my dogs. Any other animals, I don't really try, but my dogs and I have always had long conversations about stupid things. You know, conversations about how eating Christmas Beetles isn't probably the most nutritious choice, but then again, neither's chewing on a piece of carpet.
This probably makes me insane.

I love Coldplay, because they have achieved the impossible - their music calms me down when I am mad. I don't know why, but I discovered this amazing skill when I was depressed. (Clinically so, not "my mother won't buy me a Chanel backpack my life sucks I'm so depressed hashtag firstworldproblems".) I don't know what possessed me to buy the Coldplay CDs, but I had $30 cash on me, and the CD shop had them bundled up nicely. X&Y, Parachutes and A Rush of Blood To The Head for $10 each? Eh. Why not?
When I came home and had a fight with my mother that I instantly wanted to solve by my own death (I had a cheery outlook on life), I figured I should probably not waste that thirty dollars. So I put in X&Y, and somehow... I don't know. Perhaps it's distraction techniques, but it calmed me down. And since then, I've been besotted. I am probably known at the local Sanity as being the Coldplay Girl, seeing as when Mylo Xyloto was coming out, the following exchanges took place:

SCENE 1: After finding out there's a new Coldplay album
Me: Excuse me, I've just heard there's a new Coldplay album coming out. I don't have a date, or a name. But I'm pretty sure it's the 4th of October. Or at least, that's when the pre-orders will be available.
Girl: Uh... okay. Let me just check.
Me: No problem. I'll just go look at this Johnny Depp poster.
Girl: There's nothing about it yet. Are you sure they meant Coldplay?
Me: ... yes. I'm sure.
Girl: [dubiously] Well, maybe come back in a few weeks. I might be able to find it then.

SCENE 2: A week later, after Coldplay has officially announced the album
Me: Hi! You probably don't remember me. I was in here about the Coldpl -
Girl: I remember.
Me: Right. Well, Coldplay has announced it now. See? [holds out phone, where email detailing Mylo Xyloto is happily glowing]
Girl: What's it called?
Me: I know. It's a strange name. I'm a bit scared to try pronouncing it, ha ha ha ha.
Girl: [types] Oh. There it is.
Me: Success! When's it coming out?
Girl: October 24.
Me: Excellent. I shall be back then to buy it.
Girl: You don't want to preorder it?
Me: Nah. Somewhere else might get it first. Well, thanks! Have a great day!

SCENE 3: The day before Mylo Xyloto is released
Me: Hi! I'm just wondering if you've gotten Mylo Xyloto in yet.
Different Girl: No! I'm sad.
Me: [not quite able to believe there's a fellow Coldplay lover at Sanity] Me too! I was hoping you'd have gotten it a few days early, like you did Offspring.
Different Girl: Apparently there's an embargo. How lame.
Me: Extremely lame. Anyway. I'll be back tomorrow then.
Different Girl: Awesome! I'll see you then!

SCENE 4: THE MOMENTOUS DAY
Me: Hello! Coldplay is out today!
Girl: ... we haven't had it delivered.
Different Girl: Don't worry. Come back around 1. They usually deliver then.
Me: I will be back at 1.
....
Me: Is it in yet?
Different Girl: No! Gah! Try a couple more hours.
Me: Will do!
...
Me: How about now?
Different Girl: We got a phone call from the courier. They're not bringing them in today.
Me: DANG.

I eventually got the CD after much craziness, but from a different CD store.

Right. Well. What else makes me me?
I have an unusual fondness for Harry Potter. Not because I want someone to say to me, "Yer a witch, Natasha," and ferry me off to Diagon Alley. I love the symbolism, I love how much detail and how much work she's put into the books, and I love how every bit ties neatly together. It might be English nerd of me, but I may have gone through all those books and deconstructed them for the sake of deconstructing them.

At the moment, my closest friend is my cousin Daniela. It always ends up this way. I fear I am turning her into a miniature (yet taller) me, but possibly with better music taste. She is a lovely girl, very sarcastic when she wants to be. She also has a fair bit more common sense and doesn't get overexcited about stupid things, such as Chameleon Circuit releasing a new album. ("So... they sing songs about Doctor Who?" "YES." "... You are a bit of a nerd. I'm not even apologising for saying it.") She is, however, great fun. I've noticed that whenever we get together to watch movies, it always ends with us ranting. "That doesn't even make any sense. Oh my gosh, that character is so lame. I could act better than them... hey, Tash, that was such a great movie, hey!"
We recently did this for Pirates of the Caribbean 1.
Daniela: "You know who I really hate? Elizabeth. Look at her. She was smarmy even when she was a kid."
Me: "I want to know just what part of Norrington can make that age difference okay. I mean, look. Imagine that as a photo on their mantlepiece. 'Elizabeth was twelve when we met, and I was already captain in the Royal Navy.' Why does he even want to marry her? He can marry me. I'm sure the age difference is what he's used to."
Daniela: "Also, why is Governer Swann's wig brown? Why do they all go white when they move to Jamaica?"
Me: "Urgh. Will Turner. Who invented that guy?"
Daniela: "Worst character decision ever. Look at him. Www....Will Ttturner. Pah. Learn to speak."
Me: "Why does Elizabeth have freckles, but suddenly not have them when she grows up? I mean, how is it physically possible that in England she gets freckles, but suddenly in Jamaica she's all freckleless and not riddled with cancer?"
Daniela: "Maybe she just turned into a giant freckle. Do you always watch this scene with Why Is The Rum Gone in your head?"
Me: "YES. I thought I was the only one who did that."
Daniela: "How hard can it be to call her Elizabeth? I call her Elizabeth."
Me: "Bet he went home and wrote all about calling her Elizabeth in his diary."
Daniela: "Ha! 'Dear Diary, I think Elizabeth likes me. Like, like likes me. She wants me to call her Elizabeth! I don't think I should propose yet, though. I might wait for a little while. Like, in the middle of a battle on Davy Jones' ship.'"
Me: "I am so glad they cut those two out in the end. Preacherboy for the win!"
Daniela: "Hush! Johnny Depp!"

I draw, and I write.
These two make me very happy. I wish I was better at drawing. According to my mother, this is very selfish as I am very good at drawing. I disagree, but whatever. This is the only picture, besides a picture of Ron I left in the tearoom at work to scare everyone, that I have uploaded to Facebook.

I don't like it very much. I much prefer fashion illustration.
I enjoy writing. Writing is a heck of a lot of fun.

Because I've realised it's nearly 10:30 and I am still lounging in my pyjamas (I'm a slob now), I'll wrap this up quickly with the thing that most makes me, me.

I'm a Christian.
I don't always live up to the standard that Jesus left me. Lately, I've been failing more than succeeding.
I know, however, that He loves me no matter what. He knew I'd trip over my own feet when He chose me.

Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand. - Romans 14:4

He still pulls me up and still calls me His daughter.
He shows mercy that I don't think I could even show, if someone slapped me in the face that many times. I know I couldn't show that.
And He is the epitome of flipping awesome, because He doesn't judge me based where I've come from. He doesn't say that because I'm a nearly-20-year-old who has suffered from depression and anxiety, who has a ridiculous love for Coldplay and Harry Potter, and who either takes things too seriously or not seriously enough, that I'll not do anything for Him except sit there and look pretty. He says that I can, and I will, do things. Because I'm His.

And that is cooler than anything.

I want to do another post similar to this next time, but sort of based off what the opening to my elusive novel is. So you have that to look forward to/dread.

30 Days of Books, Day 16.

[Your favourite female character.]

Ah, the female character.
To quote Emily Winter from the illustrious Sparklife, you should "Make your main female character a smarter, more thoughtful, more witty, more introverted version of your reader. So that your reader puts herself in the protagonist's shoes, and then feels really good about herself." (This came from her Pride and Prejudice blog.) Regardless of how tongue-in-cheek Emily was being, it holds a whole ingot of truth.
That's right, it's a massive gold bar of awesome with the ability to knock someone out if you tried... wait, what?


Anyway. 
I believe this character encompasses that whole shebang quite nicely. 

A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.

Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.

She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.

She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.

She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.

She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls.

She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.

She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.

She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.

In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers.

She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.

When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet.

She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple.

Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.

She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes.

She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.

She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:

Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

- Proverbs 31:10-30, NIV .

You may derisively snort, or you may stare at your screen in disbelief. 

If you thought I'd pick Hermione, sorry. Luna trumps Hermione anyway. 

I love Proverbs 31 woman for the sheer fact that she is made of awesome. She's the big sister that you glare at for being the apple of your parents' eye, but you also respect her a whole ton. She'll be there for you no matter what the occasion, no matter the hour - and she's just sure in what she wants to do.

I know that we have parts of this woman in us - though not in a creepy Frankenstein way - yet, can you imagine being this woman?

I'd say it'd rock something awesome.

Anyway. Short and sweet because I'm being pulled away to tidy. I'll yawn at that concept...

30 Days of Books, Day 2.

[A book you've read 3 times.]

Flipping difficult.
Flipping, flipping, difficult.
I don't really read books from beginning to end more than once. I'm one of those abhorrent folk who flick through books once they've been read and go for my favourite moments.
Anyway, consulting my bookshelf for the most dog-eared, ruined copy of a book, I have found a book I most certainly know I have read three times over.

And I don't care what America says.
This is the right cover.
*insert immature nyah*

Hands down, this was my favourite Potter novel of them all. I can't quite figure out why, but there's a weird sense of joy I get from it. Maybe it's that, while reading the novels, I feel it's here that Rowling really gets into the swing of the novels, that pure sense of adventure that hurtles through the last five books in a clearer fashion than Philosopher's Stone and Chamber of Secrets.
Maybe it's the lack of Voldemort. I adore Voldemort (not in a creepy way; I'm not a huge fan of murderers but my writer-side emerges to go "That is one epically designed character" and froth), but there's something refreshing about Harry having to deal with another foe that's not Voldemort, and having to deal with things not being as they seem.
This is the novel that kicks things off for me. Yeah, the Horcrux did appear in CoS, but Pettigrew escaped in this one.

It will happen tonight. The Dark Lord lies alone and friendless, abandoned by those who once followed. Tonight, before midnight, his servant will break free and rejoin his master, and with that servant's help, the Dark Lord will rise again, greater and more terrible than ever before...

And from that, Voldemort ran free.

People may howl at me, but for all the beauty that the other novels possess, the intelligence and the respect for reading that are contained in the pages, I feel that this novel portrays them in the most accessible way. You can tell that Rowling understands the importance of words, and you become aware that she's passing those words down to the children who need to understand it as well.
I read this book when I was 8.
I'm still reading it today and being inspired.

For Christians out there who declare that Harry Potter is inappropriate reading, there is no instance where Rowling intends to turn children into witches and magic-folk. I'm a Christian myself, and I see no more problem with this series than with Lord of the Rings, or C.S. Lewis' Narnia series. The world Rowling has chosen to tell her tale in isn't a conventional one, but how else do you teach kids to take notice of things? 
The themes she portrays are no more different than any other YA novel - or adult one, for that sense.
She writes about confusion, about loss, about hurt, about pain.
She writes about friendship, unspeakable joy, and seizing the day.
She shows children that there are tasks that you're called to do, and no matter how big they are and how small you are, you CAN accomplish them.
And above all, it's a battle. About good vs evil, and about good triumphing in the end.
Isn't that what we all want?


Fantastic, amazing, and oh-my-gosh-all-the-sneaky-references-froth.