Roth Christmas Epistle 2017

 

Kelly Jo and Dustin Haug continue to work on their house in Saint Paul (that’s not it in the picture; that’s from their trip to the Black Hills) and are now raising chickens! Kelly Jo’s doula-ing (www.uffdadoula.com) is a blessing to families (if you or someone you know is expecting, check her out!), Dustin started his 10th year of teaching at the Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists, and Anawynn, AKA SweetCheeks, turned 4 at an Alice in Wonderland Party and started excelling at preschool this fall. Grandpa Dewey and Grandma Debbie are so happy to be able to spend time with Anawynn almost every Thursday.

Curtis and Abbey Roth made a major change this year. After two years at Crown College, they realized the rest of the degree program they were in would not really benefit them in the ministry they have a clear sense of calling for...so, while grateful for what they learned, they stopped sinking money into college, moved in with us, and started saving money to be able to move to New York City next May. Times Square is about to benefit from a prayer and worship ministry dedicated to praising God and letting individuals know that they are loved! And to answer your questions, yes, we love having them with us again, and no, we aren’t worried about them moving to NYC. It is clearly the Lord’s call for their lives right now, and He will supply their needs. Besides, Curtis lived there for several years and knows what they’re signing up for. We also welcomed into the household the beautiful puppy you see here, Zeke, who is being trained to be a good urban citizen.

Shonda and Johnathan Hall have settled into life at Travis Air Force Base in Northern California. It seems like Johnathan just keeps getting promoted, and we are proud of the service he gives through the Air Force. Shonda loves the kids she cares for at the base’s early childhood center and is the best mommy ever to one-year-old Maverick! Grandma Debbie and Grandpa Dewey were SO happy to be able to spend Maverick’s birthday with him in late September and also enjoyed a day in San Francisco for Debbie’s birthday!

Angel and Phillip Stanley, are living the dream. Jesse started kindergarten this fall at the same school where Angel is the Reading Specialist, and about-to-be-four Thomas pretends to be shy except when he and his brother are wrestling with either Phil or Grandpa Dewey. Phil is still teaching art at Rosemount High School, where the students all think he’s pretty cool.

No big news for Dewey this year, other than being happy with the opening of a Skyline Chili in Fort Wayne...30 miles closer to Mom’s place than Anderson! He’s still blogging up a storm and invites you to check it all out at www.almostthetruth.com. Debbie, however, has gone from “learning about writing at Carol Kent’s Speak Up Conference” to “The Newest Author at Redemption Press”. It’s officially self-publishing, so the publisher’s expenses (for editing and coaching and featuring Debbie in a two-page spread of the program magazine for 25,000 ladies at the Women of Joy conferences) get paid upfront, instead of coming out of book sales. This means, of course, that Rest in Him Ministry is in fundraising mode again. You can find out more about that by clicking HERE.

In the midst of the presents this year, may you also experience His presence.

  

Books I Read in 2017, Vol. III

RICH MULLINS: Home
Rich Mullins

From the publisher: “Rich Mullins was a poet and thinker who left behind a timeless legacy. As a columnist for Release magazine for nearly six years, Rich shared his musings on faith and life. With the same depth and simplicity that characterized his music, Rich transformed paper to canvas, painting the wonder and awesomeness of our God. [This book] collects these personal writings, along with some of his most memorable quotations.”

From me: I re-read this as part of noting the 20th anniversary of Rich’s death. The articles reproduced in this book are like Rich: deeply God-focused, laced with humor, visually evocative, and poetic enough to be sometimes hard to understand.

Page 56/Sentence 5: I hate restaurants where waiters have too much style and your plates have more finesse than food.

CASH: The Autobiography
Johnny Cash with Patrick Carr

“In his own words, Cash sets the record straight as he looks unsparingly at his remarkable life: from the joys of boyhood in Dyess, Arkansas to superstardom in Nashville, the road of Cash’s life has been anything but smooth.”

Had I known there was ANOTHER autobiography, titled Man in Black, that Cash wrote first, I would have read it first, but still, this book held no disappointments for me at all. There are plenty of behind the scene stories and hard-won bits of wisdom.

56/5: It was the most valuable advice I’d had in years, maybe ever.

APOLOGETICS FOR A NEW GENERATION: A Biblical & Culturally Relevant Approach to Talking About God
Sean McDowell, General Editor

“This generation’s faith is constantly under attack from the secular media, skeptical teachers, and unbelieving peers. You may wonder, How can I help? .... The truth never gets old, but people need to hear it in fresh, new ways. Find out how you can effectively share the answers to life’s big questions with a new generation.”

I bought this book because Sean McDowell’s father, Josh, wrote the definitive book on apologetics, Evidence that Demands a Verdict, back in the 70’s, and it changed my life. (Apologetics: the discipline of defending a position (often religious) through the systematic use of information. Early Christian writers [c. 120–220] who defended their faith against critics and recommended their faith to outsiders were called apologists.) Now, THIS book doesn’t contain a systematic outline of facts and valid arguments that help support faith. Rather, it spells out why apologetics is still important and pertinent, even in a pluralistic culture that states that “what’s true for you may not be true for me.” The fact is, facts still matter, but HOW those facts are shared, in the context of a relationship, matters more.

56/5: More churches are training and equipping people to defend their beliefs.

DAD IS FAT
Jim Gaffigan

“I know what you’re thinking: Finally, another book from a comedian! Finally, a book about parenting from a comedian. Finally, another self-congratulatory book flap obviously written by the author.”

I really like Jim Gaffigan as a stand-up comic, but this is an enjoyable book the way Doctor Strange was an enjoyable movie...the way cotton candy is an enjoyable “food.” I liked it, I laughed, and as soon as it went back to the library, it left my consciousness. Quotable quote: “For me it’s always a little sad getting out of bed. Every morning after I get up, I always gaze longingly at my bed and lament, ‘You were wonderful last night. I didn’t want it to end. I can’t wait to see you again...’.”

56/5: Hospitals should just be renamed “houses of worry.”