On Writing and Improving it

I am finding that I enjoy writing and putting my thoughts down into words for others to read.  Writing something that is [hopefully] coherent to others  helps me to wade through my jumbled thoughts and opinions.  Putting something down in words forces me to grasp at that ambiguous idea  floating around in my head, become passionate about it, and then work to make it concrete enough to explain it to someone else so that they too might become passionate about it.

Maybe that is part of why I enjoy writing on this blog.

With that said, I've been reading up on how to improve my writing.  Here are some books that have been helpful:

- Writing with Style, by John R. Trimble is my current reading material.  The author effectively gets his points across through an easy, conversational style.  

- On Writing Well, by William Zinnsser was also a helpful read, particularly the first-half or so.  You can find it for free online HERE.

- Challies has recommended Wordsmithy, by Doug Wilson as a good read on becoming a better writer.  I would like to read it (but haven’t, since it isn't readily available for free online.)

You readers out there who also enjoy writing: any thoughts/pointers/critiques on my writing and how I can improve it?  I don’t have teachers to hand in my papers to anymore, so you all are now the ones who have to give the feedback!  Leave a comment or facebook me—I’d love any kind of feedback!

Finishing "Taking God at His Word"

I just finished reading Taking God at His Word by Kevin DeYoung.  After Isaac finished it, he made the comment that “it would be hypocritical to say ‘that was a good book’ and not proceed to then immerse oneself in the Bible.”  And it is true: This little book elevates the sufficiency, clarity, authority,and necessity of the Bible to such an extent that you cannot miss the point that the Bible is the Word of God and as such, we would do well to make reading it and studying it the ultimate priority in our lives!

DeYoung says, “Only in Scripture do we encounter the fullness of God’s self-disclosure.” (page 116)

Furthermore, “…Scripture carries all the weight of divine authority because it comes entirely from divine origination.  And this is true for all Scripture.  Every book, every chapter, every line, every word—all of it is breathed out by God.  Not just the obviously theological parts.  Not just the memorable stuff.  Not just the parts that resonate with us.  All of it—history, chronology, philosophy-every truth the Bible affirms ought to be taken as God’s truth.  Every word in the Bible is in there because God  wanted it there.  And therefore, we should listen to the Bible and stick with the Bible and submit ourselves to the teaching of the Bible because it is God’s Bible—both the sacred writing of the Old Testament, which Paul first of all had in mind, and the inspired writings for the new covenant church, which Paul understood himself to be issuing (1 Thess. 2:13) and Peter understood to be in the process of being written down (2 Pet. 3:16).”  (page 118)

As David says,

“Thy testimonies are wonderful: therefore doth my soul keep them.
The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.
I opened my mouth, and panted: for I longed for thy commandments.
Look thou upon me, and be merciful unto me, as thou usest to do unto those that love thy name.
Order my steps in thy word: and let  not any iniquity have dominion over me.
Deliver me from the oppression of man: so will I keep thy precepts.  Make thy face to shine upon thy servant; and teach me thy statutes.
Rivers of water run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law.”  
Psalm 119:129-136  

discoveries...

When working with books, it is important to remember to keep glue as far away from them as possible, unless there is a specific purpose for the glue.

Pumpkin roll is absolutely yummy!

Good friends do more than just have a fun time together. They also challenge and stretch you.

Brazil can seem very far away at times.

Habits may take years to establish but it takes only a matter of days to break them.

The first snow of the school-year has the potential of immediately making one's day better.

The prospect of being with family for the holiday is exciting!

Procrastination becomes easier with practice.

It is not difficult to put library cart wheels back where they belong (on the cart).

God loves me.

My Days

Here are a few things that have been filling my days lately:

• Piano practice--for my recital the end of April, I will be playing a duet of the "Hallelujah" chorus with another girl! I think it will actually sound pretty good after we practice a lot more! I'm kind of excited about it!


• Applications forms--both for school and work. Ahh, it feels soo good to finally get those done and have them sent off! Not to mention all of the references that I had to get for them! I sent off my application for Cornerstone Bible Institute, and will anxiously await word from them; I also am nervously looking forward to getting a job interview over with tomorrow! If everything goes well, I'll be working at a nursing home that is right across the street from where I'll be living this summer, which will help a lot with car expenses!
  
• "Sharing God's Gift"--Last week was the last class for this wonderful class. Wow, it seems like it just started, and here it is, over already! However, even though the class officially ended last Saturday, in reality, it has only begun! I now need to continue to put what I learned into practice in my everyday life! I wish every church had such a class available for the believers to take!
  
• Blog posts--In case some of you haven't noticed, my blog has had a lot of activity on it lately! I honestly don't know what happened--all of a sudden, it is like I am always thinking of something or another that I can post on, and I'm loving it! Hopefully I can keep it up!


• Travels--A little over a week ago, my family and I went up to Minnesota and to visit several relatives of my mom and a couple other contacts that we haven't seen in years. I loved seeing all of the pine trees, evergreens, or whatever those kind of tree are called, but I did not enjoy having to walk in all of the mud that was everywhere--especially on the farms! ugh! I certainly am not a farm girl, even though I did grow up in Brazil where things can sometimes be very rustic! We then went to Illinois for our mission's banquet--they hold it every year, but I do not remember the last time I went to one, so it was good to be able to go to it this year.
• "The Zion Chronicles"--This fantastic book series by Bodie Thoene has occupied more of my spare time than it should. (If I start reading a good book, I cannot put it down until I'm done with it!) If you haven't read it, you should! It is historical fiction with a little of everything: history, romance, suspense and mystery, and Christianity. The third book of the series is by far, in my opinion, the best of the three that I have already read! Oooh, I just had to keep reading to find out what would happen to everyone! "Will he be okay?" "And what about her--who is she? Is she really who she says she is?" Read it, and you'll find out the answers!
• Company--My parent's time here in the US is quickly coming to an end, and we realized that there are a lot of people from church that we still want to have over, so we decided that we just needed to start having someone over every week or so (creative strategy, not?) Last week we had a wonderful time with Pr. Ron, our youth pastor, and his family. This weekend, my aunt, cousin, and my counsin's two children, are also coming over for Easter, so we should have a housefull!

What has been going on in your life? I would love to hear from you--leave a comment or send me an email at ang_lehrman89@yahoo.com if you want!