He Is Risen!

Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand,

by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep;

then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles;

and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. . . .

But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.

For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead.

For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.

But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's at His coming,

then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power.

For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.

The last enemy that will be abolished is death.

For HE HAS PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET But when He says, "All things are put in subjection," it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him.

When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.



~(1 Corinthians 15:1-8, 20-28)

May you joy in the truth that God, our all in all, has provided all, that we might inherit all. A blessed resurrection Sunday to you!

Emily's Book in Bulgarian

My last post reported on a book that I've been reading by Philip Yancey, but this one is about a book that I edited--in fact, my first acquisition at Discovery House Publishers. One of the first tasks that I was assigned three years ago was checking two Christian writers' Websites for proposals that looked like they might have promise for DHP. I've taken that task quite seriously, and the first book that I've successfully seen from proposal to published book is Who Has Your Heart? by Emily Ryan.

The book is written to single women, and it has a great message about the importance of finding meaning and significance in a relationship with Christ, which ought to take priority over finding a husband. It's fun, witty, an enjoyable read--and most importantly, it meets Discovery House's mission: it's a book that feeds the soul with the Word of God. I was very pleased to be a small part of this great book's being published and to have the opportunity to get to know Emily, the author.

RBC Ministries, with which Discovery House is affiliated, has an international outreach, with offices in locations around the world. Our Daily Bread, RBC's best-known publication, is translated into nearly 30 languages. So it follows that often our DHP books are translated into Spanish and Chinese, as well as many other languages. I was really excited, then, when our publisher announced that there was a publisher in Bulgaria who was interested in publishing Who Has Your Heart? into Bulgarian. Somehow, a publisher's daughter who could read English got the book, read it, and decided that young single women in Bulgaria would benefit!

And they will! How exciting for Emily, a young, first-time author, that her words will touch lives in Bulgaria.

If you want to read more about the translation and publication of this book into Bulgarian, see a picture of its Bulgarian cover, and find out where exactly Bulgaria is, check out Emily's blog.

Prayer

Our publishing team at RBC Ministries has been reading and discussing Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference by Philip Yancey.

It's always a pleasure to read one of Yancey's books if only for the sheer craftsmanship of his writing. In the three chapters of this book that I've read so far, he does not disappoint.

In chapter 3, "Just As We Are," Yancey writes about how we ought to understand ourselves as we approach God in prayer. A recurring theme so far is that as we pray, we must never forget who God is and the necessity of seeing things from His point of view. And so in this chapter, he reminds us of who we really are. Because we are guilty, he suggests that prayer ought to start with confession. We must set aside our self-reliance and independence and recognize our helplessness. Humility must characterize us as we recognize our smallness and God's greatness.

One of my favorite Yancey insights from this chapter is his discussion of a trip to Japan where he had a lengthy conversation with a pastor who was agonizing over the 99 percent of Japanese people who do not know Jesus. This pastor wondered if these people would truly burn in hell. He had heard of those who believed that people might have a second chance to repent after death, and some believed in a universal salvation. He asked Yancey what hope he could offer him for these people who had not repented.

Yancey, exhausted from travel and sleep deprivation, reviewed aloud with the pastor certain doctrines, Scriptures, and even Lewis's view of hell from The Great Divorce. At last Yancey responded, "I do not know the answer to your questions. But I believe strongly that at the end of time no one will be able to stand before God and say 'You were unfair!' However history settles out, it will settle on the side of justice tempered by mercy." Yancey concludes that we come to know God better through prayer, and as we encounter Him, we learn to trust.

So far it's a thought-provoking, interesting read, and I'm looking forward to future readings and discussions on this seemingly never exhausted topic.

Butterflies Are Blooming

Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come (2 Corinthians 5:17).


This past Saturday Henry, Katie, Jonathan, and I visited the "Butterflies Are Blooming" exhibit at Meijer Gardens. I'm always amazed by the beauty of these creatures and at the creativity of the God who made them. So many colors, wing shapes, and sizes--and so much grace. It's fascinating watching them fly around and land to drink nectar, carefully balancing as they gradually fold their wings together. And you're never quite sure when one lands on you; it seems like something is there, but the sensation is so faint that you have to ask someone if there's a butterfly on your head.

It was a fantastic way to spend a cold but sunny Saturday afternoon, and the whole experience offered up the promise of spring and warmth after what has been a long cold winter. Although butterflies symbolize life and remind me of the verse above, they live only two weeks before they die. Caught up by the romance of it all, I theorized that since they don't get to live very long, their compensation is that they all get to be extremely beautiful. Henry the scientist reminded me that fruit flies don't get to live very long, either, but they don't get to be beautiful, and so my theory is flawed. I still like it.

Katie took over two hundred pictures while she was there, and this is one of her favorites.

Finding the One

What is it about wedding dresses that completely levels the playing field for all of us women--no matter what age, what style, what size, what social status? Even if we don't pay a second of attention to clothing otherwise--we all sit up and take notice when the subject of wedding dresses comes up.

And so I was thrust into the quest for the dress--the one that would feel just right, the one that I would immediately know when I put it on to be THE ONE. As surely as Henry is THE ONE to marry, this dress would be THE ONE to wear when I marry him. And as recently as two weeks ago, I would have laughed you out of the room if you said this to me. And yet, experience, which really isn't always a reliable teacher, has taught me differently.

I started looking in earnest about two weeks ago for . . . I wasn't exactly sure what. I was more sure of what I didn't want than what I did: no strapless dress; nothing that might look like I was a woman who wasn't exactly 25 trying to look 25; nothing that wasn't ivory; and no trains or any of the other fru-fru stuff that makes 16-year-old girls starry eyed when they flip through the pages of Bride magazine.

So two weekends ago, I headed out with my all-girl dress posse, Katie and my niece, Elizabeth. We hit a small bridal shop, where I tried on quite a few dresses and learned very quickly that I was going to have to be more open minded about this thing. I did put on one that brought oooo's and ah's from the store owner and Katie, and I was kind of impressed myself. And yet I wasn't prepared to commit so quickly in the process. Our next stop was at a clothing store with a wide selection of formal wear--no traditional wedding dresses. Again, I was very surprised--and torn--when I tried on a dress that on the hangar I was sure was ridiculous. And now there seemed to be two good options. Oh what would I do?

But by Monday, the feelings were gone, just like a bad junior high crush. And my attempts to satisfy this longing in my heart with a quick lunchtime visit to a bridal shop near my office brought only frustration and confusion--and fear as I tried on a dress that was a bit too small and wondered how I would get out of it. From that, I learned that wedding dress shopping was at least a two-woman job.

So I had decided that I was going to start fresh on Saturday with a new addition to the posse--the one person who will always tell me the fashion truth--my mom. We headed out to West Michigan Bridal Gallery, and I nearly turned around and left when we couldn't get into the parking lot for all of the cars. On entering the store, I was handed a card to fill out and asked what I was looking for. I was handed a set of blue shower curtain rings and sent down the aisle of informal wedding dresses and told to put one of the rings on the hangars of the dresses I wanted to try. I would be told when a dressing room was available. Not very romantic, lots of rules, but definitely organized.

While we waited for a dressing room, Katie, who doesn't completely understand that the wedding isn't all about her dress, found about twenty bridesmaid dresses to try on. After what seemed like a very long time, my mom, Katie, and I entered the dressing room and started trying things on. I found a couple that were interesting, but nothing that gave me "that feeling." My poor mom was busy trying to give an opinion on the dresses Katie and I were trying on and re-hanging up our discards. Finally I put one on; Katie was looking at herself, and my mom was trying to make order out of madness. I said, "You guys--look." It was THE ONE, and we all knew it, deep down in our souls. None of us had any idea how to fasten up the back, but I marched out, clutching it to me, to check it out in the big mirror. In the meantime, the woman working there was busily trying to find me the appropriate undergarments, lacing up the back, and straightening out the train. None of it mattered. Not even the price.

And so I left the store, having purchased a dress. I had a quick thought: How will I feel on Monday? Was this just another flirtatious dress encounter? But on Monday, I was pulling up the Website and sending an e-mail with the link to all of my work girlfriends for their approval. And like the true girls they all are, they heartily approved. Who is going to tell their girlfriend they hate her wedding dress?

I was watching a TV show where a mother of the bride was sharing her memories of the weeks leading up to her wedding at a bachelorette party. She said that for a couple of weeks, before the wedding, she would put her dress on every night after her mother had gone to bed and look at herself in the mirror. I don't have my dress yet, so I can't put it on, but I've been visiting it on-line. The feelings are still there, and they're strong. I really think this is the one that will last. (And I'm pretty sure Henry is a keeper, too.)