tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86563362162856229.post8130775474407619992..comments2024-03-11T18:20:02.120-05:00Comments on crumbs from His table: The Hardest Thing to Do {Book Response}tinuvielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06462001159262770932noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86563362162856229.post-1514825780673525892011-08-29T08:36:22.930-05:002011-08-29T08:36:22.930-05:00@chris If it's any consolation, I'm playin...@<a href="#c3014950505411428822" rel="nofollow">chris</a> If it's any consolation, I'm playing catch-up with friends' blog posts and e-mails, too.<br /><br />To date, I have not read any of Wilcock's non-fiction work or any of her novels beyond the four in the Hawk and Dove series. If you venture that direction, let us crumbles know what you think.<br /><br />On the outside-in, inside-out nature of transformation... a complex question... Even the desire to behave differently is evidence that some internal heart change is occurring, that Aslan has begun to peel at least the first layer of dragon skin off. The key for me is obedience in dependence on Christ. In matters of forgiveness, I can't alter my feelings about the offense or the offender, but I can choose by faith to pray words of blessing upon them and to ask god to change as you describe. For me that has been the "outside" step of obedience that sets me moving on the path. The "inside" parts of forgiveness, namely the accompanying feelings of peace and love, are landmarks on the trail once I start walking in the direction God's Word leads. Even so, I couldn't take or desire to take that step of obedience without the Holy Spirit's work to move me towards desiring to obey and even recognizing that resentment is wrong.<br /><br />Perhaps what I'm getting at is a sort of upward spiral of transformation in which God converts and gives a new heart at some fundamental level, after which outside obedience and inside character/emotional change follow and each fuels the other in the journey towards Christlikeness. (Not that it's an uninterrupted spiral...)<br /><br />When it all comes down (or up), though, it's all God, all grace.<br /><br />Something to think on further in the rest intervals at PT today...tinuvielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06462001159262770932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86563362162856229.post-1194019675010560442011-08-28T17:05:09.496-05:002011-08-28T17:05:09.496-05:00Christina, this is such a good portrayal of forgiv...Christina, this is such a good portrayal of forgiveness – and how its effects ripple, as on a lake. One of my favorite movies of all time – it's a wonderful life – when Clarence the Angel tells George Bailey that men don't often realize how many lives their lives touch. I guess – in the same way – we don't realize the extent of one simple act of forgiveness. This was awesome – thank you. I walk away better, and humbled, and realizing how important it is to forgive. God bless you Christina, and God bless each and every one of yours.Craighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08376005422623882947noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86563362162856229.post-30149505054114288222011-08-28T07:28:42.234-05:002011-08-28T07:28:42.234-05:00now i know how Ann (of the Antbed) felt when (if i...now i know how Ann (of the Antbed) felt when (if i remember, after a long road trip) she got back to a proper internet connection--what i had in italy did give me access to your blog, but delivered the information at about the same rate as a human sending a version of "Crumbs from His Table" in morse code...<br /><br />thanks for the pointer about the novel. i hadn't heard much about Penelope Wilcock's novels, but someone once told me that a non-fiction book she wrote on simplicity is very helpful--do you happen to have read it?<br /><br />i agree about forgiveness being exceptionally hard. maybe part of the reason is this: sometimes when we want to lose a vice or some other kind of dysfunctional trait, we can have a certain measure of success changing "from the outside in". for example, i've known people who are mildly agoraphobic. if they haven't gone out for a good while, they find going out ansiogenic. but if they do go out anyway--acting as tho' they weren't frightened of going out--they pretty quickly lose the fear they had, and end up feeling as well as acting the way non-agoraphobic people do (end up being as well as acting non-agoraphobic). by contrast, i'm inclined to think, if we're trying to change from being resentful to being forgiving, we'll have no luck at all with the "outside in" approach. if we go that route, we end up still harboring resentment, and patting ourselves on the back for how well we're behaving towards the person who didn't behave well towards us. to forgive, we have to start by asking--and allowing--God to change our hearts, and heart-change is ever so much harder than change in outward behavior. it's like the difference between (the enchanted) Eustace (in the Voyage of the Dawn Treader) peeling off the outer layers of his dragon skin, and Eustace letting Aslan completely "un-dragon" him. dunno--just a thought...<br /><br />hurray for the encouraging prognosis--i'll keep praying... and (belated) happy twelfth anniversary!chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16673834639722877016noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86563362162856229.post-25380471070578875772011-08-25T17:44:01.725-05:002011-08-25T17:44:01.725-05:00@Lisa notes... I have *no* idea what you mean abou...@<a href="#c6854710701122273392" rel="nofollow">Lisa notes...</a> I have *no* idea what you mean about being super-sensitive with your husband and getting piqued about things he didn't even realize he was doing. There must have been at least, oh, 36 days in the first year of our marriage that didn't happen. :)<br /><br />Regarding your question, it seemed to me that the author and publisher had deliberately clarified and summarized the background where most essential. The print edition also includes lists of characters and their positions in the community, elements of the daily and yearly liturgical cycle, and technical terms. I found those helpful, but they could be even more so for readers new to the series. On the other hand, the emotional impact may be greater for those who are acquainted with the whole series. Good question!tinuvielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06462001159262770932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86563362162856229.post-68547107011222733922011-08-25T16:25:46.464-05:002011-08-25T16:25:46.464-05:00This sounds like a great book, one that I would be...This sounds like a great book, one that I would benefit from too. <br /><br />I’ve been struggling this week with forgiving my own sweet husband for attitudes he didn’t even realize he was having (and could it possibly be that I was being super-sensitive??? ha). Forgiving definitely is a hard thing to do.<br /><br />Is this a book I could pick up and read as a stand-alone, or do you really need to read the other books first to understand what’s going on?Lisa notes...https://www.blogger.com/profile/07103364395238899215noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86563362162856229.post-45017253103836366262011-08-25T00:53:04.945-05:002011-08-25T00:53:04.945-05:00That sounds wonderful! Thank you for such a though...That sounds wonderful! Thank you for such a thoughtful, "heartful" review. I love this: <br />"Forgiveness is indeed a corporate discipline, and resentment a communal sin. Both are personal, but neither is private." Wise words, dear! :)Annehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09692441927088206260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86563362162856229.post-63352080147609987282011-08-24T18:32:33.457-05:002011-08-24T18:32:33.457-05:00I still need to read a book by this author! They s...I still need to read a book by this author! They sound wonderful and full of depth. I often read too much non-fiction, when I think ideas are communicated so much more powerfully through fiction. Enjoyed your thoughts here.Amyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04886843349775095643noreply@blogger.com