The Holiness of God – Book Review and Reflection

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My church just finished going through a book study together. Obviously we all read scripture together during service as our pastor preaches each week. The pastors and elders got together and chose a book for the whole church to go through in Sunday schools and small groups. It was a very fun time where we were all talking about this book, and especially this author, all during the week not just on Sunday mornings.

The book was: The Holiness of God by R. C. Sproul.

Find the book here.

The church staff also arranged for the different groups that met to study the book together to use the many different resources provided by Ligonier Ministries (founded by Sproul) as auxiliary material. These resources included lectures by Sproul, which we all enjoyed very much and found extremely helpful.

I have had the unique and blessed opportunity to study the Bible for much of my life. I was raised by missionary parents. I attended Christian school. I even studied the Bible in college, and minored in it. I have a lot of head knowledge about the Bible and about God.

Holiness is one of those things I struggle with.

I know God is holy. I know it is part of who he is, how he is, and most definitely how I am not. At the same time, it is one of the characteristics or aspects of God that I find “slippery”. I forget He’s holy, and what that implies for the rest of His character, and for my life.

This study helped with my “slippery mind” (to quote The Lion King). More than just reading the book by Sproul, watching him teach on the holiness of God impacted me greatly. It’s helped holiness stick.

Watching R. C. Sproul teach with such passion, understanding, and compassion hit me with the reality that God’s holiness is not just a thing that happens, a part of His character that is out there, but vitally important for the rest of who God is, what He has done for me, how He acts in the world, and how I (and all of us) ought to respond.

Holiness demands a response.

I don’t think I understood that before. The reality that God is holy, demands that I make a response. There is no apathy to holiness.

The reason why God’s holiness demands a response is because it is completely pervasive.

It isn’t that God is holy, and He is all His other attributes. He’s not holy, and just; or holy, and loving; holy and merciful. He is holy, therefore his love is a holy love. His justice is a holy justice. His mercy a holy mercy, and so on with every attribute of God – His holiness is pervasive! It is the defining attribute of God. He is holy, and no one else is. That is not something that can be ignored.

My automatic response to a demand like that is singing. I think it’s a pretty good answer, even the angels do so (see Isaiah 6:3, and Revelation 4:8).

During this study, this song continually came to my mind:

Only a Holy God by CityAlight

Who else commands all the hosts of heaven?
Who else can make every king bow down?
Who else can whisper and darkness trembles?
Only a Holy God.

What other beauty demands such praises?
What other splendour outshines the sun?
What other majesty rules with justice?
Only a Holy God

Come and behold Him
The One and the Only
Cry out, sing holy
Forever a Holy God
Come and worship the Holy God

What other glory consumes like fire?
What other power can raise the dead?
What other name remains undefeated?
Only a Holy God

Who else could rescue me from my failing?
Who else would offer His only Son?
Who else invites me to call Him Father?
Only a Holy God
Only my Holy God!

Soli Deo Gloria

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When a book is good, but not for you

“I’m frustrated with this book. It’s not going deep enough for me.”

“This book is good. She’s funny! And relatable.”

“I wish she had…”

“Maybe this book just isn’t for me.”

These were all things I thought, and several I said out loud to my husband (hi, I love you), while reading a book I just finished today. I kind of forced myself to finish it because there was truly nothing outrightly wrong with the book. The author accomplished what she set out to do, and she did it pretty well.

It’s a book about creativity and motherhood. From that alone, you would think I’d be all in, all for it, that’d it be right in my wheelhouse. That’s what I thought, anyways. My motherhood and my creativity go hand in hand. I talk about the crossing of the two things in my life all the time, with friends and family, and on this blog. I thought this book would be an instant win for me.

But it wasn’t.

I am not going to name drop the book or author, but you may be able to figure it out from my descriptions. As a fellow creative, and mother, I applaud her hard work, her excellent writing, her creativity, her diligence (she wrote this during lots of difficulties, which she describes in the book). This is a reality for all creatives: not everyone will love what you make. And that’s ok. God still sees it. God still delights in what honors and glorifies him. I truly see that this author was seeking this from her work. I do not fault her for her content not appealing to me. I am one person, I am just a woman. I am not God.

Two thirds into the book, a chapter title revealed the reason for me. The chapter was titled: “Remember to play”. The chapter encouraged moms to play, relax, let go. That’s when I realized, this book is written to a mother with different struggles than me, and that’s ok. The phrase: remember to play, is not helpful to me. I am not a type A person. I am a laid back, relaxed, type of person. I am creative in all that I do. I cannot help it. I have never had to remember to do it, or felt like my creative endeavors were impossible now that I’m a mom. If I do not do creative things, regularly, daily, I go crazy. Literally. My husband, and children, can attest to this. I love spontaneous trips. I love treats. I love laughing and singing, and – dare I say it – mess. I love a good mess. It means things happened! People lived! Kids created! I love it.

This book was written to moms to remind them to do these things, to give them “permission”, to “stir them up” in this way. The way that I already function. And that’s ok.

That is needed for a lot of moms.

Reading this book was good for me, because a lot of it didn’t apply to me. But it reminded me that there are people who need this. That there are moms who aren’t like me. And that is good.

It can be frustrating and disappointing when a book you were excited about, a book you thought would appeal to you really well, really deeply, just doesn’t hit you in that way.

But this book was recommended by someone who said “this book really helped me”. They encouraged (on their podcast, so they are recommending it to hundreds of moms all across the internet) others to read it. It clearly affects people!

For me, it didn’t. But it is so needed to remember that I’m not the gold standard. I am not the perfect audience. I am not God, which is a VERY good reminder.

Soli Deo Gloria

My youngest and I on our spontaneous trip to Downtown Disney. It was a sweet treat for the two of us, while the “big kids” were in school. (Don’t worry, I made it up to them and we went this week for spring break!)
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A Poem from the Trunk

I’ve been writing quite a bit of fiction lately, and reading a lot of my old writing. In my browsing I found this old poem. I thought I’d share it!

I wrote it as a reflection of a long ago family trip to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. I would share a picture, but it would not do it justice. Much like the Grand Canyon, there are some places that do not translate completely accurately into photos.

Cathedral

Silence of summer heat melts into echoes and darkness.
Engines roar,
Metal clanks,
Water drips.
Helmets with little lights
Deck the heads of Dad and I.
Holding hands through slippery ground.

Brother stands close
Through narrow passages,
Twisting paths.
Passing pits,
Abandoned buckets,
Decaying planks of wood.
Spooky stories of cave ins,
Dead men,
Hopes dashed,
Treasures never reached,
Or beyond their grasp.

Metal pathways lead deeper down and in.
Dad quotes, “Further up and further in!”
Mystery awaits.
Claustrophobic pressure 
Mix with angsty pre-teen moods.
Misery and fear.
Selfishness not unlike the old prospectors.

Sudden openness,
Echoing louder,
Father and deeper,
Higher and wider.
Stone rippling like waves,
Stumps of hardened water
Standing like men.
Cavernous cathedral
Cold, dark, deep, and vast.

It was a spooky, awe-inspiring trip for pre-teen me, if you can’t tell!

Soli Deo Gloria

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Insecurities as a Writer

I think I can call myself a writer. I do it a lot. I started my first blog when I was a senior in high school, just before college. This blog began when I was a mom of just my first two children. I have been writing poetry and fiction for as long as I can remember.

I think I can call myself a writer.

My current big writing project is a book. I have been working on it since 2020 (off and on), and I’m in (another) round of editing. Some of it is really great, and some of it is horrible. Revision and editing is a rollercoaster.

Cozy revision time! Just me on the couch with my tea after the kids are in bed.

Recently I had a realization of why this book is also really hard for me to edit: I wrote it in the wake of my miscarriage in 2020 (I have a post about it here). Much of the plot and characters were developed as a distraction for my head and my heart from my sorrow. I’m not sure whether that was a good or bad idea, it’s just what happened. Therefore, these characters and this story has come to mean a lot to me. So, finding problems in it and having to fix it is hard.

Now that I realize the connection between this story and my experiences and emotions, I feel better able to tackle the revision and editing process. Previously it was super depressing. Now, I am motivated to make it really good. Before, revision felt like a personal attack, like I was no good at anything. Now, I’m seeing how things can be better, and that I am the one responsible for making the change, improving it, and presenting something excellent.

My working title for the project is: The Time Traveler’s Hotel.
And if you would be interested in updates, I can work on future posts to update you all about the progress of the book.

Here’s a mock cover for the book I made

Thank you for supporting me.

Soli Deo Gloria

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Echo – Love and Brokenness – TV Show Review

Let’s try something new.
I have reviewed and talked about many, many books before, but I’ve never talked about any other kind of media or art. So, today I’d like to talk about a TV show I just watched, the Marvel Spotlight show: Echo.

A little background: I am an MCU fan. I really do like almost everything they put out. I’m the kind of gal who would rather watch an action flick than a rom-com. I kind of grew up watching the films, and the characters, and have watched the studio evolve over time.

I watch Marvel the same way I read a book, with a discerning eye. I’m naturally a dissector. I want to know the how and why behind everything, including movies and TV shows. I am not swayed by funny dialogue, awesome effects, or captivating performances, though I will applaud all of those things since they are part of an artist at work (but that’s for another blog post).

With that said, how was Echo?

Echo is about Maya Lopez, who what introduced in the MCU show Hawkeye. This series delves into Maya and the people she calls family, specifically her grandmother, mother, cousins Bonnie and Biscuits, Uncle Henry, and her “uncle” Kingpin.

Check out this awesome poster from IMDb

Spoilers Ahead!!!

Maya has been raised to fight, but she has also been raised to care, to love. Her mother and father wanted what was best for her. Her mother taught her to be selfless and give out of yourself to lift up others. However, her mother died when she was still a young girl. Her mother’s death was a direct result of her father’s choices to get involved with Kingpin’s gang. This splits the family, and Maya and her father move to New York.

Her father continues to teach her what her mother did about selflessness and love, but his own experiences put his own spin on it, and being a single father is hard. Her father emphasizes strength and power, desiring for his daughter to be able to protect herself and others. However, being in New York puts her in direct contact with Kingpin, who has compassion on the young girl, and begins treating her like family.

Eventually, Kingpin’s affection becomes a deep love for Maya as a daughter, and Maya has also come to truly love her “Uncle”, as she calls him, especially after the death of her father. (Dun, dun, dun). During the events of Hawkeye, Maya discovers that Kingpin ordered her father to be killed. Her father’s death makes Maya more isolated, and draws her closer to Kingpin, relying on him entirely as the only family that either of them have.

However, this really isn’t true. The truth is, Maya has always had family. She has always had people who love her and care about her, but the rift that occurred between her father and grandmother have made her believe that she is alone, and Kingpin exploited it. The events of Echo bring Maya’s two worlds together, with an added MCU twist (which I won’t spoil, because that scene in the finally was amazing!), and force Maya to see the truth, that she was never alone, that she doesn’t have to be alone, that her family loves her, and that she is stronger, not when she is a lone queen with all the power, but when she is dependent, in community, and sharing the power she has with others, especially those she loves.

Wow that’s a lot!

I was going to put the official trailer for the show here, buuuuuuut it’s pretty violent. So, instead this is a behind the scene’s trailer about the collaboration they went through with the Choctaw people. From cultural portrayals, to costumes, to creation myths, the Marvel Studios team really did a good job of being faithful and loving in their portrayal of a historically underrepresented, misrepresented, and worse-represented people in our nation.
For me, as a person who is passionate about history and people, this was very cool, very important, and really well done.

So what’s the point? Let’s pick up a two key themes I saw in this show.

1. People are complicated
Often in movies, especially super hero movies, we just don’t have the time to see people for all they are. In shows, we are able to slow down and dig deeper into characters and ask why and how. This show does that. Why is Maya so angry? What makes her so good a beating up people? What’s her life like as a deaf, amputee, Native American? Who is her family and why haven’t they being in contact in 20 years?!
It also does this with our villain: Kingpin. He’s a delightfully, and terrifyingly complicated bad guy in the comics and also on screen. Honestly, I originally wanted to watch this show just to see him again.

2. Love is hard
Anyone who has ever loved anyone knows this. This show also hits a note from another MCU show that I loved, Loki in which Loki says: “It’s harder to stay”. Amen. It’s “easier” to run, to hit back, to get angry, it’s harder to stay, to keep talking, to heal. Maya is a complicated character who has done both. She has runaway, she usually hits back. But she has also stopped, stayed, and healed, and by the end of the show, she does both, which is the most superhero thing to do.

Conclusion

I really liked this show. WARNING: it is rated TV-MA, and if you are not ok with violence, this is probably not the show for you (I definitely had to hide my eyes at some parts). If you are able to deal with the rough stuff – the mature content of the TV-MA rating – then there are some real gems you can walk away from in this show.

For me, I walked away from this show asking myself, how am I doing? Am I running from hard people? Am I fighting back when I should be listening? Am I selflessly loving others? It’s one thing for a fictional superhero, it’s another for a Christian, who is supernaturally called by the Creator of universe to “love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12).

Soli Deo Gloria

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