As I was resting and relaxing at the beach this past week, I was priviledged to read a brand new novel by Denise Hildreth Jones called The First Gardener. This book will hit the stores this August. I've never read an unedited, review copy of a book before and it was very exciting! I finished the book on Friday before we left the beach to come home. I wrote these thoughts in my "Thought Book" on the beach Friday afternoon. I would like to share with you what I wrote as my first response, unedited, and exactly what came to mind as I thought about what I had just experienced in this incredibly intense book of Christian fiction. I highly recommend it! Great job, Denise!
"I smiled. I laughed out loud. I was lost in thought. My eyes blurry with tears, deep grief, deep searching of the soul. Suprise ending- spiritual truth. One of my pleasures- flowers.
I really wasn't sure why you chose me to read an unedited review copy of your novel, The First Gardener, until today. This is what I saw that made me realize why: transparency, "real" life, "real" people, "real" faith through a story of fiction. Real flowers with real meanings. The Lily in particular- "return to happiness- complete." What an emotional journey this was. I felt as if I were there watching everything that happened. It was fun, yet fierce. Sassy, yet serious. It was hard, yet healing.
Thank you for the honor of reading this incredible story. I felt like it wasn't just a story but a journey from joy to despair and back to joy. It was the discovery of who God truly is and the "bigness" of our loving heavenly Father. The line of truth that Grace speaks to Mack, that even Suzy could parrot, "we go through" the hard times, the grief, the despair. We can't go around it, under it, or over it and be changed. "We go through" it with Him and He changes us for the better. "The better" is more holy. More like Jesus- a better reflection of Him than we were before the suffering.
The mystery of the story was wrapped up in the events where each subtle circumstance was an opportunity to uncover what God was up to. From the silliest of capers with the fearsome foursome to the sincerity of Jeremiah's prayers and his willingness to obey even if "he don' know why".
God's creation, another mystery of His glory made visible- the creation of children, the creation of flowers, the creation of love, emotions, beauty. This story was a picture of God's beauty that shines through a broken world and when given permission, shines through broken people. What ART! What a treasure!"
My Pleasure,
Melanie
http://www.livingrealmag.com/
*To find out how you can get this book go to www.denisehildrethjones.com
My family spent this past week at Surfside Beach. It's a tradition with our family and some extended family as well. We stay in the same beach house each year, the same week in June. I began going with my husband's family to the beach before we were married. He (Rick) would have to stay in the apartment below because I would get the extra bedroom upstairs. And even 30 years later, married and with children, we still continue this family vacation tradition.
We have a wonderful time. We play games, watch the College World Series, sun, swim, walk, talk, shop, and just enjoy being together. This year we celebrated my mother-in-law's 80th birthday. When I first started going with them to the beach she was turning 50. Now Rick is 51 and I'll turn 50 in a couple of years. Ooo...that's unreal!
The week that we spend at the beach each year is Father's Day week. We would have to celebrate with my dad before we left for the beach each year. My mother's birthday is also that week and we would celebrate that early as well. This year my dad will have been gone 6 years in July and my mother turned 82 while we were away. It's always a little bit sad when Father's Day arrives and my daddy isn't here anymore to celebrate with. To add more sadness to it, my mother is declining with dementia and really hasn't had the concept of a calendar since my dad died. We went by to see her today and to celebrate. She didn't even know she had had a birthday, but she played it up well. Her repetitive comment these days is, "I've really been blessed." If she said it once today, she said it 10 times. And you know, she's right! We have all been blessed!
One of my greatest pleasures is spending time with my family- my husband, my son, my daughter, my mom, my sister, my in-laws, and my extended in-laws. Because my mom and dad are not "with me" like they once were, my in-laws are now parents to me. I have terrific in-laws and could not have asked for better ones. They are godly people who love me just like I was their own.
God has given me the pleasure of having a loving family. One that loves each other, but also one that loves God first. He is the Pleasure that we all enjoy. But even if we didn't have each other, we always have the pleasure of loving Jesus. An old hymn chorus says it all. "Oh, how I love Jesus. Oh, how I love Jesus. Oh, how I love Jesus because He first loved me." (words by Frederick Whitfield)
Now it's back to the daily routine around here, if you can call the summer schedule a normal routine. I love going to the beach with family, but I love being at home with them even more!
"Welcome to Chic-fil-A. May I take your order?" "I'll have a small icedream cone, please." "My pleasure!", said the familiar voice over the Chic-fil-A intercom at the drive thru. Familiar because I am through the drive thru several times a week, it seems, either by myself or with someone in my family, so my voice is as familiar to her as hers is to me. "Will that complete your order today?" "Yes. Thank you." "It's my pleasure!"
This response stirred my thoughts as I began to think of a name for my blog. I wanted something catchy; something you would recognize, but also fill you with some curiosity that would lead you to read my blog. Isn't that the point of a blog? Since you've stopped by, "Welcome!" "Thank you", you say? "It's my pleasure!"
What is my "pleasure" in life? What gives me a sense of complete satisfaction, joy, peace, and comfort? Is it listening to a summer afternoon thunderstorm and cuddling up on the couch? Is it a family meal where all of us are actually sitting and eating at the same time? Is it when the house is quiet and everyone is tucked safe and sound in his/her bed? Is it knowing that my husband loves me above all others and is true to his wedding vows? What is it that truly satisfies me? As I contemplate the question, the breath that I breathe whispers the answer... "Jesus". There's nothing else in the world that comes close to the pleasure that Christ gives me. He is my everything. My all. This world and the people in this world will fail me, but my God satisfies me forever. As the Psalmist says, "You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore." Psalm 16:11 NKJV
My prayer is that this blog draws you to Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. (John 14:6) And Yes, it's...
My Pleasure,
Melanie
