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There’s a book for that: Memoirs of an English Governess at the Siamese Court

Watching the film version of The King and I is one of my best childhood memories. I don’t know if it was the first musical I ever watched, but it certainly added to my love for the genre. The song “Getting to Know You” runs through my head when I meet new people. Fortunately for them, I don’t sing it out loud.

Years later, when Jodie Foster took the lead role in the non-musical Anna and the King, I gained new appreciation for the story of the widowed British woman who takes on the role of teacher and governess to the children of the King of Siam.

The two movies share some similarities in theme, and while they are based on a true story, I was never sure how much was fact and how much was fiction.

As part of this series, I decided to read Anna Leonowens’ book Memories of an English Governess at the Siamese Court. I was pleased to discover that the king’s quirks, portrayed so brilliantly by Yul Brynner, were accurate. Who can forget his repetition of “Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera” or his “Who? Who? Who?” when Anna first arrives on the scene. These are documented in the book.

In fact, Leonowens’ work is incredibly detailed so that if you’ve never traveled to the Orient, you feel as though you are there. As with most things I read, I want to read more about this area of the world. On the downside, I did get a little bogged down in the details about midway through the book and almost didn’t finish it because it wasn’t holding my attention.

What I didn’t find in her account was any trace of love story, which appears in both film versions. I like both movies as stories, independent of the truth, and I’m glad to have read the story straight from the source. It reminds me that historical fiction is both based in history and fictionalized for dramatic effect.

One more week to go in this series. If you missed my other posts, check out my thoughts on the book versions of Mary Poppins, The Princess Bride, and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Next week: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

Shining a light on persecution: Review of Safely Home by Randy Alcorn

First day of summer means summer reading is in full swing. The Tyndale Summer Reading Program is back this summer. If you like to read and want to earn free books for reading and reviewing this summer, check out the program and reading list.

The 10th anniversary release of Safely Home by Randy Alcorn is one of the fiction choices on the list. I hadn’t read this book before, and its theme of Christian persecution in China intrigued me.

In the book, an American businessman and a Chinese Christian who once were roommates at Harvard are reunited in China after 20 years. The businessman’s life and faith have disintegrated despite the appearance of success while the Chinese man’s faith has flourished despite poverty, oppression and dashed dreams.

I appreciated the message of this story, especially the accounts of what Christianity is like in China. Underground churches meeting in the middle of the night. Believers being arrested for possessing Bibles or teaching spiritual truths to minors. Christians loving Jesus more than their lives. Humbling, convicting, challenging stuff. The businessman’s idea of faith, success and government are overturned by his experiences in China with his roommate. It’s a moving story that reminds me that how I practice my faith is not the same way it is practiced around the world. And being an American is not the same as being a Christian. 

The method of the story was not always palatable. Sometimes the dialogue felt forced and the plot seemed to get stuck. I’ve not read Alcorn before so I don’t know if this is his usual style of storytelling or not. The book’s worth it for the light it shines on persecution of Christians worldwide.

FAVORITES: Alcorn’s accounts of the underground church and life in China are credible. He lists the books that aided his research, and I’m eager to learn more.

FAULTS: Some of the story is told from the point of view of heaven — from family members who had died, angels and Jesus. Frank Peretti employs this POV in books like This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness. I think Peretti does it better. Maybe that’s not fair to Alcorn but I just didn’t feel like it worked in this story. Maybe I’ll re-read Peretti and see if I feel the same way.

IN A WORD: Informative. I’ll miss out on something great, though, if I leave it at knowledge only. I’m praying that this story moves me to action.

Why I think all songs in church should have hand motions

We just finished a week of VBS at our church. Yes, I’m exhausted. Yes, the kids aren’t back on a normal sleep schedule. Yes, I’m still singing the songs. (“It’s gonna be a cool, cool summer ….”) Yes, it’s worth it.

The kids performed one of the songs in church yesterday, complete with hand motions and dancing. I have to admit, this is one of my favorite parts of VBS: the music and the motions.

It’s so much fun to see adults and kids dancing and doing hand motions along with the songs all week at VBS. There’s a freedom I feel in praising God through song during VBS, and with kids in general, that I don’t always feel when everyone gathers on Sundays. Sundays, it seems to me, are serious and I’m to be serious about worship. I refrain from (or at least tone down) the joy I feel from the music. Dancing in my kitchen to uplifting songs — I don’t think twice about it. Dancing in church to uplifting songs — I’m afraid I would horrify someone.

I recently re-read the story of David dancing before the Lord. After being confronted about his behavior by his wife, he says this:

“It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes.”

When I read this passage, I always think of this song.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hp7B5V-qpTQ]

David had great joy before the Lord. He had reason to celebrate. And he didn’t care what it looked like to anyone else. Beth Moore says of this passage in her book A Heart Like His: “Completely abandoned worship is often misunderstood.” Oh, how I fear being misunderstood. Sometimes I just want to dance because God has been so good!

It’s so easy … well, easier, anyway … when kids’ songs or camp songs are involved. Everyone thinks it’s cute or sweet and people often join in.

Maybe we need hand motions for EVERY worship song.

I even found one to get us started with the previous song I mentioned.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPiNwbn3kmY&feature=fvwrel]

I know this is mostly a personal and insecurity issue. I’m not sure how to overcome it except to let God continue to change me and draw me out of the “what will people think?” shell.

Anyone else have this problem? How “undignified” are you willing to be in church? How do you praise God with complete abandonment? And how do you react to those who misunderstand your actions?

Just for fun, I’ve gotta end with this. When in doubt, laugh it out.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuRN2LL3fBs]

Saturday Smiles: The Sunday (again) edition

I’m not even going to apologize anymore. Saturday, Sunday. At least I’m posting once a weekend.

If I’d posted yesterday, I might have called this “the hiking edition.” Our field trip this week is my No. 1 reason to smile.

We took a family hike on Friday, a sort of early Father’s Day, my husband didn’t have to work, we love hiking and it’s summer kind of trip.

Our destination was this waterfall at Sweetarrow Lake County Park in Schuylkill (sounds sorta like skoo-kill) County, about a 30-minute drive from our house.

I love water. And nature. So this was a spiritually and emotionally refreshing trip for me. The hiking wasn’t rigorous and the views were gorgeous. (And I’ll say that even though we brought home some ticks with us and I’m still a little freaked out by it.)

I want our kids to love the outdoors, or at least be exposed to the outdoors.

Not to worry. Lewis and Clark here are leading the way. Isabelle often takes the role of trailblazer.

Corban, on the other hand, worries about rocks and mulch in his shoes.

Summer sunshine. Not too warm. A new place to explore. What’s not to like?

There’s my family. Don’t worry. It’s not dangerous. Dad’s in charge.

My second smile of the week would be my husband, and in honor of Father’s Day, I have to say how much I appreciate him as a Dad. Sure, he does things differently than I would. And he lets the kids take more risks than I might like.

(For instance, letting our 2-year-old climb the rock wall at the park’s playground. Don’t let the hand fool you. Corban didn’t  need it. He has picked up on this skill much more quickly than his sister.)

But he cares for them. He teaches them about life. He protects them from harm. He plays with them. I call him the fun parent because I’m the serious one. (Rough-housing before bedtime? That’s totally Dad’s department.)

I know not every kid gets to have a Dad around, which is maybe why I’m super glad for the one my kids have.

VBS was a blast this week. I was too busy corralling preschoolers to take pictures, but I’m always impressed by how the church comes together for a week to take extra time to care for kids and teach them about Jesus and His love. (And I’m still singing the songs. SOOOO catchy!)

We had a night out on Saturday thanks to our friend Abbie stepping in to babysit and new friends meeting us for coffee and dessert at this amazing place. If we lived a tad closer to it, it might be my favorite hangout.

God is still working. He’s moving behind the scenes right now but we’re catching glimpses of what’s possible for our future. I wish I had more great news to report where jobs and ministry are concerned. I don’t. But God’s faithfulness makes me smile. He has good plans for us, and that’s not just wishful thinking.

To wrap up our hiking report, I give you Corban’s travelogue. Enjoy!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LE0yB_UHRI&feature=channel&list=UL]

There’s a book for that: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

I don’t remember my first impressions of the movie The Wizard of Oz, although I do remember thinking Judy Garland singing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” was boring. (I had no idea her birthday was this week when I scheduled this post. No offense to the Judy Garland fans out there!) And that the movie overall was kind of, well, weird. I wouldn’t list it among my favorites, although I LOVED the theatrical production of Wicked (not so much the book it was based on).

So, I was happy to discover that the weirdness of The Wizard of Oz was there from the start in L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. (FYI, the edition pictured is not what I read. It’s from the Library of Congress Web site, so it’s probably a rare book.  Mine was free for the Kindle.)

As with Mary Poppins, I was impressed by the creativity of the author to dream up things like a talking scarecrow, a tin man and a cowardly lion along with the adventures and dangers they face on the way to the Emerald City. Not everything in the movie is as it is in the book, but I’m okay with that. I was only a little disappointed that the ruby slippers weren’t ruby. Maybe ruby looked better on film than silver? I think overall, I have a new appreciation for the books that inspired movies we now consider classic.

I’ve yet to read any other of Baum’s Oz books or other works. Have you read them? What do you think?

I think I missed out on a lot of good children’s and young adult literature as a kid — and I was (still am) an avid reader! I’m enjoying the journey back to rediscover what I missed.

What’s your favorite book from childhood/young adulthood?

NEXT WEEK: Memoirs of an English Governess at the Siamese Court (the King and I).

Learning from a long-ago shepherd: Review of A Heart Like His by Beth Moore

I don’t know what it is about Beth Moore, but her biblical insight is mind-blowing. The first book I ever read by her was Breaking Free, and it changed my life. Years later, I participated in video Bible study sessions of her lessons. Again, life-changing.

When offered the opportunity to review her book A Heart Like His: Intimate Reflections on the Life of David, I couldn’t say “no.”

I’ve been reading a chapter a day as I spend time with God, and though it seems like it has taken me a long time to get through this book, I appreciate the pace Moore sets. In studying David’s life, we’re not just hitting the highlights (Goliath) and lowlights (Bathsheba) but the in-between and even the back story with King Saul. The book is a detailed study of 1 and 2 Samuel, books we may not immediately turn to when looking for encouragement or principles for life but ones that are rich for the reading.

Moore makes an ancient shepherd’s life and struggles applicable to the modern follower of Christ.

Most of all, she makes the Bible exciting. Its stories are exciting, no matter what; sometimes it just takes a good teacher to unlock the treasure for you.

The book includes an excerpt of her Bible study series David: Seeking a Heart Like His. That will be on my list for sure.

FAVORITES: A Scripture reading is included at the beginning of each chapter and while Moore doesn’t hit everything in all the verses, reading those portions of Scripture brings depth to the teaching. I appreciate being able to focus in on a book or two of Scripture and study it in-depth. That sort of thing can be intimidating but Moore makes it manageable.

FAULTS: Not a one. She doesn’t let David off the hook for his sin, nor does she sugarcoat the consequences — for him or us — for doing something God doesn’t want us to do. I love that Moore tells it like it is. The Bible includes scenes that aren’t pretty and may not make sense on first reading, but a study of the culture and setting brings those scenes into context. Moore doesn’t avoid those topics. She faces them head on.

IN A WORD: Relevant. The Bible is often criticized for being irrelevant to modern life. Quite the opposite. Even if we don’t have to physically slay giants or run for our lives or hide in caves, we can glean principles for living from God’s Word. And that’s what A Heart Like His offers.

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In exchange for this review, I received a free copy of A Heart Like His.

Becoming the neighborhood mom

It happened like this, and if my supersensitive mom-hearing (you know, one of those superpowers they give you before you leave the hospital with your baby) hadn’t kicked in, I never would have heard it:

Isabelle, who is 4, was playing with a neighbor girl, who is 6. They were whispering about something when I heard these words: “Don’t tell your mom because she’ll tell my mom and I don’t want my mom to know.”

Well, this mama immediately went on high alert, and I not-so-secretly turned my attention to their conversation in the yard next door. My thoughts went something like this:

1. Hmmm, what exactly does our neighbor not want her mom to know?

2. Wait, isn’t this what teenagers do?

3. I’m SO not ready to deal with teenage issues!

After a moment of panic, I looked for an opportunity to get Isabelle alone so I could pry. (Because that’s what  moms do, right?) Fortunately, I didn’t have to wait long and Isabelle came inside to use the bathroom. Also fortunately, she can’t keep a secret to save her life.

“(Neighbor girl) doesn’t want me to tell you something.”

“Oh, and what doesn’t she want you to tell me.”

“I can’t tell you.”

Thus began a circle argument about some secrets being okay to tell. I promised we’d talk about it later. Again, fortunately, I didn’t have to wait for later. Isabelle ran outside and rejoined her friend, confessing to her, “My mom wants me to tell her what you told me.” To which the neighbor girl began to panic, raising her voice and saying, “Why does she want to know that I have a boyfriend?”

A boyfriend? She’s in kindergarten. Whew. I breathed a sigh of relief that, for the moment, I really didn’t have to tell her mom what was going on. So-called boyfriend appeared on the scene later, and as far as I can tell, their relationship consists mostly of the girl chasing the boy.

Isabelle and I did have the chance to talk about good secrets and bad secrets and how she needs to trust her parents to know the difference and whether we really do need to share the information with another parent or not.

Is my memory so bad that I don’t remember things being like this when I was younger? Or is the world so much worse a place that I automatically assume the worst when secrets are involved?

Lately, I’ve started to become the neighborhood mom. I’m generally outside, reading a book on the porch, when the kids are playing, so if other kids come by to play, I end up being the “babysitter.” I’m kind of okay with this because I want to know what my kids are doing and I want our house to be the place where kids hang out and find love and acceptance and ice cream bars or popsicles on a hot summer’s day.

But I want to know where the line is. When do my rules for my kids apply to other people’s kids? And when am I overstepping my bounds to step in to a gap left by another parent? I’m not generally in the business of telling other people how to raise their kids because I’m still figuring out how to raise mine day by day, and I’m tellin’ ya, there are NO easy answers for this. But I’m not the sort of person who can keep her nose out of other people’s business, especially if that “business” (in this case, kids) is hanging around my yard and playing with my kids.

So, what’s your experience? I know there may not be right or wrong answers but I’m curious how other parents have handled (and are handling) these types of issues.

I know this really is kindergarten stuff when it comes to parenting, and the teenage issues are yet to come. I just want to start preparing myself now and make decisions now, before it’s too late, that will help when the secrets are more serious.

Thoughts?

Saturday Smiles: It’s the little things edition

Right. Sunday again. I’m thinking I’ll have to rename this feature to Weekend Wonderfuls or something like that.

Many reasons to smile this week, so it’s not for lack of material.

One of my prayers of late has been, “God, where are You? Please, Lord. Show me that You haven’t forgotten us. I need to see You.” I wasn’t asking for a sign, per se, just an assurance. Like a short text or e-mail from a friend who’s been out of touch that says, “I’m still alive.”

I know God is there. I believe. Sometimes I just need a little reminder to help my unbelief.

My uncle is much improved this week, even moving out of critical care to a regular room. If you want the details you can find them here.

Not forgotten.

We came home to some distressing news for our budget and succumbed to stress and anxiety about the coming months. Then, we received four checks in the mail this week. We were expecting one, but couldn’t remember the amount. The other three were not exactly surprises except for the timing.

Not forgotten.

My husband completed another job application this week. That makes two out there for consideration. And we received an offer to pray about another ministry opportunity.

Not forgotten.

Then, there were things like experimental cooking that turned out yummy.

I call it sausage alfredo florentine pizza. Or something like that. It was good.

And this free activity for kids every other week at Lowe’s. Isabelle and Phil went for the first time on Saturday. Here’s what she did:

And she got an apron, goggles and an iron-on patch for finishing. This may be a regular part of our summer.

Then there’s this little guy, our future skater dude. He cracks me up.

Lemonade.

Cold root beer on a hot summer day.

The kids being excited about Bible school, which starts tonight.

Working out at the Y with a friend.

A park outing.

Eating supper al fresco in the backyard.

Life doesn’t always make sense. And life is good.

There’s a book for that: The Princess Bride

Inconceivable!

The Princess Bride is hands-down my favorite movie. I can’t explain why and you don’t have to agree with me. It’s just the way it is. So it was totally and in all other ways “inconceivable” to me that I could love anything more. But I do!

The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern’s Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure by William Goldman is pure genius. I couldn’t put it down even though I’ve seen the movie a hundred times (probably more). I was almost berating myself for not having ever read it before. It’s soon to become part of my permanent library. (I borrowed it from the library for this reading.)

Everything I love about the movie I now love more because of the book. I was surprised, pleasantly, to discover that the movie doesn’t deviate in horrible ways from the book. From a production standpoint, I understand why some things were left out or moved around. On the whole, though, I am in love with this story all over again.

I’m sure you can’t tell, right?

I only know a handful of people who don’t like the movie, (I won’t name names, but Nikki, you’re the first one that comes to mind!) so if that’s you, give the book a whirl and see what you think. And if you are, like me, a devotee (my husband made his “move” to indicate he liked me during a showing of this movie adding to many reasons why I love it) and you haven’t read the book, then all I have to say is “WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?” Sorry for shouting.

Am I overselling it? Tell me what you think if you’ve read Goldman’s book.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this project, too. (If you missed last week, I gave my thoughts on Mary Poppins, the book.) What’s your favorite book-to-movie adaptation? Are you a strict book first, movie second kind of person? What treasures have you discovered on the bookshelves  in regards to books turned into movies?

Next week: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum.