The night before last I was trying to explain the concept of dialects to my oldest daughter (6).  Now, I’m not a linguist, so you’ll have to excuse my explanation if it’s not exactly correct.  I used the differences between American, Canadian, British, and Australian English.  We speak the same language, but have very different pronunciation systems (even between regions in many cases), and use different words for different items even.  We don’t often think of regional variances in English as dialects, but I think they are.

For example, here’s a UK website called Bestcarhire.co.uk. Now, I don’t know about where you live, but we would NEVER refer to a car rental business with the words Car Hire, it actually took a couple of minutes for it to click.  Nice looking website though!

In my quest to read through the Bible in a year (something I’ve never before done, but think I’ll make a permanent spiritual discipline), I’ve now finished reading through the books of Leviticus and Numbers.  In a couple of days I’ll be finished Deuteronomy, and therefore, will have completed reading the entire Torah – the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.

The version I’m reading is The Daily Bible, a chronologically arranged NIV.  In this version the actual laws are presented a bit differently, they’re pulled together from Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy topically, so that all the verses pertaining to the laws for adultery, for example, are listed in a single location.  Pretty neat.

Something that I’ve been reflecting on while reading the Law is just how great and good God’s mercy is towards us.  So many sins that are never preached on in Western churches are included in the law, and both sins of commission and omission, knowing and unknowing are covered.  We are GUILTY whether we realize we’ve sinned or not, GUILTY of sins we aren’t even aware that we’ve committed.

Truly, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23.  By reading through the Old Testament laws I’ve been really blessed to catch a bit more of the great great grace of God, and the immeasurably priceless atonement that Jesus made on the cross for us.  Thank you Father, thank you!

A couple of weeks ago our stainless steel sink lost one of it’s ‘cups’.  I don’t know the technical name for this, but it’s the metal part that goes around the sink drain and holds the sink stopper in place.  Can you picture that with me?  Anyway, it broke out, Larry glued it in, but then found that didn’t work, so we picked up a new cup at the big hardware store in the city, only to get it home and find that it was deeper than the other side, so now our sink was lopsided and didn’t seal properly underneath.

Larry’s pretty handy, but if it were me I might resort to buying new stainless steel kitchen sinks.  Mr. Direct has super-fast shipping on a wide variety of kitchen sinks, and it’s faster than waiting for the once a month city trip!

Yesterday my brother-in-law was diagnosed with extensive prostate cancer.  Having found 3 separate ‘types’ of cancer in his biopsies, they found that on a scale of 1 – 5 with 1 being least invasive and 5 being the most aggressive, two of the cancers were rated a 3, one a 4.  The doctor recommended the immediate removal of the entire prostate, and while they are doing that they’ll check and see if it has spread – lymph node biopsies etc.

Living in Canada, hospital waiting lists can be somewhat long.  He needs to be transferred to a specialist in the big city, who’ll then book a surgery for him.  His urologist recommended immediate removal, but chances are he won’t receive surgery until sometime next year.  He and my sister have a 2 year old son.  Prayers for surgery to be quickly scheduled, peace of mind for both he and my sister, and health for him are much appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Our family is one of the spaciest I know when it comes to keeping time.  Being self-employed, and homeschooling it’s so easy for the days to all blend together.  We’re never sure if it’s a weekend or not when civic holidays take place, and so on.  We do try to keep a schedule that focuses upon several key events, and we try to hit them within an hour either way.  Sometimes we miss.

To help us keep on track better I’ve actually purchased a watch for my husband after thinking about it for some time!  Shhh, don’t tell him .  He probably won’t read this post since he’s pretty busy!  His birthday is coming up on December 1st, and while I didn’t get him a fancy casio pathfinder, I think he’ll be happy with the choice I made for him, just waiting for it to come in the mail now!

I do fairly well because I’m in the house where there’s a clock, but Larry is outside for much of the day – sometimes off deep in the woods cutting down trees, so it can be a bit trickier to get him into the house on time for luck or supper.  it’s most difficult when he’s working at a neighbor’s farm, but he doesn’t do too badly either in all honesty.  I can’t wait to see how much a watch will help him stay on track .

Well, we’re off on another somewhat unexpected trip to the city!  With the recent snowfall, our cows will now be okay at home for a while without us (they eat snow in the winter so we don’t have to water them – yeh, they are tough!)  We hadn’t had any snow that stayed yet this year, and have actually had a wonderfully warm November generally speaking!

So Larry is working on my parents house and putting in a new bathroom for them in the basement.  I’m not sure how long we’ll be here for, but it looks like we’re due for a series of visits until this job is done .

When Ed Dobson heard a radio interview with A.J. Jacobs, author of the bestselling The Year of Living Biblically, he was inspired. Touched by the dedication of someone whom isn’t a believer digging into the Word and literally living it out sparked a desire to do the same thing in his own life – only this time with a New Testament perspective. The Year of Living Like Jesus – Ed planned on taking ‘What Would Jesus Do’ to a new level for one entire year – while living with ALS.

From January through December Dobson sets off on a course to examine Jesus’ life and to do his best to follow in His footsteps. Written in an accessible, personal diary format, Dobson chronicles his journey and his reflections. He vulnerably shares both his triumphs (few) and his shortcomings and all-too-human shortcomings (many).

As a relatively new believer it was actually comforting in a sense to read of another’s struggles to follow Jesus as Lord while living in the flesh. Jesus is perfect, we’re not, and thankfully Dobson explores the deeper aspects of heart attitudes and temptations rather than leaving things at growing a beard and celebrating Jewish holidays.

Of course, there is a certain amount of that. Dobson sets out to do some fasting, dress modestly, keep the Sabbath, and much more, while aiming to read through the Gospels each week in an effort to more fully understand Jesus’ life here on Earth. His focus on keeping the Old Testament laws might be disconcerting to some, but Dobson is clear in his writings that believers are saved through faith and not through any obligation to keep the Law.

There is a groundswell of interest in the Church to recover her Hebraic roots. Believers are seeking to understand Jesus’ life as a Jewish man, the cultural understandings which shaped His parables, the setting in which Jesus fulfilled His calling. If you’re interested in doing the same I recommend Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus over this work.

Dobson seeks to live like Jesus in a modern setting – instead of wearing a long robe and sandals, washing his feet when he arrives at work, he wears clothing similar to that of an Orthodox Jew. He seems to do little research into actual first century Judaism and refers to modern texts on Judaism, and the advice of a local Rabbi, Orthodox priest, and Roman catholic priest for advice on a range of spiritual issues. Both the included aspects of his written journey and the closing notes and bibliography prove this out. Being admittedly inspired by The Year of Living Biblically, I was expecting a more literal adherence to first century practices in this regard.

Oddly while he neglects some of the ‘easier’ topics he could have addressed during his “Jesus Year”, Dobson veers off into a strange journey of using ritual, repetitive prayers. Picking up the rosary, Orthodox prayer rope, and Episcopalian prayer beads, this new technique of praying stays with Dobson throughout most of his book. For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out what any of this had to do with living like Jesus apart from a tenuous connection to praying the scriptures. His preoccupation with the rosary was even somewhat disturbing to me, as Jesus never indicated that any believer should pray to anyone other than God.

After reading The Year of Living Like Jesus I feel like I know Ed Dobson in some small way. His transparent confessions and struggles with sin display a great deal of humility on his part to be able to share these tender parts of his life openly. As a slice of life spiritual memoir, it’s a great read. However, if you’re looking for a good deep digging into first century Judaism, or a spiritual journey that is limited to scripture alone (sola scriptura), this likely isn’t the book for you.

This review copy was provided by Zondervan as part of a blog tour.

Visit Ed Dobson’s website, Living Jesusly here.  Read what other bloggers thought of The Year of Living Like Jesus here.

CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW AT CHRISTIANBOOK, OR AMAZON.COM!

This is a Mama Buzz review. The product was provided by Lisa M. Cotrell-Bentley for this review.

Meet the Wrights – a fictional family of homeschoolers exploring the U.S.A. by RV as they ‘road-school’ their way across the nation. Wright On Time: Arizona, the first in the series, finds author Lisa M. Cotrell-Bentley seamlessly blending mystery, suspense, and adventure with a thoroughly educational exploration of cave rock formations, bat habits, minerals, desert climate, acoustics and much more.

Think the Magic Schoolbus series of educational chapter books, but for homeschoolers, and much better. Rather than presenting educational facts in ‘chunks’ or obviously lecture-style explanations, learning opportunities are woven into the dialogue, interests, and discoveries of the characters. As a matter of fact, the very writing style mirrors the philosophies of the delight-driven, lifestyle led method of education that the Wright’s use to much success with their children.

With the boy/girl gender split in the Wright family, there’s a good balance of themes and interests to appeal to both groups of readers. Aidan, the family’s exuberant seven-year-old, can’t wait to see the bats he hopes to find deep within the desert cave. Nadia, a research-driven 11-year-old, is fascinated by the prospect of mining for minerals and hopes to find some malachite (her favorite).

In keeping with the characters’ ages, children between six and 12 will likely be the most drawn to the series, but our entire family enjoyedArizona as a read-aloud — even my three-year-old and my husband were kept engaged by the short, fast-moving chapters and cliff-hanger chapter endings that kept the pages flying. This is the first book my six-year-old has wanted to savor: “Let’s only read it every few days Mommy. This book is so exciting, and when we only read a little at a time – it’s even more exciting!”

From a design perspective, the Wright on Time series has it all together. Bright, full-color cover features wonder-filled artwork from illustrator Tanja Bauerle who also supplies the opening illustration for each chapter. It was her work on the interior title page, and the beautiful drawings on the Arizona reference page and map that the book opens with that I knew I was in for a treat.

I don’t judge books by their covers, but the care and detail that have been given to producing the flagship title of the series are much appreciated. The interior cream-colored pages that make reading easier for children, the careful layout, the glossary, the facts about Arizona — it all adds to what is already an exciting, suspense-filled story.

With 50 books planned for the series (one for each state), we’re looking forward to following the Wright family across America in their road-schooling adventures. In fact, I’m hoping they might continue their journey by taking a quick trip across the border to explore the provinces of Canada! We denizens of the far white North can always hope.

If you’re homeschoooling, you won’t want to miss this new series. In the words of our oldest, it’s, “…perfectly great, and fantastically perfect.” Or as Aidan would say, “Freaky Cool!”

To read more reviews of Wright on Time: Arizona, Book 1, visit Mama Bzz!  Lisa also has a fascinating website for Wright on Time where she shares glimpses into RV life, updates about the series, and a variety of other fascinating posts!

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Towering pillars of rage, claws extended, maws gaping – the bear in all of its raw, powerful glory. That’s the look Jill Greenberg was going for when she set out to compose a selection of photographs profiling the bear. Burned by some harsh criticism of her latest portrait exhibit, celebrity photographer Greenberg set out to encapsulate the human aggression she was receiving on a canvas of bearskin. One look at the cover of Bear Portraits is enough to let you in on the fact that she changed her mind during the process.

The collection I now hold in my hands is a minimalistic, photographic essay of 12 working bears of varying species in a series of poses and facial expressions that yes, do at times reflect pure bear power – but at other times are somewhat reminiscent of looks we’ve seen on our own faces or that of our loved ones. I’ll admit that I don’t particularly resonate with some aspects of Greenberg’s new mission such as drawing connections between human and animal behaviour, but that doesn’t much matter – it’s the photos I’m after.

After a one-page introduction to her work, it’s straight into amazing bear portraiture! Though sprinkled with takeaway quotes from notable thinkers ranging from Emerson to Homer Simpson, the stunning bear photography is always front-and-center. Any adult opening the book is first-most taken by the nearly otherworldly appearance of the bears, clean and refined, they appear more like anatomically correct teddy bears than the real deal at first glance. “Are those real bears?” my husband asked. The poses are so unique, the facial expressions so quizzical at times that the question is entirely understandable.

Make no mistakes – this isn’t nature photography, it’s carefully lit, set against studio-like monochromatic backgrounds, and the bears are guided by trainers as Greenberg looked for her shots. If you’re looking for bears catching fish or rolling around in mountain glades, this isn’t the collection for you. I’ll admit that as much as I’ve enjoyed the portraits I do find myself wondering if I’d ever see bears looking so dumbfounded, thoughtful, happy, or bemused as they often appear in this title. The huge, roaring bear stances I expect, as well as the sleepy bear, but it’s just these unexpected shots, and the contrast between gentle and giant that really make Bear Portraits what it is.

While every member of our family has spent large chunks of time immersed in Greenberg’s work, her biggest fan around here is my 16-month-old daughter. Any time she spots Bear Portraits it’s off the shelf, dragged across the floor and into a lap – either hers or mine. She turns the pages, laughs, coos, babbles happily, and has mastered the word ‘bear’ as we discuss the creature on each page. I literally have to put this book out of sight if I don’t want to see it dragged around our home. Thankfully it’s a sturdily bound hardcover with pages of a substantial weight. It could easily be considered a coffee-table book due to its rich and intriguing photographic content, but its smaller size (10” by 8”) makes it easy to read together while cuddling on the couch.

Also included in Bear Potraits is a ‘Who’s Who’ section at book’s end. Listing each subject by photograph, followed by name, species, height, weight, residence, and professional credits, each model is given credit for his or her  work. A fun game of finding which pictures belong to which bear can then ensue. Some are easy like the 800 lb. Agee the possessive Polar bear, the adorable Amos, a 4-month-old European Brown Bear, and Koda with a distinctive Grizzly shaped-face. An additional four breeds are also represented: Kodiak, Black Bear, and Russian Brown Bear.

My children love the cubs the best of course, while I find Agee’s striking coloration and dignified poses to be show stoppers. No matter which of the bear species is your favorite, or what bear mood you delight in, Bear Portraits is a diverse and fascinating exploration of bear-kind.

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