There is no rock like our God. 1 Samuel 2:2c

God is compared to a rock – not a shell. They are both very hard. They both probably have a similar chemical make-up. But shells. They are hard. But how hard is it to find a perfect shell on the beach? So many are crushed or broken or have holes. It makes it that much sweeter when you do find one that is whole. But God is always whole. Always perfect.

And God is rock, not a stone. Like shells, stones can be tossed around. They are light. They are small. They can be polished. Yu can decorate with stones. Think landscaping. Think vases.

Rocks. Rocks are different. Think about other attributes of God. God is bigger than the boogieman. Well, so are rocks. God is immovable. There are rocks so big you nee a bulldozer to move them. There are rocks so big you need dynamite to move them. There are rocks so big we call them mountains – Stone Mountain and Mount Rushmore.

God is invisible. There are rocks that are hidden so we only find them when we dig and they surprise us when we find them. Doesn’t God surprise you sometimes? Sometimes you only find Him when you dig. But then there are times the rock is right there in front of you. You don’t even notice t until you trip on it. God’s been like that too. He’s right there and He’s been there the whole time but I didn’t see Him until I tripped.

But scripture says, “There is no rock like our God.” Rocks do have qualities in common with God. But God is unlike rocks. God is invisible. We can’t see Him but He’s always there. God is loving, caring and merciful. Rocks are none of these things. Rocks don’t have feelings.

God is everywhere. Some would say rocks are everywhere. And there are times it seems that way. J But it only seems that way. There are no rocks in my head but God is there. There are no rocks in my heart but God is there too.

God sees everything. Rocks don’t have eyes. God hears everything. Rocks don’t have ears. God loves us. Rocks don’t have hearts.

God loves on us. Rocks can’t. They don’t have arms. Where are God’s arms? We are God’s arms. We are God’s body. How does God love on us? Through our loving on each other. I wouldn’t want a hug from a rock or a rock person. But I would want a hug from God.

As I’m on the beach playing with my feet in the sand – sand is really rocks that have been crushed so much they are tiny. (Or maybe sand is crushed shells.) But God can’t be crushed. He can’t be pulverized. He can’t be blasted into smaller, easier to handle sizes.

Hannah said, “There is no rock like our God.” And I for one am very happy about that!

Book 40

Gilgamesh the Hero by Geraldine McCaughrean

I'm starting to read books for the next school year. The literature for the girls so far is poetry and included an excerpt from Gilgamesh. I wanted to be sure I understood the story and so read Matthew's book. This story is very similar (as expected) to what I understood in the excerpt. But it starts much sooner in Gilgamesh's life and goes further. I do feel I understand the excerpt better.

Not just in this book, but also in the Ancient Egyptian poems I read, I'm finding stories very similar to what is in the Bible. I'm thinking there is truth to Romans where everyone has revelation of God and they will be judged according to their revelation. The Egyptians had a belief at one point of a single creator god. In Gilgamesh, they tell a rendition of the flood story complete with a boat they call an ark and animals on it. There are of course differences from the Biblical account.

Recommended: yes. It does give us insight to ancient peoples. But I would caution against young teens/tweens who are still easily swayed in their faith. If not fully convinced of faith in Christ, they could easily see the similarities as reasons to see the Bible as just another story ad not the truth.

Book 39

Cotillion by ??

I read this book a few weeks ago while on the way to and from the family reunion. It takes place in England, probably before Jane Austin days. But around that time. There was a little girl who was orphaned and taken in by an old man. He had no wife, no children, but 4 nephews. As the girl aged, he decided to make her his heir, but with the stipulation that she marry one of his nephews. He thought she would marry a certain one, his favorite. She was angry with him and convinced a different nephew to pretend to be engaged to her so she could have a "season" in London. Then they would break off their engagement and go their own ways.

The story that ensues is slightly predictable but still enjoyable. This is not a Christian story as it seems no on much goes to church and there is premarital relations, but nothing spoken of directly. You need to read between the lines to find it.

Recommended: Not for youngsters. Maybe not for Hannah, probably for Katie. But only if you like Jane Austin type stories.

Book 38

The Emperor of Nihon-Ja by John Flangan

Again, a book I was pre-reading for Matthew. This one again, I either read to fast or there weren't any curse words. I did notice a character saying "Blast it!" once or twice but no cursing. :-)

The books starts with the main characters separate. Will and Halt are in Toscana (I still haven't figured out where it is) and Horace is in Nihon-Ja. Will, Halt and Alyss are working out a treaty while Horace is learning new sword techniques. Right as negotiations are wrapping up on the treaty, Evalyn arrives with news that Horace has disappeared in Nihon-Ja. Wiil, Halt, Alyss, and Evalyn take off on a Skandian ship to save Horace.

Just like the others in the series, I enjoyed this one and recommend it. I've also heard a rumor that they are making some of the series into a movie. We'll have to see how it plays out.

Book 37

Case for Faith for Kids by Lee Strobel

I actually finished this book a couple weeks ago and I'm just getting back to blog it. Oops! Another pre-read for Matthew. I think he will get more out of this one than Case for Christ. This book answers the "hard" questions, at least some of them. "Why would a good God allow bad things?" and "Can other religions get us into Heaven?" are among them. It's a good book for the age group targeted.

Recommended: yes for either older children, youth or new adult believers.

Movie - Pirates 4

We unexpectedly went to Pirates of the Caribbean, on Stranger Tides today. Let's just say if I had gone onto unplugged.com to check it out before we went, we would not have taken M. Bad language being the reason. It's a popcorn movie. There are places where it is completely unbelievable - Blackbeard is magic, or rather his sword is. There are some thinly veiled sexual references that I don't think M got. I'm not sure about the girls. And then the zombies and the mermaids. Not your typical mermaids either - they were evil. Or rather you learn later that they react to the evil around them. There was a missionary in the movie. They didn't make him out to be over the top, thankfully. Nor did he turn on his faith. He wasn't what I would have hoped for a missionary either.

Not the best Pirates movie. But not a wasted 2 hour.

Recommended? I'm not sure. If you really like Pirates, the go. If you aren't a Pirates fan, then save your money, this one won't help.

Movie -Walk the Line

Oh no. More than one post in a single day! :-)

J and I sat down and watched the movie tonight. K didn't want to and H wasn't home - babysitting. And it's just not a movie for M. There was a little bad language, but not a lot. Enough to discount M but not enough to discount H. One after s*x scene, but nothing showed. So that will depend on your point of view.

In case this is new to you - it's a biopic of Johnny Cash. At least up to the late 60's. I didn't realize Johnny and June met so early and while he was still married to Vivian. Of course, all I ever knew was that June was a born again Christian, I didn't know when that happened. The movie did not paint Johnny's dad in a good light at all. But then it didn't really skim over Johnny's drug and alcohol addiction either. There was the allusion of affairs with fans, but you didn't see anything. Johnny was not made out to be a wonderful person, he had many flaws and they seemed to show them all.

I always wonder about movies based on real life - how true are they. I really don't know about this one. It's not something I looked up. I like Johnny Cash's music, some of it, but I'm not really a fan. I'll take the movie at face value and leave it at that.

Recommended - I don't know. Like I said I'm not a big fan of his music but I did enjoy the movie and seeing where he came from and how he came up through the ranks.