My First Blog Birthday and Giveaway

On By RosinaIn Family and Friends, Inner Life

A year ago I finally yielded to the burning in my bones and started this blog. I said I’d try blogging for a year, then decide whether or not to keep on.

Here is a picture of me writing on a typical Sunday afternoon. Once the children are in bed for naps, I hibernate in my bedroom and write and read and sleep for a few hours while Will watches the kids. It’s my way of regaining energy for the week.

sept-2016-049

Hibernating doesn’t always work, though! Last Sunday the children kept popping into my room for this and that, so I finally locked the door. But there’s more than one way to enter a room! Stuart popped his head into the window to ask if I would come play Sorry with him. Sure, I said. Give me 20 minutes and I promise I’ll come. I had to laugh even though I felt so tired. Isn’t he so cute?

sept-2016-052

Back to blogging. After a prolonged writing hiatus and then finally picking it up again through the form of blogging, I’ve had several surprises. First of all, I’ve been surprised at the flow of ideas running faster than the time to write. I thought my brain would soon empty out. But life is a continually changing scene with God speaking in and through all of it, and I never lack for things to process.

I’ve been a little surprised (but not too much) how blogging scraped open some insecurity. I’m not an assertive person and hate conflict, so when my writing touches controversial subjects I’ll often wander around with a sick feeling on the pit of my stomach for a day or two. The desire for truth and new life outweighs the desire for keeping peace, but it’s still hard.

The best surprise by far has been the connection I’ve made with some of you readers, especially the personal emails and messages. I love hearing what you are thinking and feeling! I love learning to know so many beautiful people who are listening to God’s Spirit and thinking carefully about life. I feel deeply humbled and blessed to be involved with a piece of your lives.

I decided to do a giveaway as a little birthday present. It bothers me very much that I can’t give one to everyone. But I’ve chosen to give the book The Insanity of God by Nik Ripken to one of my readers. (Perhaps it will prod you to go ahead and get the second book, The Insanity of Obedience. You should not stop with just the first one!) If you already have The Insanity of God but not The Insanity of Obedience, I will swap the two books. (I wrote a little about The Insanity of God here, and The Insanity of Obedience here. These posts only touch on a few aspects of the books, though.) The books are both quite readable, being full of inspiring stories, but they are life-changing, too.

Image result for the insanity of god

To enter the giveaway, post a question in the comments. I like questions, and think of them all the time. You can give me more brain fodder by adding yours! If you don’t like to read or already have the book, I’m sorry. I’ll offer a different gift next time. But you can still add in your question! 😉

The question can be random; for example, “What was Jesus’ personality as a human being?” (I thought of that question after taking the Myers-Briggs personality test.)

Or it can be a weightier question such as: “Is it possible to change a religious system, or is a religious system by nature impervious to change?”

Or it can be something introspective like “Why am I trying to reason myself out of doing what God is asking me to do?”

You can even ask a question directed toward God. “Does God want me to keep blogging, or not?”

There. I’ve just let you in on four of my questions.

Your turn! I can’t wait. 🙂

Giveaway will close Sept 22 at 11:59 CST.

 

Readers outside the US, you are welcome to enter, too. I will ship the book internationally.

30 thoughts on “My First Blog Birthday and Giveaway”

  1. Hi there Rosina. Thanks for all the time you invest into blogging. I know it takes lots of unrecognized effort…but keep it up!
    So here’s a question I wonder about sometimes:
    How can a “prophet” show understanding and care while at the same time standing firmly on truth? When is compromise necessary and loving and when is it merely a cop-out to avoid conflict?
    Blessings!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  2. My question is – Do I have to ask a question? 😉 I’m not a ‘question asker’ by nature. My most pressing questions are usually, “What on earth shall I make for supper??” or “How do I get my scatterbrained 8 year old to take responsibility?” But having been married 15 years to a man who’s nature is to ‘question everything’, I’ve learned that asking questions is a good thing. I just don’t have a good philosophical one right off the top of my head! 😀

    Like

    Reply
  3. Elaine

    I have read both books at your recommendation. But I purchased kindle books and have wished many times for hard copies to share. 🙂 My small Bible Study group has been going through 1,2,& 3rd John. Our latest questions where we have gotten stumped are 1John 5:16&17. So is there ever a time to quit praying for someone’s salvation??? Is anyone ever “too far gone” for God? Is there ever a time when you personally are released from praying for someone because the relationship is too toxic and you simply need to sever all ties with that person and let someone else do the praying? Doesn’t all sin lead to death? Hmmmmm. 🙂

    Like

    Reply
  4. Lucinda J

    My question is: when there are so many good things and ministry opportunities I COULD be doing, how do I know which one to pursue? Is it okay just to go by what you feel you want to do, or is that selfish (because something else might be more needed)? And what if I can’t handle it all–how do I know what to cut out?

    Like

    Reply
  5. Mary Lynn

    This is a question my husband and I were contemplating last night after men’s meeting….So it’s been said you can tell what a church cares about by whether they focus on the Minor things or the Major things. Can a church do both? We have been told by some in authority that once the minors are taken care of, the church will have time to focus on the rest. (Evangelizing, etc.) Are we being rebellious and unwilling to trust authority by questioning that?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  6. Kim Brougher

    How do you know when to distance yourself from a person for the spiritual safety of your children and how much to just be quiet and keep praying and showing love? Especially if it is a close family member?

    Like

    Reply

  8. So I was reading Ezekiel 4 this morning which somehow got me interested in the scapegoat of Leviticus 16 (Weird connection. I know.). So my questions are:
    1. What is “Azazel” where the scapegoat went and how come I’ve never noticed that in the Bible before or heard it talked about?
    2. The Book of Enoch calls “Azazel” a fallen angel. How much do I trust the Apocrypha?
    3. What exactly did it mean for Ezekiel to “bear the iniquity of the house of Judah” or “place the iniquity” on his side?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  10. Victoria

    How do I deal with the grief and trauma of working with battered women every day when the church at large shuts its eyes to the problems of sexual assault and domestic violence and simply refuses to help? How do I not completely lose faith in organized Christianity and pray for them instead? You said I could ask anything, right?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  12. One question I’ve been pondering for a little while now is, “How can I help others to walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh; to follow Christ and not man?” It seems like it’s so easy for people to follow man instead of God, or to try to control sin on their own strength instead of God’s.

    Like

    Reply
  15. Ruth Anna

    Why is my life so good? I’m a single 31 year old, with my dream job really, a darling little apartment I call home, good co-workers, a church I love, etc. And then….there are refugees and starving souls and abused people and hurting hearts and mentally distressed people….HOW can this be fair? How can my life be so good? BTW, I would love this book because I asked one of my co-teachers if I could borrow it, but he thinks he loaned it to someone and they haven’t returned it. SO–that means I haven’t gotten to read it yet! =)

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  16. Brenda

    Just to name a few, here are some of my questions.
    Can a religious system be godly or is it just that– a system with “religious” being an adjective to describe it? Do demons only live in a creature that is alive? Is it ok for a church to deny baptism to a person who asks for it if that person doesn’t want to be a member of the church? Is it ok for a person to want to be baptized without wanting to be a member? Is it a given that preachers have authority? If they do have authority, where does it come from; God, the people they serve or both? How much value does God put on being a member of a church? Did Jesus experience hell while he was dead?

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  17. Sherilyn M.

    I want the second book if I win, and since I have thousands of questions right now, some of which are too raw to ask, I’m just going to ask this one, “Who has the monopoly on Truth, or what or Who is Truth?”

    Like

    Reply
  18. Linda

    What would happen in our communities and neighborhoods if we intentially invited the presence of God in the regions as we drive every day? What would happen if we would bring an atmosphere of change by simply asking God to saturate those areas so powerfully that others driving those same miles would have God encounters all because of Holy trails He brings of His presence?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  19. I would really want to know… what was it like at the beginning of the world, when God created the heavens and the earth? What was it like to be at the crucifixion and feel the ground shake as the Son of God died? Why does God let the world continue in existence when hundreds of children are being born each day without a hope of ever hearing the gospel? When at the judgment throne, each person is called in front of God, who will be at fault— the Christians who failed their duty to carry the gospel, or the unbelievers who never had a chance to believe? Isn’t God’s heart just breaking with all the pain in this world? How can God let that pain go on? Also, how do I know when I am living in fear of man, and when I am simply respecting culture and parental/church authority? Is respecting just a cop out?

    Like

    Reply
  20. Kelly Kauffman

    Since you were the one who introduced me to these books, this giveaway makes me really happy. 🙂
    The burning question on my mind right now is how to help in situations where people are in dire need of the love of Jesus but who don’t recognize the long term help solutions as actually helping. As you get involved in someone’s life and establish a relationship with boundaries, how do you help that person to understand that boundaries are healthy and are there for the good of the relationship? How do you give unselfishly but realistically?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  21. Dwight Gingrich

    How does a church leader find the right balance between primarily solitary activities (such as study and writing) and primarily public activities (such as personal ministry, relational interactions, speaking)? Will I ever find time to do the writing of which I dream? 🙂

    Would a book called “One Pure Church: Saint Paul’s Methods or Ours?” meet a need in our part of Christ’s church? (Or perhaps the title would be “One Pure Church: A Biblical Evaluation of Holiness Versus Unity in Anabaptist Churches.”) Would it be read? If so, would it make a practical difference for Christ’s name and people, or just be discussed on MennoDiscuss?

    Like

    Reply
  24. vickikauffman

    Hi Rosina,
    I’ve not been online much the last few days and so i almost missed this. My question is this: How can God look at such suffering and such need and seemingly do nothing? I know the textbook answer to this but it’s not answering the emotional pain that I feel for a situation I’m deeply involved with. Piggybacked on that question is the one of: How can His people turn a blind eye to suffering, injustice and need?

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment