Book Review: In the Land of Blue Burqas by Kate McCord (a protective pseudonym)

 

It is likely that I wouldn’t have picked up the book In The Land of Blue Burqas on my own had it not been for my mom and sister.  Upon their recommendation I gladly launched into its 300 pages and found myself engrossed in an unexpectedly, thought-provoking heart-felt, beautiful story.  It is not a fictionalized story, but a true account of a modern American woman’s five year immersion in the people and culture of Afghanistan while heading up work for a non-government organization.  She draws back the curtain to reveal her experiences for our Western eyes to see, not with her back towards us saying “here , see what it was like” in the same manner  a museum docent describes an artifact, but rather she pushes back the curtain while partly concealed  by it herself, her face towards us beckoning us to at least poke your head in and relive the lessons learned with her.  That is largely what this book is about—lessons learned.

 The cultural and religious variances between the author and her Afghan neighbors taught her many things about people, life and most importantly, about God Himself.  These lessons can be lumped into themes, which the Author has divided into the book’s 16 chapters.  She asks (and in some measure answers) the questions:

 

-          How do we deal with and respond to hatred and insult?

-          What is forgiveness and what allows us to practice it?

-          Who protects us from sin?

-          Who is responsible for judging?

-          How do we please God?

-          What is the purpose and importance of prayer and fasting?

Her answers to these questions are anything but dry.  She recounts her tales in the true voice and spirit of storytelling, to the point your own breath is suppressed with the same stifling heat of the trench coat the Author must wear under the desert sun so neither the leering eyes of the men she passes nor the laws and rules they are bound to keep cause her any trouble.  Your own body relaxes as she sits and leans against the cool wall in the heat of the day, eating almonds and candies with friends.  You experience the same astonished-puzzlement as her neighbor explains the laws and rules found in a holy book they are able to read. 

 The daily encounters with neighbors and co-workers whose religious view are so distinctly and adamantly opposed to her own required her to seek the Bible to answer these question for herself and those who demanded them.  The humility and gentle fortitude of the Author expressed in her daily search of the Scriptures and the piercing questions she asked others impressed me not a little.  Such a gentle spirit paired with a commitment to the truth of Gods’ Word is only a demonstration of the Holy Spirit’s work in her life.   

Perhaps the most notable feature of this book was that with the progression of each chapter, my amazement and awe at the beauty of the Gospel of Jesus Christ grew.  Sometimes the wonder of what you have is dimmed by its familiarity and is only seen once again for what it really is when contrasted with something else.  That is what this book did for me.  It reignited a deep sense of gratitude as I saw once again that all the other religions of the world—no matter how “similar” they are to Christianity nor how many “good and nice” people believe otherwise—none of them has anything to compare to the glory of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!!  But not only did this book fan the flame of my love of truth, it also ignited a distinct compassion I had not known before.  It is a compassion resulting from knowing the truth and yearning for others to understand the same, realizing that there is no room or reason for pride in the understanding I possess and that other people are blind to see.  

“I (too) once was lost, but now am found. T’was blind and now I see.” 

In The Land of Blue Burqas is a volume high up on my list of both enjoyable and recommended reads.  If you find yourself desiring to know more about the culture and faith of the Afghan people or to have our own faith challenged and refreshed, may I suggest you turn to this book?

Woodworking Projects #1

As mentioned in this post, I have taken up a little bit of woodworking.  It was instigated almost randomly by my free-time and fueled by Ana White, blogger and  author of a book called The Handbuilt Home.   For Newbies like me who are starting out with no real skills, or ladies possessing some skill but who are desirous of easy-to-understand plans ,this book is a great investment.  I would also recommend Ana's website/blog which contains many of the same plans that are in her book (for free!) in addition to videos and lots of other neat stuff.  One of my favorite features of her blog is that you can search her free plans by skill level or design (cottage vs modern etc).  Very handy!  This book, along with some much appreciated assistance from Dad, has given me the boost I need to create....

...Picture ledges

It was amazingly fun to learn how to cut with a table saw, use the hand sander, drill pilot holes, punch nails beneath the surface of the wood and finalize it all as I swiped my angled paint brush across the wood's buttery surface.  I am now in the process of making yet another shelf that is longer and has a decorative front edge.  I don't need a shelf...I just want to work with wood!  I have two other projects up my sleeves... the fun has just begun!

I also made a fun little sign for my bedroom using "my word" of the year...satisfied.  I absolutely LOVE the look of stained wood!  Using a font in Word that I liked, a green 99 cent folder from Staples, and an exact-o knife, I created my own stencil (as seen in picture).   

Too Industrious to be Bored

As some of you know, I have been “taking September off” from the job search.  Such a move might cause some to wonder, “now what could you be doing with all that free time?  Don’t you get tired of it?”  All this free time  off has indeed prompted me to think about busyness, boredom and industry. 

Granted, I have had moments in which I wondered what I should do but I am blessed to say that I never been “bored.”  Much of this has to do with the rich childhood my parents gave me.  They always thought it was important to cultivate more than mere academics in their kids.  My mom used to say that “bored people are boring people.”  I think there is truth to that.  I think bored people are boring because they are unaware (or worse, apathetic towards) the myriad of interesting and useful pursuits….reading, hiking, sewing, woodworking, bug collecting, gardening, visiting shut-ins, target-practice, photography, pets…the list can be quite endless. 

It seems to me that in many ways boredom is just culturally accepted apathy.  A wonder-less existence.  A world in which a mind is not curious about the unknown nor adventurous enough to dip their toes into it.  I am certain the causes of such ignorance and/or indifference are multi-faceted, with many hypothesis purposed regarding them and about which numerous books have been written.   All of this however, goes beyond the scope of this little blog post.   

I am thankful that my parents encouraged each of us kids to pursue interesting and new industries (aka hobbies).  They didn’t do it to keep us “out of the way.”  On the contrary, some of our hobbyist pursuits may have meant that we were more messy and in the way than had we languished away quietly in boredom.   My parents also did not encourage industry as a way to just keep us “busy.”  In my mind there is a difference between busyness and industriousness (notice how carefully I picked out the title of this blog post… I could have said “too busy to be bored” but I intentionally didn’t).  Busyness to me, implies some degree of fluster; an exertion that may include but perhaps more often does not include purpose, value or edification to anyone. Industriousness on the other hand, signifies activity with purpose, value and edification. 

Fewer things are sadder to me than a “bored” adult.   Because of the heritage of industry planted in me as a child, I am happy to say that as an adult I have reaped some of the delightful harvest of finding many things interesting.  While I may be an “educated” collage graduate in my twenties with extra time on my hands, I am never bored.  On the contrary, my time off has invigorated and enlivened my interests so that I am trying things I never really considered before…like woodworking for example.  (Stay tuned for future posts about these endeavors). 

 Hobbies and industry….

…are a diminishing practice

…cause people to think critically

…may be messy

…take time

…are enriching

…transforms you from the Sad Soul with whom a person can only talk to for a 1 minute at a party into the Flourishing Soul with whom people can willingly talk to for 30 minutes or more- because you interesting

…are moments never wasted!

 What are your thoughts about boredom and hobbies? What do YOU do to be industrious?!

Heart of the Matter Monday: "To be blessed...:

"To be blessed is not to live free of struggle, but to cling to Christ in the midst of the struggle."

~Nancy Guthrie. The Promised One bible study. Pg 223.

Heart of the Matter Monday: Thoughts from St. Augustine

"Nothing is nearer to You (God) than a confessing heart and a life grounded in faith."

~ St Augustine.  Confessions (Book Two)

Wednesday Writing Bits: Woodworking

The following was actually part of a letter I wrote to a friend of mine.  We were discussing the natural disasters events that occur in our lives on a daily basis.  I would like to think that the following sort of story is normal for everyone.  I am sure things like this happen to you too...right?

I have been spending some of my extra “unemployed” hours on learning some woodworking skills (a task that is very foreign to me…which is why I thought I would give it a try).  Today my very proud Self drilled pilot holes successful only to go too far with the countersink bit jabbing a horrendous hole into my wood. Phooey.   Good thing it was on the backside of my project and hip hip hooray for wood-putty (never used it but I know it’s out there).  I applied the wood glue and began screwing in the screws…twist…twist...creak….the boards began to lift apart! Well, silly me didn’t know until later that such a thing was not an emergency and is really quite normal and only requires me to (practically) prostrate myself on the two boards while I screw them together to prevent them from separating.  Smile.  Later (of course after such exertion I had to take a break), I attempted to glue and nail another little board to the front of the project. Well the glue, glued fine but after driving one of the finishing nails into the wood (and after consulting Dad) I realized I should have driven pilot holes in for the nails to make them easier to drive in and prevent splitting. No problem.  Somehow even my pilot hole practice-run  in a piece of scrap board didn’t prevent me from encountering difficultly while working ON my project.  The difficultly was none other than getting the drill bit stuck in the wood.  Smile.  With some intervention from Dad we got it out and I learned that in the future I need to really crank down on the drill chuck in order to ensure a tight union betwixt drill and bit. 

Fortunately nothing else eventful occurred during the project…unless you call bending three nails in the process of punching the finishing nails below the surface of the wood an event.  I certainly wouldn’t count that, would you?  

 

Food Fact Fridays: Yummy Gummies

  I hope you will forgive the long silence on my blog.  I was away on vacation for 14 days and now that I am back home I have been busy with the consuming activities of relaxation and industry.  Blogging has (obviously) not been included in any one of those categories. 

I have been enjoying testing out new recipes (almost 1 or 2 each) and really enjoyed this one from Balanced Bites. com.  I just call them Yummy Gummies, but their original name is Sweet and Sour Gelatin Snacks.  The Author uses grass-fed gelatin instead of well, regular gelatin that comes from cows that are non-grass-fed.   My interest in gelatin has increased as I have learned more about its nutritional benefits which are directly related to gut and digestive health—a topic near and dear to my heart.  I have not gone so far as to use the grass-fed gelatin (partly because of its expense and the fact that it must be mail-ordered).  I just used regular gelatin that I got at Wal-Mart for less than a buck per box.  It worked great.  In fact, these tasted great!!!

As an advocate for “everything in moderation: I am almost ashamed to admit that I ate almost the an entire half of the 8X 8 pan of these Yummy Gummies the first day!  These are very sour but that is partly what I find so cool, refreshing and attractively delicious about them.  If you what them sweeter or feel in the mood to make your own “gummy worms” just cut these in strips instead of squares or cookie cutter shapes and roll them in a little bit of granulated sugar ( my Dietitian conscience is pricking me as  I write the words granulated sugar…so please only do this last bit as an occasional treat!).       

Sweet & Sour Gummy Gelatin Snacks

grain-free • gluten-free • dairy-free • nightshade-free

PREP TIME: 10 minutes COOKING TIME: 5 minutes (CHILL TIME: 60+ minutes)
YIELD: 4 servings

Lemon-lime Version:

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
•          1/4 cup  freshly squeezed lime juice
•          1/4 cup water (optional, depending on how sour you like things – without it these are quite sour!)
•         zest from lemons and/or limes as desired
•          1 tablespoon maple syrup (optional, but will be very tart without this)
•          4-5 tablespoons grass-fed gelatin, (orange/red package will gel, the green will not)

Preparation:

• In a small pot over medium-low heat, whisk the lemon juice, lime juice, water (optional), zest, maple syrup, and gelatin together vigorously until the gelatin is well dissolved and the mixture becomes a nice slurry. 
• Pour the mixture into a small glass or ceramic dish, preferably 6×9″ or so. The smaller the pan, the thicker your gummies will be. For thinner gummies (to cut into “worms,” for example), use a larger pan.
• Chill in the refrigerator until completely set, approximately 30 minutes.

Change it up!

·         To make these more fun for the kiddos, cut them out with small cookie or aspic cutters once they’re chilled and fully gelled, or chill them in fun-shaped molds. To remove them from the molds once chilled, set the bottoms of the mold containers in warm water to release them from the pan.

For a sweet-tart blueberry version go HERE ( and scroll to the bottom)